


The Common Thread

by Gottahavemyncis



Category: NCIS
Genre: Adventure, Crime, F/M, Family, Gen, Mystery, No Bashing, No McAbby, No TIVA, Smart agents, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-05-04 02:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 90
Words: 872,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14583420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gottahavemyncis/pseuds/Gottahavemyncis
Summary: While at work, Special Agent Timothy McGee answers what he thinks is a personal call, a call that invokes Rule #38 and unleashes heartbreak, chaos and danger, drastically changing his life and the lives of his team. Features the season 12 team as family, Papa Gibbs and our beloved characters from that time forward. Canon and timeline divergence. Rated Teens and up for occasional language.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm glad to be back, hope you enjoy the story! Thanks to Alix33 for the beta reads and to Timfan for her note today and to the others who've written, leading me to finally post this. If you're not familiar with my personal canon, please see my profile on fanfiction.net, under the same screen name.

 The Common Thread

PROLOGUE

April 2003

Tim McGee smiled as he stepped out of the Seattle-Tacoma airport terminal late Monday and into a shuttle for the ride to the building he'd be working in for the next week. As one of the lead techs for a critical new software system for his employer, a national bank, he would oversee final pre-production testing with a team of systems analysts, followed by quality assurance, implementation, post-production testing and overseeing the first few hours of production. If all went as expected, they'd implement on Sunday, do their post-production testing that night; once he signed off, the new system would officially be in production for the start of business Monday morning.

He was glad to be in Seattle for several reasons. First, this was his last project for the bank where he'd been working since he was still a graduate student at MIT, continuing his employment while earning his Doctorate. He'd enjoyed the work but it wasn't what he planned to do with his life. And that led to the second reason for his happiness, he'd finally been accepted to FLETC, Federal Law Enforcement Training, and his session would start the next month. And lastly, it was a lot warmer here than it was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he currently lived and worked.

Tuesday and Wednesday, his first two days there, he was swamped with the final rounds of testing before implementation. The Business Systems Analysts successfully completed their testing late Wednesday afternoon, which meant it was time for the Quality Assurance team to do their last round of testing. As he was not responsible for that, he now had Thursday, Friday and Saturday off, barring any problems.

Thursday morning, he headed for the Science Museum, enjoyed that and when he overheard someone mention the Museum of Pop Culture, he knew he had to see for himself. It sounded like fun and a great way to spend a few hours. He'd just torn himself away from the Star Trek exhibit and was approaching the Indie Game Revolution when he heard someone call his name. Not McGee, just "Tim?" in a decidedly familiar voice.

He turned and stood motionless, his mouth open in astonishment as Artemis Galanis, his former girlfriend and the love of his life, ran across the exhibit hall toward him. He caught her in his arms as she threatened to crash into him. "Artie? What…how? Wow! I never thought…"

He stopped talking when she grabbed his hand and face, first running her fingers over his face and then kissing him soundly, accompanied by spontaneous applause, whistles and catcalls from other museum visitors. When they were both breathing again, he grinned, "Wow! Of all the nerd joints in all the towns in all the world, you walk into the one I'm in!"

She grinned back, "Nice paraphrase of Bogart in Casablanca!"

He pulled her toward him, kissing her again, laughing as they parted. "Do you live here and if not, how long are you here for?"

"I don't, and I'm here through Tuesday, when I have job interviews. You?"

"I don't either, and I'm here until Monday. Have to work on Sunday."

They smiled at each other, "We have the 3 whole days!"

Arm in arm, they left the museum. Her hotel was closer and they ended up there, wrapped up in each other, only coming up for air when one or both of them realized they were starving. Saturday morning, they dragged themselves out for a walk, ending up at Tim's hotel where they spent the rest of their time together.

As Tim flew home Monday, his heart was breaking. He loved Artemis, but she believed their goals and lifestyles didn't mesh and that they didn't have a future. For one thing, Sarah and Rob, his younger sister and brother, were still minors and his responsibility. As he'd told her 3 years before, he couldn't leave them nor could he pack them up and drag them with him to follow Artie. And Tim's dream of becoming an NCIS agent was still obtainable. He hoped that if he did well at FLETC, he'd receive a job offer from the agency, fulfilling a childhood dream.

As he flew East, Tim sighed, deciding that as much as he loved Artie, he needed to once again make the break. However, this time he needed to move on. That would be tough to do, she was his first love and after a childhood of abandonment, he was loath to let anyone go.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Months later, he started his career at NCIS, moving from the familiar comfort of their large room in Mrs. Ferguson's house, where they'd lived since arriving at MIT, to a studio apartment in Norfolk, Virginia. Sarah was a senior and Rob a junior in high school. His baby sister was excited when she won a full-ride scholarship to Waverly University; Tim was happy to see her excited about anything!

The following year, Tim was transferred to the Navy Yard in DC and Rob finished his senior year of high school in Silver Spring, Maryland, applying and being accepted to Johns Hopkins. Rob was on the road to fulfilling his own childhood dream of being a doctor, a pediatrician.

Over the months since their unexpected tryst in Seattle, there had been only brief contact between Tim and Artemis. He'd called her a couple months after they'd seen each other to make sure they're been no consequences of their passionate weekend. They'd talked a little but she hadn't yet been hired by the firms who'd interviewed her that week.

By the time he transferred from Norfolk to the DC Navy Yard, he was using a Blackberry, eventually purchasing an iPhone when they debuted. With his jumps from PDA to cell phone to smart phone, Artemis' contact information was eventually left behind.

* * *

Chapter 1

October, 2014

Looking at the list of cases that still needed reports, Tim felt like his eyeballs, and quite possibly his brains, were about to fall out. With back-to-back cases over the past 2 months, before and after the trip to Russia, the team was woefully behind in their reports and Vance took the MCRT off rotation with orders to get them done. Now, three days into their 5-day report-a-thon, Tim huffed to himself, no need to call attention to his restlessness, as he noted the time on his monitor, nowhere close to quitting time. Maybe for other teams, but not the MCRT.

He swallowed a sigh of relief as his cell chimed with a call. Then he frowned as he glanced at the caller ID, this was a personal call. A questioning look at his boss won him a head tilt to take the call, which was from his friend, Ms. Lu.

"Lu, what's wrong?"

"I couldn't decide whether to call you or Barry but there's a Navy connection, her husband. Have you met Greg Hart yet?"

"Yes, last week. I met him before his after-school program. How did you know about that? Is he all right?" Tim thought about his first glance at the youngster, his emotions had been completely out of left field; it was all he could do not to gasp.

"His mother told me you're his new 'Big Brother'. I'm glad, I know you missed that after Adam Tepper's mother took the job transfer to Chicago. And yes, Greg is all right, for now."

"Lu?" There was just a touch of impatience in Tim's voice, he had about 5 seconds before Gibbs would expect a disconnect.

"They're regulars here and she's missing." Tim set the phone to record and pushed the speaker icon with a low volume that only his team would hear.

"They're regular guests at the shelter and Greg's mother is missing? How long? What's her name? And Lu, I'm now recording this and you're on speaker."

"That's fine. And yes, she's missing. She walks the kids to school and day care in the morning and then takes the bus to work. Her name is Kathy Hart, same surname as the boys."

Tim turned toward DiNozzo and Bishop as he spoke, knowing Boss could hear him perfectly, "Do you know her husband's rank?"

"He's a commander."

"A Navy commander, thanks. Is he a patient at Bethesda or Walter Reed?"

"Bethesda, she takes the kids every Sunday."

"Good to know. Did she follow her routine this morning?"

"I saw her leave with the kids. Greg is at still at school now and Kyle is at the day care. Greg has an after-school class that finishes at 4:00. His teacher had to leave at 4:15 and took him to the office. Thank heavens our old friend Marla Hoover is there today. She called me to see if I knew anything and I told her I would call you or Barry."

"Where does Mrs. Hart work?"

"At a dry cleaners on Mason called Ayers' Dry Cleaners. She works the front desk from 9 till 3."

"How does she get to and from work?"

"She sold her car, couldn't afford the insurance or to buy gas. She takes the #12 and #15 buses in to work and the reverse in the afternoon."

"Did she mention anything different or strange going on? Anyone bothering her? Anyone at the shelter that's been paying her unwanted attention?"

In his peripheral vision, he noted the team was already involved, taking notes and Ellie was recording with her phone. All 3 agents raised an eyebrow at another mention of the shelter.

"No, the opposite. Her boss gave her a big bonus yesterday, she told me about it last night. Means she can pay for the clothes and shoes she has on layaway for the boys, get some warmer clothes for all of them."

"Did she get paid by check or cash?"

"I don't know."

"Do you have the number for the cleaners and the name of her supervisor?"

Lu gave it to him and he read it back to her, noting that Tony was also writing it down.

"We'll need a physical description of Mrs. Hart."

"She's 34 years old, about 5'8", her hair color is honey blond and with as little money as she has, it's her natural color. Her eyes are hazel, she weighs about 110 pounds, too thin, she's lost weight since they've been here."

"How long have they been staying there? And does she have any distinguishing marks, tattoos, anything like that?"

"Let's see, school was out, both boys went to day care once she found a job. Early June, they've been coming here since early June. She has a mole at the top of her jaw, partially hidden by the bottom of her right ear."

Tim repeated the physical description aloud as Ellie input the information to a BOLO.

"How late is the school open?"

"Until 6 and so is the day care."

Tim looked at his watch, it was 4:45, they needed to notify Child Protective Services as soon as possible for the boys.

"All right. Do you know of any other family or friends?"

"Honestly, Tim, yours is the only name she's mentioned aside from her husband, kids and Mr. Ayers, her boss."

"Need to contact CPS pretty quick."

"Should I do that?"

"No, sorry Lu, thinking aloud. We'll do that. Do you have Mrs. H's, uh, Mrs. Hoover's, number handy?"

She gave it to him and he hung up, sending a questioning look toward his boss. Gibbs nodded, "Rule 38, your case, your lead. Missing woman?"

Tim quickly updated them and then looked at his teammates, "Navy dependent, husband's in a coma at Bethesda. She hasn't showed up at her kids' school or day care this afternoon, there's been no call and this is the first time she's failed to collect them. Social Services needs to be contacted. Two minors, Gregory Hart, age 6, who is waiting in the office at his school, that's Lafayette Public Elementary at 479 Willow St., Baltimore, phone, 667-555-1212. Mrs. Hoover, the school's secretary, is with him. His brother Kyle Hart, age 2, is at the day care next door to the school. It's called…"

Tony interrupted, "I know it…got it, McGee."

"Bishop, call Hart's boss at the dry cleaners, Mr. Ayers. See if she showed up for work and also if the bonus he gave her yesterday was in cash or check and how much it was. And see if he knows if she has a checking account."

"Got it. Why wouldn't she?"

"Homeless people don't normally have bank accounts. She and her kids are regulars at a homeless shelter. She walks the kids to school and day care, takes two buses to work. No car, tight schedule and very little money. Oh and see if Ayers has a photo of her we can use."

Tony gave him a look but Tim was running a search on his computer and put the information up on the plasma. He frowned at the photo that displayed.

"Commander David Hart, blurriest military ID I've ever seen. Also the sparsest SRB, not much on it. His last Commanding Officer before the explosion that landed him in a coma was Captain Alex Sheridan, now stationed in Singapore, aboard Sembawang Naval Base. Boss…?"

"Got it, McGee."

While Tim waited for his teammates to gather information about Kathy Hart, he went online to look for social media accounts in her name. With computer time still free at many libraries, he hoped Mrs. Hart had a social media account that would give him more information. Finding several Facebook listings for various Kathy Harts, he looked through them, stopping when he saw the photo of Kathy Hart #5. He decided that the physical description was very close to the photo he saw. Printing the profile photo, Kathy Hart in a hospital bed with a newborn, he made several copies of the photo before standing up.

"Ok, what do we have?"

Bishop shook her head, "She didn't show up for work this morning, nor did she call. Mr. Ayers was afraid her husband died, thought he'd wait until tomorrow to contact the 'shelter lady', is that the woman who called you? He pays her in cash as she doesn't have a bank account. And the bonus was $150. He's an older man, said she's devoted to her kids and angry with the Navy."

"Because?"

"He said her husband's Navy pay has been stopped. He also mentioned she's not an American citizen and has a green card."

DiNozzo and McGee grimaced while Gibbs bit back a sigh, that could be troublesome.

"Know where she's from?"

"Singapore. Said she grew up in an orphanage there."

"Huh."

Tony was next up, "I spoke with a caseworker who will pick up Greg and Kyle Hart at Lafayette school and Little People's Day Care. I also called the school and spoke with Mrs. Hoover, who seems to know you very well, Tim, to give her a heads up about CPS."

McGee ignored DiNozzo's comment while Boss reported that he'd scheduled an MTAC interview with Captain Sheridan in 15 minutes.

Tim nodded his appreciation as Bishop cleared her throat, "Mr. Ayers also said she was excited about the extra money yesterday. That she gave him a hug and, in his words, "twirled" around the cleaners, talking about buying shoes and clothes for the boys, a new sleeping bag and shoes for her."

They frowned at that and Tim asked, "Were there other people around, employees or customers?"

"No customers, but there were 3 other employees there, they all got bonuses yesterday. Ayers said they were happy."

"Huh, I wonder if any of them take the same bus. Bishop…"

"Get the names and addresses of the employees, run backgrounds, check on their routes to and from work."

Tim nodded before picking up his phone to call an old friend. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Hey, Tim, what's up? You at work?"

"Yeah, I am, Barry. Are you on duty?"

"For another 20 minutes, yeah, I'm at the precinct writing reports."

"Hoping you can help, at least eliminate a couple of scenarios. We have a missing Navy dependent, female, age 34. She never made it to work today, she and her kids stay at Lu's. She takes the #12 and #15 buses to work."

"Ok, it'll take me a few minutes, electronic records might not be updated yet. Her kids ok? Call you on your work phone?"

"Kids are accounted for, yes. And my work phone is fine, thanks, Sergeant."

"No problem, Special Agent."

He could see that Tony was gearing up to ask him questions he didn't want to answer and might be wondering about the call to his own source, Sgt. Rudd, in the Baltimore PD rather than asking DiNozzo to check in with his old department.

Tim caught DiNozzo's eye. "Sergeant Barry Rudd, Baltimore PD. Old friend, grew up together, works in the 7th precinct, closest to the shelter."

DiNozzo gave him a nod. "You trust him."

"I've trusted him with…" Tim stumbled, he'd been about to say he'd trusted him with his kids but his team didn't know about his past. At least DiNozzo and Bishop didn't, Gibbs would if he'd ever read his whole file and he was pretty sure he hadn't. Tim finished the sentence, "my life as well as my family's."

There, he hoped that was enough for now.

Bishop was off the phone again and typing madly on her keyboard, likely running background checks on the 3 employees.

"Bishop, while you run backgrounds, send me their addresses and I'll start checking their routes to work."

Nodding without looking up, she copied and clicked, sending the information to Tim.

He looked at the addresses and then up at DiNozzo, "Could use your help with this, Tony."

DiNozzo scooted his chair over to his desk and looked at the addresses and the maps of the bus routes Tim had up. "Ok…this one…" he pointed to the second address, "is on the Metro line that corresponds to the #15 bus route. Why wouldn't she take the Metro?"

Tim replied automatically, without having to think about it, "Tight schedule, bad weather. Bus stop is 3 blocks from the boys' school, 4 from the shelter, Metro station is 7 blocks from school, 8 from the shelter. The transfer between lines is easier by bus, there's a covered waiting area; it's the same stop for both the #12 and #15 buses. At the Metro station, you'd have to walk upstairs and down again, carrying or rolling your suitcase, for the transfer."

Tony looked at him but didn't say anything. McGee looked at his watch just as Boss said, "McGee, time."

"All right. DiNozzo, Bishop, answer my phone if it rings, please. DiNozzo, Barry knows who you are."

DiNozzo nodded, "Ok. His last name is?"

"Rudd."

"Oh, yeah, you said. Like Paul Rudd, the actor."

Tim shrugged, "Sure…oh the guy in…yes."

He joined Gibbs and they headed up to MTAC. Captain Sheridan was prompt and curious. "How can I help NCIS?"

"We have a missing Navy dependent. Her husband is Commander David Hart, his SRB has a lot of empty spaces and you are shown as his last CO. Can you shed any light on him?"

"You think something he did or was involved in could have caused his wife's disappearance?"

McGee replied, "We're investigators, Captain, we look at everything."

The captain sighed. "Commander Hart, then a Lt. Commander, was a fine officer. That's about all I can say."

McGee opened his mouth before giving an abrupt nod, "How high?"

"White House." The captain paused, "Is the baby, I suppose he's not a baby anymore, the little boy, is he all right?"

"He and his baby brother are fine, Captain, although they're in foster care until we find his mother or other relatives."

"I can help with that, there aren't any. Kathy and David are both orphans, although David grew up with a parent."

"No siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins?"

"No."

"Thank you for your time."

"Good luck…and will you let me know when you find Kathy or what happened to her? If the worst has happened, well, my wife and I are too old to raise the boys but I'd like to keep in touch and maybe tell them a few stories about their parents."

"Will do, Captain."

When the screen went dark, Gibbs turned to leave, then turned back when he noticed McGee deep in thought.

"Gut?"

"Yeah. I'm not feeling this is anything directly connected to the commander. It's that bonus money. $150 is a lot of money for a homeless person and a nice chunk of change for someone making minimum wage. I wonder if the others got the same amount."

When Gibbs gave him a look, Tim answered it, "It's all in my file, Boss."

"Then I have some reading to do, Tim."

"Probably gonna have to tell DiNozzo and Bishop, may as well listen in."

"What about the others?"

"Just Abby. Ducky and Jimmy have known for years. Might ask them to referee."

Gibbs opened his mouth to ask why he needed a referee when the door to the Center opened and DiNozzo peeked in. He gestured to them and with a sigh, McGee led the way up the stairs, afraid he knew what was coming.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When both men were on the catwalk, DiNozzo looked at them, "Sgt. Rudd called. The coroner picked up a Jane Doe this afternoon after the garbage trucks found her body. No ID on her, preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma to the back of her head, estimated time of death is 8 or 9 hours. Her physical description is a match, including the mole."

Tim closed his eyes, "Damn!" He took a breath, "She's ours. Need to have a positive ID though. I'll…Boss, will they accept me taking jurisdiction?"

"Possible; it'll be easier with either me or Vance. Need to update him first anyway, if the ID is positive."

"All right." Tim looked at his watch. "Ms. Lu isn't available until after 9:00, she's the shelter manager and has to be on site. Mr. Ayers…"

Tony cleared his throat, "Bishop and I talked about that. He's pretty upset with all this. And I'm not sure how healthy he is."

"Don't want to ask Linda or Mrs. H."

"Who?"

"Linda Mac, that is MacMillan, is the manager of the day care and Mrs. H is Mrs. Hoover, the school secretary. Maybe Lu can call in Handley."

He must have made a face because DiNozzo smiled, "That's someone you don't like."

Tim gave him a half smile as he removed his phone from his pocket. "Got that right."

Scrolling through his contacts, he hit a number.

It took 5 rings, but Lu answered, breathless. "Timothy?"

"I know it's a bad time to call, but we have news. A woman matching Mrs. Hart's description was found dead this afternoon. There was no ID on her, I asked Barry to check and he found the report. I only spoke with her, never met her in person so we need to have someone make a positive identification."

"Oh no! I'm so sorry. She was so happy about the bonus last night, she felt it was a good sign."

"Yes, her boss said that, too."

"Are you still handling the case?"

"That depends on a positive identification."

"And that means me. All right, let me call Mrs. Handley to cover the evening for me. I hate owing her one, but Kathy deserves the best treatment and I know that will come from your team."

"Thank you. It'll take at least 90 minutes to get to you with commute traffic."

"I know, Timmo. Come in the back way. Are you bringing your boss?"

"Don't know."

"I'd love to meet him."

"Geez, Lu! I'll see you in 90 minutes."

Gibbs was watching the tips of Tim's ears, which had pinked up considerably. He wondered why the woman's request to meet him embarrassed McGee. He liked the nickname he'd never heard before, 'Timmo'.

DiNozzo, not having the 'superhearing' of Gibbs, was trying not to fidget. McGee turned to him, "Tony, in the interest of time, please give Director Vance our preliminary report while Boss and I take Ms. Lu to identify the body. Also, Commander Hart, the missing woman's husband, is at Bethesda in a coma and he's apparently involved in black ops, we were told we'd need to go to the White House for any information. He needs a protection detail until we figure this out."

"Sure, McGee. Does Ms. Lu have a surname? So far, all we've heard is Lu or Ms. Lu."

Tim bit back a smile, "It's Morgan, Ms. Luella Morgan."

"Ah, a Welshwoman!"

"Don't know about that; she was married to a Welshman."

Tony nodded, joining them as they walked down to the bullpen. Tim thought aloud, "I wonder if Ducky knows the Baltimore coroner?"

"Why?"

"Ducky and Palmer could come with us."

"You're banking on a positive ID."

"Yeah."

"Up to Ducky. What about him and the coroner?"

"I was thinking about asking the coroner to meet us there at 1930 hours. Pretty late but we need to move on this. I'll ask Ducky if he knows him or her."

"Good idea. Ducky's smoothed the way for us many times. Palmer's building those contacts now, too."

Tim nodded as he called Ducky. The good doctor was saddened to hear of the possible death of a Navy dependent and reported that Dr. Palmer had already left, but was on call. He called Tim back a few minutes later. He and Jimmy would leave for Baltimore 40 minutes after McGee, stop in Silver Spring at Tim's favorite diner for dinner and, pending the identity results, would continue to Baltimore or return to the Navy Yard. And yes, the coroner was an old friend, in fact Gibbs, DiNozzo and McGee knew her too. Dr. Jordan Hampton, who'd helped with a couple of NCIS cases and was a close friend of Ducky's, was the chief coroner for the city of Baltimore.

After a quick discussion with Gibbs, Tim called the Baltimore detective in charge of the Jane Doe case and laid out what they had. The detective was relieved the woman might be identified, although not happy he might lose his case. He agreed to meet the NCIS agents at the morgue for the identification.

The drive from the Navy Yard to Baltimore was as slow as expected and Gibbs used the time to draw Tim's story out of him. He didn't want to make too big a deal of it as they should be focused on the case, but he was about to meet a woman he suspected had known Tim for some time.

He'd heard mutual affection, history and respect in the phone conversations; if he were to conjecture on their relationship, he would have said something close to familial. Not quite mother-son, but close. When he said as much to Tim, he saw a nod.

"My mother died before I was two. My father and younger brother were murdered when I was 9 and Sarah was 3. We were abandoned by our guardian and ended up on the streets of Baltimore. There are rules about kids unaccompanied by an adult staying at homeless shelters but we found a way around them. At the time, foster care in Baltimore was a horrific mess and we would have been separated. It was out of the question for us.

"We were in town for 3 weeks before we found a way around the rules; in the meantime we stayed at a transient camp. We met a kid a few years older than me our first day in town and he helped us, took us to the camp. The people that run the place, Nate and Juanita, had us share Juanita's tent for the first week, until there was space in another tent. Three weeks later, we found a shelter mother, our way around the rules, and we stayed at the shelter close to 3 years until our shelter mother left us. After that, we moved back to the camp and stayed there for 6 years, until we left for Massachusetts and MIT.

"The woman who was our shelter mother had a little boy, Robbie, a year younger than Sarah. In exchange for being our shelter mother, she gave him to me to raise with my sister. We're all grown now and Geordie, the kid who helped us that first day, became our legal guardian when he turned 18. Geordie's a Marine Lieutenant, Rob's doing a pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins and Sarah is in graduate school. And you know where I am.

"Ms. Lu was wonderful to us, although she had to be careful not to show any favoritism or bend the rules too much. At the time, Mrs. Handley was her boss and very rigid about those rules. After we moved back to the camp, Ms. Lu would let us eat and take showers there on the days she worked, as long as Handley wasn't around."

It was difficult to shock or surprise Gibbs and he'd known from what they'd heard in the bullpen that he wasn't going to like McGee's story. This shocked and horrified him to the core, that his agent had been orphaned, abandoned and grown up on the streets. He was further surprised that the man had 2 brothers he'd never heard mentioned. However, if Sarah had never been involved in that case, they likely wouldn't know about her, either. Giving himself a mental order to focus, he said, "McGee. I have more questions, but I'll wait."

"Appreciate it. As I said, it's in my file. I've never brought it up because I'm a former homeless person. After being mistreated, discriminated against, bullied and ignored for all the years we were homeless, none of us is crazy enough to advertise the fact. I want to be judged on my actions and how I live my life now, not what I did, or how I was forced to live before."

"I can't even imagine."

"That's good; I'd rather you didn't."

"Does Vance know?"

Tim nodded, "I don't know whether he'd read my file, but he and his family volunteered at the shelter one Saturday when I was there tutoring the kids. Mrs. Vance told me later that, at first she thought I was volunteering as they were, but everyone there was familiar with me and then she saw our photos on the wall in the kitchen and knew."

"Photos?"

"Of our first day in the shelter and then one of the four of us with our high school diplomas and a third photo of us at our various college graduations, with Ms. Lu and a caption that says all four of us have degrees and professional jobs. We stayed clean, studied hard, worked hard and made it out."

Tim took a breath. "I told Morrow when he hired me; he had me write out my history, not sure why but he sealed it when I asked him to. I wanted to succeed or fail without the tag of homeless person attached to me. I never said anything to Shepard, figured she had my file, she could read it. She never thought much of me so I figured she'd read it. I tried to stay out of her way."

"Why do you say that?"

"Boss? C'mon on, she had very little use for me, I'm sure she thought I was taking up valuable real estate on the MCRT."

"She was old-school, thought agents should be more like DiNozzo, former cops or military. She wasn't comfortable with agents using electronics, although she certainly learned to use them to her advantage."

When Tim didn't say anything, Gibbs realized he'd confirmed his agent's thoughts about Jenny. He shook his head, " _I_ chose you for our team, McGee, and I was right, Shepard was wrong. You're a valuable member of the MCRT. Even when things were tough, maybe especially then, I knew you were right for the team."

The younger man nodded his appreciation of Gibbs' words and then resolutely turned his thoughts back to their missing, and possibly dead, Navy wife. "I hope we don't have to go higher than Secretary Porter for more information on this."

"I agree, if it's her. Like to know why the Navy is no longer paying Commander Hart. He's at Bethesda so he can't have been drummed out or resigned his commission. Even if she isn't an American citizen, she has a green card and must have been vetted when they married. Their children are certainly citizens. We catch the killer, you and I can tackle that."

Tim swallowed, "Be interesting to find out as they're not the only ones that's happened to."

Gibbs looked at him, "You've said before your father was Navy."

"He was the Executive Officer of the Enterprise when he and my brother were murdered."

"Obviously you didn't receive any benefits, you would not have lived on the streets."

"I'm betting there are others too."

"We'll take that on after we close the case."

Gibbs watched the streets as McGee wound around the city to one of the roughest parts of town. The older man studied it carefully, trying to picture his agent as a young boy, growing up here.

Tim noticed, saying, "I knew how to throw a knife, in self-defense, to injure or kill by the time I was 10. And I did, that's a sealed juvenile file but I had to stop a trafficker who was trying to kidnap Robbie and Sarah. There were no charges, the file has the full police report, including the conclusions of the detective who investigated."

"My God, Tim! But when Ziva was teaching you all to throw…?"

"How would I have explained why I knew to throw nearly as well as she did? And where I learned that skill?"

"Anything else?"

"Once everyone knows, maybe we could do some work in the gym? I'm no boxer but I am a fighter, despite that unfortunate bout with Kate." He chuckled, "I've taken down a few perps the rest of you don't know about. Barry used to work for Silver Spring PD and I moonlighted with them a few times."

"So paintball wasn't totally responsible for your upgraded skills?"

"It helped my shooting a lot and I also used it as a way to explain the upgraded skills."

"Huh. And I told Ziva you didn't know how to lie."

Tim just nodded. "Haven't lied to you. It's…"

"I know, in your file and I should have known, should have read it. But I don't like to be biased by past history. I knew your credentials, or thought I did, saw strength, intelligence and willingness to learn in you and that was enough. Figured NCIS had already vetted you anyway." He turned toward his agent, an amused smile on his face, "We've missed out on a major undercover operation all these years, right under our noses! You'll be great undercover."

Tim snorted, "You're right, been working undercover since I joined the agency." He frowned, "That's what the Commander is. A SEAL or some sort of undercover officer, even deeper than that."

"Yeah, White House would mean that's he's about as deep into black ops as it gets." Gibbs thought for a moment, "Could the wife have been part of it at some point?" Then he shrugged, "As deep as we think he was into black ops, we'll probably never know if she had any involvement. There would be a cover story ready." He shook his head, "More than we need to know anyway."

Tim nodded, "My older brother's in Special Ops and I made an agreement with him not to pry - ever."

That was another surprise but before Gibbs had time to think about it, he looked at the building in front of them as McGee pulled into a small parking lot. "This is the back of the shelter. We'll go in the back door to the kitchen as the front door is closed and locked for the night." He glanced sideways at his Boss, "Some of the residents have mental problems, behavioral problems. They might act out when they see you."

"Not you?"

"No, they're used to me. And none of the residents know what I do for a living. They'll know you're a cop."

"No eye contact?"

"Right. We won't be here long anyway."

"Wanna see those photos."

Tim knocked on the kitchen door, surprised when a big shambling man opened the door. Exclaiming, he pulled the man into a hug, "Big John, what are you doing here? What's the matter?"

"Aw, Nate says I'm coughing too much, says I have to stay warm here until I get better. But I'm okay."

"Not when Nate says you're sick! Remember two years ago when you had bronchitis?"

"Uh…oh yeah, I forgot. I'm glad to see you, Timmo!"

"Me too, buddy, although I wish you weren't sick. Have you seen Dr. Hannah?"

"Um, I'm going tomorrow but I don't know if it's Dr. Hannah or Dr. Jimmy. Miz Lu says I have to sleep with that thing that steams up everything tonight, in her office. It's too quiet in there, Timmo, I'll never sleep. And how's Nate gonna take care of everyone without me?"

"Maybe the doc will give you medicine to make you better and you can go back to your tent. And tomorrow's not Saturday, John, so Dr. Jimmy won't be there."

"Oh, yeah. I'd like to go back to my tent."

"If you have to stay here longer, we'll help Nate."

"Okay, thanks, Timmo. You, Robbie, Sarah, Barry, Bill, Freddie and Jose? Need to get the wood for winter and move the tents closer to the oil drums, Nate says it's starting to get colder at night."

"Some or all of us, yes, John and we'll help with all that as we usually do. Have you told your brother you're sick?"

"No, he worries too much. And he's too far away."

"John, is that Tim? I asked you to bring him in! Oh, hello!"

Tim tried not to squirm as he introduced Ms. Lu to Gibbs. Gibbs, his eyes twinkling, decided to behave himself. He'd decided that, for all intents and purposes, this was McGee's mom. With a smile, he asked to see the photos of Tim and his siblings, and Lu obliged, enjoying a little flirt with Tim's gorgeous boss. She so seldom saw any clean, good looking men near her age and never with all their teeth.

The first photo chased the smile right off Gibbs' face as he reached out to touch the image of a young, obviously exhausted, scared and sad McGee. Two tiny kids were clinging to his legs. He recognized Sarah and the little boy must be Rob. Behind the three of them, a slightly older boy stared at the camera, looking rougher than the McGees, while still very young. He wondered if that was the Marine brother, Geordie.

When his eyes moved to the second frame, he almost sighed in relief at the collage of three high school graduation photos. Evidently, Tim and the older boy, Geordie, had been in the same graduating class and he was right, that was him in the shelter photo.

The third frame made him feel even better, it had four slots filled with photos of four college graduations. He looked twice at McGee's photo, depicting his Commencement at MIT where he'd earned his Master's, he was wearing robes with a sort of hood. Ms. Lu explained, "Tim graduated from Johns Hopkins when he was 18 but he didn't want that photo posted, afraid it would be too unrealistic, too much pressure on the kids here. He was in his 20s when he graduated from MIT, a more realistic age for the others."

"He just told me all this tonight, on the way over here."

She nodded, "I'm not surprised, the residents are close-mouthed about being homeless and I don't blame them. I'm ready to go, my backup is here."

"All right. Where's Tim?"

"Tucking Big John into the pull-out bed in my office."

"He's…?"

"Grew up normally, was in an accident after he graduated from high school that left him with brain damage, short term memory and cognitive problems. He's a good soul but has to be directed and watched. He's an enormous help to Nate and Juanita, over at the camp."

"No family?"

"Yes, his brother in Texas. Tim keeps in touch with him and the non-profit group has a Facebook page where family and friends can see what's happening here and at the camp."

"Wow, I had a few questions before, now they're starting to stack up."

Tim was suddenly in front of them, "Lu, who's going to the clinic with John?"

"Ms. Rosales volunteered; she'll be staying in all day, going with him."

"Good. Does she have a car – and isn't she a nurse?"

"In Guatemala, yes. Here, she's only allowed to work as an aide unless she goes through training again. And no, she doesn't have a car. It's only 3 blocks, Timothy."

Tim frowned but decided to be practical. "If John needs money to pay for anything, let one of us know, please. In fact, here." He pulled out his wallet and handed four twenty dollar bills to her. "That'll cover any prescriptions and he can make a donation to the clinic. And it'll buy lunch for Ms. Rosales and John."

"Of course, Timothy."

The trio headed out the door, closed behind them by a pinch-faced woman that Gibbs just knew had to be the woman Tim disliked, Mrs. Handley.

Lu confirmed that, adding, "She's upset with me for - and I quote "involving the shelter" in this. She says I should have let Kathy's boss let the police know she was missing. How could I do that with the children needing help? Nate's not set up for unaccompanied children these days and Kyle's a baby! I suppose Marla Hoover could have taken them home but why would we do all that when you and Barry are in law enforcement? You've both told us repeatedly to call you when there's trouble."

Gibbs frowned while Tim nodded. Lu sat in the backseat, directing Tim through more backstreets to the city morgue. Gibbs noticed a bus stop shortly after they left the shelter and a metro station a few blocks later. A few cars were in the morgue parking lot and Tim gestured with his chin, "Barry's here."

"Oh good! I haven't seen him since he went back to work."

"He's fine, off desk duty, back in the squad now,."

"I hate it when you boys get hurt!"

"We know; we're not crazy about it either." Gibbs wanted to ask but refrained when McGee sent him a side glance. Gibbs was tempted to pull out his notebook and start writing his questions but didn't think his agent would be very happy about that. Since it was personal and not case or work related, he'd restrain himself, for now.

Barry, that is Sergeant Rudd, and Detective Levitz met them at the entrance, shaking hands with the two federal agents and nodding to Ms. Lu, although Barry later gave her a cheek kiss when she fussed at him for getting hurt. Dr. Hampton waited inside, greeting them with handshakes before leading Ms. Lu to the cold room. The four men followed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Jane Doe's body was laid out on an autopsy table, most of her body covered with a sheet and blanket, only her head, shoulders and left hand visible.

Lu sighed, "I hoped, prayed, that you were wrong, that this wasn't Kathy Hart. But it is. See the mole right under her ear?" She looked at the doctor, "May I touch her?"

"Yes."

Lu smoothed the blond hair, "I'm so sorry, Kathy. I know these officers will find who did this to you and arrest him or her. And your children are in good hands tonight. Marla Hoover is taking care of them and you know what an angel she is. Oh dear, I'll miss you."

She looked up, "Are you allowed to tell me what happened?"

Dr. Hampton looked at the men who shook their heads. Tim looked at his friend, "Anything said about what happened could mean the killer goes free."

"Then I don't need to know."

The doctor smiled sadly, "I can tell you she never knew she was hit, she was gone from one second to the next."

"Thank you, that helps. And will her sons be told that?"

"Eventually."

Lu nodded, "Now what?"

"There's a paper for you to sign, and…who's taking the case?"

Special Agent McGee and Detective Levitz had a silent conversation. McGee nodded as he replied to the doctor, "NCIS."

"All right, then Sergeant Rudd, will you please witness Mrs. Morgan's signature?"

"Certainly."

Shepherding Lu, Sergeant Rudd, and Detective Levitz into her office, Dr. Hampton closed the doors behind her as she returned to the cold room. "Blunt force trauma to the back of her head. The skin on her ring finger on her left hand is torn, her assailant must have grabbed a ring but that was post-mortem, there's no bruising. Look at the green marks."

Tim frowned, "An inexpensive ring with metal alloys leaving residue on her hand – nickel maybe. Makes sense, she was homeless with two young children. She probably sold or pawned any jewelry worth anything to take care of her kids."

Gibbs shook his head, "Where would she have hidden the pawn ticket?"

The doctor grinned, "I think her killer had more than one unpleasant surprise."

"What's that?"

Dr. Hampton held a crumpled envelope in her gloved hand. "I found this under the waistband of her underwear."

Fishing a glove out of his pocket, Tim pulled it on before taking the envelope and thumbing through it, Gibbs watching. "There are 6 $20 bills in here and 3 $10 dollar bills. Her bonus money. And…" He removed a pawn ticket from the envelope.

"So the mugger, if that's what this was, killed her for nothing. Was he or she too squeamish to search the body, or was it an interruption or something else?"

"Don't know, Boss, still feeling the mugging. Going to stick with the list."

The doctor was surprised, "You already know who?"

"No but we have leads."

"Wonderful!" The afterhours bell buzzed for the front door and Dr. Hampton exclaimed, "Ducky and Jimmy are here already?"

Gibbs chuckled, "They drove to a favorite diner in Silver Spring, waited there for our call."

"Smart move, multitasking!"

While Dr. Hampton went to greet the NCIS Medical Examiners/friends, McGee had a hurried conversation with Gibbs.

"Boss, I want to bring those three employees in for interviews and we need to look at what Levitz has. Timeframes - time of death and time of discovery. Mugger could have been interrupted by the garbage trucks. And we need to check with Lu or possibly Mr. Ayers for the color of her suitcase, if it was in the dumpster. If not, the killer might have taken it, hoping the money and other valuables were in it. And it's probably still in his or her possession, not enough time to go through it yet. Wouldn't take it into the dry cleaners as the others would recognize it as Kathy's. It's probably stashed somewhere nearby. Maybe a dumpster that had already been emptied by the garbage company.

"And yes, we need to push for more information on the commander. This could even have been a hit made to look like a mugging. With the apparent cloak and dagger aspect of her husband's work and his injury, someone could be worried she knows too much. But why now? Hart's been in a coma nearly 2 years. Is there something happening or threatening to happen that she might have known about? Or something that has already happened that is now in danger of discovery, disclosure?

"If this was a cleanup, then wouldn't the kids have been involved, too? Why leave them out when that's what brought us into it? If Ms. Lu hadn't called me, Baltimore PD would have heard about the kids from CPS. They'd run a DNA search…I wonder if city coroners run DNA searches on their unidentified guests. Unless there's something else going on that we haven't found yet, this being a cleanup seems too disorganized. With the commander in a coma, why not just kill him?"

Gibbs didn't know but he did agree with McGee's thought process. They'd need to go to the SecNav for more information and that could take some time. And he thought they'd be visiting the comatose commander today, before they returned to the Navy Yard.

Seemingly reading his thoughts, which made Gibbs proud, McGee had his phone out. "Boss, need to get in to see the commander tonight. Calling Vance with an update."

"I'll ask Hampton about the DNA."

With a nod, McGee called the director, giving him a concise but thorough update of the case. Before he hung up, he was asked to speak with young Greg Hart who was quite upset.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

His call with McGee finished, Vance nodded to himself. McGee was doing a great job with this; the director was satisfied with the progress on the case and the plans his agent expressed for the investigation.

Earlier, when DiNozzo read him into the case, telling him about Captain Sheridan's referral to the White House, Leon told the agent he would contact his boss. He hoped she'd get them some help with Hart's background and most recent work. And he knew she'd be concerned for the children and interested to know that Gibbs was not leading the investigation. The last time that had happened, as far as Vance could recall, was before her time in office, about 5 years ago on a reopened case where DiNozzo originally had the lead, taking it again when the man originally convicted forced the agency to reopen it.

When he contacted the SecNav after DiNozzo's initial report, he wasn't surprised that Secretary Porter already knew Mrs. Hart was missing. "Captain Sheridan reported the NCIS interview to Admiral Hanks, who notified me."

"Good! Don't know whether they mentioned the Harts have two young children, ages 2 and 6. Or that their mother is not an American citizen, although she surely would have been vetted before marrying Hart."

"I was assured of the vetting; however, I didn't know about the children. Are they safe?"

"They've been placed in foster care."

"That's not necessarily safe, Leon. If this is a security breach…"

"We have qualified foster parents within the agency, ma'am, unfortunately the one most qualified, who's met the older boy, is leading the investigation."

"Gibbs knows them?"

"No. Special Agent McGee is lead on this case and is a mentor to the 6-year-old through the 'Big Brother' program, although he's only met him once. The call about the missing woman came in to him from a friend; she had enough information to get the investigation started. In fact, his team started their work while McGee was still on the phone with Mrs. Morgan, the woman who called to report Kathy Hart was missing."

"I don't understand."

"Gibbs has a rule that if a case comes in to a specific agent or was previously handled by a specific agent, the lead goes to that agent, within reason, Gibbs makes the call. On this case, McGee's friend called in, there was enough information to start the investigation so the lead is McGee's and Gibbs is one of the investigators."

"Oh! That's a wonderful idea and gives me ideas for…never mind. Back to the children, is there any way we can shelter them at the agency or a safe house until McGee is free to care for them? Leon, this could be a dangerous case. I'm pleased with the added security for Commander Hart, now I'd like to see that same level of security for the children."

"I'll contact our liaison at Social Services. I can free up one or more of the other qualified foster parents in the office to stay with them here until McGee is free. Ma'am, the team will need information about the commander's work."

"As you know, the decision to share information about Commander Hart is out of my hands. I've already sent word up the line, Leon. Can't promise anything, but I'll do my best to get the information you need. At the least, we should be given a liaison to help figure this out. Keep me posted."

"Thank you and yes, I will, Madam Secretary."

Now, after McGee's update, Leon sat back in thought. He'd spoken with D'Arcy McKinna, their CPS liaison, about the SecNav's request. Two NCIS personnel, one a field agent, who were also foster parents, drove the children's case worker to Mrs. Hoover's residence, returning to the Navy Yard with the children. The little one, Kyle, had cried himself to sleep before they arrived at the Hoover home and remained asleep during the return trip. His older brother, Greg, was upset and scared, asking for his mother and his 'Big Brother'. Once he'd talked with Tim, he'd calmed down long enough to eat a snack and have a story read to him by Niki Jardine, another one of the foster parents. He hadn't yet been told that his mother was dead. As his Big Brother, Tim would be present while a counselor specially trained to deal with children's grief would tell the boys their mother was dead. That wouldn't happen tonight.

Leon sighed, looking at his watch for the umpteenth time. This clearly wasn't going to be resolved today and the hour was fast approaching when it would be too late for the phone call he'd been told to expect.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After they took Lu back to the shelter and saw her safely inside, Gibbs drove to Bethesda. DiNozzo and Bishop had had a dinner break and Gibbs decided he and McGee needed one too, after they'd seen Commander Hart. With the children safe, the commander under guard and the Baltimore PD agreeing to keep covert eyes on the dry cleaner employees, currently their lead Persons of Interest, there was time for a break.

The commander's room number was supplied by Bishop and the two men went straight there. They handed their badges and IDs to the guards outside the door. Those two, Rick Carter's junior agent, Steve Wong, and Jim O'Brien's SFA, Race Piro, followed protocol to the letter, even as far as letting the agent inside the room know the two investigating agents were coming in. That agent proved to be none other than Rick himself. He allowed a smile for his colleagues. "It's been quiet in here. Piro reported 3 suits skulking around earlier but they disappeared. That's when we decided to make this a three man detail. McGee, we've already had the tapes from the security cameras, from the hallway, by the stairway and elevator, sent to your team. We scanned in here, no bugs."

"Thanks, Rick, that's great. Not the skulking suits though, I'll check in with the others. Have you had to leave the room at all? For medical staff?"

"No, but I was warned there's a shift change coming up. One of us will remain in here, that's already been cleared with Secretary Porter."

"Good!"

Gibbs looked at the patient, a man who lay silent, breathing on his own. He could see a few indications of a head injury but it had been so long that the patient's hair had grown back and any visible scars had faded. Gibbs happened to look up when McGee joined him and was alarmed by what he saw. Confusion, grief, hurt, anger and a sudden greenish tint. He moved to grab McGee's arm to get him to the bathroom if he was going to be sick but stopped when the younger man stood still, taking a deep breath and repeating it. His face still showed signs of emotion but he said nothing. The two stood in silence while Rick stuck to the other side of the room.

While he battled his nausea, shock and other emotions, Tim looked at his watch, 45 minutes until the night shift came on duty. Without looking at his fellow agents, he slowly slid his hand down the left side of the patient's face, from the side of his forehead down past his ear. He'd brought his pack in with him out of habit, and now he scrounged inside it, pulling out the items he wanted.

His back to Rick, who was keeping his eyes elsewhere, Tim made a quick decision as to which item to use. Spit would be harder to obtain, he'd use a swab instead. Leaning over, he nudged the commander's lips open and then inserted a cotton swab inside his mouth, doing a 30-second rotation of the inside of his cheek. That swab went into a plastic bag. Taking his pack, he walked into the bathroom, closing the door. Inside, he labeled the cotton swab with the Commander's saliva as "A", with the date the sample was taken. Then he slid another cotton swab into his own mouth, afterward labeling it with the letter "B", with the same date and putting it in a separate plastic bag.

While his agent was in the restroom, Gibbs finally gave into temptation, pulling out his notebook and quickly jotting down several questions about what he'd learned today. He had a feeling there would be more.

Before Tim left the bathroom, he sent a quick text, washing his face and hands, drying them while waiting for a reply, which arrived in less than a minute. When he exited the bathroom, the two older agents carefully and deliberately looked away from him.

Gibbs was again staring at the commander, trying to figure out what had affected his partner. When McGee re-entered the room, he moved to the door to the corridor and Gibbs silently followed him, after exchanging concerned looks with Rick. McGee suddenly turned back, hurried to the hospital bed and leaning down, pressed a kiss to Hart's forehead. Then he turned, still without looking at the other two and left the room.

Neither man said a word as they walked back to the agency sedan. Before they got in, Tim squatted and, using a sniffer and a mirror on a telescoping handle, checked the undercarriage of the car. When he found nothing, he stepped back several feet, pulling Gibbs with him, before pressing the remote to unlock and start the car, glad this was one of the newer vehicles assigned to the agency. They heard the doors click open and the engine come to life. Tim counted an entire minute before he let go of Gibbs' arm. Climbing in the driver's seat, he once again scanned for bugs or explosives. Then he reached under the dashboard to disable the GPS and put the vehicle's computer into diagnostic mode. Gibbs finally spoke, "What are you looking for?"

"Anything that points to us having been tracked."

"Good idea. Hope you know how to put everything back together."

McGee didn't bother smirking, continuing his work. Satisfied they were in the clear, he quickly brought the car back to a drivable condition, leaving the GPS disabled.

Gibbs started to speak but McGee beat him to it. "Have one more stop to make before we get something to eat."

"Lab?"

An abrupt nod answered the question as they left the hospital parking lot.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: The Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS)program, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1904. Since the 'Little' in our story is a military dependent, here's the information from their website about their program for children of military families. There are also BBBS programs for community based, school based, Bigs in Blue (law enforcement as Tim is) and children of incarcerated parents.
> 
> Per their website, (bbbs DOT org, (again, the text below pertains to their program for children of military families):
> 
> "Sometimes the best thing a child can have is a friend. An adult to look up to, speak with on a personal level and confide in, and who can help with everyday things. Big Brothers Big Sisters is on a mission to inspire children's passions and encourage them to achieve success in life.
> 
> Operation Bigs focuses on providing mentors for children in military families. Mentoring isn't parenting. Bigs can't fill those shoes, and definitely not those boots. Bigs are just here as a little extra support. Bigs who mentor children from military families come from various backgrounds and can be military (active or retired) or civilian volunteers."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day to Mamas, Grandmas, Great-Grandmas and Aunties (yes, aunties) in the U.S.

Chapter 3

The lab was a few blocks from the hospital; Gibbs stayed with the car, his weapon handy, while McGee dropped off the cheek swabs for DNA testing.

When Tim returned, he found Gibbs in the driver's seat and he slumped into the passenger seat. "Thanks."

"How long?"

"24 hours."

"Your DNA is already in the system, why will it take that long?"

"Running them without using any of the databases. I want this off the books and as pure as possible."

"Just the two samples."

"Yeah."

"Tim…"

"Not until I get the results."

"All right. We going to shut down when we get back?"

"Yeah, need a team update and then that's it for the night. Ms. McKinna left me a message that she wants me to be the kids' foster parent, because Greg knows me. Need to get them out of whatever conference room they're sleeping in."

Gibbs had already figured that Tim would end up with the kids, at least for now.

"Like you to bring them to my house, the 3 of you stay with me until we get this figured out." He looked at Tim, "Take me 20 minutes to put a secure deadbolt on the front door. I already have one, just been waiting for a need. And the sliding door to the deck already has a sturdy lock. "

That got a wan smile, "Okay, yes, thanks. Then they'll have a yard to play in and more room indoors."

"And I can help with child care."

McGee shook his head, "Not until we've got this buttoned up. We'll have to bring them back to the agency in the morning. Hope Greg has his workbooks, some school work to do. Little Kyle will be bouncing off the walls."

"We'll rotate taking them for walks, get some crackers from Natalie's stash and take them to feed the ducks on the river. Not just us, Vance sent me a text that all the NCIS employees who are foster parents will be participating in childcare when the kids are aboard the Yard. There are 11 of us, Tim. We can do this."

McGee nodded tiredly. "Social Services is sending a children's counselor tomorrow, to tell the kids about their mother."

Gibbs reached out, giving McGee's shoulder an affectionate rub. "Let's eat, finish up the day and get home so we can all get some sleep."

"You still sleeping downstairs?"

"No, moved back upstairs to…the master." Gibbs was making progress, but still couldn't bring himself to say he'd moved back into his and Shannon's bedroom.

"There are two beds in the den, right?"

"Yes."

"How about the boys and I sleep in there tonight? Kyle will probably sleep with me, then I'll see about Greg. At the shelter, they would have had two cots, one for Greg, one for Kathy and the baby."

"Is that what you had?"

"Three, one for Ellen, our shelter mother, one for me, one for the littles to share. Although Sarah and Robbie almost always snuggled in with me, during the winter anyway. None of us wanted to share in the summer heat, they used the 3rd cot and slept at opposite ends."

"Not with the kid's mother?"

"Never. She'd push Robbie out and Sarah wouldn't go near her. She rarely stayed long anyway, she'd leave through the back door after lights out." Gibbs grimaced to himself.

Finally, they reached the diner and slid into a booth. Nearly inhaling the hot fresh coffee poured for them, they'd placed their order and were enjoying their second cups when McGee's phone chimed with a call. Despite not recognizing the ID, he accepted the call.

"Hello?"

Gibbs went on alert when his agent answered the phone without identifying himself.

"Hello, is this Special Agent Timothy McGee?"

"Who's calling?"

"Captain William Payne, calling from the Pentagon, General Randall's office." He rattled off his military ID, Tim writing it down.

"Yes, Captain, this is Agent McGee."

"I've been appointed to serve as your liaison for the investigation into the death of Katherine Hart. Secretary Porter already let the General know you'd need information about Commander Hart. The first question I have, though, is to ask about the children."

"They're safe, Captain."

"That's a relief, Agent McGee. If this has anything to do with the Commander's work, they would be in considerable danger. And I also want to thank you for increasing security for the commander."

"Part of our job, Captain."

The other man chuckled, "I know, I know. Now, I understand it's late but is there anything I can do for you this evening?"

Tim frowned, feeling the man was fishing for information and just a little too friendly. He was suddenly relieved they'd already seen Hart, that the detail had been increased to three agents and that he'd taken the DNA samples to the lab before coming here. Something felt 'off' and he wasn't sure if it was his own confusion and exhaustion or if there truly was something not quite right.

"Any information about the commander would be helpful, Captain. We have his USPIC, a nearly blank SRB and current knowledge of his family." As he spoke, he decided to keep quiet about the information they did have. Without missing a beat, he added, "Any information specific to Hart's work, a list of entities likely to be after him or his family, where and how his injuries occurred, additional background for Mrs. Hart."

As he spoke, he signed to Gibbs, asking him to have the call traced. Just in case.

Gibbs left the table, calling Bishop. Within a few minutes, he had the answer and returned to the table as their food was delivered. Tim's phone was face down on the table and he motioned to Gibbs to hand over his phone, shaking his head at his carelessness.

Within a minute he had the GPS disabled on both phones and they were tucking into their dinners. Tim had breakfast; the only food he thought he could eat right now, without problems, was scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. And maybe a few bites of the crispy hot hash browns that came with. Gibbs nodded to himself when he saw the glass of apple juice in front of his agent. He'd thought that recovery in the hospital room was a little too quick.

After all the years working together, he believed he knew his boys well. When they had a tough case and were dealing with their emotions, DiNozzo would stuff a pizza and a few beers down, while McGee could only stomach breakfast food, if anything, and drink apple juice or water. Although coffee was fine too, it rarely seemed to bother him, which amused and confounded Ducky as the acid content should have made him twice as nauseated.

Gibbs again drove when they left the diner, heading for the Navy Yard. He confirmed that Captain Payne had been calling on a Pentagon line and Bishop was running a background on him.

Back at the office, the two men detoured to peek in at the sleeping Hart kids, letting the foster parent on duty, their bullpen neighbor Natalie, know they'd be back to collect the kids in about 30 minutes. As it was already past midnight, she was happy to hear that.

During his phone call from the diner, Gibbs had warned Bishop not to comment on Tim's obvious exhaustion and she'd passed the word to DiNozzo. Still, both were shocked when their friend and colleague came in looking more exhausted, angry and surprisingly, grief-stricken than DiNozzo had ever seen him, even after the rat bastard Ari Haswari murdered Kate or when they were told Ziva had died on a sinking ship.

Their team meeting was brief as the two sets of agents had kept in close contact throughout the afternoon and evening. Bishop hadn't turned up anything worrisome about Capt. Payne but they knew records could be duplicated, the copy scrubbed for viewing. All four agents had disabled GPS on their phones and cars and would check for bugs and explosives whenever they'd been away from their vehicles.

Rick Carter called to report having a battle of wills with the nursing staff after the shift change. They wanted the 'inside' agent out during a medical check. Rick won the battle, threatening to bring the Secretary of the Navy into the argument. However, he told Tim that unless they shot, stabbed or physically assaulted the patient, he probably wouldn't know the difference, it all looked like medical stuff to him.

That gave McGee an idea and he made a note to have the inside agents wear HD 'spy' glasses to record video and audio of what happened when the medical staff was in there. They already knew that generally only happened a few times a day, at shift change. Then they could have Ducky or Jimmy look for suspicious medical, or non-medical, behavior.

Before McGee and Gibbs took the boys home, Ducky told McGee he and Jimmy had finished the autopsy. Leaving the sleeping children in good hands, the team went to hear the report. While cause of death was indeed blunt force trauma, they'd also found a bruise, in the form of a thumb print, at a pressure point on her neck and a tiny needle mark at the back of one of her shoulders. Abby and Major Mass Spec were working to identify any foreign substance in the victim's blood, bodily fluids or tissues.

Finally ready to end the day, Tim carried a sleepy Greg down to the sedan while Tony followed with their suitcases and Natalie stayed with Kyle who was asleep in a portable crib. They would take the agency sedan home, once again scanning it for bugs, trackers or explosives. Once Greg was secured in one of the car seats that had materialized in the back seat since McGee and Gibbs returned to the Navy Yard, Tim started packing the trunk while DiNozzo returned to the conference room.

They found Bishop holding a slumbering Kyle while Gibbs worked on folding the portable crib. Natalie returned with 2 large shopping bags full of food and sundries for the kids and DiNozzo took them from her. Bishop carried Kyle to the car while Gibbs and DiNozzo carried the crib, each dangling a shopping bag from his fingers.

Natalie followed with several odds and ends people had dropped off during the evening, now stuffed in large bags for easier transport. A booster seat and new footed Batman jammies for Kyle, a Superman bedspread, sheets, jammies and blankets for Greg. Several items of clothing, both new and used, had been donated for the boys along with four stuffed bears. Two of the bears would stay in the office while the other two went home with the children.

NCIS was near the bottom of the DC 'power chain' but the smaller size of the agency meant a closely-knit group and more heart. In just a few hours and mostly after work, headquarters' employees had responded with love and concern for the children. Many of them went home or shopping after their workday, making the trip back to the Navy Yard with their offerings, everything from sippy cups to toys to clothes and shoes to the aforementioned children's safety seats.

McGee's face started to lose the grief-stricken look and gain animation when he spotted what his friends and co-workers had done for the children. It took him a few minutes to work everything into the trunk but he'd learned to pack cleverly when he was 9 years old and had to take everything he possessed with him wherever he went, every day. By the time he closed the trunk lid, he was smiling and after silently asking permission, hugged Natalie, Bishop and DiNozzo. DiNozzo hugged back, hard, he'd been worried about his friend since the call came in.

Gibbs drove home, grateful for the lighter traffic and the relatively short distance to his house. When they arrived, he stayed with the boys while McGee, who'd insisted, wrestled the portable crib into the house and the downstairs den/bedroom. He brought in the bags of food and the boys' suitcases. Then each man carried in a sleeping child, the boys were placed in bed and the crib and tucked in with two kisses each.

The men alternated, one staying inside where he could keep an eye on the boys, while the other carried in a load of things for the kids from the car. It took a few minutes but then it was done. Ready to fall into bed, Tim dutifully checked his phone, smiling when he showed Gibbs a text from Vance to each of them, ordering them not to step foot aboard the Yard until 1300. Glad of the late start, Tim was tired enough to wrap his arms around his boss, thanking him for all his help and support. Then he hurried off to bed before he embarrassed himself any further.

Gibbs went up the stairs with a smile on his face, glad for the hug. It felt good after a long, frustrating and sad day. And it showed that McGee was recovering from his shock at Bethesda. Idly, Jethro wondered who Hart was or had been to his agent and then abruptly realized he was a relative of some sort. Funny, as the two men looked nothing alike. Of course, Hart was comatose. Maybe if he was awake, there would be some resemblance. Eye color or the same full-out smile or laugh or the frown that creased McGee's forehead.

Gibbs shook his head at himself, he was fond of his boys, certainly thought he knew almost all there he needed to know about them but today McGee had revealed a whole new, at least new-to-Gibbs, history along with hidden talents, skills and sorrows. As soon as he had time, he would absolutely read Tim's file!

As he tried to focus on relaxing and sleep, he heard McGee's phone chime with a call. Grabbing a robe, he hurried downstairs in time to hear Tim say, "Thanks, Abby! Great work!"

Disconnecting, he joined Gibbs in the kitchen where the kids wouldn't overhear if they woke. Even so, he whispered, "Major Mass Spec found traces of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB. This was premeditated."

Gibbs shook his head, there was nothing to say to that, not now. The two returned to their respective rooms.

Kyle woke up, fussing, about 0300. Tim picked him up from the crib, changed his diaper, gave him a bottle and lay down with him. The toddler returned to sleep curled in his arms and Tim smiled at the snuffles he was making, reminding him of Robbie when they first met.

When Tim woke again, he heard the furnace click on and found a second small body curled up with him. Making sure Greg and Kyle were covered, he decided to let them sleep as long as they needed, it was only 0630.

The next time he woke, it was to the smell of coffee and he carefully eased out of bed, finding a pair of warm slippers and a robe laid out for him. Realizing a shower would be more difficult to get once the boys were awake, he grabbed his go bag on the way to the kitchen. There he found his boss, in sweats, robe and slippers, enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. Whispering, Tim asked to use the shower upstairs so he wouldn't wake the boys and Gibbs nodded, "Go on, grab one while you can!"

Nearly tiptoeing, Tim climbed the stairs as quietly as he could. The warm shower felt great and so did the clean clothes he pulled out of his go bag, jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt, socks, boots and folded neatly at the bottom, his favorite jacket. He'd have to get home for more clothes tonight or maybe on the way to work. No, they only had one car and the kids would be with them. He shook his head, he'd think about it later.

Back downstairs in his stocking feet, he was surprised to see the boys were still asleep. Checking the time, he saw it was only 0930, they wouldn't need to leave for work until noon. Reminding himself of the extra hour it'd taken him to get Sarah and Rob ready for day care and school when they were little, he set his phone alarm for an hour. He'd wake the boys if they weren't up by then.

Returning to the kitchen, he nodded his thanks as he pulled a toasty warm plate from the oven, full of his favorite scrambled eggs, with 2 slices of bacon and a piece of toast. A glass of apple juice sat next to his coffee cup. He nodded, "Thanks, the apple juice is a good idea. Think my stomach's okay this morning, but rather not risk it."

Pulling out his phone, he accessed his online photo album, scrolled to a favorite photo and handed the phone to Gibbs, without saying a word. Gibbs grabbed his reading glasses and examined the photo, a frown developing as he studied the photo. "Is that your father?"

"Yes, Commander Dan McGee."

"Sarah looks like him – and the little girl must be her. And that's you, huh, you were a towhead. And the boy next to…Geez, Tim!"

"My brother Patrick, 15 months younger than me. Last time I saw him, we were in our dad's car, he'd picked us up from school. Something hit us and I woke up in a hospital bed almost 3 weeks later. I was told Patrick and Dad were killed in the crash. I was 9, Pat was 8, Sarah was 3."

"And Greg…geez. Ah son, I'm so sorry this is happening. Whatever it is that's going on."

Tim nodded, biting his lip. "He was my best friend; I've missed him for 28 years. I don't know what to hope for, he's in a coma and after 18 months, his chances of ever waking up are very slim. Not quite zero but less than half of one percent." He looked up, tears in his eyes, "When I met Greg last week, I almost fell over, he looks so much like Pat as I knew him, a kid. I convinced myself that everyone has a double and that Greg must be Pat's doppelganger."

Gibbs put the phone down, wrapping his arms around Tim, holding on. There wasn't much he could say, but he could offer warmth, affection and support. He knew how much he longed for some sort of miracle to return Kelly to him but to discover her alive but without life? That was too cruel.

Tim relaxed in Gibbs' arms, remembering that he had family, chosen family, except for Sarah, who cared about him. He didn't know how he'd react if Hart was really Patrick and never woke. He did know that there were two little boys in the other room who might be his nephews or the children of strangers. It didn't matter, they needed him and part of that need was to find their mother's killer.

Resolute, he patted the arms holding him, whispering, "Thank you, this helps." He smiled at Gibbs, realizing that Gibbs now understood what Tim had known for a few years, that they both carried more than their share of pain and sorrow. "It always helps to be reminded I'm loved and cared about."

Gibbs gently patted his face, "Me too."

"I'll wake the boys and feed them, then baths, get them dressed and then back to the office. I'll need to get home at some point for more of my things."

"We'll figure it out, Tim."

Tim nodded as he walked back to his new room. He found Greg stirring and he called softly to him. "Greg, it's Tim. Time to wake up, sleepyhead."

Two eyelids popped open, revealing light brown eyes, and Greg lay there, looking at him. "Tim? Where are we?"

"At my boss's house. His name is Gibbs and we brought you two here last night."

"Oh yeah, we were in that room at your office. People came in and played with us, read stories, listened to me read stories and helped us build a Lego castle. Am I going to school today?"

"Not to school but I have your workbooks and assignments to do today."

"But not to Miss Barnes' classroom?"

"No, kiddo, sorry."

"Are we going to stay here now?"

"Yes, probably for a few days. In a bed and there's a bathroom right there." Tim pointed, "And a kitchen to sit in and eat, plenty of food."

Kyle woke then, poking his head up, his blond curls wild, "Who you?"

"I'm Tim, Greg's Big Brother."

"Gweg my bwudda."

"Yes, he is."

"I hungwy."

"All right, let's get you guys fed. Do you like scrambled eggs?"

Greg looked at him, his eyes hopeful. "No oatmeal?"

"Not today. Today you're having scrambled eggs and toast."

"Yummy!"

Greg jumped out of bed, making Kyle giggle. "Gweggy soopahman!"

"I'll say! Let's get your diaper changed before you eat."

"Ok, Tim." Kyle patted his face, "You Gweg's bwudda, you my bwudda."

Tim gave him a quick kiss on his head and the little boy giggled.

He was amazed how quickly diaper changing came back to him after so many years. Robbie only needed them at night the first few months the little family was together, Tim figured that was almost 28 years ago, nearly the same amount of time since he'd last seen Pat. Snapping Kyle's jammies closed again, he swung him off the bed, holding onto him while he threw the wet diaper into the bathroom trash and tossed the towel the toddler had lain on into the corner. He'd get everything organized and arranged later.

Greg was already sitting at the table, drinking a glass of orange juice. "Tim, I met Gibbs. But you hafta call him boss!"

Tim ruffled his hair, "He doesn't mind if I call him Gibbs. Kyle, this is Gibbs. Gibbs, this is Kyle."

Kyle slid down Tim to the floor and stood, holding his hand out for a shake. Greg grinned, "I taught him that."

"Happy to meet you, Kyle. Greg, you're a good big brother."

Greg giggled, "Just like Tim!"

"Yes, he's a good brother too."

Kyle looked around, "Can I ea' now, pwease?"

Securing him into the booster seat, Tim dished up a toddler's portion of eggs and cut the piece of toast into triangles. He put the plate, a sippy cup of juice and a spoon down in front of Kyle who grinned as he dug in.

After the boys ate, they played for a little while in the living room. Greg had socks but no shoes on and when he ran after a toy Kyle sent skittering down the hallway, he slid, almost skating on the polished hard wood. He kept his balance and when he stopped, he looked up with a grin, "That was fun!"

Gibbs returned the grin, "Oh yeah."

"Can I do that again?"

Tim smiled, glad that Greg was happy about something, "Yes but not now. You and Kyle need to take baths and get dressed."

"Okay."

When they returned to the bedroom for baths in the attached bathroom, Tim decided to see how bathing them together would go. Gibbs stopped him, "Better let me do it. You're in your only clean and dry clothes."

"Oh geez, thanks for the catch. I'll have to remember to stay in my jammies or sweats!"

"You're right, you do need more of your stuff over here. And I remember bathing Kelly at night."

Greg nodded, "Us too, before stories."

"Ok, we'll do that from now on."

Tim was relieved and concerned when neither of the boys looked for or asked about their mother. He wondered if Mrs. Hoover or the caseworker had said something to them.

By 1300, the boys were in the conference room with books, toys and movies to occupy them. But first would come the worst moment of their young lives. Tim and Gibbs were in the room, playing with the boys, when the counselor was escorted into the room.

An hour later, Tim called Tony, hoping he had a shirt in their 'extra clothing' drawer that he could borrow. The clean shirt he'd put on this morning was now a mess with the boys' tears and most of Greg's breakfast, which made a repeat appearance after he was told about his mother. Tony didn't have anything but Jimmy arrived soon after with a clean white t-shirt, scrub top and plastic bag.

"Thanks, man."

Sitting on a long beanbag couch, the boys asleep on either side of him, Tim shrugged out of his dirty shirt, putting it in the plastic bag and pulling on the clean ones. For the first time, Jimmy had a good look at the kids. "Funny, Greg kind of looks like a boy version of Sarah and Kyle looks a little like you, only with curly hair instead of straight. What color are their eyes?"

"Greg's are light brown and Kyle's are green."

"Wow, that's…uh..."

"Yeah."

One of the volunteer agent/foster parents arrived and Tim slipped out to the bullpen. Tony frowned at the scrub, "That's fine for here, but you can't meet with the POIs in that."

Natalie's head popped up, "Tim, I might have something."

He chuckled as he walked over to the next aisle. "You have guy stuff too?"

"Only a couple of things. They were David Kornhour's; he left them with me when he retired. He also had a stash like mine." She unlocked her file cabinet drawer with her emergency supplies and dug through to the back, pulling out a blue V-necked pullover sweater. Examining it closely, she found no holes or pulls. "This is in good shape. Go try it on. You can leave the t-shirt on underneath." She grinned at him, "Just like Gibbs with his polo shirts."

Hearing Boss's amused chuckle on the other side of the partition, Tim smiled, "Thanks, Natalie!"

He shook his head when Tony walked into the men's room as he was slipping the sweater on over the t-shirt.

"Inspection? Think I look too relaxed?"

DiNozzo snorted, "Since that call yesterday, I've started to question everything I thought I knew about you. Besides, you usually start out stern, firm and quiet on the perps in interrogation, pretend to listen to them. Scares them even more when you pounce on them."

"Pounce? Not a cat, DiNozzo."

"Another way of saying 'go all Gibbs' on them."

"High praise, thanks!"

"You've earned it."

"Yep." Smiling at the senior field agent, Tim grabbed the neatly folded scrub top from the counter and tilted his head toward the door.

As McGee swung into his workstation, he swore he heard Gibbs say 'meow'. When he looked over, the man was reading a report but his eyes were twinkling.

Picking up the case folder, he tilted his chin up at Tony. First they'd have a chat with Dry Cleaners employee #1. He wasn't a suspect, he'd opened the dry cleaners at 0700 and was running the 'early bird' counter when Mr. Ayers arrived at 0735. They were so busy with customers that both men worked the front for the next hour, never out of sight of the customers or each other for more than 2 minutes. The agents had already seen the security footage.

Kathy Hart's time of death had been pinned down with the help of the garbage company. The first truck was at the site, picking up the recycling, at 0814 and saw nothing unusual. The second truck, there to empty the garbage bin, rolled onto the street at 0835 and found the body. The crews from both trucks had already been interviewed by Baltimore PD. The time the body was discovered fit with the arrival of bus #12 at the transfer stop at 0823 and Ducky gave a TOD between 0820 and 0830.

Baltimore's bus passes were issued electronically, the user's name printed on them and registered in a database. That made searching for the owners of current passes easier. Having received the necessary permissions, last night McGee set up a search before they'd left with the children. The search included everyone with a current bus pass, who took the #12 or #15, and would have been at the bus stop at that time. Use of the pass, on what buses and what time each bus pulled into and left each stop was registered on the bus company's electronic records.

The results of the search gave them an additional 5 people for background checks and interviews. Bishop was running the backgrounds for those 5 now. McGee and DiNozzo would interview the alibied employee and then DiNozzo would take Bishop to interview the other 5 bus passengers. While they did that, McGee and Gibbs would interrogate the other 2 employees. Both normally took the #15 bus from the same stop as Kathy, one transferred from another bus and the other lived in the area where she'd been killed.

Before they went to the conference room where the alibied employee was waiting, Tim peeked into the room with the children to see how they were doing. Both were still asleep but then it had been less than 30 minutes since he'd left them. Kissing each on their foreheads, he nodded to Delores Bromstead, the current foster guardian, with a smile as he left the room again.

DiNozzo was waiting for him and the two walked upstairs to the conference room with the employee to be interviewed, Sam Fisher. He proved to have some information for them, although he may not have realized how helpful he was. An older man who'd worked for Mr. Ayers almost as long as the cleaners had been in business, he'd been fond of Kathy. He said she reminded him of his middle daughter, determined to get back on her feet to provide a home and decent life for her children. She wouldn't say much about her husband, other than to say she and the boys visited him.

He shook his head when asked about his fellow employees' reactions to their bonuses. "Kathy was excited, this is – was – her first bonus whereas the rest of us have had Christmas bonuses and surprise bonuses like this one. I do know she received the same amount as the other two but they wouldn't know that. Mr. Ayers talked to me about it before he decided to do that. She works, worked, fewer hours than we do, so she could pick up the boys and get beds at the shelter. But she never took breaks, other than to visit the restroom. In between customers, she'd nibble on a hardboiled egg or a peanut butter sandwich, I think from breakfast at the shelter, but she never left the front and when she saw a customer approaching, she'd put the food away, wipe her hands and face. She never took advantage. Now, I won't say the other two take advantage, exactly, but if I'm not watching them, they'll sneak out back for a smoke. Besides their morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, I mean."

"Did they get along with Kathy?"

"Both Mr. Ayers and I had to talk with them about that. They were on the verge of what's called sexual harassment when she started, commenting on her figure, asking her to bend over, nasty stuff. She ignored them but the boss and I, we don't put up with that kind of nonsense. After that, they ignored her for awhile until they realized she was homeless. Took longer to get that stopped and they didn't like being stopped with their jibes about being poor. Took Mr. Ayers threatening to fire them so they could themselves experience poverty to shut them up. But no, they didn't get along with her, didn't like her. She tolerated them and they muttered and fussed but finally learned to keep their mouths shut and their attitudes to themselves."

"Did you know that Frayne and Saunders take one of the same buses she did?"

"Yes, I did. Kathy told me she made a point to get on the bus after Frayne did so she wouldn't get stuck sitting with or near him. Saunders didn't seem to bother her outside of work."

"Do you know if either Saunders or Frayne ever threatened her?"

Fisher looked alarmed, "Not that I know of. I never saw her show either of them any fear."

"Anything else you can think of that we should know?"

He blinked back tears, "She was a good woman, a good person. She didn't deserve the life she was living. I have room at my place, I still live in the house where my wife and I raised our children and all the furniture is still in the kids' rooms. It's been a mess, I let it get rundown after my wife passed but I finally cleaned it up, got everything fixed. Then I offered her two rooms for her and the boys. Like I said, I felt fatherly toward her, reminding me of Alicia, my middle daughter. We talked about it right before the boss handed out the bonuses, she said she'd think about it, that it sounded like a good idea but she'd want to pay me rent. I told her she could pay me $2.00 a month, $1.00 per room, if that would make her happy."

"Last question, did Ayers give everyone cash or just Kathy?"

"Just Kathy. The rest of us got checks."

"In envelopes."

"Yes, sealed envelopes with our names on them, Kathy's too."

Neither man had any other questions. They thanked him for his time and released him to a security agent who would escort him out. They'd brief the rest of the team before splitting again.

Meeting in the bullpen, they discussed what they'd learned from Mr. Fisher. The two interrogating agents already had their game plan set, the additional information gave them more leverage.

DiNozzo and Bishop left to interview the other bus passengers and both drivers while Tim again stopped to look in on the boys. Kyle was awake, playing with a little train set someone brought in, perfect for his age. Greg's eyes were open; he was watching his little brother but he was still lying on the bean bag couch on his tummy. Tim walked over to him and Greg looked up, his lower lip trembling. Tim picked him up and sat down for a cuddle. Eventually, Greg's tears stopped and he pulled back to look at Tim. "Are you going to catch the bad guy who killed my mom?"

"We're working on it, Greg. We want to bring justice for your mom."

"I hate him."

"I know." He pulled the little boy in for another hug and Kyle climbed into his lap. Tim looked at the two of them. "You're going to stay with me until we figure everything out."

"Do we hafta come to work with you everyday?"

"Just until we make sure we get the right bad guy. Then Kyle can go to day care and you can return to school."

"How long will that take?"

"Don't know yet, kiddo. Might take a couple of weeks. I brought your workbooks with us, you can work on those. Are you hungry?"

"Kinda but I don't wanna eat. Maybe later. I'll do my schoolwork."

"Attaboy. I have to go, I'll be back later and someone will always be here with you."

"Um, Tim. Our mom always took us to see our dad on Sundays. Can we still go?"

"Yes, I'll take you. I went to see him last night and we'll all go on Sunday."

"Good. Did you tell him about Mom?"

"Not yet, kiddo."

"I'm the oldest, I'll tell him."

Tim swallowed, "I'll be with you."

Greg buried his head in Tim's chest for a moment and Tim held on. Then the boy sat up and wrapping his arms around his little brother, he said, "We'll make Mommy proud. Kyle, me, Tim an' Gibbs are gonna take care of you."

Kyle smiled as he hugged his brother. "You soopahman bwudda, Gweggy!"

Gibbs poked his head in the door and Kyle called, "Boss!" With that, McGee disentangled himself, kissing each boy on the head and left.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> USPIC is United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card. In simple terms, an ID issued by the Department of Defense to all military personnel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments. For those I haven't answered, sorry, had a scary personal issue that popped up out of the blue that distracted me from everything else. It's now been resolved (YAY!) and I realized I forgot to post this chapter here yesterday. My bad, sorry! Here's Chapter 4...

 

Chapter 4

Martin Saunders was in Interrogation room 2 and the two agents arrived with a bottle of water for him. He looked at the bottle and back up at them.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Don't know, Mr. Saunders. We just didn't want you to get thirsty."

"I watch enough TV, I know that big mirror means I'm in trouble. There are people behind there, watching."

"Not everything you see on TV is 100% accurate, Mr. Saunders. We are recording our conversation but I don't think anyone's watching."

Tim made a slashing motion to the camera and the red light went off, the light in the Observation room came up. The technician was the only one in there.

"Oh, guess you're right. Thanks. I got myself all worked up, thinking you were gonna blame me for Kathy Hart's killing." He looked at them, "Are her boys all right?"

"No, their mother has been murdered and their father's in a coma. The boys are now in foster care. There's no way they'd be all right."

Saunders blinked back moisture in his eyes, "I lost my momma when I was 8, grew up in foster care. Sure hope they don't have to stay in the system. It wasn't good, not good at all. And their momma, she was an ok person but we weren't very nice to her."

"In what way?"

The man repeated much of what Fisher had said and Tim made a couple of notes. Saunders kept talking and they let him, posing a question whenever he stopped, to keep him going.

"I didn't much like what we were doing but Frayne kept saying any red-blooded man would be sniffing after her."

"And you felt that meant you should keep on harassing her?"

"I tried not to but Frayne, he's a rough guy, knows where I live. I didn't want him poking around in my life."

"Mr. Saunders, where were you between 8:15 and 8:35 this morning."

Mr. Saunders bowed his head and didn't say anything.

"Were you home?"

Head shake and a low "No, sir." He sniffed before looking up. "Does this have to go anywhere beside here?"

"Depends on your answer."

He sighed, "It's hard enough…I was with a friend, James Stack, at his place."

Tim slid a piece of paper and pen to him, "Address and phone number. If Mr. Stack is at work now, then please include his work number."

"Doesn't matter, it's his cell. He's a mechanic at the Jiffy Lube on N. Howard St."

"All right, sit tight."

Both agents left, Gibbs to call Stack, while Tim ran a trace on Saunders' cell to make sure he hadn't called his friend to ask for an alibi. Saunders hadn't contacted anyone in the past 24 hours and Stack hadn't received any calls from any unidentified numbers.

Gibbs was shaking his head when he disconnected from Stack. "Saunders will have some explaining to do when he gets home. Stack is his husband! They got married 6 months ago but Saunders is afraid to give up his apartment, afraid his straight friends and workmates will find out he's gay. He hasn't stayed overnight in that apartment in nearly a year. Stack's place is much closer to the dry cleaners. So much so that he doesn't have to leave home until 8:50. From 8:10 to about 8:40, they were, as Stack put it, 'acting like newlyweds'."

McGee nodded, "Still don't know if he prompted Stack to say that."

"What's your gut telling you?"

"It's not Saunders. He'd have to be an award winning actor to hide his guilt after his emotional confessing to the harassment. And yeah, I know, bad guys can lie without a tell or a twinge of conscience and make themselves look remorseful. My gut's telling me the same thing it's been telling me since we heard about that cash bonus. We got the warrant to unseal Frayne's juvenile record. Let's see what we've got."

They looked at the lengthy file and Gibbs shook his head. "Why isn't he locked up in a psychiatric hospital? He's a repeat offender who's had nothing but wrist slaps and then they sealed his record so potential employers have no way of knowing they're hiring a man who goes off his meds and deliberately hurts people. Now he's killed, they can't ignore that."

"Boss, he'll be dealing with JAG. They won't mollycoddle him."

"Damn straight, McGee."

After sending a text, McGee went back into Interrogation room 2. "Mr. Saunders, we thank you for your time and your honesty. It'll be an hour or so before we can get you out of here but your alibi checks out." He leaned in with a smile, his back to the camera. "Congratulations on your marriage."

"Oh! Uh, thank you. Do I wait here?"

"Yes, one of us will take you home."

"Agent McGee, I was serious about the boys. Are they at least safe?"

"Yes, they are."

"She didn't have any family besides her husband and kids. Said her husband lost two families, his original one and then the woman who adopted him." Saunders looked up, "I heard her tell Sam, that's Sam Fisher, that the other day. He offered rooms in his house to her. That was nice and I could tell she liked the idea. Wasn't right that she was killed but at least she knew someone cared about her."

"You're right, that matters. We'll make sure the boys know that and know about Mr. Fisher's offer."

"You're in touch with them?"

"Had to make sure they were safe and I was present when they were told their mother was killed."

"Awful, just…such a waste."

"Murder usually is. Now, excuse me, I have more work to do before we can get you out of here. If you need anything, there will be an agent outside the door."

"Ok. Thank you."

McGee nodded as he left. He found Gibbs waiting for him in the corridor. "Frayne."

Tim sighed, "Want to make sure we do this right. I told Legal about the legally unsealed record and what we found. I haven't heard back yet."

He rolled his eyes as his phone chimed with a call. "McGee."

"Agent McGee, O'Connell in Legal. Saw your text and as we work for the same agency, I'm legally permitted to look at your suspect's file. Have you spoken with him yet?"

"No, although Agent Gibbs and I are ready to do so."

"Good thing you waited. First, a couple of questions: how sure are you he's the killer and how much physical evidence do you have against him? Because we'll need a court order to have his blood tested for his medications. And we're going to have to bring in an attorney and his psychiatrist."

"Did my text to you generate these questions and requirements? My understanding is that we're allowed to question him unless he asks for a lawyer."

"Well, yes. And you're right, you are, I'm being very cautious."

"All due respect, that's not the way we work. Whether he's on or off his meds, this guy is a stone cold killer. And I'm willing to bet he's killed before."

"Do you know that?"

"No! Mr. O'Connell, what are we legally bound to do?"

"Bring in his psychiatrist."

"And if he doesn't have one?"

"It was a requirement for his last case."

"Which was 6 years ago and from the information we've seen no one has checked on him nor has he contacted anyone."

"Very well, if there is not a psychiatrist on record for him, do you have his medical records?"

"Yes. He had a physical exam before he was hired at the dry cleaners. Other than that, there's no history of any kind of doctor visit. And his financials don't indicate that either. He uses his ATM card to pay for groceries, clothes, everything, he withdraws about $40 cash per paycheck, not enough to pay for doctor visits or the prescriptions he'd need. And there are no electronic payments showing to any kind of medical entity, including pharmacies."

"All right. Get a court order to have his blood tested. I'll push that through today so that it can be done before you speak with him."

"Thank you."

He turned to Gibbs, "Not going to let him walk because we didn't follow protocol."

"As long as it's real protocol and not legal babble. You did good with him."

"Wish we could apply Rule 13 in-house."

He got one of Gibbs' amused half smiles for that. As they turned to head to Interrogation room 1, one of the security agents caught up with them. "Agents, there was a scheduling error, your guy is still in Holding."

McGee nodded, "Thanks, Agent Neal, turns out that's just where we want him right now." He paused, "You know, his records show he needs a lot of quiet to remain calm. Better make sure he's comfortable but left alone. And as we won't be able to speak with him for several hours, legally nothing he says can be recorded."

"Certainly. There's no one else in there right now anyway."

"Good! Thanks for the notice, we'll let you know when we need to see him."

As Agent Neal left, Tim felt a hand on his neck. "Impressive."

"Need to Mirandize him. We have evidence."

A voice behind them said, "And two witnesses."

They turned to find DiNozzo behind them. "Bishop's getting them settled in conference rooms. They've already identified Frayne. That is who you were talking about?"

"Yes."

"We got him."

"Great, thanks!" Tim thought for a moment, "Now we have cause to wait until their statements are written and signed and they've formally identified Frayne. That buys us a couple of hours before we have to Mirandize him."

"Might get the court order by then. Get the blood drawn and Abby can test it right away."

The witness statements were signed, printed and copied within 90 minutes. Each one pointed to Frayne's photo and signed[DC1] a paper attesting to the fact.

They said Frayne approached Hart at the bus stop as if she was his girlfriend and they'd had a 'tiff' or a miscommunication. He said he was sorry for everything and pleaded with her to 'listen to his side of the story', walking her down the street, his arm around her shoulders.

The agents thought he'd injected her with the gamma-hydroxybutyrate as soon as he had her turned away from the bus stop and when they were out of sight, he hit her with a blunt object. They were still looking for the object, sifting through the garbage picked up after the murder. Kathy's suitcase was also still missing. While they waited for the witness statements, Ellie filed warrant requests for Frayne's home and locker at work.

Once they had the witness statements signed, Mr. Saunders was given a ride to work. By that time, agents were canvassing the area between the scene of the murder and the dry cleaners, looking through garbage, dumpsters, abandoned packing crates and other convenient hiding places for the victim's suitcase. Bishop conjectured that the murder weapon might be hidden in the suitcase, to be disposed of later, getting thoughtful nods from the rest of the team.

When McGee, DiNozzo and Dr. Palmer approached Frayne in his holding cell, he frowned, "Quiet, I like that, but I don't know why I'm here."

Silently, they showed him the court order. His frown deepened but he didn't say anything as Jimmy skillfully drew a vial of blood from him. While Jimmy rushed the vial to Abby, Tim sent a quick text and then he and DiNozzo waited until the red light was on, their conversation would now be recorded.

"Winston Frayne, you have the right to remain silent…" DiNozzo gave Frayne the Miranda warning in full, asking if he had any questions and waiting for an answer. Finally, the suspect shook his head, saying no.

Two additional agents appeared and escorted Frayne to an Interrogation room. McGee and DiNozzo returned to the bullpen, hoping for an update on the blood test.

Gibbs and Bishop were there looking at a map of the city and the bus routes, trying to pinpoint where Frayne might have hidden the suitcase. McGee found a detailed route map of the #15 bus in his email, finally sent by the garbage company. He put it up on the plasma and as the team reviewed the areas already searched, mapping out what still had to be done, Tim's cell chimed with a call.

Looking at the caller ID, he walked through the bullpen, disappearing down the hall. Gibbs kept his focus on the plasma and their next searches, DiNozzo and Bishop following his lead.

Tim walked to the back of the hallway, to a little used elevator used by the maintenance staff to access the roof. He'd asked the caller to hold while he got to someplace private.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The rest of the team worked on the remainder of the new search pattern and were still standing in the bullpen, each one concerned about McGee. When Gibbs' phone buzzed with a text, he let DiNozzo know with a glance where he was going and then left.

Bishop frowned, "What's going on?"

DiNozzo shook his head, "Don't know but Gibbs is helping and Tim's asked me to be patient. Best thing we can do is focus on the case and get it tied up tight."

She nodded as she sat at her laptop to send out the new search grids to the agents assigned to help them.

Gibbs walked out onto the roof of the building, stopping to look for Tim. He skirted around the edge and saw him, leaning against the housing of one of the exhaust fans.

McGee looked up as his boss approached. "Need to recuse myself from the case."

"That why you had DiNozzo handle the Miranda warning?"

"Yeah. Like you to interrogate Frayne."

"Sure, I understand. How are you doing?"

"Holding onto numb right now. There's more but I need to tell Vance."

"Say it once then." Gibbs knew McGee was trying to hang on and the best way he could help him right now was to keep things going, be as matter of fact as possible.

Nodding, Tim sent a text to Pam, asking if the director had time to see him and Agent Gibbs. On her reply, he motioned to Gibbs, "Vance can see us now."

"Ok, you want the others?"

"Not yet, too personal and I've got things I need to say to Director Vance."

Gibbs just nodded. He wasn't going to waste his breath arguing with McGee here, he'd wait until they were in Vance's office.

Taking the elevator to the mezzanine floor, they walked across the catwalk to the Director's suite. Below them, DiNozzo and Bishop silently watched them.

"Tony, that's not good."

"If they want us in with them, they'll call for us."

Ellie shook her head, "Is this the case?"

"It's somehow related to the case but I'm not sure it's the case itself. I thought it was bringing up bad memories for McGee but that wouldn't affect him like this."

"He did just get a phone call."

"Yeah."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Inside the director's private office, Vance poured coffee for himself and Gibbs while McGee stood at parade rest, having declined the coffee. When the director sat in his chair, McGee asked him to engage the SCIF so that what he had to say would not be heard by anyone but the director and his boss. Puzzled, Vance did so.

Then, before McGee could speak, Vance jumped in, "McGee, good job with the investigation. Have a question – are you going to run the Harts' DNA or let CPS do it?"

Ah well, that's what he was going to open with anyway. "I took the liberty of running the Commander's DNA."

"And? Does he have more family?"

"Yes, he has a sister and a half-brother."

Gibbs managed to turn his exclamation into a cough. In some distant part of his mind, Tim thought it was the first time he'd ever surprised the man like that.

"Gibbs?"

Gibbs shook his head, his focus on McGee. Tim straightened his posture even more, squaring his shoulders. "Director Vance, I need to recuse myself from the Hart case."

"Why?"

Gibbs put the coffee down, putting his hand on McGee's arm. The younger man's face was blank and Gibbs' hand remained on his arm as he spoke softly to his agent, "Let's deal with the case first."

Vance was looking back and forth between them. "McGee, what's going on? Do I need to know anything else?"

"Yes, sir. Yesterday I took a DNA sample from Commander Hart without permission. I took it to a private lab, gave them a sample of a second individual and asked for a pure test, DNA only, no names and without accessing the national databases. I also asked that the saliva be checked for any anomalies." McGee took a deep breath. "The lab reports the presence of something that shouldn't be there but they haven't had time to analyze it yet."

"In the Commander's sample?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you know more about the commander?"

"Yes, sir. He is the son of the late Dan and Lily McGee and at birth was named Patrick Barry McGee. His middle name honors Commodore John Barry, the father of the American Navy."

"Patrick McGee…your brother?"

"Thought so, but it seems we're only half-brothers."

Tim swayed and Gibbs grabbed him, pushing him into a chair. "McGee…"

He shook his head but stayed seated. Leaning around Gibbs, he looked at Vance, "You'll have my resignation in writing as soon as I get back to my desk, Director."

" _What?_ Why?"

"The DNA sample."

Vance opened his mouth and then closed it, coming around his desk and pulling up a chair to sit with his agents.

"Special Agent McGee, what led to that decision?"

"He looks like my, I mean, _his_ father before he died, they're close to the same age now. And," Tim took a breath, "he has a scar, the right shape and the right place, from the same incident that gave me this one." He pointed to the scar on his face.

"Which was?"

"A beating by our stepmother, put us both in the hospital."

"Where is the scar on the commander?"

Tim drew a finger down his face, along the outer edge of his left eyebrow. "Here. It's got a shape on it, her ring cut into him when she backhanded him."

"And finding that convinced you this was probably your brother?"

"Yes."

"Why the private lab?"

"I wanted to make sure. And I didn't want to wait until CPS ran one for the boys."

"Not sure I follow."

"CPS will run the boys' DNA to look for relatives but it'll take close to two weeks. Our protection detail reported 3 suits lurking in the unit after their arrival at Bethesda yesterday. I needed to know as soon as possible so that as his next-of-kin, I could ensure his safety. And if I was right, I knew I'd need to recuse myself from the case; needed to know as soon as possible."

"You had DiNozzo Mirandize Frayne."

"Yes sir. Didn't want to run the risk of compromising the arrest and the case against Frayne."

"Why do you think Hart is in danger?"

"One, the presence of the suits. Two, the fact that Hart is still at Bethesda. My brother Rob is a resident at Johns Hopkins. When I asked about standard procedure for coma patients, he asked his supervisor, a former Navy doctor. The answer is, after several months in coma, patients are moved to a long-term care facility, usually within 7-10 months, certainly after 12 months. This is standard for military personnel as well as civilians. Hart is breathing on his own and his initial injuries are healed. He's no longer in need of an acute care hospital. Why is he still there?

"And three, if he is there for security purposes, why isn't security present? The only camera that's in the room is the one I left on the outside top edge of the bathroom door. Four, during the shift change from night to day shift this morning, there were five medical personnel in the room. Why? The information we were given does not indicate any need for more than maintenance to handle his bodily functions. As I said, his injuries have long healed and he's breathing on his own. I could see two people, one for the IVs that feed him and one to deal with the catheter. And now I'll add a fifth reason, the unknown substance in his saliva."

Vance nodded, glancing at Gibbs. "Special Agent McGee, your resignation is and will be rejected. The actions you took were to protect the commander, a helpless patient, whether or not he was related to you. I have no problems with that, although I'm not happy about the private lab."

"There's no cost to the agency."

"McGee, we have a forensic scientist on staff here to do what they did. Is there a reason you didn't bring it to her?"

"Director, that was a personal decision and a personal test, even if it was tied to a case! I would not ask Abby to do that!"

He was so indignant at the idea that his superiors had to bite back proud smiles.

"Very well, Agent McGee, I accept your explanation. Now, assuming that we'll have Frayne's arrest accomplished shortly, what comes next on the case?"

"Sir, I…"

"Until three minutes ago, you were the lead on this case and recusing yourself does not mean your opinion no longer matters. You're still employed here."

"Yes, sir. First of all, I believe there are two cases. The first is the murder of Kathy Hart, the second what I've questioned about Commander Hart. As far as the commander's case, I recommend that, first, we continue to provide protection for the commander and to that end, identify the 'suits' who were at the hospital yesterday and find out what initiated their presence.

"Second, continue the children's protection detail.

"Third, get the information from the lab regarding the anomalous substance in Hart's saliva.

"Fourth, determine who is giving Hart the substance and how. Perhaps the agent inside the room could wear spy glasses with audio and video feed. The feed could be reviewed by Drs. Mallard and Palmer. As I said before, I placed a camera in the room, Agent Bishop has the information to access it.

"Fifth, if, as I suspect, that substance is what's keeping Hart in a coma, determine who best benefits from his absence. Is it the Navy, the CIA, some other agency, a singular person or one of the commander's targets?

"Sixth, work with medical personnel who can be trusted, perhaps independent sources, to remove the substance from the commander and determine the best course of rehabilitation for him.

"Seventh, back to the first case, continue searching for Mrs. Hart's suitcase and the murder weapon.

"Eighth, keep the commander's family updated."

"That's a comprehensive list, well said and I'm sure your team will get it done. Now, what are your plans?"

While his face was blank, Tim's expressive eyes looked so lost that Gibbs again put his hand out, this time on his shoulder. Finally, he started speaking, "I need to take leave to be with the boys. I'll have to homeschool Greg, at least until the risk to the kids is determined. I need to contact my sister Sarah as she's the most directly related to Hart, to be his next-of-kin and legal guardian for the boys." He swallowed, "Find out who I am."

"You didn't know you weren't McGee's son?"

Tim shook his head.

"What about other family? Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins?"

"Nobody ever came looking and we were never on any milk cartons, we checked. If there are relatives, I don't have any use for them unless they have a damn good reason for letting us be abandoned, grow up on the streets. And other than death, I can't imagine anything that would be good enough." Tim huffed, "Maybe Hart knows. It's possible that if the anomalous substance is what's keeping him in a comatose state, he may regain consciousness."

Gibbs leaned forward, "And that would be great. In the meantime, you're a member of this family, here at NCIS, our team. _Our_ team, _our_ family, Tim. You're not alone and whoever fathered you, you are Timothy McGee, special agent for NCIS, bestselling author, a good friend, cared about by many including me and our director. You're a good man, a good soul, smart, kind, patient and that's just part of who you are."

"In the last two days, you've had multiple shocks. Last night in the hospital room, I didn't know what was going on but watching you, it was like seeing you get whacked with physical blows. And that probably started when you met Greg Hart. But you've kept your head, kept going with your work, caring for the boys. You're one of the strongest individuals I've ever met, Tim. And I'm proud of you for taking the time to figure things out." His voice softened as Tim seemed to curl into himself, "Ah, kiddo."

He looked up at Vance. "I'd like to take him and the boys home."

Vance nodded, giving Tim's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll order a protection detail for the house. And Tim, we'll follow your plan as you've outlined it. We will figure this out."

He gave another squeeze as he heard a half-strangled whisper, "Thank you, Director." He looked up, "May I leave the boys here for another few hours? I'd like to spend some time with my brother."

Vance nodded, "Yes, that's fine. But I want you to be extra-vigilant, you could be on someone's list now and those kids need you, _we_ need you."

Tim cleared his throat, "Thank you, sir, I'll do that." The three of them stood and Gibbs ushered his agent out of the office. The two stopped in the outer office while Gibbs sent a text to DiNozzo. While this wasn't the time to reveal Tim's past, Bishop and DiNozzo needed to be updated with the most recent news.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As the afternoon was bright and warm, the MCRT met at one of the benches fronting the Anacostia where McGee handed out cups of everyone's favorite beverages. He stood while the others sat, "Have some news, updates for you, and Boss and I thought it would be good to get some air. First of all, I've recused myself from the case. I knew it was a possibility but it's now a reality and I'll tell you why in a minute. I'm taking a few weeks leave to take care of the boys while you move on to a related case. Boss will tell you more about that later."

He huffed, "Yesterday, when we went to Bethesda to see Commander Hart's condition for ourselves, I recognized him. When I found an old scar in the right place, I knew who it was and did a cheek swab. Took it to a private lab where I know the owner, and had it rushed. Got the results about an hour ago."

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled noisily, "Commander Hart was originally named Patrick McGee and is my younger brother. When I was 9 and he was 8, we were in a car crash that I was told killed Patrick and Commander McGee. Pat and I were best friends and I've never forgotten him, never stopped missing him. That makes our sister Sarah and me the boys' closest family, as far as we know, their only family. And with Sarah overseas at grad school, that leaves me.

"In addition, the lab found a foreign substance in Hart's saliva. When they called about the DNA, they hadn't yet fully analyzed the substance." Tim looked at his teammates, his family. "Obviously, I have many questions but now I'm on the other side of the equation, family of the victim which means I can no longer investigate. And as much as it pains me, I won't do it on my own. For one thing, I can't risk endangering the boys any further and I think I'll be too busy with them to do much of anything else. Until you find the answers to questions I've posed to Director Vance, I'll be homeschooling Greg, with them 24/7. Gibbs has kindly agreed to us continuing to stay with him for the duration of the case and/or things are settled.

"I'm sorry I haven't been forthcoming before now. I'm having a difficult time dealing with this and don't think the Navy Yard is the place to talk about it. And yes, there's more I'm not ready to talk about yet, personal stuff that isn't relevant to either case."

Tony frowned, "Does Boss know?"

"Yes."

"Ok." DiNozzo got up and stood before his friend, looking at him. "Whatever you need, whenever you need it. We didn't start out as brothers or even friends but we're both now. Don't forget that." He wrapped his arms around Tim who leaned into him. After a minute, Ellie joined them. Gibbs watched them as long as he could stand it and then without a second thought, trashed his reputation right there in public by wrapping his arms around the three of them, as far as he could reach.

When they finally broke, Bishop asked, "You're coming back to the team, right, Tim?"

"Don't know, Ellie. While I have the boys and if I have permanent custody of them, I'll be a single parent. Need regular hours and I'm not sure about a field agent position. Not when they've already lost their mother and for all practical purposes, their father."

Gibbs cleared his throat, "Not replacing you, McGee. Not that you could be. We'll figure this out, case first and then your situation. Make do with TADs."

Tim smiled, "Thanks, Boss."

First tossing their trash, the quartet quietly walked back into the office. Gibbs and McGee split off at the boys' conference room while DiNozzo and Bishop responded to a text from Vance to report to his office. Where he would, no doubt, tell them the agency side of what Tim told them.

Greg had just finished his assigned classwork when Tim and Gibbs entered the room, thanking the current fostering NCIS employee. With a hug for each boy, she left the room to take a quick break.

Kyle was playing with a new and already beloved musical treehouse and a group of Weebles™, roly-poly play people who wiggled and wobbled but never fell. He giggled as they wobbled down a slide.

Both boys stopped what they were doing and went to Tim when he sat on the beanbag couch. "Hi, Tim!"

"Hi, Greg, Kyle. You know what, I've got the rest of the day off work. I'm going to visit your dad again and then I'll come back and we'll go home!"

"Can we go with you to see Dad?"

"Not today, kiddo, I'm still doing special agent work. We'll go on Sunday."

"Okay. Tell him we love him?"

"I sure will. All right, here's Ms. Xie. Boys, it will take me one hour and 30 minutes to get to the hospital, that means I'll be there by 4:00 PM. I'll stay one hour and will leave at 5:00 PM to come back here. It will take me two hours to get back. Greg, what time will I be back?"

"7:00."

"Good! Someone will come in to take Ms. Xie's place when she has to go back to work and there might be someone else after that. If Gibbs is done with his work before I get back, he'll take you home. Then I'll see you at the house! Take all your things with you if Gibbs takes you home because I'm going to stay there with you until everything is straightened out."

"Then where will we go?"

"Not sure yet, Greg. I hope that the three of us will stay together; we'll find a house of our own."

The boy snuggled into Tim's arms. "I hope so, too. I like Gibbs' house."

"I like it, too, but we'll need a house of our own. With a big backyard like his!"

"A pool?"

"Mmm, how about other kids in the neighborhood to play with?"

"Yeah, that'd be good. Then can I go back to school?"

"Before that, kiddo, I'll teach you at home."

"Cool! You know lots of stuff. Um, Tim, are there other kids by Gibbs' house?"

"To play with? I don't know, I'll check with him. They'll have to play in the backyard with you."

"That's okay!"

Kyle nodded along, he was good with whatever Greg wanted. With hugs and a kiss to the forehead for each, Tim left them, heading for his car in the parking garage.

For once, he got lucky with the traffic. The 21-mile drive on the interstate only took him an hour and 10 minutes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd lucked out like that. Finding a parking space added to his good fortune and he shook his head at his mood swings. From a major upset over 2 huge revelations, once again taking on 2 orphaned kids, and here he was all happy because the traffic wasn't bad and he found a parking space within a mile of the hospital. He supposed you had to find the good where you could; he remembered Jimmy telling him that.

Quietly acknowledging his brother's protection detail, he slipped into Pat's room, smiling at Dorneget. Walking to his brother's bed, he leaned over and kissed his forehead, talking to him softly. "Twick, it's Muth. I'm sitting by your bed at Walter Reed Bethesda Hospital. You're not dead, neither are Sarah and I. We were told after the crash that you were dead and have believed that for 28 years. I was thrown out of the car, bounced on my head and crushed my legs when I landed. I was in a coma for nearly 3 weeks and suffered brain damage, loss of memory. I haven't told Sarah you're alive yet, she's in school in London. I'm taking care of your little ones, Greg and Kyle, they asked me to tell you they love you. I love you too, little brother. Today is Thursday and I will bring them to visit on Sunday. You have protection now too, there is always an NCIS agent in the room with you and there are more outside." He paused before forcing himself to continue. Ducky and Jimmy recommended he tell the commander about his wife.

"Pat, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Kathy is dead. She was killed yesterday morning. My team at NCIS is arresting the murderer right now and he's going to prison for the rest of his sorry life. I was working the case with my team but then you look so much like Dad – and yourself – that I had our DNA run. Once I knew, I had to step back from Kathy's case. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry she's dead, I'm sorry you've lost your wife and the boys their mother. And I'm sorry I never got to meet her. From all accounts, she was a wonderful person, great mother and friend. Sarah and I will take care of her burial, she'll have all our love and respect. And my family will be there with us."

Tim continued talking to his brother, telling him a little about his life, about Rob and Geordie, although not mentioning their lives on the street. That was the past and could certainly wait.

Hearing someone at the door, Tim leaned closer to his brother. "Sunday, when I bring the boys, I'll bring a book and you can hear Greg reading to you. He's as smart as you and so is Kyle. I've only known them a day and I already love them. Someone's here; I'm going to stop talking while Agent Ned sees who it is."

He turned to find Dorneget standing at attention. Looking at the door, Tim was surprised to see Secretary Porter standing there. Still holding his brother's hand, he stood.

She nodded to Dorneget as she crossed the room. "Timothy, Leon told me you were either here or on the way and we need to talk."

"Ma'am?"

"Agent…?"

"Dorneget, ma'am."

"Thank you. Agent Dorneget, my security detail is waiting for me in the hall. If Agent McGee is needed, he'll be in Admiral Albert's office."

McGee remained motionless for a few seconds. While an employee of NCIS and therefore of the SecNav, he was also the civilian guardian of his brother and his brother's children, brother-in-law of the deceased woman resting in Ducky's autopsy suite. He wasn't legally anyone's guardian yet, excepting his status as foster parent of Greg and Kyle. He'd have to file papers for legal guardianship but in practice, that was his intent.

She looked at him, seeing the conflict. "I beg your pardon. Agent Dorneget, if _Mr._ McGee is needed, that's where we'll be."

Ned's eyes widened comically, had McGee quit? He calmed when Tim moved toward the door, giving him a look that said he had not. At least he hoped that's what the eye roll meant.

Admiral Albert was the administrator of this facility and Tim thought he probably had the most secure office. Walking with the Secretary through the halls, they took an elevator to the Admiral's office. His aide, a Lieutenant, was there and ushered them into the office. Engaging the SCIF, he left, closing the door behind him.

Tim waited with what he hoped was a patient demeanor while Porter seemed to gather her thoughts. "I'd like to offer my condolences for the death of your sister-in-law and I am sorry you never met her. You'd have liked her, she was a strong, warm, smart and funny woman. Wonderful wife and mother."

Tim nodded, amazed at how angry her comments made him. Remembering in this instance he was a civilian, he let himself vent a little. "While I appreciate the thought, why were my sister and I kept from our brother and his family? I'm angry that I was never given a chance to meet her or the kids or to know my brother is alive. Or was that his choice?"

"It was not his choice. I've been told he doesn't know you and Sarah are alive. I didn't know of the connection until I asked my superiors for information to help the investigation."

Tim swallowed hard, "What happened to Captain Payne? He called last night, said he was supposed to be our liaison. Why wasn't the Navy supporting them? And for God's sake, why didn't someone make the connection earlier? I've been with the agency for 12 years, using the McGee name. Morrow knows my story, so did Shepard and Vance certainly does."

"I don't know anything about a Captain Payne, I think we'd better check on that as soon as possible. As to why the lack of the Commander's pay for Kathy and the children, I've ordered an inquiry into that. The best we can do now is make sure the children will be supported. As for the connection, I'm guessing that the black ops group your brother worked for either ignored the connection or routinely ignores anything in our world."

Tim thought of those two theories, the latter was more likely. These were probably people so caught up in their own dark world that they had no connections of their own. He was still angry though and it showed in his voice, his demeanor,

"In the meantime their mother is dead, murdered, because of that lack of support. I'll be interested to hear who withheld that support and why because the same thing happened to my sister and me when Commander McGee was murdered. Or is he still alive too? Maybe he also has a new identity and it's just little Sarah and the stepchild who didn't matter."

He stood up, pacing the office, trying to deal with his anger and bitterness toward the Navy, the feelings going far deeper than the clusterfuck this had been for Kathy and Patrick. Pulling himself together, he turned toward the Secretary.

"I'm sorry, I know none of that happened on your watch."

"Your troubles didn't, but your brother's certainly have and I _will_ know who and why and that person or persons will pay. I'll also open an inquiry to what happened or didn't happen for you and your sister."

"Thank you."

"As to the connection, all I've found so far is that it somehow fell through the cracks. Your brother, Patrick Barry McGee, was adopted by a single woman named Hope Blair. She raised him in Monterey, California. When she adopted him, his surname changed to Blair but he was still Patrick. He graduated from Cal Tech before joining the Navy and being accepted for Officers' Candidate School. After he completed OCS, he went through various advanced trainings and postings. Eventually he became a SEAL and that's when he met Kathy, in Singapore. She was a school teacher raised in an orphanage. She was thoroughly vetted before they married. When I read that file, I saw a note from the Lt. Commander that vetting was very important to him as his father had never had his stepmother vetted. He further stated that he and his now deceased brother had not only been physically abused by her but he believed that his father, brother and sister were eventually murdered by her."

Tim nodded, "He was partially right. He and I were abused by her. As for our deaths, she used her car in the hit and run, murdering Commander Dan McGee and my brother Patrick, or so I was told. I was thrown from the vehicle and survived while Sarah was never in the car."

"Someone must have lied to him as they did to you. Do you know what happened to your stepmother?"

"I'm not supposed to but yes, I do. She's dead. Homeland and the FBI caught her passing information to a hostile group, found she'd also been a spy for the Soviet Union and sent her to Gitmo. She was killed there by a member of that hostile group."

"So any justice done was accomplished by a hostile."

"Yes."

She shook her head. "Your brother was on several successful missions with his SEAL team before being invited to join a highly secretive group. Of his work with them, I know nothing. However, I've been told and I'm telling you this as an agent with a healthy security clearance, that there is a cartel out there whose leader is under indictment and awaiting trial because of Cmdr. Hart. The people who told me this sent the suits your protection detail saw.

"The way I heard it, when someone told them there were suddenly suits nosing around the patient, they sent 3 of their own to determine whether they were friendlies. By the time they realized that NCIS was there to provide security, they'd heard of Kathy Hart's murder and left. We can cross them off the list of suspects for the 'anomalous' substance found in your brother's saliva. Have you heard back from your lab?"

"No, ma'am, it'll probably be late next week before they have an answer for me. In the meantime, I recommended our agents wear 'spy' glasses to record which of the medical personnel is doing what to Hart. And that reminds me…when did he change his name?"

"Ah, here's what I was told about that. By the way, I was not allowed to see any written records, except for his personal records from the Navy, his marriage, the information about Kathy and the boys. Every question I asked, which came from Leon and I'm assuming you, was answered verbally and then the answer written down for me. Anyway, he changed his surname to Hart when he and Kathy married. It was her family name and quite an illustrious family, although they left her an orphan, much as you were. David was her great-granduncle's name. Your brother's adoptive mother had already passed away and he had no interest in returning to the name McGee."

Tim nodded, "Thank you. Inasmuch as I have no idea what my biological father's surname is or was, I may also use Hart."

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised and he rolled his head, stretching his neck. "The DNA results show we are half-siblings, we share a mother. That was news to me. Other than not looking like either my father, Pat or Sarah, I had no idea I wasn't a McGee."

"That's why you referenced your sister as the potential guardian?"

"Yes, ma'am. She's legally more qualified. Although she's never wanted children and plans to live overseas so she may cede to me."

"Is that…I'm being nosy, Timothy, but do you want to raise the boys?"

"Yes. I've always wanted children, I raised Sarah and our adopted brother Rob and would love to do it with more traditional resources than homeless shelters, transient camps and fast food dumpsters. I'd rather not do it as a single parent but if that's what happens, that's what happens."

"You'll meet other single parents at school functions. I did. At least you don't have a divorce to get through."

"There is that. We'll see. I've notified CPS of my relationship with the boys' father. As far as I know, they'll still run their own DNA search."

"Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Yes, why is the commander still at Bethesda? I did some research and found that 99.9% of comatose patients are moved to a long-term care facility when there's been no change in their condition for 6-10 months. Patrick's been comatose or in a coma-like state for 23 months."

"That has been the doing of his CO who felt that kind of move was tantamount to abandonment. His superior officers agreed with him."

Tim just nodded at that before asking, "What about all the medical personnel?"

"They didn't know anything about that. They agreed that 5 seemed far too many and are eager to know what's going on."

Tim thought about that before saying, "My theory is that at least 2 of those people are giving him the anomalous substance. Maybe one acts as a spotter. And from what you've said, they may be linked to that same cartel and if you don't know who Captain Payne is, he might also be linked to them."

"We'll need visuals from those 'spy' glasses."

"You'll have that at the shift change in the morning. I also put a camera on the edge of the bathroom door. It looks directly down onto the patient's bed. Agent Bishop can access the feed and capture stills."

"Excellent. I wish we didn't have to lose you from the case."

"Me too but something like that can blow a case out of the courtroom and I want a clean conviction for Kathy's killer. I won't hear the actual motive until the trial but I believe he killed her for the $150 in cash she received for her bonus and possibly the pawn ticket for her jewelry."

"$150?"

"A nice amount of money for a minimum wage earner. The pawn ticket might bring even more."

"Will you handle that?"

"It's in the agency evidence lockup now, will be until after the trial. Then, yes, I'll reclaim her jewelry for the boys." He nodded, "Thank you for taking the time to come all the way over here to talk with me. I appreciate that."

She returned his nod. "You're welcome, it was the least I could do. Will you have a service for Kathy?"

"Yes, although I don't know when. Might be a few weeks; not until I know the danger to the children is past and I hope Sarah will come home then."

"I'll be there."

They shook hands and he walked with her to the elevator, her security detail keeping a discreet distance. Then they went down while he took a car back up to his brother's room. He looked at his watch, it was 5:30, he was behind schedule. Sending a text to Gibbs for the boys, he sat at his brother's bedside, once again holding his hand. Dorneget was gone, replaced by an agent from the Pentagon team.

After a reply from Gibbs, Tim left for his new home where the boys were waiting with his boss. Driving against the traffic in Maryland, he made good time for most of the trek, reaching the house in Alexandria by 6:45. He'd missed dinner with the kids but was in time for baths, stories and cuddles. Knowing they were exhausted, he waited for his own dinner until after Greg and Kyle were asleep. Then he returned to the kitchen to find his boss, looking more dour than he'd seen in a long time.

"Is something wrong? Something new?"

"Yeah. Legal says you can't live with me. Can't stay with anyone involved in your family's case. They're saying the case could be thrown out of court."

Tim sagged against the kitchen counter, feeling as if he'd been sucker punched. "No one? For how long?"

"Until the trial's over."

"That could be years." He gulped, "Does that also mean I'm not allowed to associate with any of you?"

"Alone, yeah. When other people are around, it's ok."

"Other people who don't work at NCIS. I can't work on your team then."

"Have to change jobs so you won't be near the squad room. Legal said it would be temporary, until after the trial."

"That leaves Cyber Crimes and I'm not interested in going back there and the trial could be delayed for months, years." He sat when Gibbs pushed him into a chair.

"How long…do we have to leave immediately?"

"As soon as possible."

"Can I…am I allowed to transfer within the agency?"

"Should be, as long as you're not working with anyone involved with the case."

"What about keeping the children safe?"

"FBI will handle the protection detail for you and the kids."

Tim swore. "My own agency isn't even allowed to – or won't - protect me. So much for one big happy family and all that arm squeezing from Vance today. Crap!"

Gibbs put his hand on Tim's shoulder but McGee jumped out of the chair. "Tim!"

"We'll move to my place tomorrow." He looked at Gibbs, his face expressionless. "This is crap, I'm not sticking around to see what other shit they'll dump on me. I'll send in my resignation tonight."

He tried to say something else but he couldn't speak through the huge lump in his throat. When Gibbs pulled him into his arms, he went.

When he could talk again, he found he was sitting on the couch, Gibbs' arms still around him. "I can't believe this is happening, I've done nothing wrong! This is just…too fucking awful."

When he saw the look on Gibbs' face, he pulled him forward and the two men comforted each other. When Tim sat back again, his mind was made up. "I'll have to stay in the area until custody is settled. Then we're out of here. Start fresh somewhere. If their father is out of his coma, I'll have him moved to wherever we settle. But we're not staying here. When the trial's over and we're allowed to associate, let me know. Or if you're somewhere in a crowd of people and we can legally talk to each other."


	5. Chapter 5

 

Chapter 5

Leaving NCIS was every bit as painful as McGee feared it would be, later he would realize his anger and frustration had provided the impetus to keep going. The day after he'd been kicked to the curb by the Legal Department, he and the boys, with help from his brother Rob and some of their friends, moved everything from Gibbs' house to his one bedroom apartment.

By the end of the day, their friend Bill, a master carpenter, had built bunk beds for the kids, mattresses were delivered and they settled in, ignoring the FBI agents who were always with them when they left the apartment.

As he'd promised Gibbs and himself, Tim sent a strongly worded resignation the night the Legal Department cut his life to shreds, with a copy to the Secretary of the Navy. He didn't know what to think when he received a notice that his resignation was rejected and he was now on a leave of absence. Along with the letter telling him all that, he found a list of restrictions he would have to follow until after Frayne's trial. That left him in limbo as far as finding another job and unable to speak with any of his NCIS family or friends. He found it a cold and thoughtless move on the part of the agency; he assumed it was Vance's call.

At some point he would consult an attorney but with no income besides sales of his books, he'd have to wait for his next advance. In the meantime, his savings account and Mr. Gemcity's would support the three of them.

When Tim contacted D'Arcy McKinna and explained his connection with the boys, she advised him to contact a family lawyer, that he was a close enough relative to file for custody rather than going through the foster parenting route. Tim already had a family lawyer, they'd set up a family trust between the four of them so that none of them would ever again be homeless. While Tim wasn't homeless, he certainly felt that he'd been forcibly separated from part of his family. His lawyer took care of the custody arrangements, contacting Sarah.

One day he noticed Greg and Kyle had started calling him Papa. He didn't know whose suggestion it had been, he suspected Rob, but it felt good.

When Sarah heard about Patrick, Kathy and the boys, she was granted leave from her classes and flew home to meet the kids and see Patrick. As Tim suspected would happen, she had no problems ceding custody to him and he became the boys' legal guardian while she reluctantly became Patrick's.

She initially felt Tim should handle his care, until Rob reminded her that Tim had shouldered the responsibility for the two of them their entire lives, that it was time for them to step up. He also pointed out that Tim had again become responsible for two young children, this time losing his job and the support of people he loved in the process. Ashamed of herself, she agreed to become Patrick's legal guardian.

While she had few clear memories of Patrick, most were confused with Tim, she vaguely remembered what her father looked like, from photos if nothing else and had the same reaction to her reclaimed brother as Tim had. He looked like Dan McGee.

Dismayed at Tim's discovery that he wasn't a McGee by birth, she reminded him that she, Rob and Geordie were his siblings, by choice, by blood and by law. That and the support from his siblings and non-NCIS friends helped mitigate his all too familiar sense of abandonment.

Shortly after Tim's resignation, he received a letter from the agency, informing him that the substance in his brother's saliva was Midazolam, with no other explanation. He'd also received a check reimbursing him for the lab work he'd paid for. He deposited it, determined not to think about it. There was no word about who had been administering the drug.

When Sarah arrived, she, Rob and Tim met with Patrick's doctors. The physicians were surprised they hadn't been informed that 3 of the medical staff had been arrested for illegally drugging their brother; they said they'd heard the 3 had been employees of a drug cartel. They'd been dosing him with the Midazolam, a benzodiazepine sometimes used for drug-induced comas lasting longer than 72 hours.

While the drugs had been stopped, there'd been no change in Patrick's condition and the doctors warned that due to the length of time he was kept unconscious and his previous injuries, there might not ever be any significant change. Tim thought that when he talked with that lawyer he'd promised himself, he might also discuss a suit against the Navy for so spectacularly failing to protect a member of their service. They knew a cartel was after him but failed to do anything about it. And yet they were reluctant to 'abandon' him by moving him to a long-term care facility where he might have been safer. Tim's head and heart ached thinking about it and he finally wrote his older brother Geordie. Geo had always insisted on knowing what was going on in the family and now Tim poured his heart out.

When he saw in the news that the head of a major drug cartel had been convicted of several heinous crimes and sent to a maximum security prison, he figured the protection detail would vanish. It took a couple of weeks but one day on the way to the park, Greg remarked that none of their 'friends' were around. The following week, he began attending classes at the nearby elementary school while Kyle enjoyed his new day care. And their papa resumed working on establishing a new life for them.

Before Sarah returned to London, they held Kathy Hart's memorial service. Tim was surprised to see just about everyone he knew from NCIS there, the Secretary of the Navy as promised, along with the owner and employees of the dry cleaners where Kathy worked. Ms. Lu, Barry, Detective Levitz, Mrs. Hoover, day care owner Linda Mac and several of the shelter denizens who'd known her were all there.

Rob watched his brother watching the crowd from NCIS and the Navy Brass. Motioning to their sister and friends, they surrounded Tim.

Rob tapped his brother's shoulder, "Tim, we're here. We love you and support you. Take a deep breath, focus on the boys. This won't last long and we'll be with you every second. Sarah and I will handle the reception."

Nodding, Tim grabbed Rob's head, pulling it down for a kiss, smiling at his sister and their friends. They'd been through worse together. Following Rob's lead, he didn't speak with any of the Navy or NCIS folks, he couldn't bring himself to even look directly at them. The Navy Brass angered him, while he was afraid he'd totally lose it if he made eye contact with his NCIS family. He and the boys, Sarah and Rob along with Ms. Lu, Mrs. Hoover and their old friends Barry, Bill, Jose and Freddie sat in front together throughout the ceremony, their backs to everyone else.

Afterward, as promised, Sarah and Rob handled the reception with help from Ms. Lu, Mrs. H and the guys while Tim took his two exhausted, sad boys home. No trial date had yet been set for Frayne; according to the news he was undergoing psychiatric testing.

The Tuesday evening after Sarah returned to London, both boys were asleep when Tim received a panicked call from Peter Donovan, Head of the School of Science at MIT and Tim's former advisor.

"Timothy, I know this is last minute and Dr. Porter says you've just adopted two boys and are on leave, but we're in a crisis here. Dr. McNeil had to take emergency leave, left in the middle of a class today, and will be away for weeks, probably a month. And here we are in the middle of term, we were already short one professor, a baby turned out to be twins who made a premature appearance, and now we're down two! Is there any way you could help us out? We'll pay you for the classes and for your transportation, housing, the boys' schooling, put you on our medical plan while you're on staff, anything and everything. McNeil will be back the Monday after Thanksgiving but with no classes Thanksgiving week, you'd be free to return home."

He provided a few critical details such as the salary they'd pay while Tim thought about it. While it wasn't known to anyone currently at NCIS and he hadn't pursued it as a career option, he had his doctorate, which gave him the credentials to teach mathematics and several of the sciences at university level. He'd participated in seminars and done several guest lectures at his alma mater but those occurred on weekends and vacations while he'd been at NCIS.

He could certainly use the income and time away doing something completely different. Although he'd turned away from formal academics after MIT, it had been a career possibility for him. His advisor and others were sorely disappointed when he chose to go into a profession where he felt he could make a more immediate difference, especially in the lives of military dependents. At the time, he'd thought the politics of the academic world would be horrible. Now he scoffed at his _naïveté_ _in thinking the politics in academia would be worse than anything in DC._

The boys could go to school and day care on or near campus and maybe Rob and some of their friends could take the train up to visit. In fact, he decided he and the kids would travel by train to Boston, they'd love that. It would be fun for the kids and less stressful for all of them.

"Yes, Dr. Donovan, I'd love to! We'll take the train up on Thursday, get my boys enrolled in school and day care on Friday so they can start on Monday. Will you have time to meet with me on Friday or over the weekend so I know what curriculum to follow? It's been a few years."

"Oh, thank the universe! And thank you! I did not want to have to beg that old curmudgeon Nance and I'd much rather have a fresh young mind substituting! Yes, of course I'll have time for you and I'll have everything ready by then. Now, here's what I thought as far as housing, Larry says one of your new children is school age, congratulations by the way…" Calmer now, Donovan outlined his plan for housing the young family on the edge of campus near an elementary school. The day care was on campus, perfect for student and teaching parents.

"That sounds great. Greg is 6, in 1st grade and Kyle is in day care, he'll be 2½ next week. What about a vehicle? I could drive up there but that'll be tough with the boys; I thought we'd take the train."

"We'll provide a car for you while you're here. I'll meet you at the Kendall transit stop and take you to your quarters. We'll have the vehicle there and the house stocked with enough of the necessities to get you started. Will you need anything special for the boys?"

"Yes, sir, a few things. I'll bring their car seats and we'll need a four door car. My bedroom needs to be on the same level as the boys' room and they can share a room. We'll need a washer and dryer and if we could have a fenced backyard, please, for the kids to play in? Offhand, do you know what my schedule will be?"

"Your earliest class starts at 8:00, your last class ends at 3:00."

"Perfect!"

Tim was so excited, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for hours. Realizing that he could write Gibbs without jeopardizing anything and feeling like an idiot for not realizing that sooner, he wrote a letter. He told him how they were doing, about the opportunity at MIT and where they'd be until Thanksgiving week, adding that he hoped they'd be able to stay through Thanksgiving and return home that weekend. He gave him the Porters' address for now, writing that he'd send their new temporary address when he found out what it was.

The Porters, Larry and Cyndi, were professors and good friends from his days as a graduate student and doctoral candidate at MIT. Larry had been one of his profs and had taken an interest in young McGee, an interest that developed into a lasting friendship. They'd been good to the young McGee family. The Porters, along with Mrs. Ferguson, the McGees' landlady, had also helped by babysitting Sarah and Rob, giving Tim much needed time for a social life, time to himself that he'd never had before.

Now, he thought it would be fun to have Thanksgiving with them, hoping Rob could join them. Once he had Gibbs' letter written and the envelope addressed, he sat at his laptop, making lists of what to take. They'd need warmer clothes, autumn in Boston was typically cooler than in the DC area, although they could run into warmer days too. The temperatures would drop more in November, Tim found the average daily high was 48° F. When he looked the temps for the previous November, he found they ranged from 70 down into the mid-40's and had a fair amount of rain. He smiled, he'd order rain boots and jackets for the boys now and have them sent to the Porters.

Clothes weren't a problem. What toys and books to take, that might be challenging. He decided to take an entire suitcase of toys and books. It seemed only fair as this was the second time they'd had to be uprooted almost overnight, the third time if you counted the shelter.

Then he looked at the baggage policies for Amtrak and did some quick figuring. They were allowed two free bags each, subject to size and weight limits, extra bags were $20 apiece. He and Greg would need clothes right away for school, those could fit in two bags, one for each of them, along with a couple of pairs of shoes. And he was sure he could stuff a few toys and books into each of those bags. Kyle didn't need any special clothes for day care so his would be easier. Although the boys' clothes had to be laundered more frequently, that was a consideration. That accounted for 3 bags. The other 3 bags could hold warmer clothes, more toys and kids' books. Tim tended to read books online although he still had an extensive collection of physical books. They might need one extra suitcase and for that he'd pay the $20, but if they needed 2 additional, he'd ship it all to Cambridge. It might be less expensive and certainly easier to handle.

He sent an email to Rob and then sorted what clothes he'd take in his carry-on bag, his school clothes. While he wouldn't need a suit and tie for classes, he didn't want to look too casual. Shaking his head, he put together 7 of his favorite work outfits and called it done. One of his checked bags would be a folding garment bag and he'd bring a suit, tie and dress shirt in case there were any dressy functions he had to attend.

Taking a break, he went back to the Amtrak website, selected the date, time and train he wanted, picked the seats they'd need and then paid for the tickets, printing and downloading them so he'd have a backup in case his phone went wonky on Thursday.

Rob called, wondering if Tim was pranking him, although it would be his first prank, ever. When Tim answered, Rob knew this wasn't a prank, his brother was far too excited to be faking it. Happy to hear good news, he said he'd fight for time off over Thanksgiving but wouldn't make any promises. He did point out that with the Christmas trip he and Tim planned for the kids, asking for more time would be tricky if not downright ugly. They talked about that, finally deciding to postpone their grand tour of Disney World for a year. Kyle would be 3 ½ then, he'd have more fun and remember the trip. And Tim hoped his job situation and finances would be stabilized by then.

When Rob got off the phone, he thought about the November holiday. He knew time off then would come down to a choice of a Thanksgiving break or the week off at Christmas and he'd still like to have the week off, even if they weren't going to Florida. He did have an idea, though, one that would be a surprise for Tim. He'd have to plan it carefully. He pulled his phone out again and started making notes.

Tim woke the kids early the next morning, making them pancakes, a treat never before offered during the week. Greg and Kyle looked at each other and then at their papa, who grinned at them. "I have something exciting to tell you! I've been asked to teach for a month at the college where I went to school! It's in Massachusetts and we're going to take the train there!"

The boys went from being confused to happy and excited. Now that he had their attention, Tim continued, "We'll live in a house there, with room to play and you won't have to sleep in the same room as me. While you two are at school and day care, I'll be teaching and I'll be done about the same time as you, Greg. Your school will be 2 blocks from our house and Kyle, your day care will be on campus, close to my work."

"Just us?"

"Yes. I have friends there who knew me when I was a student, they know Uncle Rob and Aunty Sarah, too."

"Cool!" Greg smiled and Kyle happily echoed his brother's exclamation, "Da' coowh!"

Greg frowned as he thought of something, and Tim added, "We won't be able to visit your dad in person for a few Sundays but we can visit him using Skype. Just like we do with Aunty Sarah."

"Oh, that's good. Will he know?"

"I'll see him today and tell him. And the doctors and nurses will remind him we're away for 4 Sundays but that we'll call and talk with him on those days."

Greg nodded, "All right, Papa. What about Uncle Rob?"

"I've asked him to visit us but he doesn't know if he can skip work so we'll have to wait to find out."

"But we can talk with him on Skype too, huh?"

"We sure can!"

"And we're coming back, so I can tell my new friends that I'll be back after Thanksgiving?"

"Yes."

"Yay! Will it snow there?"

"Probably not while we're there but it will rain. We can take pictures and send them to your friends and we can send a postcard to your class if you'd like."

Greg nodded, he liked that idea.

"When I take you to school this morning, I'll talk with Ms. Webster, tell her our plans. And Kyle, I'll tell Miss Pam this afternoon."

"Ok, Papa. Is Gibbs coming?"

"No, sweetie, sorry. He has to work."

"Phooey!"

"I know, I feel like it's phooey too! We can send him photos and postcards, how's that?"

"Okay."

They'd calmed before they left for school, much to Tim's relief. He didn't want Greg so excited that he'd disrupt his class.

Kyle's day care drop off came first and they walked him inside, both kissing him goodbye. He grinned, "Huwwy back!"

Tim laughed as they left. When they got to Greg's classroom, Ms. Webster was just finishing talking with another parent, who smiled at Tim and Greg as she left.

Tim nodded to Ms. Webster, "May I steal a couple of minutes?"

"Sure. Everything all right?"

"Yes!" Tim quickly explained what was going on and she smiled, "Ooh, a train, I know Greg's going to love that!"

Tim nodded, "We'll be gone through Thanksgiving, Greg's first day back here will be the 27th of November."

"That's fine, thanks for letting me know. You'll of course want to let the principal know. And…oh, you're leaving Thursday?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"We have a spelling test on Thursday." She thought, "I could email the test to you and you can administer it to Greg and send it back to me. I need his results for his mid-term grade."

"Sure, we can do that. May I have until Monday to get it back to you? Might be before then, but I'm afraid we'll be pretty busy once we get in."

"Actually, I won't need it until the end of next week."

"Thanks, that really helps! We'll do our best to get it done sooner."

Feeling good about that, he stopped in the school office to talk with the principal. As expected, there were forms to complete and he did that while he was there.

Knowing he was going to be crazy busy all day, Tim went to see Patrick as soon as he returned from walking the boys to school. He told Pat's primary physician and the nursing supervisor that they'd be away for 4 Sundays, writing down the dates, but hoped to have either Rob or a friend come in with tablet or phone so the boys could see their father and tell him about their new adventures. He was glad to see both take note of the dates and set reminders for the calls.

Then he went into the room to see Pat. He alternated between calling him Pat and 'Twick', toddler Tim's name for baby Patrick before Tim mastered his 'Rs', 'Pa _twick_ '. 'Muth' was the nickname Pat called him and was based on his full name, Ti _moth_ y being pronounced Ti _muth_ y by their stepmother. Only the two of them knew the names, Tim had never told anyone else, not even his other siblings.

He read to his silent brother for 30 minutes, then sat quietly holding his hand before finally telling him about the offer from MIT and that he and the boys would video chat with him each and every Sunday. "Might be my brother Rob who comes in, Twick, or it might be one of our friends if Rob is working. Their names are Barry, Bill, Freddie and Jose. I don't want you to worry if it's not Rob. The guys are old friends; Sarah, Rob, our brother Geordie and I grew up with them. The boys know I'm here today, they asked me to give you extra kisses and hugs from them."

Leaning forward, he kissed his brother's face, "one from Kyle," another kiss, "one from Greg," another kiss, "and that one's from me, Pat. Love you lots! I hope you're starting to feel better now that those dirtbags are no longer drugging you." He paused before saying, "You know, if you do open your eyes while we're not here, you'll see all kinds of photos of Kathy and the boys and then the kids with me, Sarah and Rob. And a fair number of pictures the boys have made for you, we try to rotate those. There's even a little ship Greg and I made for you."

He leaned down, kissing him again and ruffling his hair. "I love you lots, little brother and I miss you like crazy. I'll talk to you in 4 days, on Sunday."

It was hard leaving him but then it was always hard leaving him. He usually allowed himself a brief cry, unless the boys were with him. Then he held onto them while they cried, for their father and their mom.

He rubbed his forehead as he walked out. It was only a month and they'd see him in video chats. He needed the income, even the relief of saving a month's medical premium and other living expenses would help.

By the time he picked the boys up from school, he'd packed 2 bags for each of them, with clothes and a few toys and books for a few days. An additional bag held their car seats, snacks and lunch for their trips. Tim's electronics went in his second bag and he'd make sure that stayed with them. Then he packed more toys, books, warmer clothes and shoes in two boxes and took them to the UPS store where he paid to ship them to the Porters, mailed Gibbs' letter and put in a temporary forwarding address for first class mail. Their shipment would arrive at the Porters on Monday and Tim was glad he'd included enough clothes in train bags to take them through Wednesday. They'd have to do laundry on Sunday or Monday but multiple laundry days were routine since the boys came to live with him.

At home, he emptied the dishwasher and cleaned out the refrigerator, freezing most of it, leaving the condiments, there was nothing left that would spoil in a month away. They'd have a throw together dinner tonight, cooked in the microwave and eaten on paper plates. The apartment was clean, he'd told the property manager they'd be away for a month and paid his rent in advance. The alarm system he'd built would be on, any calls would go first to Rob, Barry second and Bill third. Freddie and Jose were coming over after work to take the Prius, they had a large garage at their plumbing business and room to store it there.

The boys were excited about the train ride and nearly danced all the way home from school. They hugged Freddie and Jose when they came for the car, babbling to them about the train and the yard they'd play in and the big school where Papa would work. The guys smiled, hugged them back, also giving Tim hugs when they left with the Prius.

Rob was a surprise visitor, arriving in time to join them for their funny dinner, baths and stories. He kissed the boys as each went to bed and then hugged and kissed his brother, before nearly running from the apartment. They'd only been apart for a month or more once before, when Tim was at FLETC. Rob and Sarah had stayed in Cambridge with Mrs. Ferguson; she'd brought them down by train once to visit and the Porters had been there to help.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim's friend Bill picked them up in his double cab truck the next morning, taking them to the train station. Parking the truck, he helped Tim into the station, Greg pushing Kyle in his stroller and the men carrying the luggage. Bill shook his head, he couldn't imagine traveling with two little ones like this. At least Greg was old enough to listen to Tim. Kyle was a good kid for a 'rug rat', in Bill's eyes, but he was just past babyhood and he didn't know how Tim would cope. On the way to work, he remembered that when he'd first met Rob and Sarah, they'd been very close to Kyle's age.

With the help of a porter, Tim and the boys were quickly seated on the train, most of their luggage checked through, with two of the bags stored in bins above them. The boys sat in their car seats; much to Tim's relief, he hadn't had to pay extra to bring those aboard. Even better, the kids could see out the windows. Another train went by, enthralling both of them and Kyle the toddler had a million questions.

Right on time, their train started moving out of the station and the boys waved to everyone they saw outside. Tim was heartened when most people waved back. The kids laughed when they crossed a road and saw all the cars waiting for them.

"Look, Papa, de cahs havta wait foh us to go fust!" Kyle giggled again.

"That's right, Kyle, we rule the tracks!"

Tim had books, movies, earbuds and his laptop ready if they got bored but it was hours before they tired of watching the scenery flashing by, commenting on the various towns and stations they stopped in. Tim had worried about him, the boys, their stuff and bathroom breaks but it all worked out.

They had a morning snack about 9:30. Afterward, they moved around their car. Their next stop was not for 20 minutes and the car wasn't crowded so the boys ran up and down the aisle, making sure to move out of the way when other people came along. When it was time for lunch, Tim handed out their sandwiches, fruit and drinks. He was amused to notice that several other families were also now occupying the car and single or older adults looked in and then chose other cars when they boarded. He guessed it made sense for people with kids to congregate together. Sure made it easier for the kids to move around! After lunch it was quiet again as the younger kids curled up for naps. Greg made friends with a girl his age who was on her way to Boston with her mother and aunt. They talked about school, what they liked best and their favorite movies, books and toys.

When Kyle woke up, he cuddled with Tim for a few minutes before sliding down his legs and having a good run up and down the aisle. All three of them had a juice box and a cookie and then settled in to watch out the window again. And then they were in Boston! Not quite to their stop, they waved goodbye to Greg's friend and then sat impatiently, waiting for their turn.

Tim had the car seats back in their carry bag and the other bags ready to go when they pulled into the Kendall transit stop. Greg handled rolling the lightest carry-on until they reached the rental carts, retrieved their checked baggage and unfolded the stroller for Kyle. Then all the bags rode in the cart while Papa pushed it to the elevator, Greg once again pushing the stroller. Then up they went and out through the exit. Outside, Tim spotted Larry Porter and grinned. While he would have been happy to see Dr. Donovan, having Larry pick them up was a treat.

As they moved through the few blocks to the campus, Larry grinned at Tim in the rearview mirror, "Got more family, Tim. Nice to see!"

Tim returned the smile while Greg leaned back, snuggling into his chest, feeling safe and secure. Kyle's eyes were glued to the window, watching new places pass by as they drove.

When they pulled up to their new, albeit temporary home, Tim smiled, exclaiming, "I remember this house! Whoever lived here back then had Sunday afternoon teas."

"Yep. You used to come here with your girlfriend."

"Artie, yes."

Greg giggled, "Papa, you had a girlfriend named Artie?"

Tim smiled as he explained, "Her whole name is Artemis. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the moon. Her nickname is Artie. Your whole name is Gregory and your nickname is Greg."

"Oh. Was she nice?"

"Very nice, I liked her very much."

"How come you didn't marry her?"

"Because her family moved to Japan and she went with them. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob were still young, they were 13 and 14 then, so I couldn't go."

"Oh. Did you miss her?"

"I did, yes."

"You should look for her. Maybe she's done with Japan now."

Tim looked at his child; for all his electronic wizardry, he hadn't thought of that. "That's a good idea, Greg."

Larry pulled into the driveway, stopping behind an SUV that was parked in front of the garage door. They got out of the car, stretching their legs for a few seconds before unloading the car. Larry pulled keys out of his pocket and handed them to Tim, "For the SUV."

"Great, thanks! I'll stash the car seats in there now. Won't install until later but no use lugging them into the house."

The boys were exploring the front yard which was surrounded by a 6 foot hedge with a wooden arch and sturdy gate leading to the sidewalk. A large fir tree graced the front yard and Tim thought it would be beautiful when it snowed. He wondered if lights were usually added at Christmas time. It was tall enough to be seen from the street.

The men joined the boys, walking through the side arch and open gate to the front door. Tim stopped to look at the front of the house. It was constructed of fieldstone, with three steps leading to a covered landing, a shelter during bad weather. The front door was painted a deep forest green. Frosted glass panels on either side of the door allowed light in without revealing much of the interior. On either side of the entrance were wings of the house, each with a large picture window. Larry smiled, "Living room on one side, dining room on the other."

"Great! Come on, boys, I want to see the inside!"

The boys ran in with them, squealing at the hardwood floors and Greg said excitedly, "Papa, look, we can slide in our socks, like at Gibbs' house!"

Tim grinned, "That's right. Let's find your room first."

The family bedrooms were upstairs and Tim kept an eye on Kyle as they walked upstairs. The little guy did ok although his papa was already planning on installing toddler gates at the top and bottom. Then he chuckled as they got to the top and saw a gate already in place.

Larry smiled, "I have another one, haven't had have time to install it yet."

"Thanks, Larry!"

The upstairs hallway had 2 skylights, with 3 overhead lights surrounding them, that stretched nearly its entire length, bringing in bright natural daylight. There was a bedroom on either side of the hall, with a bathroom shared by both rooms. The master bedroom was at the end of the hall. It was a good size, bigger than Tim had ever had, with its own bathroom and a large closet. There was a decent sized office next to the master, complete with a desk, bookshelves and rolling desk chair.

Greg stopped at one of the bedrooms. "Papa, do we have to sleep by ourselves?"

"Would you rather share with Kyle?"

"Please?"

"That's fine, then how about we make the other room a playroom for you two?"

"That'll be fun!"

"Good! Now let's leave our stuff up here and go see what the rest of the house looks like. Kyle?"

Kyle was sprinting, toddler-style, for the bathroom, calling over his shoulder. "Havta go!"

Tim helped him and cleaned him up.

"All right, sweetie, you're all set! Feel better?"

"Yes, Papa, I made it in time!"

"Attaboy!"

They walked downstairs hand in hand, finding Greg and Larry exploring the rest of the house. A guest bedroom was tucked off a back hall behind the living room, with a full bath next to it and a laundry/mud room off the kitchen. Tim grimaced at the treadmill tucked in a corner, just because he was no longer a field agent didn't mean he could neglect his exercise regime. That treadmill would help him get his rear in gear again.

The spacious kitchen was open to another room Tim mentally tagged as a family room, with a TV, comfortable looking chairs and sofa. The kitchen table created a border between the two areas. Back in the front of the house, the formal dining room was to the right of the front door. The living room was to the left, with built-in bookshelves surrounding a fieldstone fireplace with a wood burning insert and what looked like a piece of a log as a mantel. Grinning, Larry showed them the multipurpose bookshelves. The shelf frame to the immediate right and left of the fireplace had shelves that Larry removed. Puzzled, Tim looked at it and then grinned, "Is that for stacking wood?"

"Yes! You can stack enough for a week of chilly nights on either side of the fireplace. When the weather warms up, the wood goes back outside and you put the shelves back in."

"Very clever!"

When the doorbell rang, the boys' eyes widened while Tim grinned, "I bet that's Cyndi!"

It was indeed Cyndi Porter and Tim greeted her with a hug and kiss. "Come and meet the boys!"

He introduced them and watched with pride as they politely greeted his friend.

Cyndi brought dinner, a delicious lasagna and salad. While it baked in the oven, the aroma filling the house, Tim remembered the lasagnas Tony made for team dinners and he fiercely missed his friend. He hoped Gibbs would share his letter with them, he was pretty sure he would.

Although they hadn't had a physically strenuous day, all three of the travelers were tired and after the Porters left and the kitchen was cleaned, they headed upstairs to unpack, have baths and stories.

After Tim unpacked Kyle's belongings and helped Greg, he hung all the clothes that had been in his garment bag, dug out pajamas, robe and slippers, found towels and what the boys needed for their baths and went to their room for Kyle.

He shook his head when he found both his sons sound asleep on top of their new beds. Baths in the morning then!

Stripping both boys down to their underwear and changing Kyle's to a pull up, he tucked them into their beds, kissed them, closed the curtains and turned the light off, leaving the door open and the bathroom light on. He'd need to make sure the upstairs toddler gate was closed before he turned in. Larry had kindly installed the one at the bottom of the stairs before they left.

Tim had everything upstairs that he needed but went downstairs anyway, to make sure the doors were locked and to check the thermostat. Realizing he didn't know whether the alarm on the SUV was set and that the keys were upstairs, he went back up, found the keys, went back down, opened the front door and hitting the buttons on the remote, set the alarm. Putting the keys in his pants pocket, he went back into the house, closed and locked the door, set the house alarm and nudged the thermostat up a little bit. It was chilly out and they were tired, a warmer house would help tonight.

Finally done, he dragged his weary body up the stairs and collapsed, face first, onto his bed. Eventually, he kicked his shoes off. Several minutes after that, he turned on his side and immediately woke enough to remove his wallet, phone and keys from his pants pockets. He woke up later with the moon shining in his face. Closing the curtains, he managed to stay coherent long enough to strip out of his clothes, put his jammies on and crawl under the covers.

While Tim's meeting with Dr. Donovan wasn't until 4:00 on Friday, he and the boys needed to visit school and day care to enroll for Monday. Still, they weren't in any hurry the next morning. Remembering the boys' first morning at Gibbs' house, Tim took a quick shower, enjoying the hot water, then slipped his pajamas and robe back on.

Downstairs, he pulled bacon, eggs and butter for toast out of the refrigerator. Bacon was a special treat today, usually they only had it on Sundays before they went to see Patrick. Before he started cooking anything, he ran upstairs to wake the boys.

They were just waking, hungry and full of energy. Tim showed them the closed toddler gate, making it clear that Kyle was not allowed to walk downstairs by himself, that he should call for help when he was ready to go down the stairs. Greg nodded, he vaguely remembered baby gates from the house they'd lived in before his father was hurt and they had to leave.

After they ate, they had a second look at the backyard. It was a nice size, with a tall privacy fence, a terrace with a table, chairs and a barbecue, a lawn perfect for playing on with flower beds bordering it. There was a shed at the end of the lawn. Greg stood at the edge on the terrace, "Look Papa, there's a trail around the yard."

Picking up Kyle, they went to take a look. "Ooh, that looks like a good bike trail, guys. Could skate on it too."

"Fun!"

Tim smiled at the kids' enthusiasm, trying not to think about returning to Silver Spring and cramming the 3 of them back into his tiny 1 bedroom apartment. He needed a steady income! His plan was for them to live on the income he'd earn here while he looked for a job back home, NCIS and the 'leave of absence' be damned.

Back inside, they ran upstairs, Tim right behind Kyle, for their baths. Clean hair and bodies felt good.

Forty minutes later, they were dressed in their school clothes and ready to meet new teachers and day care providers. They decided to walk to and from, it was only two blocks to Greg's school and Kyle's day care was a half-block down and a block over from the house. Taking the stroller, Tim figuring Kyle might want to ride on the way back, they were at the day care in 5 minutes.

There they met Ms. Jackie and Ms. Sally, who showed them around. Tim had already done the paperwork for the boys' admittance. Greg would be here rarely, if at all, but Tim wanted it set up, just in case.

Kyle smiled as he saw a toy train set and other toys that looked like fun. Out in the yard, he chortled as he spotted the Big Wheels and a pair of toddler roller skates. "Papa, dis pwace is fun!" Behind him, Ms. Sally raised an eyebrow. Previously mentioned as a possibility, Tim knew the eyebrow was an invitation for Kyle to stay and play while he and Greg went on to the school.

"Great, Kyle! Do you want to stay and play for a few minutes while Greg and I meet his teacher?"

Kyle thought about it, in that respect he reminded Tim of his own tendency to consider everything before making a decision. "Yes, pwease."

"All right, kiddo. Ms. Sally, here's my cell number. We'll be in Mr. Cooper's first grade class if you need us for anything. We'll be back in about 20 minutes. Kyle, we're only going to walk over, meet Greg's teacher, maybe meet his class and then come right back, all right?"

Kyle nodded, "Aw wight, Papa."

Leaving the stroller with Ms. Sally and determined not to look back or worry, Tim took Greg's hand as they walked. Greg was excited about school and Tim remembered the spelling test he needed to take. They'd do that later today, maybe while Kyle was napping this afternoon. Greg was a good speller and he'd studied the words carefully, he'd do fine.

They found the school easily enough, it was next door to the middle school Rob and Sarah had attended years ago. Tim decided not to think about the strangeness of being back here with two more children, still not his. First, they visited the office to make sure all the paperwork was done. It was and the school secretary and principal gave them a warm welcome.

The principal walked them to Greg's classroom where she introduced them to Mr. Cooper and the class. Given a warm welcome, the kids asked Greg a few questions and Tim was glad they'd talked about a few things first. None of them asked why they had different last names but they did want to know why Greg would only be here a month. Greg smiled, "We live in Maryland and Papa works in Washington, DC. He's on leave, that's like vacation, and he's going to teach for a month at MIT and then we have to go home."

That satisfied the kids and there were no questions after that. Greg had one question, "Is it going to snow this month?"

The children had varying opinions about that; after a couple of minutes Mr. Cooper skillfully cut them off while Greg and Tim waved goodbye. On the walk back to the day care, Tim asked if Greg would like to bring treats for his new class on Monday. His little face lit up as he said, "Can we bake cookies? The butterscotch ones you made us before?"

"Sure, how about we do those on Sunday after we talk with your dad? We'll make enough for your class and Kyle's day care."

"Thanks, Papa!"

"It was your idea!"

"Oh, yeah."

Back at the day care, they waited a few minutes for Kyle. He'd had to wait for a turn on the Big Wheel and wasn't yet done with his 5 minutes. Ms. Sally said he'd done very well with waiting. "That's hard to do at his age!"

Tim and Greg smiled, proud of the little guy. When he climbed off the Big Wheel, he ran at them, running full tilt into his Papa and brother. Both said, "Oomph", laughing at the same time.

"Dis was fun! Dese kids aw nice."

Tim kissed the top of his head, remembering from Sarah and Rob's years at the day care by the shelter that not all children were nice to homeless kids. He looked at Ms. Sally, whispering, "Is it okay to bring t-r-e-a-t-s on Monday?"

Smiling, she whispered back, "It's always okay!"

He grinned, "Thought you might say that."

The boys were ready, so they walked back to the house, talking about what they'd do that afternoon. The day had started out chilly but was warming up a little and Tim suggested they play in the backyard.

"Let's look in the shed and the garage, I'll bet we'll find things to play with."

"Really? Cool!"

Tim had heard from Larry that the last residents had grandchildren who'd spent many summers with them. When the couple moved, they left several outdoor toys behind for any children who came next. Tim also had a few things with him but hoped there would be more. If not, they could play with the inflatable ball and other things he'd brought either on the terrace or paved bike trail.

When they got home, they looked in the shed, finding a lawn mower, rake, clippers, gardening gloves and some odd shaped pieces of hard plastic. Tim tried to get them interested in the lawn mower but the boys weren't buying it although they did think he was funny in his attempts.

They did better in the garage. They discovered a door from the kitchen that went into the garage and had fun prowling around in there. Tim noticed a heater and thought the kids could play in here when the weather was bad. Then he remembered they'd be gone by then.

All three of them cheered when they found bicycles. A big one for Papa with a toddler seat for Kyle, a small bike for Greg and a Big Wheels for the boys to ride in the backyard. There were also three pairs of roller skates. Greg sat on the concrete floor, trying the smallest pair first and grinned when they fit.

"Yay, Papa, will you teach me how to skate?"

"I sure will." Tim hadn't skated since he was a grad student but he'd taught Artie, Sarah and Rob and was sure it would come back to him. And maybe he'd buy a pair for Kyle and it would be fun if he had a pair too. They wouldn't cost much and they could use them at home too – and were much easier to store than bikes.

They also found a pop up batting set complete with 3 bats and balls, a tetherball pole set into a rubber tire, the ball attached to the pole and a fold up ping pong table with a box of paddles and balls tucked in the fold. Tim spotted an envelope on the shelf with most of the equipment and pulled it down. He found instructions for erecting a fort off the side of the shed, saying the pieces were stored in the garden shed. That must be those hard plastic pieces they'd found. It sounded like fun, the instructions didn't look hard, maybe he and the boys could build it together. But not today, they had other things they needed to do.

What with all their exploring, hungry tummies were starting to growl, time for lunch. They had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, luckily still a favorite, with carrot sticks, apple slices and a glass of milk each. The boys played upstairs in the new playroom for an hour or so until it was time for Kyle's nap.

While little brother napped, big brother took a few minutes to review his spelling words before taking the test. Tim quietly took a couple of photos of the student working, sending them to Ms. Webster with a caption that read, "Testing in Progress, Quiet Please!"

Greg was finished before his time was up and handed it to his father. Tim took another photo, sending it to Ms. Webster with another comment. "Will scan and send to you in a few minutes."

The test taken care of, Greg decided he wanted to draw a picture for Gibbs. They found the boys' colored pencils and he sat at the kitchen table, thinking deeply before he started drawing. Across the table, Tim was drawing his own picture, one of the three of them, for Gibbs to share with the others. Figuring Greg would draw them on the train, Tim drew one with the three of them standing in front of the 'new' house and then Tim with what he hoped looked like professorial robes walking the boys to day care, school and then to a classroom marked 'MIT'. He laughed, for all the sketching he'd done at crime scenes over the years, this looked like someone younger than Kyle was drawing it.

Greg's looked much better than his Papa's but he figured Papa was a grownup and probably hadn't drawn or colored since he was a kid. His own drawing had the three of them on the train, Kyle glued to the window with Papa holding onto him with one hand as if he was trying to climb out. Papa's other hand had an apple in it while Greg held one of his favorite books. He did a great job of drawing the interior of the train, the seats, the overhead racks and even a few people around them, including the girl his age.

When Kyle woke up, he joined them and after looking at his brother's drawing, sat down to draw them on the train, waving at the cars that were stopped, waiting for the train to go by.

Tim redrew his and Greg nodded, giving his approval. After some watercolors were applied and allowed to dry, Greg and Kyle wrote a letter to go with it.

_"Dear Gibbs,_

_We rode the train to MIT with Papa. He is going to teach here. We met his friends, Dr. Larry and Dr. Cyndi. We miss you all. We like our new house, it's big and we have a yard, bikes and skates! Please share the pictures with everyone._

_Love,_

_Kyle and Greg"_

Kyle signed the letter with his 2½-year-old version of a 'K' while Greg printed his name and Tim signed his name below theirs. He was a little surprised at the letter but he hadn't prompted the boys.

After they finished Gibbs' pictures and letter, they did some for Uncle Rob and new ones for their father. When they wrote Uncle Rob, they asked him to take the new train pictures to their father for his room.

Tim wrote a note under the boys' names which, when he received it, made Robbie miss his big brother even more.

With the pictures and letters carefully separated into two envelopes, they addressed them to Gibbs and Rob, affixing a stamp to each one. Then they walked down the block to the mailbox to mail the pictures and check for any mail addressed to the house. There were 2 advertisements which Tim put straight into the recycling bin.

Spending the rest of the afternoon playing in the backyard, they were pleasantly tired that evening, ready to enjoy the rest of Cyndi Porter's lasagna. She called shortly after they'd finished, offering to stay with the boys on Saturday if Tim needed to run any errands. He did and they arranged a time in the morning. The boys already liked the Porters and didn't object when Tim told them he was going to go grocery shopping and do some other errands in the morning while Dr. Cyndi stayed with them.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Gibbs dragged himself into his house after days at the office and in the field working a particularly stubborn case. Throwing the mail onto the table, he reminded himself to get back to work on the new table he'd started. One that would seat his whole family. He sighed, once again acknowledging that although Bishop had done a good job on the electronic end of things, he couldn't help feeling they would have found the dirtbags in half the time if Tim had been there working his magic.

Making a pot of coffee, he sorted the mail while he waited for his coffee. He smiled, a big happy smile, when he saw the envelope with the return address in Silver Spring. He set it aside as he kept going, most of it was junk as usual, but there were also bills. At the bottom of the pile was another envelope addressed in what looked like Tim's handwriting. This time the return address was in Cambridge, Massachusetts!

Pouring a mug of coffee, he switched the light on, found his reading glasses, sat down and opened the first envelope from Tim. He shook his head that he'd never thought of writing, they could have been in touch all this time! He blinked in surprise when he read Tim's note about the temporary teaching job at MIT, wondering why he'd need that. Then he read further and frowned deeply as Tim told him about his resignation being rejected but without the form that would legally force him to stay, and instead, being put on an indefinite leave of absence, with no pay or benefits. That was so many levels of wrong! Intending to call Vance, he pushed the chair back to grab his phone from his coat pocket and then decided he'd better read the second letter first.

That was a happier letter, with paintings and drawings from the boys. One of them was divided in half with Tim in the Silver Spring apartment with his hair standing straight up and a frown on his face in a room crowded with a large bed, a bunk bed and a big tub of toys and books. The second drawing, on the other half of the paper, had Tim smiling and standing in a big room with two other rooms drawn off to the side. He read the note from the boys and Tim and found himself blinking away tears.

Before he hauled himself up the stairs to bed, he sent out an email to Ducky, Tony, Ellie, Abby and Jimmy, letting them know that he'd heard from Tim, that he had a temporary teaching position at MIT as NCIS had cut him off. As his team would be off for the rest of the week, he invited them all to a potluck dinner over the weekend. Then they could read Tim's letters for themselves.

**NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS**

Tim was a little sad as he wished his classes a Happy Thanksgiving that last Friday. With no classes held Thanksgiving week, this was the end of his brief tenure at MIT, he and the boys would take the train home a week from tomorrow. While the boys missed their father, school and day care friends and Tim his brother, Gibbs, former team and friends, they'd had a wonderful month here. Tim still wasn't looking forward to returning to his tiny cramped apartment which was becoming smaller every time he thought about it. He'd sent resumes and cover letters for several job openings but hadn't yet had any noteworthy responses.

The money he'd earned at MIT would pay the rent and living expenses for 4 months after which his dwindling savings account and Mr. Gemcity's would resume responsibility if he hadn't found a new job. He still hadn't done anything about finding an attorney to discuss what had happened with NCIS and being left in limbo. Neither he nor Sarah had heard anything about the Navy paying them the support they should have received as minor dependents when Commander McGee died. If they ever did receive it, they'd split it into thirds, sharing with Patrick. After all, someone, presumably his adoptive mother, had supported him during his childhood and possibly through college.

Tim resolutely looked forward. Dr. Donovan had given his approval for the little family to stay in the house through Thanksgiving. If the good doctor had his way, Professor McGee could stay and live in that house for the rest of his working life.

After a fair amount of discussion, Tim and the Porters decided to have Thanksgiving at Tim's place. That would be easier for the boys, thus making it easier for Tim. Larry would marinate the turkey and then bring it over to roast in the McGees' large oven. Tim and Cyndi split preparation of the side dishes between them, keeping in mind there would only be 5 of them, including 2 children who wouldn't eat as much as the adults.

Between his last day of class and Thanksgiving Day, Tim had a long list of things he needed to do. Sorting toys, putting the ones they'd originally found in the garage back there, doing a trial packing to see if he needed to ship more home than the 2 boxes he'd shipped here from Silver Spring a month ago. He laughed at the thought, he already knew the answer! The boys had more clothes, shoes, toys and books while Tim had replaced his ancient MIT sweatshirt and t-shirts with new ones, purchasing a few for gifts.

He smiled to himself, glad he'd taken a chance on this job. He'd taken the boys to see several of the historic sites, including the Boston Tea Party and the Freedom Trail. Buying family passes, they'd been to the New England Aquarium, a wonderful children's museum, the Skywalk Observatory and the Museum of Science, which had reminded him of the museum by the same name in Seattle, the weekend he ran into Artie. Ignoring that thought, Tim had been encouraged when both boys were interested in the stars and the science museum. Their most recent trek had been to see the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill.

He thought they'd do the same thing in DC once he was working again, start visiting the museums, especially those of the Smithsonian, and the historical sites. Like many people who live in interesting places, they usually only visited those places when out-of-town visitors arrived.

Saturday morning, Cyndi arrived to stay with the kids while Tim ran errands. He was glad he was out early, especially for the grocery store. By the time he returned to the SUV with food for the week, including Thanksgiving Day, the store was getting crowded. As he'd already picked up his dry cleaning, he took the groceries straight home.

Later that day, he was placing the last of the outdoor toys on the garage shelves when the doorbell rang. Kyle was napping upstairs and Greg was helping with the toys. Greg went upstairs to start sorting his toys while Tim answered the door.

He was surprised to find Dr. Donovan there. "Hello, Tim, hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No, sir. Come in, please. We're sorting and starting to pack, I'm always glad for a break. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Yes, if you'll join me. Are the boys home?"

Tim nodded, "Kyle's napping and Greg is upstairs in the playroom."

"Ah, good. Well, this shouldn't take long, but I did want to tell you in person."

After taking his jacket, Tim led his visitor into the kitchen where he filled the teakettle and put it on the stove top before taking two mugs from a cupboard. That sounded…he didn't know how it sounded but his stomach had butterflies.

"Sugar or milk in your tea?"

"No, thank you."

Dr. Donovan asked Tim questions about the boys, how they'd liked it here, while Tim prepared the tea. When they were finally both seated, tea in mugs on the table, Donovan looked at him with a smile. "I have to say I'm glad to have the chance to do this. As you know, Professor Bradley went out on an early maternity leave. She's decided to take an extended leave which leaves us one instructor short for longer than anticipated. I've already spoken to Dr. McNeil and he's amenable to teaching her classes during that leave. However, that does leave his own classes short and I'd like you to consider staying on, to continue teaching the same classes you have been through this term and the spring semester."

Tim blinked in surprise. Stay here until the end of the spring term? Shaking himself, he started asking questions, "Will we be able to stay here, in this house? And the SUV, is that ours for the stay? Although I could drive the Prius up here."

"Prius, how ever do you fit two children and all their paraphernalia into one of those? I know they're good cars, but they seem somewhat small for your needs."

"It's a 4-door, easier to get the boys in and out. We managed but yes, it was a little tight."

"All right, well, to answer your questions, yes, this house is yours as long as you're here, as well as the SUV. It belongs to the university, more or less a pool car, don't know why but we've always had one or two vehicles."

"Salary…"

"In light of the wonderful job you've done, we're giving you a raise. It's not huge, don't get too excited but for someone who has never taught college level classes full-time before, you've done an excellent job. Actually, what you've accomplished would be excellent even if you had taught before."

"Thank you, sir. It's been fun."

"Ah, grand! Now, I don't need an answer today, wanted to give you some time to think about it. I know you have responsibilities at home, with your brother and the apartment."

"Good points, sir. I'll have to consider both my brothers and the apartment."

Donovan didn't stay long, having said what he needed to say. He left Tim thinking hard and fast.

The rest of the weekend passed in somewhat of a daze for Tim and he had a difficult time thinking of anything besides the offer from Dr. Donovan. While Greg had a playdate on Sunday, Tim took Kyle to a train museum the little boy loved to visit. They had a wonderful time together.

In the meantime, he continued to prepare for Thanksgiving and the still possible move back to Maryland. Much to Tim's disappointment, Rob wouldn't be joining them for the holiday. With a full week scheduled off at Christmas, he'd been turned down for additional time at Thanksgiving. And that meant any discussion between the brothers would have to be done via video chat.

Monday, Tim took the boys bowling. The three of them had a wonderful time, with Papa helping Kyle with his bowling ball. When they returned home, Greg reminded him to check the mail and Tim nodded, he was pretty sure he hadn't checked since Thursday.

Pulling the mail out of the box, he stuffed it all in his jacket pocket and then walked back to the house with the boys. He usually threw it into the recycle bin but when the boys were with him, they liked to go through it. Once inside the house, Greg and Kyle went straight to the kitchen table, looking expectantly at him. With a grin, he pulled the mail out of his pocket and handed it to the boys who started going through it.

Watching over their little shoulders, Tim's eyebrows rose in surprise at one piece of mail. The envelope was different. For one thing, the address was written. And not written in a cursive font on a computer and printed, but written neatly by hand with an ink pen. It looked so elegant that Tim was sorry the forwarding sticker ruined the appearance. The return address, also handwritten, was a university with an address in the United Kingdom. Reaching over, he pointed to it, "May I please have that back? It might be a real letter!"

With a proprietary nod, Kyle handed it to him and the boys abandoned the rest of the mail to watch him. Opening the envelope, Tim wondered if this was some sort of prank from Sarah - or a plea for donations. Although his Gemcity and Zubin Cai mail went to a private mailbox at a different address, not to his apartment mailbox.

Inside the envelope, he was shocked to find a letter offering him a position as a visiting professor, one specializing in science and mathematics. The offer was from the President of the University, with copies for Human Resources and a professor who Tim thought must be the chairperson for Mathematics and Science. The author stated that the contract was normally written for two years but was negotiable.

The boys looked at him, a little anxious. Finally he smiled, "This might be good news, I'm not sure yet. I have to look at some things online." They nodded, satisfied, they were used to Papa doing that. Turning, they went back to their mail sorting.

Sitting down at the laptop, Tim started researching, looking into the university and the people named in the letter. The school had a fine reputation as did the president and the Chair, or Master, of the department copied on the letter. There was a list of professors and Tim was happy to see that others were tagged as 'visiting professors'. He ran quick backgrounds on them, curious to see their credentials. He read everything he could find about the university, its history, location, financial status, educational goals, number of graduates and their statistics as to professional jobs, etc.

After lunch, Kyle and Greg played upstairs while Tim retreated to his office, leaving the door open to hear them. He contacted his family attorney, explaining the situation, asking if there would be any challenges to taking the Hart children overseas for a year or two. He had full custody and was at least temporarily their legal guardian but didn't know if that meant he was free to take them out of the country. Sarah was legally next-of-kin but hadn't yet attained power of attorney, there were some fine details she was still ironing out. Once she had that, he believed he'd be able to adopt the boys. Although if Patrick showed signs of improvement, adoption was off the table. Truthfully, he'd be happy to raise the boys in whatever status – adoptive father, guardian, quasi-foster parent or uncle. The attorney said there wouldn't be a problem with him taking the children to the UK to live. He did advise Tim to consult his sister before making a final decision.

He also spoke with his attorney about his problems with NCIS, telling him upfront he knew it didn't involve family law. He was given three names with contact information, all three highly recommended. Tim breathed easier after the call.

And now he had decisions to make, multiple choices to ponder. The offer from the British university intrigued and tempted him. While it was close to London, it was located outside the city in a town called Brambury, which he'd also researched. He'd also looked at schools for Greg and Kyle and was encouraged by what he found. Housing, well that was one of the few details in the letter, he'd have a stipend for housing. He laughed to himself, with the ridiculously high prices in the DC Metro Area, he might pay less in the UK. Although he'd heard London was one of the most expensive cities on the planet. Looking it up, he shook his head, at least it wasn't in the top 10 most expensive!

He wondered if outside London would be less expensive; Gemcity's accounts could help, as long as it wasn't the entire rent. They'd need a car, he looked back at the letter but there weren't any details about personal belongings, air fares, transportation around the UK or anything like that.

One thing his attorney had told him was that without the proper form, NCIS had no legal hold over him once he'd formally resigned, which he'd done nearly 2 months ago. Their 'leave of absence' meant essentially nothing. So that was no longer an obstacle and he was glad he still had funds left in his health savings account to pay for his medical insurance. As Navy dependents, the boys had medical coverage, which would continue until they were grown.

He sat in thought, ping-ponging between the college position or staying here at MIT. And possibly returning to NCIS when the legal crap was cleared up. He mentally scratched that off the list right away. He loved Gibbs and his friends but he had no desire to return to the agency that tossed him out at the first sign of, well nothing really. He certainly hadn't done anything wrong, nor had anyone else. He'd been forced out due to some Legal wonk's fear of possible trouble.

He'd finally admitted to himself that he blamed Vance and was hurt by the man's actions or lack of action, especially after the support he'd showed. No, NCIS was not a possibility. He wouldn't subject the boys to the dangers of being a field agent anyway. Not to mention the crazy hours! And he really didn't want to work in the basement again, although part of that had been the dissolution of Gibbs' team, engineered by Vance. Huh. He needed more interaction with people than he would have coding all day. Although Cyber Crimes did good work, caught a lot of criminals.

He thought about going to the FBI. While it was a possibility, he wasn't wildly enthusiastic about it. One of the things he'd loved about NCIS was the size of the agency; he believed it gave them more room to maneuver and make a real difference, rather than getting lost in the bureaucratic nonsense Fornell always had to deal with. To Tim, the Bureau looked like layer upon layer of management and thousands of anonymous agents, much too big and rigid for Tim's liking.

Circling back to his current employer, he thought long and hard about his decision. He'd need to talk with Sarah and Rob before making a final decision but he wanted to have his feelings and facts sorted first.

Coming up here for this month had been a lifesaver. He'd enjoyed the teaching and it had helped him get through his depression after the debacle with NCIS. Being here, in Cambridge and at MIT, was comforting. He'd lost one home, NCIS, but been welcomed, even sought out, by his previous home, MIT.

And that was his sticking point. It was comforting. There had been a bit of a challenge the first few days but after that, everything had been smooth sailing. And while Tim appreciated calm after the tumultuous weeks, he wasn't challenged by smooth sailing. He was used to challenges; all his life he'd faced one challenge after another and while the respite had been much needed, it wouldn't keep him interested for the long haul. He'd probably be all right for the semester, but he knew he'd be restless.

Wherever his thoughts took him, they consistently returned to the university position in England. He would love traveling with the kids, especially by train, the trip up here had certainly proved that. And it would be good for them to learn about other cultures, see how people in other countries lived and where a lot of the culture and traditions in the U.S. originated. It would be good for him, too. He had vague memories of some of the places he'd lived in during his early life as a Navy brat but not enough to have made much of a difference in his outlook. With the tunnel under the English Channel providing a road, and train, to the continent, they could travel the length and width in the 2 years they'd be there!

Grinning to himself, he went back to his laptop, looking at prices for cars and gasoline in the UK, the price for train tickets, the cost of lodging in some of the places he wanted to visit. Lastly, he looked at the overall cost of living so close to London. This is what he wanted to do. For nearly his entire life, he'd taken care of other people: Patrick, baby Sarah, then Sarah and Rob. Even after educating himself out of poverty and landing his dream job at NCIS, he'd remained cautious, afraid he would accidentally cross some invisible line and end up homeless again.

Now it was time to step out of that pattern. For the second time, the first being NCIS, he'd step up to a challenge of his choice. Now he was going to take these children and enjoy life with them while still providing a decent home. And he'd keep writing; as long as Gemcity and Cai, his other penname, sold books, he'd have a cushion to fall back on.

Excited by the possibilities, he read the letter again. There was an email address and the President requested a reply via email if he was interested. Feeling that he was going forward, not trying to find a stopgap until 'whenever', he took his time writing his reply. He supposed he should wait at least a day before he sent it, not look too eager. He fished the envelope off the floor and found the mailing date. Then he realized that with transatlantic mail, they probably didn't know how many days it would take to reach him and it had taken a few extra days to be forwarded from Silver Spring. He'd send his reply today.

Expressing his interest and dropping a couple of facts to show he was interested enough to do some research or already had knowledge of the school, he managed to sound enthusiastic without revealing his growing excitement. He wrote the thing and then spent nearly two hours tweaking it, stopping only to get Kyle down for his nap and help Greg look up a few unfamiliar words in his latest book.

Finally, he sent the email and sat back in amazement. He'd never done anything quite like this. Loath to take uneducated chances after the misery of his childhood, he always took time to ponder and research. At least he'd done a little research!

After sending the letter, he decided he'd better consult his sister as his attorney advised. Looking at the time, he figured it was just right, Sarah should be home from class. First sending a text, he smiled when her reply arrived saying she was home, did he want to Skype? He opened Skype and pressed her contact number, his grin even wider when she answered.

"Hey, what's up? Ooh, you look very happy."

"I am! I'm excited but need to run something by you."

"Ok, something that involves the kids?"

"Yes." He showed her the letter, although she claimed he was waving it at her. Finally, he held it in front of the camera and she read what she could see of it.

"Wow, a visiting professor over here! That's awesome! Are you actually considering it?"

"Only things keeping me here are Rob and Patrick. Well, and Gibbs. We can visit Patrick via video chat every week; if his condition starts to improve, I'll bring the kids. Rob can visit whenever he has time, we can chip in for his airfare. You'll be there for the foreseeable future. And the idea of teaching at Bedford and living in Brambury intrigues me."

"We can do a lot of traveling. I've been to a few places but I'm a little hesitant to go alone to some places."

"And I approve of your hesitancy; caution is good. Yes, we can travel on the weekends and school holidays."

"Then you're not going back to NCIS?"

Quickly he told her about his conversation with their family attorney. She nodded, "I'm glad, I've worried about you going back there. Just doesn't seem right. What happened wasn't right in the first place."

Tim nodded and she grinned, "Haven't had a chance to tell you, but I now have the power of attorney for Patrick, also known as David Hart."

"Yay!"

"And I guess moving the kids over here is up to me, huh?"

"Yes."

"Do you know any details yet? How much they'll pay, how long you'll be here, where you'll live, what else they pay for?"

"I know there's a housing stipend and my buddies Gemcity and Cai will handle the rest if it's expensive. They said the usual contract is for two years and that's negotiable. I hope they'll pay our way over there. I think we'd just bring our clothes, books and toys. What?"

Sarah was shaking her head. "You'll need to bring your bed, from what I've heard there are no 'California Kings' over here. Don't know about platform beds but that would be cheap to ship with your mattress. And your favorite kitchen stuff. But no appliances, the wiring and voltage is different in the UK. I bought a converter for my chargers when I got here. But if you get one at home, then buy a set that's good for more countries than the UK. Seems like each country has their own configuration."

"Ah, interesting, thank you for the heads up."

"So, you'd want a furnished place. A house with a garden, which we call a yard."

"Yes. Preferably within walking distance of the university or the school Greg will attend and a day care for Kyle."

"Ok, I'm taking notes. I know someone whose sister is an estate agent, that's real estate agent to us. Once you know more details and have decided, she could start looking. I have a good idea of what you'll want. Modern kitchen, plumbing, heating and electricity, the rest – maybe some character?"

"Maybe, more concerned with the size and condition of the place. Yes on the modern what you said. I'd like four bedrooms, one will be your room when you visit."

"You know, that's an idea."

"What is?"

"Well, you know when I first got here, I was determined to live in London, no matter how long it took me to get to class. So now I'm sharing a 2 bed, 1 bath flat with 3 other women and traveling nearly an hour each way. Sure, it's by Tube, not car or bus but it's still a pain and I haven't lived this crowded since we were staying at the shelter! Say that you decide yes on the job, what if I moved in with you, pay my share of the rent? If we could find something where my room would be removed from yours and the boys, that would make things easier. And then I can help with the kids and the three of you will have someone familiar with you."

"How long will it take you to get to class from the town?"

"I'm thinking it'll be faster. Brambury is on the same side of London as my school whereas my flat is on the other side. I'll check it out. While you're figuring out details, I'll borrow a car and drive out there. Maybe I can get Bets and her estate agent sister Michelle to go with me, then we could poke around. Ooh, I'm excited!"

"And if the details work out, you're all right with me taking the kids out of the country?"

"Yes, unless as you said - Patrick showing definite signs of improvement. We'll keep up a video chat schedule and the kids should visit him in person at least twice a year, more often if possible."

"Agreed. Maybe we come back for Christmas holidays and during the summer, see him then. That'll make Gibbs happy too."

"I know you've loved him like a dad for years."

"Yeah, I have."

"Speaking of Gibbs, that reminds me; I received a letter from the Navy yesterday saying they'll be sending a check for the support they should have paid Kathy. And it will continue while the boys are dependents."

"About time!"

"I know. Tim, you need to use it for the boys now. For housing, transportation, clothes, their education, all that stuff. I'll deposit it in the family account and you can move it to your account and pay yourself back for what you've spent on them. I'll see if I can get them to direct deposit to your account."

"Wow, well, yeah. It should go to the boys."

"And as their guardian, for you too." She smiled, "I signed the papers for that two days ago. You're officially theirs and they're officially yours. Whatever happens with Patrick, you're raising the kids, unless he makes a complete recovery."

"Thank you and I'm hoping he does make a complete recovery!"

"Rob says that would be a miracle and that it would probably take years."

"Yeah, we've talked about it, too."

"Tim, there's something else I've been thinking about. And I know CPS would have done this if we weren't related to Pat. We should have our DNA tested. The boys, you, me, Patrick, Rob too if he wants, we might as well just do it once. Maybe your birth father will show up on yours and who knows, there might be some relatives out there we don't know about."

She shook her head at his look. "I didn't say we had to contact them, I just want to know. Look at it this way, if any medical questions come up, a long lost relative could have answers for us."

Tim huffed but nodded. "Any word about the support money the Navy should have paid us?"

"No but then I'm not the legal contact for all of the McGees, that's you. I'm only responsible for the Hart portion of our family."

"Good point." He shook his head, "I may still pursue a lawsuit against the agency."

"You should. They treated you like last night's fish in this morning's garbage."

She got an eyebrow for that and laughed. "Ok, they treated you like crap. No folksy sayings."

"Please!"

"What are you going to do next?"

"Stare at my Inbox until my eyeballs fall out, for a response from Bedford. What time is it there?"

"3:45. So you might have a response or even a phone call today. If everything sounds good, what will you do?"

"Ask for it all in writing and then…call Rob and Gibbs to tell them. That's going to be tough."

"Rob's talked about doing a year of residency over here. He likes some of the innovations they're practicing here."

"That's right, he has mentioned that. Huh, that'd be fun, have the three of us over there. Geordie can visit us all at once."

"Yes. What about Gibbs?"

"He can come stay. He's got a lot of vacation days, he could travel with us."

"That's an interesting idea."

"She says politely."

"Hey, I only know his work persona. Which frankly scared me to death."

"Just what it was supposed to do!"

"Ok, so he'll visit. What about Ducky and the Palmers? And Tony and…new girl?"

"Yep, hoping to have plenty of room. Doubt they'll all be there at once, although Ducky and the Palmers might travel together."

"And Tony?"

"If we had time to go to Italy with him, that would be so much fun!"

"We could take the overnight train, they have sleeper cars. Be easier on the kids," she chuckled, "and us."

"Yes. Oh my gosh, Sarah! I've got an email already."

"Read it aloud!"

He read it to her and they both laughed as it only contained a request for a time for a phone chat. The two of them disconnected and he replied, saying he was available for the next two hours and could do a Skype or video chat if that was preferred.

Before Kyle woke from his nap, his papa met the President of Bedford University, the head of their Human Resources and the Master of the department he'd be in. They answered most of his questions before he asked them. He was thankful he'd looked at the typical cost of living in the area for a family of four. When they told him what the salary would be, he knew it would be more than adequate, depending upon where they found to live. They wanted him to start the second week in June, saying his first classes would be held during the summer session, which ran 6 weeks. That was a relief, they could stay here and then move. And Tim liked the idea of starting with summer session, the classes would likely be a little less formal and would give him a chance to learn more about the university, the town of Brambury and the UK. And he'd have a salary coming in while his family got settled.

They would pay for his family's transportation and move, up to a stated amount. When he told them if he took the position, he hoped to rent a furnished home, he would only ship his bed, kitchenware, clothing and the children's toys, they smiled happily, knowing that meant he wouldn't be shipping a houseful of furniture or a car. By the end of the call, he'd been given enough information to make an informed decision.

They asked for an answer by the end of January, which worked well for him. In the meantime, the HR person said that she would be available for any questions or issues that arose.

When they disconnected, Tim sat in thought, a little upset about leaving his younger brothers in Maryland while he and the boys stayed here and then possibly moved overseas. He needed to discuss this with Rob as soon as possible. He'd consult Gibbs and probably Ducky, too. These were big decisions, although he was excited by both offers.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As he'd promised Tim, Rob did put in for the time off but wasn't surprised when he was denied, considering he'd have a week off at Christmas. Then he ended up working extra hours, many extra hours. By early Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, he'd far exceeded the maximum number of straight shifts residents were allowed to work and his supervisor ordered him off duty for 72 hours. Deciding to surprise his brother and hoping he could still catch a flight, Rob called Gibbs. He knew from Tim that the man was a very early riser and hoped that meant 0500 was an okay time to call. All he needed was the flight information, hoping to travel on the same flight as Gibbs.

Gibbs was in the kitchen making breakfast and was surprised at the caller ID on his phone. "Rob, is everything all right?"

"Yes, Gibbs. I've been called off for the next few days and decided to fly to Boston with you, just need the flight number."

"Great! Except I decided to drive up, thought that way I can bring back any extra boxes Tim and the boys have rather than paying to ship them. Want to ride with me?"

"Sure! How soon are you leaving?"

"About 20 minutes. I can pick you up, be there in an hour."

"Perfect. I can help drive and split gas costs."

"You get called off because you worked too many hours?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Then I drive, you sleep. No need to split costs, I planned to pay for it all. You might want to bring a pillow."

"All right, here's my address."

Happy with the new plan, after disconnecting, Rob made a reservation for a flight home from Boston on Friday.

It was a little strange at first as this was the first time Gibbs and Rob had met in person but they'd talked on the phone a few times, had Tim and the kids in common and that was enough. Gibbs had already let the Porters know he was driving up; before Rob fell asleep, he sent them a text that he would arrive with Gibbs.

The Porters were thrilled that they'd see Rob, whom they hadn't seen since his graduation from medical school 2 years before, and excited to meet Gibbs. They texted the men that it might be easier if they went straight to Tim's place. That would be a huge surprise as Tim had no idea either one was joining them. Once Larry sent the address and directions, the DC travelers were set!

Cyndi thought about the amount of food they'd planned and grabbed her keys and purse, on her way to the grocery store. Adding another adult male to a meal planned for 4 adults and 2 young children would make a big difference, especially with Rob's voracious appetite. Remembering he'd need plenty of nutritious snacks throughout his stay, she mentally added snacks to her list. Those little packets of cheese, nuts and fruit would be perfect for him, along with a few protein drinks.

With the early departure and many people taking the day off work, the traffic wasn't as heavy as usual. It also helped that Gibbs knew the best route in and around New York City. They pulled into Cambridge just shy of 7 hours later, Rob having slept most of the way. They stopped for coffee before continuing to Tim's.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Hearing a car in the driveway, Tim looked at his watch, 12:45. Cyndi had mentioned bringing the big pot for the potatoes over early today. Tim would cook and mash them here. He wondered how many potatoes they'd need though, with just the 5 of them. The kids wouldn't eat that much. Three potatoes for 3 adults and 2 kids would be more than enough with stuffing and the other dishes she was bringing, he didn't need the big pot.

They'd had lunch early and Kyle was already down for his nap with Greg reading in the playroom. Tim hurried to the door to stop whoever this was from ringing the doorbell. He'd been too late with Dr. Donovan the other day and then lucked out when Kyle didn't wake. He really didn't want to run the risk again.

When he opened the door, his mouth fell open and he looked from one person to the next and back again. His face lit up and a huge grin appeared on his face. Holding his arms wide, he wrapped them around his baby brother and his…Gibbs. The man he wished was his father.

It felt so good to hold them, to feel them holding onto him. Finally moving one arm, he pulled Rob's head down, kissing him and then dipped his head into Gibbs' shoulder, smiling and relaxing at the affectionate squeeze from his former boss.

Eventually, they went inside. Hearing the front door, Greg came downstairs. When he spotted who'd arrived, he ran straight into his uncle's and Gibbs' arms. Then he hugged Papa, who he thought arranged the surprise until he saw the tears. "Papa, you didn't know?"

"No, Greg, this was a surprise for me too!" Tim looked at the others, "Kyle's napping upstairs. Let's go out to the family room so we don't wake him."

First they had a tour of the downstairs and then brought in Gibbs' sea bag, Rob's pack and a pillow. Tim looked at it, "Good thing you brought that, not sure we have extra pillows. But you can sleep with me, Rob, and Gibbs can have the guest room down here."

"Appreciate it."

"Uh, let's check for sheets, blankets and pillows." As he looked, Tim remembered he'd washed the bedding from the guest room when they first arrived and laundered all the bedding and towels. "You're all set. Towels and soap are in the bathroom." He looked at the two of them, quietly saying, "I'm so happy to see you two! I need to talk with both of you, good stuff, well I think it is, hope you will too."

Rob smirked, "I knew it! Donovan extended your contract."

"Not yet, he did make me an offer, though. Not permanent."

Gibbs wanted to frown but didn't want to discourage Tim. He blinked, "How not permanent?"

"Through spring."

"Huh."

Tim smiled, "Tell you the rest tonight, after the boys are asleep. Haven't mentioned it to them."

The other two nodded, curious.

When Kyle woke, the 5 of them went for a walk to show Uncle Rob and Gibbs the day care, Greg's school and Papa's office. Tim hadn't thought much about that before, that he had an office on campus. He shared it with a couple of other professors but there were walls, a door and a portion of it was his. Gibbs smiled when he saw the team photo on the wall on Tim's side of the office next to a frame made for 3 photos. The first photo had young Tim, Patrick and baby Sarah. The second photo had Tim, Sarah, Rob and Geordie; they looked happier than the photos he'd seen at the shelter. The third shot had Tim, the boys, Rob and Sarah.

Spotting another framed photo on Tim's desk, Gibbs grinned, reaching out and ruffling Tim's hair, which was longer than he'd ever seen it. That photo was a shot of Gibbs and Tim, both in suit jackets and ties, smiling at each other. He had no idea where it had been taken, although from the shape of Tim's face, he knew it was in the last few years. With a lot of work, his baby faced agent had trimmed down, toned up and in the process lost that baby face.

When they returned to the house, Rob noticed that Greg looked nervous, almost squirming. When he put a calming hand on his shoulder, his nephew turned his head to smile at him.

"Uncle Rob, is it ok if I ask Gibbs something?"

"Of course!"

"Ok." Standing up straight, the boy held out his hand to his little brother and they marched into the kitchen where Papa was making them hot chocolate and Gibbs was making coffee.

"Um, Gibbs, Kyle and I have a question for you."

Tim smiled; Greg and Kyle had talked to him about this and he'd let Gibbs know the question was coming.

"What's that, kiddos?"

Greg took deep breath and then in a rush of air as he exhaled, said, "Willyoubeourgrandpa?"

Gibbs smiled, holding his arms open, folding them around the boys when they ran to him. "I would love to be your grandpa. Is that what you want to call me?"

The boys nodded into his legs and he grinned, "Then I am now officially Grandpa. But," He squatted down to look the boys in the eyes, "only you two are allowed to call me that. Not your uncle or your papa."

"Oh. But what do they call you?"

"I have an idea, but let's see what they say."

They turned and saw Tim and Rob with grins on their faces. In unison, they said, "How about Dad?"

Gibbs blinked at the moisture in his eyes and then quit fighting it. Holding his arms open again, he pulled Tim and Rob in with the boys. "Sounds perfect to me."

Rob laughed, "Good thing I rode with you today, uh? Otherwise, we still would not have met in person!"

They laughed at that, it did seem odd to go from 'how do you do' to 'call me Dad' in the space of one day. But Gibbs' heart had found a special place for Tim and once Gibbs saw the photos in the shelter, the 'sibs' jumped right in with Tim. The little ones, as sad as the reasons, were an unexpected bonus for Gibbs. Rob appreciated that his brother and Gibbs had grown closer over the last months, discovering that the things in the past that had bothered Tim were very definitely things of the past. Once Rob let go of his own feelings about all that, something he was happy to do, he found Gibbs interesting and interested in him, and he sure wouldn't mind having a second father.

Once they all had hot beverages, they raised a toast to the newest member of the family, Dad Gibbs. Then he raised one to them, welcoming them all to the Gibbs' family. Tim beamed at that, having some idea what it meant to be included with Shannon, Kelly, Jackson and Gibbs' mother Anne.

Gibbs and Rob played with the boys in the playroom while Tim figured out what to have for dinner. Looking in the freezer, he gave a blustery sigh of relief when he found a large package of chicken breasts, enough to feed them all. Then he smiled, one of the features of this kitchen was an indoor grill. He'd thaw the chicken, marinate it for an hour or two and then grill it. That, a vegetable and maybe rice? He didn't want to serve potatoes when they'd have them tomorrow.

He was about to start thawing the chicken when a hand landed on his shoulder. Smiling, there was only one person who could sneak up on him like that, he turned. "There's an indoor grill here, thought we'd have chicken."

"Or we can get takeout, my treat." He held up a hand as Tim started to protest, "I already asked Rob and the boys what your favorite is. Figure we should order soon as they're probably swamped tonight." Gibbs chuckled, "Rob said when you found that it was still open, you called to tell him. Greg says it makes you smile."

Tim chuckled, "Busted! Yeah, when Rob, Sarah and I moved here, we'd never had takeout or eaten in a nice restaurant. I might have when I was little but don't remember. While I was at Johns Hopkins, we continued living at the camp but had enough money for food. I didn't want to carry a camp stove and canisters of propane around so we ate cold food like peanut butter sandwiches, or I'd buy a packet of cheeses slices and we'd eat the whole packet in a day, again in sandwiches. Then I discovered Sterno, bought a little folding grill, skillet and can opener from the thrift store and learned how to cook over an open flame or at least I thought that's what I was doing. Turns out I was just heating food from cans, we still had no refrigeration. Vienna sausage and baked beans, spaghetti from a can, a can of macaroni and cheese with a can of tuna and canned peas, roast beef or corned beef hash, anything from a can. We had hundreds of packets of ketchup from the dumpsters and finally used them all.

"When we moved here, Mrs. Ferguson taught Robbie and me how to make spaghetti by cooking ground beef, boiling noodles, adding spaghetti sauce from a can or jar and real mac and cheese, baked in the oven. Real hot dogs with her homemade baked beans. That was wonderful! And then we discovered takeout. Wow! We only got it every few months but what a feast! So when we got here this month, I was driving the boys around to show them where we used to live, Rob and Sarah's school, our favorite places, when I spotted 'Shan Shan Lo'. It's still there! I was so happy I nearly cried. We had it that night, luckily the kids like it."

"And that's what we'll have tonight. You place the order, I'll pay. Do they deliver?"

"Yes, that's new since we lived here before, a bonus!"

Tim put the chicken back in the freezer and called the restaurant. Gibbs was amused that it was on his list of contacts and apparently fairly high in them. He started laughing when Tim said it was McGee and that he wanted the usual plus two additional dishes that Gibbs didn't hear. He was in the other room, laughing too hard to listen.

When Rob and the boys came down the stairs, Gibbs finally stopped but all he said was, "Heard Tim placing the order."

Rob grinned, "Does he still just say, 'it's McGee and we'll have the usual?'"

Gibbs nodded, laughing again. "How many years has it been?"

"At least 10."

Tim joined them, grinning at the boys. "About 11½ years. 11 years with NCIS plus FLETC."

"Wow, they liked you!"

"I learned how to say our favorite dishes in Mandarin. And a few other words, like hello, goodbye, thank you."

Rob grinned, "I forgot about that, he used to order in Mandarin."

"No wonder they never forgot you. How soon will they be here?"

Greg and Kyle giggled when Gibbs' tummy rumbled.

"About 40 minutes. Time for snacks."

"Nah, I can wait."

"Okay, but Rob's having a snack, you might as well."

Rob smiled at his new dad when he was given a questioning look. "Things to learn about me, Dad."

Greg nodded, "Uncle Rob has to eat something every 2 hours. His mama didn't give him enough food when he was a baby, littler than Kyle." Kyle nodded solemnly.

"Did you do that in the car today?"

"Yes. You had the radio on and were singing, probably thought I was asleep and I was, most of the way. I had a protein drink right before you picked me up this morning, which gave me 3 hours, and then 2 packets of cheese, nuts and fruit while we were on the road, 2 hours per packet. It doesn't have to be a lot but I do have to eat."

"What about after a full meal?"

"Then I can usually go about 4 hours. But since I'm really tired, I'll need to have something before I go to bed."

"During the night?"

"Used to get up and eat. Now I keep a stash of protein drinks by my bed or in my pack."

As he spoke, Tim put his hands on his shoulders, guiding him to the kitchen. "You're lucky I have snacks for the kids!"

"I brought my own, Timpa. Uh…"

The kids had heard it before but Gibbs hadn't. Tim explained while he dished out a half cup of cottage cheese, adding crackers on the side.

"When Sarah was a baby, learning to talk, she would confuse our names, Patrick's and mine. She started called us 'TimPa' for Tim & Pat. When we ended up in Baltimore, that morphed into Timpa, the 'pa' as in papa rather than Pat. And that's what Rob called me too. That was my 'dad' name for them. Rob only calls me that now when I'm acting like a mother hen to him."

"Or when I'm upset and need my Timpa."

"Or that, yes." Tim handed Rob a spoon and pointed to the table.

"Dad, what would you like? We have fruit, crackers, more cottage cheese…"

"How about an orange?"

"One orange and a coffee refill, coming right up. Rob?"

As Rob's mouth was full, he shook his head.

Forty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Gibbs nodded, "Right on time, I like that!"

Moving in a chair from the dining room, they squeezed around the kitchen table, enjoying their fresh, hot and delicious Chinese food.

After cleaning up, they played with the boys for a while before Tim took Kyle upstairs for stories, cuddles and then his bath and bed. Greg would bathe with him and then have stories and cuddles afterward. Both boys smiled happily when their visitors joined for stories and cuddles. Greg was excited to read to Grandpa and Uncle Rob. And Papa didn't even have to help him with any words!

Leaving the door open and the toddler gates closed, the three men gathered in the family room for whatever Tim wanted to talk about.

First, he told them about Donovan's offer and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Do you think he'll extend that again in the spring?"

"No idea. If he has a vacancy in an area in which I'm qualified to teach, yes, I think he would. But that's not something I'd know ahead of time."

"If he did, would you take it?"

"Barring other offers, yes. I need an income, Gi…Dad; I've already spent too much of Gemcity's money on necessities. I'm glad I have it but that's not what it should be for. And I need to work. Writing is fine and it brings in money but I need something more connected to people and the world. That's a big part of the reason I wouldn't go back to Cyber Crimes. Lack of connection with people and the real world."

"Can't blame you for not wanting to sit cramped in a basement with no windows. Even if they did call you Boss."

Tim tilted his head, "Silver lining."

Rob frowned, "You said 2 things."

Nodding, Tim told them about the offer from Bedford University, the research he'd done and his conversation with the President and HR.

"What town is it in? You said Bedford University, now I'm thinking Bedford Falls."

Rob looked puzzled while Tim chuckled. "I know, me too. It's in a town just outside the outskirts of London, called Brambury. Rob, Bedford Falls is the town in the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", with Jimmy Stewart." Rob nodded, now he remembered the movie.

"Have you talked with Sarah yet?"

"Yes. Thought I needed her permission to take the kids out of the country. Turns out I don't anymore, I'm officially their legal guardian. She's got power of attorney for Patrick. Which reminds me, the Navy has finally forked over the support money they should have paid Kathy."

"Using that for the boys?"

"Yes, it'll continue while they're dependents. It'll go toward their education but right now it's also going to help feed, house and clothe them."

Gibbs looked at his kid, "That's what it's for, kiddo."

"I know, but I should be able to do that."

Rob looked at his brother, "You're not homeless, Tim, and you're not alone."

"Thanks, Rob. I know that in my head but some days my heart doesn't agree and I get a little scared." He took a deep breath. "Yes, we survived and we're good now, all of us. But we still had to go through things no child should have to face. I didn't know any better, just kept going. Now - I don't know."

Gibbs gathered his new son into his arms, "Then talk to us, Timothy. Let us know when you have a bad day. That's part of what family does."

Rob nodded, joining them. "Problem is, Dad, Tim's always the one listening to the rest of us. Geordie's the only one he'll really open up to and we haven't seen him in nearly 3 years."

His voice muffled from where his head was buried in Gibbs' arms, Tim said, "I can't seem to help that. You two are my kids. Lu, Barry, Bill, Freddie, and Joe have their own problems."

Gibbs shook his head, "You need to work on that. Rob's about as grownup as you can get and I imagine Sarah is too. They're your siblings, time to let them in. And me too. You know how long it's taken me to learn that! Good thing I've had Ducky in my corner, I hint around and he guesses or asks questions until he figures it out."

He paused, "Tim, how are you dealing with what happened with the agency?"

Rob snorted and Tim chuckled, still muffled. Finally he looked up. "I hate what's happened. I got kicked out of my 'home' – again – without having done anything wrong. And I still blame Vance. Yeah, I know it was O'Connell or whatever his name is but he works for the director. Ultimately, it was Vance's call."

Gibbs tilted his head, "Not so sure about that. Assistant Director Craig seems to be running the agency. Haven't seen Vance in weeks."

Tim sat up so fast he almost knocked Rob over. "Huh? Where's Vance?"

"Don't know. Thought he was in meetings at the Pentagon or on the Hill but then I realized he wasn't around at all. As I said, haven't seen him in weeks, no one has. We team leaders have been keeping that quiet, so don't say anything to anyone."

"Not allowed to speak with them. Have you checked his house, car? Run a trace on his cell? Boss, he could be in trouble!"

"Relax, kiddo, we did all that. Except the trace on his cell. Carter drew the short straw and asked AD Craig, who told him Vance was away on business. We thought of going over his head to SecNav but haven't done it."

"I'll call him."

"Who, Leon or Craig?"

"Craig. It'll be interesting to see if he knows anything about what happened with me."

"All right. Next question, if Vance or Craig asked you to come back, would you?"

"Hell, no." Tim sighed, "Probably not. Maybe."

"Mm, wanta pick one?"

"I want a public apology, spoken and written, back pay, restoration of my salary, rank, seniority and benefits, choice of positions and major groveling from Vance. Craig's not a good substitute, he wasn't involved. If it can't be Vance, then SecNav. And I want major consequences for O'Connell. Don't ask me what, I haven't yet moved past biblical punishments. And I want to know why Kathy had to die before the Hart family got the support money from the Navy. And if whoever is responsible for that has been arrested as an accessory to murder. Because he or she is. And I want to know what happened to the support money Sarah and I should have had."

Gibbs looked at him. "Tim."

"Shit, that was talking about the case. Sorry!"

"Luckily, Rob is here to testify that you didn't say anything that's not in the case documents."

Rob looked surprised but nodded.

Tim rolled his neck and shoulders. "Neither of you has said what you think about the UK."

His brother looked at him, "I'll find a way to transfer to a hospital over there. But what about Patrick? If I'm gone, who will visit him?"

His new father raised both eyebrows, "I will, Rob. And Ducky, Jimmy, Tony, Ellie and Abby. And what about Ms. Lu and your friends?"

Tim tilted his head, "Yeah, they'd help. If we rotated everyone, be a couple hours every 2 months or so. It's just weird; I find him, take his kids and then I, _we_ , go off and leave him."

Rob shook his head vehemently. "Sarah made me one of his medical proxies, along with Ducky and Jimmy. One or more of us speaks with his doctors every week. There's been no change, Tim, no improvement. When we're there, we describe the kids' pictures to him, we tell him which ones we're taking down and storing, which ones are going up. We tell him what the kids are doing, before and after your call. There's nothing and the doctors don't believe there will be."

Tim took a deep breath, "Then we should move him to a long-term care facility. I think he'd hate that the Navy is paying so much for his care when other sailors need help."

Nodding, Rob got up and left the room, returning with a stack of documents. "Copies of what we sent to Sarah. Long-term care facilities we've visited and recommend."

Tim's eyes bulged, "My God, Rob! This is so much work!"

"Even though we've never met, he's my brother, same as you and Geordie, same as Sarah's my sister, just without the piece of paper from the courts."

"I know, but this…and Ducky and Jimmy."

"It's a labor of love, Tim, for all 3 of us."

Tim opened his mouth, suddenly understood what he was saying and grabbed Rob, tears running down his face. "I've been in despair when I'm one of the luckiest people on the planet. I have so many people who love me, whom I love."

Gibbs once again reached out, cuddling his sons. He thought if Tim took the job in England, he'd use up all the leave HR was always bugging him about, visiting for weeks, maybe even months, at a time. This separation, the weeks they'd followed the rules, was too much. He didn't care if he had to record every conversation they had for the rest of their lives, he was done with this stupidity. O'Connell and Vance could take a flying leap. Maybe he'd retire, then he could see them more often. Belatedly, he realized he was saying this aloud as Tim and Rob were quiet, holding on to him.

"I want the best for you two, and for Sarah, the kids and Geordie when he surfaces. If that means you move to England for a couple of years, then so be it. Do you think there will be other offers afterward?"

"If I do a good job, yes."

"And Rob, will you come home when you're done with your residency?"

"Only if I'm not the only one. If everyone is overseas, then I'll stay there. If I have a job!"

"That's fair." Gibbs took a deep breath, "I meant what I said, Tim. If you take this, I'll use up all my leave. Maybe find an apartment near you."

Tim raised his head, giving him a look as fierce as Gibbs had ever seen from him. "You will not. You, Rob and Sarah will have your own rooms in my home."

Rob looked surprised, "Timpa, I'll likely be in London, won't stay over often enough to need a room and if I do, I'll share with you. That's worked for most of our lives. Unless, of course, you're already sharing your bed. A room for Dad, rooms for you and the kids and a guest room or two, that's more than enough."

Tim twisted his lips before nodding. "All right. Sarah's talking about living with us."

The other two made noises and he laughed, "Like a granny suite. Apart from us."

"Brother, you'd better think long and hard about that. Remember the bathroom, the clothes and shoes all over."

"Thus, the separate space. And she'll help with the kids."

Even Gibbs was surprised by that. Tim rolled his eyes, "Ok, we'll see how that goes. Dad, you will have your own room with private bath and a workshop. Stay as long as you want. Two years sounds about right."

"You want me to live with you?"

"Yes. I want you there for me and the boys. We only had ourselves growing up. I want them to have as much family as possible. I want me to have that, too."

"If I do that, then I'm paying my share of the rent and expenses."

Tim shrugged, "We can argue about that later."

"So you'd stay here through May and then…move from here? Or return to Silver Spring? What about your apartment?"

"Good question. Unless something changes in the next couple of days, I'm going to accept the offer to stay here. I don't want to keep paying rent on that apartment and I signed a 3 year lease in June, it's got nearly 2 ½ years to run."

Rob looked thoughtful, "Are you allowed to sublet it?"

"Yes. You have someone in mind?"

"You know Freddie and Jose have been sharing their apartment since before we lived here, I remember seeing it empty when they moved in and wishing we could live in it with them. And I guess it was fine for all the years they were so busy building their plumbing business that they didn't have time for a social life. They just went home and crashed at night. But their business has grown substantially, they have employees now – 2 additional plumbers and an office manager, they have an office! They're both saying it's time to have their own places."

"Wow, that's…it's been all our lives!"

"Since I was about 7, so most of my life, yeah. Joe's dating someone he's serious about and would like to ask her to his place but you know, the guys are hitting 40 this year. How do you start asking the guy you've shared a tent, van, business, home and whole life with for 30 years to find other places to be because you have a date? They're not teenagers or 20-somethings. Anyway, he asked me what you planned to do with the apartment."

"As soon as I sign the contract with Donovan, it's his, I'll find sublease forms online and print them. I'll contact the property manager and clear the way for Jose. They might want to meet with both of us but I think it'll be ok if I'm on Skype. Not sure if he'll want his name added to my lease, which is fine with me, or if we do the sublease with the property manager's approval. If it happens that way, I'm still responsible for the rent, utilities and maintenance. We'll figure all that out. I guess the kids and I will make a trip down to move my stuff. Maybe over the President's Day holiday in February."

Gibbs shook his head, "Absolutely come for a visit but we can move everything before then. Between me, Rob, Jose, Bill, Barry, I'm assuming Freddie, Tony, Jimmy, Abby and Ellie - Ducky can supervise - we'll have it done in no time. And then help him move in. Your bed, the boys' bunk beds, we can dismantle the frames, easier to transport and store. It'll all fit in my basement. Your books and records might not do so well down there."

Tim shrugged, "Tony has my albums, Ducky has my books, Rob and Barry delivered those for me as I was afraid to leave them in an unoccupied apartment, alarm or no alarm. I'll want to ship some of each to the UK if I take that job."

"And your stereo."

Rob grinned, "It's a record player, a 'hi fi', not a stereo."

"That's what I had!" He smiled as Tim grinned. "You like old stuff, Elf Lord! That's surprising, considering your love of technology."

The younger man huffed, "That record player was once high tech. The newest toy to enter the market. Consider it retro high tech."

"Huh, hadn't thought of it that way."

Tim felt better, more certain with his choices now that he knew he had the love and support of his family. He'd accept the position here on Friday and probably would accept the job in the UK by the end of the year. He wondered how much it would cost to move Patrick to a long-term care facility in the UK. If that was even possible or if too much red tape would make it impossible.

When he noticed that Rob and Dad were doing their best to hide their yawns, he sent them off to bed, hugging each of them. Following Rob up the stairs, he stopped in his office to write for a while, knowing he was too excited to sleep right away.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both Bedford University and the market town of Brambury are fictional.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Thanksgiving Day was busy, full of family, food and fun. They Skyped with Sarah in the morning and in early afternoon, hours before the cooks were too busy in the kitchen, Tim and the boys were surprised with a Skype call from Ducky's home.

Gibbs and Ducky arranged it between them and Rob was told on the drive to Cambridge. When it was time, he slipped upstairs to wake Kyle from his nap and tell Greg about the surprise call. The kids were already keyed up over their uncle, grandfather, the chat with Aunty Sarah, the Porters and the holiday; Rob thought one more surprise might just send them over the edge.

Downstairs, Larry and Gibbs set the laptop up in the dining room while Tim and Cyndi were basting the turkey. When Rob came downstairs, he had Greg and Kyle with him. They turned into the living room in time to see a bunch of people on Papa's laptop screen.

Greg recognized some of the faces and then, with a whisper from his grandpa, ran to the kitchen to get his papa. "Papa, Grandpa needs you in the dining room!" He grabbed his hand and gently pulled, "Come on, you too, Aunt Cyndi!" Over the past month, Larry and Cyndi had gone from Dr. Larry and Dr. Cyndi to Uncle and Aunt, making them very happy.

Wiping his hands, Tim left the kitchen with Greg. When they arrived in the dining room, Tim noticed his laptop on the table and people on the screen. His dad pulled him in and Tim's jaw dropped when he saw who was waiting for him. Ducky, Jimmy, Breena, Tony, Abby, Ellie and her husband Jake were gathered at Ducky's home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

"Wow! I…great surprise, it's so good to see you!" He blinked back tears. "I miss you guys so much. How are you?"

Tony shook his head, "Oh no, you don't! We want to meet everyone, hear what you've been up to. Then we'll talk."

Chuckling, Tim introduced the Porters and then Rob, who waved. "Hi, glad to finally meet you all, been hearing about you for years. I'm the youngest McGee, there's one more you haven't met, our eldest brother Geordie. He's a Marine."

Tony's jaw dropped, "A Marine! McGee!"

"There's a lot I haven't shared, Tony. I promise I will when I see you."

"Can't wait to hear."

Tony was puzzled when Gibbs put his hand on the back of Tim's neck but distracted himself with another question. "Did you know Boss and your brother were coming?"

"No, when I opened the front door and they were standing on the porch, I just kept looking at them. Couldn't believe my eyes!"

"Now, Porters, how are you connected? Have you just met?"

Cyndi shook her head, "No, we've known the McGee family since Larry was one of Tim's professors at MIT. He took an interest in him and eventually we met the children, I mean Rob and Sarah. They were children then, Sarah was 12 and Rob 11. We all became friends and were able to help Tim by watching the kids so he could have a social life and then of course we knew his friends very well. And their friend Mrs. Ferguson helped too. We've stayed in touch over the years, we usually visit them every summer and sometimes for holidays. We couldn't make it this past summer, but we saw them all 2 years ago at Rob's graduation from medical school."

Tony's head was spinning but there were too many people to ask the questions he had for Tim. Ducky asked Greg and Kyle how they liked their house and Kyle grinned, "We have a pwaywoom jus' fow us." Greg nodded, "We let Papa play with us in there, Grandpa and Uncle Rob too."

From the huge grins on Tim's and Gibbs' faces, the group at Ducky's quickly figured out who Grandpa was.

Greg kept talking, "And we have our own room, we don't share with Papa here. And a backyard with a bike trail and a fort that Papa and Uncle Larry built us!"

Kyle added, "We go' skates!"

Ducky frowned as he thought about Greg's comment about sharing. He looked at Tim, "Timothy, you have one bedroom in Silver Spring."

"Yes, Ducky. That's why we were staying with Gibbs. But then NCIS told us to get out, so we shared the bedroom. Our friend Bill, a master carpenter, built bunk beds for the boys."

"I see. Well, I am thankful you've had this time in Cambridge."

The kids were looking at the screen and didn't notice Grandpa shake his head and sign not to mention moving home, things had changed but the boys didn't know yet. Abby, Ducky, Jimmy and Tony understood and nodded while Ellie, Jake and Breena looked puzzled.

Abby asked if they'd had fun in Boston and the little guys told them about their adventures, Tim helping them with names and places. By the time the call was disconnected, the turkey was ready to be basted again and Tim was more homesick than he'd been before.

He thought about the weekend and decided to talk with Gibbs tonight. And he needed to tell the boys they were staying until the end of the school year. Chuckling to himself, he realized he also needed to tell Dr. Donovan! He'd call him Friday morning.

Their Thanksgiving dinner was a feast. The turkey was tender, moist and flavorful, cooked to perfection and the gravy, made by Cyndi, was perfect. The mashed potatoes turned out beautifully as did the stuffing Tim made from scratch, along with cranberries, roasted green beans with sliced almonds and a delicious sweet potato dish, also made by Tim. Their dinner was accompanied by milk for the boys, sparkling cider for Tim and Rob and wine for the others, followed by pumpkin pie made with a walnut crust and topped with real whipped cream. Perfect! Determined not to overdo it, the cooks were pleased there was just enough turkey to freeze for a future meal and for turkey sandwiches on Friday. The pie was gone as were most of the side dishes.

Larry, Gibbs, and Rob were on cleanup so Tim and Cyndi, bundling up the boys and themselves, went for a walk. Knowing Tim wanted to stick to the boys' nighttime routine, the Porters left soon after the walkers returned.

While Gibbs and Rob finished the clean up, Tim led the boys to the sofa in the living room. Sitting down with them, he smiled at them before forging ahead with his news. "Greg, Kyle, I have something to tell you. My boss here has asked us to stay until school is out at the end of May. Kyle, that means we'll celebrate your birthday here. We'll stay in this house and keep going to school, day care and classes."

Their little faces lit up, "We get to stay?"

"Yes, isn't that great?"

"But what about Grandpa, Uncle Rob and Dad?"

"We'll spend Christmas with Grandpa and Uncle Rob and we'll see your dad then too, and we'll keep doing video visits with him. Grandpa and Uncle will visit us again, for sure for Kyle's birthday and maybe we'll go visit them, too."

"YAY!" Greg ran around the room, Kyle running after him. "We get to stay and play, yay!" When they circled back, they jumped into Tim's arms, hugging him.

Tim laughed, "I'm glad you're happy!"

Greg crawled into Tim's lap. "When do we get to visit?"

"I'm not sure yet. Would you rather hear the maybes or wait until I know for sure?"

"Mm, until you know for sure."

"Ok. How about you, Kyle?"

Next to them, Kyle had discovered the couch was bouncy, even when he was sitting down. Now he looked up, giggling. "Papa, dis couch is fun!"

"It is?"

"It's bouncy even widou' jumping." He gave a demonstration. Greg looked at Papa who smiled at Kyle. "Hey kiddo, that does look like fun. Let's remember we borrowed this couch and all the other chairs and tables. You know to be very careful with other kids' toys."

Kyle thought about that before nodding. "Yes, bu' Papa, dis no' a toy."

"You're right, Kyle. It's something to sit on and it belongs to someone else. I'm going to give us a new rule, be careful with toys and other things that don't belong to you."

"Like da couch?"

"Yes. And chairs and tables. TVs and doors and beds."

"Oh, aw dem?"

"Yes, all of them."

"Fowevah?"

"Until you're grown."

"Da' phooey." Kyle sat back, his lower lip sticking out. Reaching out, Tim pulled him onto his lap with Greg.

"Seems like phooey, doesn't it?" He knew Kyle didn't mean it disrespectfully. Both boys used the word the word 'phooey' to express extreme disdain or unhappiness and Tim heartily approved, although the emotions conveyed didn't always fit the dictionary definition. It was a word he and Patrick had used, someone, probably their father, taught them. They'd taught it to Sarah and Tim eventually taught Rob, Geordie and the guys. Tim still used it, although mostly to himself or if he caught himself about to use strong profanity in an inappropriate setting, e.g., the bullpen. Patrick must have taught Greg and either big brother or Kathy taught Kyle. Aside from the word providing a strong although inoffensive expression, Tim loved the connection between the McGees and the Harts, a small indication that Patrick hadn't forgotten his childhood.

Now he cuddled his little one. "When you're grown up, you'll have your own couch, chairs and bed. Then you can play on them all you want." Bending forward, he whispered to Kyle, "And you'll want to, I promise!"

Kyle giggled before asking, "How old, Papa?"

"How old is grown up?"

They nodded and he grinned, "20."

Greg's large eyes got larger while Kyle sighed, frustrated. "Ah, phooey. I neveh gonna be da' old."

Tim hugged him tightly, "You will be, sweet boy, all too soon. You'll be 3 in May and then next Thanksgiving, you'll be 3 ½ and then boom, it'll be your birthday again and you'll be 4. That's how it goes, you think it will never happen, but it does and a lot faster than you think."

Kyle forgot his pique when his grandpa and uncle joined them. Uncle Rob picked Greg up, putting him on his shoulders, while Grandpa had Kyle. "Up we go, boys, time to get ready for bed!"

Tim followed them up the stairs. Once the boys were both tucked in bed, Kyle already asleep, the men returned to the family room. Gibbs smiled at his boys. "This was a good day!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Surprising you yesterday and then surprising you again today, that was fun."

Tim chuckled. "Have a question for you, Dad. Is there anything else you want to see while you're here?"

"Fenway Park and some of the historic sites. But with you staying another 7 months, I can do that later. Be fun to see the Red Sox play." Gibbs smiled, "What do you have in mind, Elf Lord?"

"Seeing our NCIS family today made me more homesick. I was thinking that now that we're not moving, we don't have anything planned for the weekend. What if you left tomorrow and the boys and I ride with you? Then we can fly back Sunday. Stay with you, phooey with NCIS, and see whoever's around."

"Huh, that's a great idea. Think the boys can handle sitting for 7 hours?"

"No, we'll have to make a few stops. I have a portable DVD player and plenty of movies to keep them occupied for a few hours. Greg can read and Kyle…if we have an early lunch and then leave right after, he'll nap. When we get to your place, they can run around the backyard for a couple of hours."

All three of them chuckled at that and Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, that's fine, be great to have you home, even for a day. Want to have everyone over Saturday afternoon? Or Sunday?"

"Let's see what flight I can find for us on Sunday. Then we can decide. I'm hoping if Jose is available Saturday morning, he and I can meet with the property manager, get the apartment deal done."

"Good idea. Question for you two: You refer to your friend as Jose and Joe. Does he have a preference?"

Rob and Tim shook their heads, Tim saying, "He went by Joe in school, he said it was easier. He uses his real name in his and Freddie's business. Geordie calls him Joe more than the rest of us. Jose says either is fine."

Tim sent off a text to Jose and an email to the property manager. The office would be closed today but the staff would see it in the morning. They were usually good about replying promptly. Then he started looking for flights. "Ok, here's one that leaves DC shortly after 5:00, that gets us in about 6:40. And we don't have to be to the airport there until 3:00, that works."

"Taking the train from the airport?"

"No, we'll get a ride - taxi, Uber or Lyft. See who's available and the least expensive. By that time Sunday night, traffic won't be too bad." He grinned at Rob, "Yesterday would have been horrible. Who was going to pick you up?"

Rob looked surprised, "Nobody, I never had a flight booked for yesterday. Didn't know I'd be off until about 4:30 in the morning, then I waited until I got home at 5 to call Gibbs. I just wanted his flight number, to try to get a seat but then he said he was driving."

Gibbs nodded, "I was going to fly up and ride the train home with you on Saturday but then I thought about how many boxes and things you might be bringing back, how crowded both airports and the train might be over the weekend. Decided to drive and then Robbie called while I was making breakfast yesterday. Worked great! Originally, Larry was meeting me at the Kendall stop."

"Are the boys going to mind not taking the train?"

"Not until we've been in the car a few hours."

Rob chuckled, "Do you still have the same rules about whining?"

"Absolutely. Flat out not allowed."

"And does that work any better on Greg and Kyle than it did on Sarah and me?"

"Yes. I think the difference in age helps. You rarely whined and when you did it was usually something Sarah started. The 4 year age gap between Greg and Kyle ensures that doesn't happen. With Greg, he's usually over-tired or really upset about something. Kyle, well, he's a 2 year old. Gotta expect some whining."

"Wow, you've loosened up a lot with your new kids!"

Gibbs looked surprised while Tim laughed. "Learned a lot with you two and I'm not a kid anymore; I might be a little more understanding. We have rooms, not a tent, we don't have to be together 24/7 - and they had parents. Pat may not have been conscious for most of Kyle's life but both boys had a mother which is more than either you or Sarah can say. Or Pat and me."

Rob snorted, "And neither of the boys is anything like Sarah."

Tim tilted his head, "That might have something to do with it."

Gibbs gave them a look of incredulity, "Really?"

Tim closed his eyes while Rob very clearly was keeping his mouth closed.

"Wow."

Smiling at his chosen dad, Tim reminded him that was child Sarah, not grown Sarah. Then he changed the topic back to plans for Saturday afternoon. They decided to ask everyone, including Ms. Lu and the guys, to Gibbs' place for dinner.

Tim felt more secure having his oldest friends there, they could help explain his past and they'd be witnesses that nobody talked about the fracking case. Rob looked online at his work schedule and said if he could get a ride over and back, he could make it. He'd work Friday night but be off on Saturday. Dinner needed to be easy and inexpensive for the big crowd, they decided on hot dogs, burgers, salad and whatever they found at the store for dessert. Probably ice cream.

Tim sent out e-vites, online invitations, and had an almost immediate call from Jimmy which he put on speaker. "Hey, count us in, what can we bring?"

"Uh, whatever sounds good to your very pregnant wife, Jimmy. We're having burgers and dogs, some sort of salad, chips or fries. And probably ice cream for dessert."

"Uh, hate to ask this but could we do something besides ice cream? Looking at it still makes her nauseous."

"Sure how about uh…pie? Did you guys have a lot of pie today?"

"We had some but it wasn't too much. We'll bring an apple pie, how's that?"

"Ok, great. How about whipped cream, is that all right? And what is Breena drinking these days?"

"Whipped cream is good. Nothing carbonated to drink, gives her the hiccups. And citrus is on the no go list. Water's good for both of us."

"Ok. How much longer?"

"9 weeks."

Gibbs nodded, "Coming down the home stretch! You need any help with anything? Nursery?"

"We're waiting until after Christmas to do that. But yes, thanks, we'll need help with painting the baby's room and…" Jimmy whispered, "help me put baby furniture together?"

Gibbs chuckled, "I'll bring my toolbox. Just let me know when."

"Thanks, that's a huge relief! Don't want to put the baby in the crib and have it collapse."

"Nah, not gonna happen. We'll see you Saturday. Come early so you can watch Tim's parenting skills in action."

He winked at Tim's dropped jaw as they disconnected. "That's not fair, you have no idea what a brat she was. From the moment she was born. I swear!"

Rob was laughing so hard and loudly that he had his head stuffed in a throw pillow to muffle the noise.

Gibbs grinned, "Hey, you were 9 years old and all 3 of you survived. That's enough for me."

Rob stopped long enough to say, "6, he was 6 when she was born. He and Pat, who was 5, started taking care of her when she was about 5 months old."

That caused a long stare and then a head shake. "Your father should have been court-martialed for leaving you 3 with that woman. Did he know?"

Tim shrugged, "Maybe not right away. He knew when he came home on a surprise leave and found us changing her diaper and pulling drawers open to use as steps to reach the counter so we could reach the microwave to heat her bottle and feed ourselves."

Rob added, "That was after she beat you two so badly you landed in the hospital, left you both with scars. And then found some quack to call it post-postpartum depression."

Tim nodded, "Yeah, I think it was the leave after Dad's emergency leave."

Gibbs swore, pulling his son into his arms. "Can't change what happened. Just gonna give you all the love you should have had."

Tim's cell phone chimed with a call from Abby. "I'm in, what can I bring?"

Gibbs smiled and motioned for the phone, "Abs, will you do us a big favor? Please?"

"Of course."

"Can you do the grocery shopping for us, for our dinner? We don't know what time we'll get in and we'll be exhausted."

"Sure, I'll be happy to. Send me a list of what you want and I'll get it all."

"Great, thanks. Tim's writing up the list…why kosher? Abs, it'll be to you when we figure it out. Save the receipts and we'll pay you back."

"No problem, I'm glad to help. Love you all, can't wait to see you!"

Tim later had a text from Tony that said Palmer told him to bring a pie, but not apple and was chocolate all right?

Tim replied with "Always!"

Ellie and Jake volunteered to bring drinks while Ducky said he would bring a 'hot dish' he promised they'd like. That left only the hamburger meat, kosher hot dogs (Tim said that was the only kind he'd let the boys eat because he knew what parts of what animals were in them), buns for both, frozen French fries plus lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickle relish, small containers of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, ranch dip or dressing, another pie that wasn't apple or chocolate, 3 cans of real whipped cream, Tim specified the brand, heavy paper plates, cups, plastic utensils and napkins. Gibbs said he had plenty of butter. They answered Ellie, asking her to include non-carbonated, unflavored bottled water as several people would want that. Tim thought about all that plastic and convinced his new dad to have Ellie buy a filtering device for his faucet or a special pitcher which also had a filter. That way they could drink tap water and reduce their plastic waste for the day.

By the time they turned in, they'd heard from everyone they'd invited and deleted nearly half of Abby's shopping list before they sent it to her. Ms. Lu was off work on Friday and promised to make a double batch of apple crisp and possibly some cookies. Tim and Rob were so excited about the apple crisp that Gibbs laughed at them. Freddie was bringing buns, Joe the condiments, Bill offered to make one of his chopped salads, that also had Tim and Rob licking their lips, and Barry said he'd bring brownies from a favorite bakery, adding that he wouldn't pick them up until he was his way, otherwise he'd eat them all.

Hugging Dad goodnight, they were still getting used to calling him that, the brothers quietly walked upstairs to Tim's room. Gibbs went through his nightly routine, climbing into bed with a contented sigh. Felt good to be with family, he'd forgotten the chaos of having a young child and how much fun it was, even more so with grandchildren!

With many hugs and kisses, Rob left early Friday morning; Tim and Dad surprised him with an Uber ride to the airport. The boys woke early to say goodbye to Uncle Rob and were very excited to find out they were all going to Gibbs' house for the weekend and would fly home on Sunday. Greg said they'd never flown before and he couldn't wait for their party on Saturday. Tim had already packed for them, throwing in warm jackets for the trip home and for playing outside. After an early breakfast and lunch, Grandpa and Papa packed Grandpa's car, got the car seats secured, the kids in them, found a spot for the portable DVD player and off they went. They'd called the Porters before lunch to tell them the new plan and laughed when Cyndi exclaimed to Larry, "Told you! You owe me $20!"

The 7 hour trip took 8 hours, less than Tim anticipated. They stopped at rest areas for restroom breaks and let the kids run around. In the car, Greg read, while Kyle slept the first 2 hours, waking up asking if they were there yet. The boys watched 3 movies, with earbuds so Grandpa and Papa could concentrate on driving. That ate up more than half the drive time.

After swapping drivers, Tim got in the backseat with the boys and read to them for another hour. All in all, it was a long drive but they survived. Everyone was tired although in good spirits when they pulled into Gibbs' driveway. Greg walked in holding Tim's hand, while Kyle, drowsy from another nap, perched on his papa's hip.

The two men soon had everything inside. The boys had a quick bath, a story each, cuddles and then they tumbled into bed. Knowing they'd likely be up early, Tim had a shower, hugged his dad goodnight and also tumbled into bed. Gibbs locked up, made sure the thermostat was set, managing to change before he too hit the sack. He chuckled as he turned off the light, it was 2030, earlier than he'd been to sleep in more years than he cared to count.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs expected to wake at his usual 0530 but it was 0717 when he opened his eyes Saturday morning. Smelling coffee, he headed to the kitchen where he was handed a mug of dark, rich brew as he walked in. "Thanks, son! How long you been up?"

"Mm, 5 or 6 minutes, just long enough to brew the coffee and get the paper. Have that meeting with Jose and the property manager at 0830."

"Right! Nice that it's in Arlington at the property management's office, saves you a long drive. Anything special you want the boys to do while you're gone?"

"Don't let them con you into a big breakfast, whatever you're eating is fine. Make sure they brush their teeth and wash their faces after they eat, that's sometimes a battle. They can wear jeans and sweatshirts; Greg will want to wear his hiking boots, that's fine. Kyle has Thomas the Tank sneakers he loves."

Gibbs grinned, "That all sounds like fun! Eggs, bacon and toast all right?"

"Light on the bacon for them. We'll be eating a lot of food this afternoon and I'd rather not overload them. Upset tummies are not fun. I'll stop on the way home and get some Tums for Kids™, just in case."

"Hm, maybe we'll wait and have bacon tomorrow."

"That's fine. We usually have it Sunday mornings before we go to see Pat."

"Mind if I go with you tomorrow?"

Tim smiled, "I'd love it! We brought our latest drawings and photos for his room." He rolled his shoulders, "Dad, I know what Rob said about Pat and his chances of recovery. But what's your gut feeling on us living elsewhere?"

"That you're doing exactly what Patrick would want you to do, raising his sons as your own. He wouldn't want anything else, especially not to hold you here."

Tim looked at him sadly, "I think he's gone, Dad and I think it was the drug that did it. Those 3 must have seen some change that caused them to start injecting him with the Midazolam. They murdered him."

Gibbs wrapped his arms around his boy, who tucked his head into his shoulder, mourning the brother he'd been mourning for most of his life. As Gibbs was involved in the case against the cartel moles, he couldn't say anything other than his personal opinion of Patrick's future. When Tim gathered himself together, he pulled a canister of oatmeal from the cupboard, making himself a bowl of hot oatmeal with dried blueberries and milk to go with his coffee.

Before he left for his meeting, he woke the boys, kissing each good morning and reminding them he would be gone for about 2 hours, that Grandpa was downstairs and would make breakfast. After hugs and another round of kisses, he left, thinking how hard it was to leave. This was different than taking his kids to school and day care. But there was no one he trusted more than Gibbs. They'd be fine.

He pulled into the parking lot of the management office 5 minutes early and grinned when Jose pulled in just after him. After greeting each other, they headed inside. The property manager was ready for them and the meeting went well. Jose was essentially added to Tim's lease with a codicil that any refunds on deposits made previous to that day would be payable to Tim. With the legalities all tied up, the two decided to go for coffee.

Tim told his friend that he and the boys were staying in Cambridge through May and didn't know where they'd end up after that. Jose hadn't been sure why he'd suddenly landed the apartment, he'd thought Tim and the boys were probably staying with Tim's former boss until they found a bigger place. Hearing they weren't coming back for several months was an unpleasant surprise. However, one thing Jose had learned in his life was to look at things philosophically. The return of the McGees to the DC Metro area after Tim earned his Masters and Doctorate had been a wonderful surprise. They'd all thought their friends had left for good. Now he trusted that wherever life took Tim, Rob, Sarah and Geordie, they'd always be friends, family, and would always stay in touch.

After leaving Jose, Tim stopped to pick up the antacids for kids, just in case. Then he headed home to his family. Parking the Challenger in the driveway, he found the kids and his dad in the kitchen, singing a pirate song while they cleaned up the kitchen and washed the breakfast dishes.

Wearing warm jackets and hats, the men and boys played in the backyard for over an hour before Gibbs heard footsteps on the front porch. The four of them went back inside to see who it was.

It was Tony and after Gibbs and the boys greeted him, Tim wrapped his arms around his friend and the two held on for a long moment. When they finally pulled apart, both were sniffling and laughing a bit.

Tony shook his head at Tim's hair, "So long, can't believe Boss didn't haul you to a barber!"

"Didn't have time, DiNozzo. Got there, got caught up, had Thanksgiving, left on Friday and they're flying back tomorrow."

Tim shrugged, "Not a federal agent anymore. College professors are allowed to have hair more than an inch long."

His friend reached out and tousled it, leaning forward, "Don't tell Boss, but it looks good!"

Gibbs snorted, taking the pie from the table. "This goes in the fridge, right?"

"Yes, thanks."

When Gibbs rejoined them, the kids were talking a mile a minute, telling Uncle Tony about their adventures in Boston, on the train, at the house and at school. Taking him by the hand, which warmed Tim's heart, knowing how insecure Tony could be with kids, they led him into the downstairs bedroom to look at the toys they'd brought with them. Tim joined them, not wanting Tony to feel trapped or overwhelmed.

Next to arrive were the Palmers. Tim and Tony rushed to the walkway to take whatever Breena was carrying. As it turned out to be a jacket for later, they felt a little silly. Jimmy rolled his eyes at them while Breena laughed. "Guys, I'm not an invalid!"

She gave Tim and the boys a kiss and hug each while Jimmy hugged the three of them. "So glad to see you in person!"

Ducky was right behind them. When he saw Tim, he handed his dish to Tony and held his arms open. Tim reflected later that after Dad, getting hugs from Ducky and giving them to him was the best.

Ms. Lu, Barry and Rob were next. Rob gave and got hugs from Ducky and the Palmers while Ms. Lu and Barry were welcomed and introduced.

Abby was next and they all pitched in with the groceries. She apologized, "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. Stayed late to work on a case and then overslept this morning."

"Bet you nailed the case though."

She grinned, "You better believe it, nailed that sli…bad guy to the…got him, hook, line and sinker!" She changed her sentence from nailing the slime ball to the wall when she saw Kyle's little face watching her. She was glad she remembered not to wear anything spiky.

Finding Tim, she gave him a nearly full-strength Abby hug, only holding back because she knew he didn't like the full-strength ones. When she kissed him on the cheek, he kissed hers right back and they grinned at each other. "So good to see you, McGee!"

Rob intervened, introducing her to Ms. Lu and Barry. And then, spotting Bill, Freddie and Jose walking down the sidewalk, he walked out onto the front porch, "Yay, the gang's all here!"

Bill grinned as he walked in the door, "Yeah, just missing Sari and Geo. Hello!"

He kissed Ms. Lu, who smiled as each of her boys gave her a kiss. "Thank you!"

Tim made a general introduction of the Baltimore gang to the NCIS gang. Tony noticed that Ducky and Jimmy received handshakes and smiles, they were already known. Tim saw Tony's frown and turned to him.

"Just need Ellie and Jake, man."

"Oh, right."

The missing couple arrived with the filtered pitcher and drinks a couple of minutes later and the hosts, that is Gibbs, Rob and Tim, with Tony pitching in, got drinks for everyone, with lemonade for the little guys.

As Tim handed out the drinks, he noticed everyone was gathered in a semi-circle in the living room, sitting on the couch, chairs, chairs from the kitchen table and on the sturdy coffee table. "All right, everyone have a drink? First of all, I'd like to thank you all for showing up at the last minute. Secondly, before Rob and I get to the history lesson, Greg, Kyle and I have some news. I'm now their legal guardian, which means I belong to them and they belong to me. And the boys asked Gibbs to be their grandfather, so he's now Grandpa! Thanks to everyone who's been visiting their father, David, or as I know him, Patrick, my brother. We'll always be grateful for everyone taking time out of your weekend to hold your phone, tablet or laptop so our boys can talk with their dad.

"Next item, I've accepted an extension of my contract at MIT. We're staying on through May! This morning, Jose, raise your hand, man, and I met with the property manager of my apartment complex and Jose's now on the lease. Gibbs has graciously offered the services of several of you to move our belongings to his basement and to help Jose move his stuff in. Tony, Ducky, do you mind keeping my albums and books for a few more months?"

"I don't mind. Are you coming home then? You going to stay here until you find a place?"

"Haven't yet committed to anything after May, Tony."

Ducky stepped in, realizing that whatever Tim might be thinking, he wasn't ready to talk about it yet, which likely meant the children, that is the little ones, didn't know.

"I'm also happy to keep your books, Timothy!"

"Thanks, both of you. All right, here goes. Everyone comfortable, need a break?"

Freddie looked at his friends, seeing how nervous Tim was. "Just go for it, Tim. We're here to help."

"Thanks, Freddie. Ok, I'm going to try to just get through this and please, no questions until I finish. It's a long, frequently ugly story. Remember we survived, the four of us McGees and our friends here."

Tony's face was stony and Gibbs gathered Greg and Kyle to him. Abby had been inching toward Gibbs for comfort but he had both arms around the kids. Ducky was across the room and Tony's attention was fully on Tim. Right, she was a big girl, she could handle this. Still, she relaxed when Breena took her hand.

Inhaling deeply, Tim started, "When I was 3, my brother Patrick 2, we moved from Puerto Rico to Okinawa with our father, Lt. Commander Dan McGee. There he met and eventually married a woman named Natalie. Our mother, Lily, died in Puerto Rico when Pat was 4 months old and I was 19 months old. She had some of her eggs harvested before she died and Natalie was our sister Sarah's gestational host, so we three have the same mother.

"Natalie was cruel and abusive except when our father was home, which wasn't often. When I was 9, Pat 8, and Sarah 3, Natalie killed Commander McGee in a hit and run. Pat and I were also in the car with him. I was thrown out the rear passenger door and obviously survived, although I had head trauma and my legs were smashed up. I was in a coma for 19 days; when I woke I was told my father and brother were dead. Weeks later, Natalie and Sarah picked me up from the hospital. Weeks after that, I finally got walking casts, those black boot things, for my legs. A week or two after that, Natalie told me she couldn't take care of us and was sending us to Baltimore to live with her cousins until she got a job. She put us on the bus and that was the last we ever saw of her. When we got to Baltimore, there were no cousins, she'd found a way to passively abandon us.

"While we waited for the non-existent cousins at the bus station in Baltimore, this kid kept circling around, looking for food and stray change. We gave him part of a sandwich and he helped me get Sarah to the bathroom. At the end of the day, he took us to a transient camp where he lived. That's how we met our brother Geordie, who grew up to be our Marine brother. We stayed at the camp for three weeks before we met Rob here and his mother, who agreed, uh, Lu, better plug your ears!"

She laughed, "That's the worst kept secret, Timothy! I know all about shelter parents."

"Huh, ok then. Kids under the age of 18 aren't allowed to stay in shelters without a parent or guardian. The agreement I came to with Rob's mother, whose name is – or was, we don't know if she's alive, Ellen Brill. Anyway, I told her I'd take care of Rob, who was 2 at the time, in exchange for her showing up every evening to sign Sarah, me and Rob into the shelter. She agreed, although she didn't always show up. Then we'd stay in the transient camp. Things went along like that for about 3 years, until I was 12. Then I was hurt and…" he paused at the exclamations from his friends to tell the truth.

"That is the truth, I was hurt! But ok, I was stabbed in the back, at the shelter. Pretty badly but again, here I am. And we never saw Ellen again. By the time I was back on my feet, I'd aged out of the family portion of the shelter, would have had to stay on the men's side with a 'shelter father' but that wasn't happening, and Ellen was gone, so we returned to the camp. We 3 shared a tent and Geordie shared a tent with Barry, Freddie and Jose. We stayed there for 6 years, until Sarah, Rob and I moved to Cambridge when I was 18.

"Geordie's father died at the shelter when he was 10 and he moved to the camp. His mother died when he was 5. Bill was staying there when Geo moved into that particular tent; he claims to be the original resident of that tent."

Bill said, "Original kid resident, Timmo. There were a bunch of older guys that went through there but there was a spot for me so I took it and held onto it until you all came along. Then I was the old guy!"

The others laughed and Tim continued, "When Bill was in high school, he started doing pickup work in construction. He was so good at it that after he graduated he got a job in construction, where he apprenticed as a carpenter. He's now a master carpenter. Once he had enough money coming in, he rented an apartment with 5 other guys. And helped the rest of us when he could.

"Geordie's 3 years older than me; when he turned 18, he became our legal guardian. By the time I turned 18, he'd graduated from community college, moved on to a 4 year, had a year left to get his Bachelor's, but needed to move out of the area. So I became legal guardian of Sarah and Rob. Geo was in ROTC in college and went into OCS, Officer's Training, after his graduation. That's how Geordie, Sarah, Rob and I became legally related.

"Before that, I graduated high school at 15, in Geo, Barry, Jose and Freddie's class. I had a full ride scholarship to Johns Hopkins, but couldn't stay on campus as the kids were minors and the places I could afford off campus were worse than the camp. So we stayed at the camp another 3 years but with food, clothes and enough blankets, which made a huge difference.

"By the time we went to Cambridge, Rob and Sarah were 11 and 12. Got my Masters and Doctorate, yes, I know that's news to most of you, which means, among other things, that I have credentials for teaching college level classes. While I continued to apply to FLETC , colleges and universities, I worked for a national bank in IT development. The bank was in Boston so we continued to live at Mrs. Ferguson's and the kids stayed on with her while I was in FLETC. Then I accepted NCIS' job offer, was assigned to Norfolk, found a furnished studio we could afford, bought an ottoman that made into a bed for Sarah and eventually met you guys."

Tony's jaw had dropped about a minute in and Tim thought it must hurt by now. Ducky apparently agreed as he reached over and gently tapped it. Abby and Breena were both crying. Ellie and Jake were staring at Tim, speechless. Gibbs had the boys upstairs.

Tim, Rob, the guys and Ms. Lu all looked at each other, not sure what to say or do. They'd lived this, they didn't have any questions. Finally Rob got up and brought water and tissues back for Abby and Breena.

Ducky decided to step in. "Thank you, Timothy. I must admit hearing this again is still heart wrenching. For those of you hearing this for the first time, look at our friends. Bill is a master carpenter, Freddie and Jose have a prosperous plumbing business, Barry is a sergeant with Baltimore PD, Rob is a second year pediatric resident at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Sarah is a published author and graduate student and you know of Timothy's accomplishments. What you should also know is that, together the 8 of them, along with other camp alumni, founded a non-profit organization that helps current residents of the camp and shelter survive. They also help provide funding for the free clinic Jimmy, Rob, and I run in Baltimore in our spare time. We share the clinic with 2 other doctors and 3 physician assistants, also volunteers, so that when any of the 3 of us have to work our regular jobs on a weekend, there is always a medical person available."

Tony finally spoke, "That's why Ms. Lu and the guys know you and Jimmy."

"Yes."

"McGee, I'm horrified, amazed, and proud of you, all of you. Even though I had nothing to do with anything. I know the shelter and that camp, that's run by the big guy, isn't it?"

"Yes, Nate and his sister, Juanita."

"Ok, yeah, had a few calls down there when I worked Baltimore PD."

Barry smirked, "Let me guess, Mr. Hatcher's store?"

"Uh, that does sound familiar."

Tim nodded, "He hates the camp and the shelter, hates the homeless. Used to call the cops if any of us so much as looked in the windows."

"I don't remember him ever having any real problem."

Barry laughed, "After I graduated from the Police Academy, I worked on the Silver Spring PD for a few years. He didn't remember me when I joined Baltimore PD and showed up in his neighborhood. He was Mr. Congeniality until I finally told him who I was. Gave him something to think about."

Tony shook his head, "I don't understand why you never told us, Tim. Does Ziva know?"

Tim shrugged, "I don't know, never asked. Tell me, Tony and please be honest. How do you look at homeless people?"

"Uh, yeah. Not kindly. Wish they'd clean up and well, clean up."

"Yeah, the stink is hard to deal with when you have no access to water. And the shelters fill up, sometimes a pretty rough crowd in there. As tough as you all were on me when I first transferred to Gibbs' team, do you really think it would have been a good idea to announce I'd been homeless?" He didn't wait for an answer, continuing to speak, "None of us have a death wish, we wouldn't have made it out if we did. And we fought our way out. Guys, don't think from our appearances now that it was a piece of cake. It was hard, every single minute of every single day. Not just sleeping in a tent but never having enough to eat, everyone here helped me find food for Sarah and Rob. Staying healthy, acquiring clothes and shoes that didn't hurt, fall off or fall apart. Staying safe, staying away from the drunks, the druggies, the violent, the traffickers, the pimps and the pedophiles. Just staying awake in class when there was so much noise around us at night, every night.

"Nate's camp is one of the best. He's picky about who he'll let stay and he watched over us. We were scared, all the time. With good reason, look at me, stabbed in the back at age 12. Attempted murder by a crazy guy. The best thing that happened to Sarah and me was meeting Geordie our first day. Having to take care of Sarah saved me, meeting Geordie saved the two of us, saved Robbie when he came along and eventually saved all of us. The eight of us supported each other, emotionally, sometimes physically and financially, that's how we made it out. We stayed in school, studied hard, showed up for class prepared and as sanitized as we could get. But we saw other kids go down, get into drugs, alcohol, prostitution, robbery, all around us.

"Tony, I've seen how you look at people, adults, that you know were bullied in school. That's just bullied, not even poor or God forbid, homeless. Not just you, many people. Learned prejudices are tough to unlearn. I know that because I thought frat boys were lower than pond scum, a waste of space. Still do, most I've met are worthless rich kids who think their bodily wastes don't stink and who wouldn't know a hard day's work if it bit them. But not you, and I had to accept that and the notion that you might not be the only worthwhile frat brother. But yeah, that took me years to overcome.

"Our only other choice was foster care. Tony, do you remember what a horrible mess that was in Baltimore in the 90s? Kids were molested, raped, knocked around, separated from their siblings and never allowed to see them. We had foster kids in our classes. In our second or third-hand clothes that took us a year, sometimes longer, of layaway to buy from the thrift store, we still looked better than some of the fosters. And we had each other, the fosters frequently changed homes, rarely if ever saw their siblings and never any friends they might have made."

Tony's jaw had dropped open again at Tim's description of the violence and 'frat boys' and he blinked. "Had no idea you felt that way. You really must have hated me your first few years."

There were noises from several people but Tim ignored them. "I try not to hate anyone. And I didn't hate you, although many times I wanted to pound that smug look off your face. Eventually, I recognized someone else with secrets. I figured out pretty quickly that you were a lot smarter than you let anyone know and were obviously covering up something with your behavior. Eventually, we each opened up a bit and here we are, friends for life."

There were several questions after that, from Abby, Ellie, Breena, even Jake had a question or two. The group of former tent dwellers took turns answering, much to Tim's relief.

Finally, the questions stopped and Gibbs poked his head down the stairs, "Is it safe?"

The group shouted yes and Gibbs pounded down the stairs, holding Kyle, and Greg jumping down the last two steps. He went straight to Tim, "Daddy, we're hungry and Grandpa says it's up to you when we eat."

Reeling in surprise from the new name, Tim pulled Greg in for a hair tousle, "Now sounds good, kiddo. Let's go help Grandpa."

Giggling, Kyle ran in from the kitchen and pulled on his hand, "Gwandpa says he's no' you' gwandpa bu' he wants you ta help."

The others laughed and several offered to help. Tim smirked when the boys tugged Ms. Lu into the kitchen with them. Tony, Rob and Barry looked at him and laughed as Ducky exclaimed, "Oh my. Is there a mutual attraction there, Timothy?"

Tim's eyes widened and he ducked into the kitchen. Barry answered, "Ducky, I can't answer for Gibbs, but Ms. Lu is definitely interested."

When Tim ventured out from the kitchen again, Breena grabbed his arm and made him sit next to her. "I have so many parenting questions and you've been through it twice!"

Tim laughed, "Does not make me an expert! Greg and Kyle are very different from Sarah," He stopped as laughter from the others threatened to drown him out. He rolled his eyes and continued, "and Rob. And I'm a lot older too. Don't listen to them, you know Sarah, she's a wonderful person. But she was the only girl in our group, certainly in our tent."

"What was she like before? She was 3, right?"

"Yes. She was…well, to be honest, she was a princess. Pat and I started taking care of her when she was about 5 months old, we were 5 and 6 and she was like a little doll to us. We probably spoiled her, but we didn't know any better. And our father, when he was home, doted on her, which she accepted because we were happier when he was home. But she doesn't remember much about him, she remembers us."

"She was pushy?"

"Mouthy, loud, sarcastic, mean, man, she could pinch. Always had to do things her way." That was Freddie and the others nodded. Rob just smiled.

Breena laughed, "Sounds like my younger sister! She says now it was self preservation."

The guys looked surprised and Breena smirked, "No one else had sisters or a younger brother?"

They all pointed to Rob, who laughed. "He was our younger brother. And he was a great kid."

Tim pulled his head toward him and ruffled his hair, "Still is."

"But he's a boy, you guys understood him. Sarah was the only girl. Were there other little girls around?"

"At the shelter, but not the camp."

Rob disagreed, "There was one at the camp, she was in Sarah's 3rd grade class at school. Then her grandfather came for her mom and her."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about her, something with a P, right?" Tim was in and out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Patty, I had a crush on her. I had it all planned out. She and Sarah would always be best friends so she'd be around us a lot and when we were old, you know, like Bill,", there was general laughter at Bill's indignant "Hey!", we'd get married and have our very own tent while I went to doctor school."

Breena was laughing so hard she had to make a very pregnant run, that is, a fast walk, for the bathroom. When she returned, she asked how old he'd been at the time of his crush. "I was in 2nd grade. And more upset than Sarah was when Patty left. I even tried to talk Tim into asking her grandfather to take us too."

Tim poked his head out from the kitchen, "I remember that. I might have asked, too, but that man was scarier than…uh, Nate."

Tony, Jimmy and Ellie laughed, figuring Tim really meant the grandfather was scarier than Gibbs.

In the kitchen, Gibbs looked at Tim, "Scarier than Nate?"

"Ok, I was going to say scarier than you at your worst but you know, company. AndIdon'twantaheadslap."

"Wouldn't do that. My worst or my best?"

Tim chuckled, "You're usually scary on purpose so I'll amend that to your best."

"Nice save, Elf Lord."

"Besides, he smelled really bad and I don't think Patty's mother really wanted to go with him. But he had a home with room for them and Nate encouraged her."

While the burgers and dogs were grilling on Gibbs' indoor electric grill and on 2 indoor grills he'd borrowed from neighbors, the others brought everything else out. There wasn't enough room at the table for everyone to sit, so they'd eat buffet style with the plates, cutlery, food, condiments and drinks there instead. The chairs were scattered around the living room with side tables and TV trays placed near them. With a few people on the couch, Tim and the kids on the love seat, Breena in a hard backed chair so she could get up and down easily and Jimmy on the floor beside her, they were pretty well set.

The simple dinner was a hit as everyone dug in. When Barry started to get up from the sofa for third helpings, Bill nudged him. "Ms. Lu made apple crisp and I saw 2 pies. Plus your brownies!"

Barry made a face at him but sat down. "You're right. My annual physical's coming up in a few months, time to start watching what I eat."

Ducky clicked with his tongue, "I should imagine that's difficult for all of you to do, given the deprivations of your youth."

There were several nods but Bill was the first one to speak. "As the first one out, I should have been an example but I was more interested in feeling full, all the time. Each of us went through a 'fat' phase where we prized food over everything else. What's weird is that it didn't always happen right away. With me, I was busy working construction full-time the summer after I graduated from high school. It wasn't until winter when work was slow but I still had money for rent and food that I knew I'd be all right and started binging."

Barry tilted his head, "For me, it was after my first evaluation at Silver Spring PD. It was good, I'd worked my tail off and I knew I was out for real."

Freddie nodded, "For Joe and me, it was after we bought our first company van. I guess that's when we finally believed we wouldn't ever have to go back."

Tony was listening intently and now he looked at Tim, "Was it when you were hired?"

"Yes and no. I put weight on while I was at Johns Hopkins because we had money to eat. But we were all still underweight and kept on eating when we got to MIT. Then we had Mrs. Ferguson's cooking and we couldn't seem to get enough. But that felt like we needed to eat while there was food, not recognizing that we were out. That was my first chub phase and by the time I left for FLETC I'd lost most of it although I wasn't all that fit.

"The second chub phase was after I was hired at NCIS. We couldn't afford really healthy food but we could afford food, 3 meals a day – and snacks and we had a stove, oven, refrigerator and microwave, we could cook! It was enough to put those pounds back on and those were the pounds you saw on me when we met. But I was in better shape then, I'd been running and working out some. Sarah indulged too while poor Robbie kept eating and never gained an ounce. When they were finally on my medical insurance, that's the first reason we went to the doctor, to find out what was going on with him. They didn't tell us much, it was Ducky who solved the mystery a year later."

Jose nodded, "Good thing none of us drinks much. We worked so hard to stay clean and away from the drunks, the druggies and well, others, it would have been a real bummer if any of us got out only to dive into a bottle or drugs."

Abby, who'd been very quiet, still absorbing Tim's history, him being Daddy and Gibbs suddenly being Grandpa, looked at her friend. "Is that why you only drink white wine?"

He nodded, twisting his lips, "I hate the feeling of having no control over my life, too many years of that, and getting drunk is basically losing control. That was never something I could risk and now being voluntarily out of control doesn't interest me. I don't like the taste of American beer and mixed drinks just taste like alcohol, nasty. And living around a bunch of drunks for all those years certainly didn't encourage me, or any of us, to become one of them! Red wine gives me an almost instant headache. To me, white wine is the only thing that has a decent taste and doesn't make me drunk. And I don't like it enough to have more than one glass, you know I can nurse a glass for hours."

Kyle got up from the floor, where he'd been sitting by Uncle Tony, wandered over to his father, climbing onto his lap. Tim gave him a kiss and a tickle and the toddler chortled, squirming. "Daaaddeee, da' tick'es!"

Tim looked at Greg, who was sitting on Uncle Rob's lap. "Want to play trains?"

Both kids nodded eagerly and Tim rose, holding onto Kyle. "Ok, we'll set it up in our room."

Tony went with them to help and when the others heard a train whistle, they got up to look. Greg smiled at them as he blew the carved wooden whistle. "Daddy got us the train and the whistle when he went to see Uncle Jose this morning!"

Tim grinned, "Stopped to get kids' antacid and found this whole set and the whistle on clearance!"

Jimmy looked at the box, "That's pretty big. Are you going to take it home on the plane?"

Kyle shook his head, "We have a twain set a' home. Daddy says dis is fow Gwan'pa's house."

Gibbs grinned, "You know what would be fun?"

The boys and Tim shook their heads. "We'll put it around the Christmas tree!"

"Oh boy, da' gonna be fun!" Kyle and Greg exchanged fist bumps.

Everyone was granted a turn at running the trains around the track before they remembered there was dessert.

While they were enjoying their dessert, Tim had one more thing to say, actually to ask. He'd already cleared it with the boys and the Palmers. After swallowing a bite of apple crisp, Tim cleared his throat. "Ducky, Greg, Kyle, and I have a question for you." Ducky looked up, smiling, "What's that, Timothy?"

"Jimmy and Breena told us that they've asked you to be grandfather to their baby and want your grandfatherly name to be Granducky. Would you be willing to do the same for my boys?"

After the applause died down, Ducky finally answered, "Yes, I'll be proud to be Granducky to Greg, Kyle, and our new little one."

"Yay!" The boys ran to him, hugging and kissing him while their father, Grandpa Gibbs, and everyone else beamed.

After the apple crisp, pies, brownies and other goodies were devoured, the crowd began to break up. The Maryland group had the longest drive and left first, Rob riding home with Bill, who lived closest to him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Memorial Day (and long weekend) to those in the U.S. Thought I'd post this for reading around the pool or on the beach or wherever and however you're spending the holiday. Let's also remember the reason for the holiday, honoring the men and women who've given their lives in service to our country.

Chapter 8

Tim looked around after saying goodbye to his brother and friends. "Hey, it's just us now. That's nice. Thanks for your patience. I was nervous about telling you all about our lives and thought it would be easier if you met the others, realized it wasn't just the four of us who lived through it and made it out."

Breena looked at him, "Are there others?"

"Yes, but at different times. We filed inquiries with Social Services after I became legal guardian of Sarah and Rob. Those inquiries and really bad press eventually led to a big cleanup of the Baltimore Foster Care system. Since we left for MIT, there haven't been any orphans at the camp, not for more than a night or two. When kids show up by themselves, Nate gets Ms. Lu involved and she contacts CPS. But before us, yes. Several are contributing members of our Camp non-profit. At last count, I believe we have over 120 members and the criteria is that members have to have stayed at the camp."

Abby shook her head, "That's horrible. But that means 120 of you made it out, far enough out to belong to the non-profit."

"Yes. There are county supervisors, social workers, a minor league ball player, firefighters and paramedics, law enforcement, a dentist, attorney, plumbers, master carpenter, medical doctor, that's Rob, psychologists, nurses, including nurse practitioners, a rabbi, ministers, a nun, programmers, insurance agents, librarians, state employees and, aside from me, several other federal employees. We all made it out but didn't forget."

"What does the non-profit do?"

"Our mission is to help the homeless set goals, assist them in whatever ways necessary to achieve them while improving their health, and provide assistance to re-enter society, according to their goals."

"Wow, that's huge."

Tim nodded, cuddling Greg and Kyle in his arms. "Had to be, our goal is to help people return to work or school, get them into their own housing, into the mainstream. None of us were willing to back down from that.

"We do just about anything and everything to get people back on their feet. We help fund and staff the free clinic, we provide tutoring and training in select topics for adults and kids. We steer them to rehabs for both alcohol and drug abuse, they get two chances with us, but they have to do a lot of work to prove they're worth the effort for a second chance. We hold seasonal clothing drives, make sure everyone at the camp has what they need to live, from new or repaired tents, warmer sleeping bags, enough food and vitamins to meet their nutritional needs on a daily basis, to new shoes and socks. Our doctors have found that keeping the homeless in decent shoes and socks keeps them healthier.

"When folks are ready to start interviewing for jobs, we provide vouchers for transportation, haircuts, showers, at least 2 sets of clothes and shoes for the interviews, sometimes dental or vision help, and we teach people how to write resumes and cover letters. When we have resources available, we teach them basic job skills including work etiquette, filing, answering phones, using a computer, things needed for entry level positions. We give them an address to use because no legitimate employer will hire without a permanent address. We train people how to interview and be interviewed, including everyday things we don't think about, like brushing your teeth and using breath mints before going. We give them pointers and practice with them how to look and act confident, how to speak decent English, at least not street talk, what questions to ask about the job, the company.

"We can't reach everyone but in the 15 years we've existed, we've helped nearly 500 people return to work, school and homes – they've left the camp and report that they're working and living with a roof over their heads. 167 of those are children and adults we've seen graduate from high school, 19 of those are adults who'd never made it past 5th grade. 93, including those 19, have gone on to training programs or college.

"We've helped another 80 or so get clean and sober, stay that way for two or more years. Those are the toughest ones."

"Do any of them have family they were estranged from?"

Tim nodded at Abby, "Yes, many of them do. That's something else we try to do, although that's also very difficult, sometimes the hardest part. Trying to show family that their homeless relative is recovering and won't be the stinky, nasty, depressed, clingy, useless - whatever words they use, is really tough.

"We've tried a number of things but the one that's been most successful," he held up both hands with two fingers crossed on each, "is simple. It's Facebook. We have a closed group for the non-profit. Each of the folks working to re-enter society is a member, posts his or her successes, failures, frustrations, photos of how they look now, what they've been doing. Their families can apply to be part of the group and as long as they follow the rules, which require that only positive remarks from and for everyone be made, they're welcome. Sarah and a couple of other people monitor our Facebook group. Basically, our folks reach their families and friends, convince them, if you will, by their posts, links and photos on FB. With permission from their employers, we encourage them to post links to their jobs, their housing and anything else they do once they've left the camp."

Tony shook his head, "Wow, that's a lot of work! Do people stay in touch once they've left?"

"It's part of the agreement, that they stay in touch with us for a minimum of 2 years. Most of them remain on Facebook and keep in touch that way. Some have reached out for further help and others have reached out to help those going through the process. Of the 120 plus on the non-profit, 47 are people we've helped and who now want to help others."

Tim continued, "It is a lot of work but when we were kids, we promised ourselves, as a group, that we would make sure no one else would go through what we did. It took us longer than we thought to pull things together, because we had our own recoveries to make. I get a thrill every time someone we've helped writes to tell us what they're doing, an even bigger thrill when they want to help. And we have a lot of volunteers who aren't members of the non-profit. We have medical volunteers who help Dr. Hannah, Ducky, Jimmy and Rob and the others. We have people who will load up their cars at Costco and deliver food, blankets, clothes, shoes to the camp. Sometimes a volunteer will show up at the camp to share a meal they've cooked. There's a thrift store that has a jar fund for people to contribute to helping the camp. We keep it quiet because we don't want people to count on this happening, but at least twice a year we pay off all the layaways at the thrift store. That place can be a life saver. When we were at the camp, they had a penny jar and twice, they saved Rob, Sarah and me from going hungry."

Ellie looked at him, "I don't want to sound negative or disbelieving, but doesn't all that help make people complacent about staying at the camp, staying homeless?"

Tim sat quietly, trying to figure out how to answer that without displaying the frustration and anger he always felt with the question. "As I said, we can't reach them all. The cumulative population of the camp over the last 15 years has certainly been more than 485 people. Nate allows 40 tents or shelters and those are usually shared. And people do come and go.

"One of the things we're successful in doing is taking some of the burden off of the city and state governments and that means the taxpayers, not to mention the medical world. If we can keep people warmer, get them flu shots, for instance, make sure they're getting the nutrition they need, then we keep a lot of them out of the hospitals, help reduce the huge medical bills for treatment of the homeless by the general public, who may never realize who ultimately pays for all that.

"The other thing is to relieve the misery, heartbreak, fear, anxiety, depression and outright danger of living in a transient camp. Nobody deserves that, nobody! We survived all those years, helping each other and to this day we don't clearly understand how we did it. It wasn't one day at a time, it was one minute that we were still breathing, another one, like that. Foster care wasn't an option. Many people are uncomfortable with what they believe are too many rules and the complexities of our society. That doesn't have to make a homeless person or anyone else bad, it just makes him or her not fit into the holes in the pegboard of society."

Tim watched Jimmy get to his feet and go into the bedroom to play with Greg and Kyle, his shoulders rigid with anger. Tim leaned forward and almost spat the words out even though he spoke softly, "Would you have denied Greg, Kyle and their mother any help because they were 'homeless'? Or me?"

"No I…I guess I didn't think of that."

Tim got up abruptly, heading for the kitchen. Tony on his heels.

"Hey."

"I get so pissed when ignorant people ask me that. All these years and I want to shove their faces in the muck. She has no idea, she'll never have any idea."

"None of us did. Now that I know a little of what you went through, I'll learn more, do more. Like you said, Tim, you can't reach everyone. She might be one of those on the 'other side' who'll never get it."

"She should go stay there for a week."

"Would you recommend that?"

"God, no! Not to my worst enemy."

Abby joined them and the three of them held onto each other, two of them reeling with Tim's news, the other one hurting from the awful memories this had stirred up. When Gibbs joined them, he wrapped his arms as far as he could around the three of them.

Finally, he spoke to them. "Listen to me. Tim survived, Sarah, Rob, Geordie and their friends survived. They're all right. They've had joy in their lives, they'll have more. I know how it feels, Tony, Abs, I had to learn this too and it's horrible, beyond my comprehension, what happened to Tim. We can't change what happened. But we're here for him now. We're family, and we're going to be family for as long as we live. Tim knows that, it's what has hurt him the most in having to leave. It's not the job, it's us. Felt like he was 9 years old and being thrown out, losing everything all over again, complete with two little ones to raise. But he's not 9, he has resources and most of all, he knows he has us and that he's loved and we know that he loves us. Here and here." Gibbs tapped Tim's head and his chest, brain and heart.

"Greg and Kyle, they're our family too. Whether they're 2 and 6 or 42 and 46. Ours. And baby Palmer and any other children we're lucky enough to add to our clan. Ours." He took a breath, looking at Tim, who smiled shyly. "Tim's being shy right now but recently we've decided to become father and son. If either of you want the sa…oomph!" He was nearly knocked over by Tony and Abby. "I'll take that as a yes."

While they were celebrating, Tim gave them each a little hug before slipping back into the living room. He found Ducky and Breena talking earnestly to Ellie and Jake. Tim decided to jump in, "Excuse me. Ellie, I need to apologize for my reaction to your question, it hits me that way every time it's asked of me. The truth is, no one can ever know how awful it is being homeless, how dehumanizing, hopeless and demoralizing it is unless they've been through it. And I wouldn't recommend that to my worst enemy. You're certainly not that."

"Obviously, the whole subject is very difficult for me and recent reminders," he tilted his head toward the bedroom, "have brought back some truly painful memories. If I can spare a buck to help someone feel human again for an hour, a day, I'll do so. I realize this is all new to you but for me, it's been my life. If it hadn't been for…" he again tilted his head, "I would never have told any of you, with the possible exception of Gibbs. And Ducky and Jimmy who already knew. And, I think, Breena?"

She shook her head, "I knew you had some connection with the clinic but nothing specific."

Ellie smiled sadly, reaching up to kiss Tim's cheek. "Thank you for sharing, for opening my eyes to a whole lot of things. I'm sorry, too. I guess I've always convinced myself that homeless people are all alcoholics or drug users. When I moved here and especially after I joined NCIS, I realized that a lot of veterans are homeless and the ones I saw weren't all drunk or high. But I haven't let myself think any deeper than that. It's a horrible problem and I'm proud to know you, to know someone who's gotten out, as you put it, and who's still willing to wade back in and help. Thank you."

Jake shook his hand, gathering their belongings while Ellie went to the kitchen to say goodbye to Gibbs and then to the bedroom to say goodbye to the boys and Jimmy. She smiled as she closed the bedroom door, "The 3 of them are sound asleep!"

Tim shook his head, "Been a busy few days. Have another one tomorrow. Look, I don't know when we'll see you all again. Breena, we're hoping to train down here during winter break in February, so we'll meet Baby then."

"Good, she or he will be almost a month old by then."

Tim grinned, "Great!"

He said goodbye to Ellie and Jake, watching them leave before turning to Breena. "I'm going to wake Jimmy, have something more to tell you all but the kids don't know yet."

"Oooh, sounds exciting!"

Jimmy was already awake, reaching to open the bedroom door when Tim opened it. Putting a finger to his lips so Jimmy wouldn't say anything, they walked out to the living room just as Gibbs, Tony and Abby entered from the kitchen.

Gibbs looked at Tim, then smiled, "Why don't you go down to the basement. Breena, is that all right for you?"

She nodded with a smile and Gibbs continued, "I'll stay up here with the boys." Ducky looked at him, a question on his face but Gibbs nodded, "Go on, Duck, this concerns you too, the whole family."

The others followed Tim down the stairs and Jimmy closed the door behind them.

"Okay, don't know when we'll have another opportunity to be alone like this and I'm dying to tell you!"

"What?"

Tony frowned, he already didn't like whatever was coming, figuring it was something else that would keep his friend away.

"I haven't formally accepted this yet but I've had an offer to teach as a visiting professor at Bedford University, in Brambury, England. The contract is for 2 years and with any luck things will be resolved by then so we can come home."

"Two years? Tim…that's…really?"

"As I said, I haven't accepted yet. But I'm going to, I need an income and I refuse to spend any more of Gemcity's money on rent and food. That's my nest egg. Don't get me wrong, the month at MIT has been wonderful and I'm happy and relieved to continue through May. But I can't keep moving the kids every few months, they need stability, so do I."

Ducky, burying his shock for the moment, patted Tim's arm. "Congratulations, that's quite an honor!" He turned to the others, "Bedford is a small, private university emphasizing mathematics and science. They count several well known mathematicians and scientists amongst their alumni. Timothy, do you know what year it was founded?"

"1547."

"Ah, then it is one of the newer British institutions of higher learning."

The others' eyes widened, while Tim grinned at Ducky, giving him the history he'd learned.

"The royal charter was signed by King Henry VIII on January 3rd, a Monday. He died 25 days later, January 28th and was succeeded by his heir, Edward VI. It was suggested that the name be changed from Bedford to something commemorating the late king but Edward declined."

"The charter was granted less than twenty years after Henry signed a royal charter for the founding of the University of Cambridge. A major difference is that Bedford was founded after Henry's dissolution of the monasteries and formed its curricula with mathematics and the sciences of the era."

"Splendid! How did this all come about?"

Tim smiled as he told them about the letter, his cursory research, calling Sarah, followed by the conversation with the University President. He told them he'd be on salary, would have benefits and a stipend towards their housing. When he told them where it was, in the market town of Brambury just outside of London, he was happy with the looks of interest from Tony and Ducky.

"We'll come home once or twice a year to see Patrick and all of you. I'm thinking Christmas time and maybe summer if we can swing it. If I accept this, we'll move straight from Cambridge. Greg gets out of school the 2nd of June, which is a Tuesday and summer session at Bedford starts the following Monday! The only things I'll be shipping from home are toys, clothes and my California King mattress and platform frame. Sarah tells me those don't exist over there and I hate having my feet hanging over the mattress."

"What about your car?"

"Yeah, I might end up shipping that, there's a maximum amount for shipping and transportation so I'll figure that out at some point. Might be cheaper than buying one over there but there could be all sorts of taxes and things to make it too expensive. And Brambury is on train and bus routes, Sarah says it'll be a fairly quick ride into London. I'm already mapping out where to take the boys, around the UK and in Europe. I'm hoping to find housing within walking distance of the university and the school the boys will attend. Then maybe we rent cars and use Uber when we need to. Rob's looking into a transfer to do his last 2 years of his residency over there."

Ducky smiled, "I'll talk with him, I may be able to offer some help with that."

Jimmy looked at Tim. "Tim…"

"I know. We'll come visit, we'll video chat and then we'll move home in 2 years."

Tony sighed, "Unless they offer you a full-time position or you don't want to be a federal agent anymore."

"Been my dream since we were abandoned, to become an NCIS agent, NIS back then, and help other kids, other dependents."

Abby kissed him on the cheek, "And you have, many of them, including the two upstairs. I'm already planning to visit you in Cambridge, now I'll start saving for a trip to London, too!"

He brightened again at that and after a few more minutes talking about the offer, they trooped back upstairs. After helping to finish the kitchen clean up, the group dispersed.

When they'd all gone, Tim and Gibbs sat on the couch, both exhausted. Tim slung an arm around his dad's shoulders, "Thank you. That was tough for all of us and you really helped me keep it together."

"I didn't even stay!"

"You stayed with the boys and somehow were always there when I most needed an anchor."

"Good! You settle things with Ellie?"

"Yeah, we both apologized. I just hate that question and the attitude, every time."

"Copy that."

"I'm going to get the boys into bed, we'll do…you know, I might just take them into the shower with me in the morning. Did we talk about going early to see Patrick and then out to breakfast and all of us taking naps after, before we have to leave for the airport - or was that in my head?"

"In your head but sounds good. What if we reverse the order? Get up, have breakfast, play and nap, then go visit Patrick, have lunch out and I'll take you to the airport on the way back."

"Makes more sense, we'll be closer to the airport on the way back." He straightened up. "The MLK holiday is January 19th, want to visit? And then we'll come down during winter break in February."

"Ok, then yeah, I'll fly up Friday night and home Monday night."

"Good! No driving, bad roads in January."

"Yeah, I'm not crazy about driving then either. Takes too much time." He looked at his son, "You forgetting something?"

"No. January and February."

"Nothing in between?"

Tim looked at him quizzically before laughing, "Oh yeah, that Christmas thing!"

"Geez, you are tired!"

"I am, yes. I do have those dates written down. Greg is off for 2 weeks, I'm off for more. If it's all right with you, we'll spend all of his vacation here."

"Absolutely! Know what day you'll be here?"

Tim told him and Gibbs wrote it on the wall calendar. "Then we'll go find our tree the next day, put it up the day after or we can start the same day."

"Cool! There are 3 boxes of ornaments on the shelf in the bedroom closet at the Silver Spring apartment. And a little tiny artificial tree that's already got lights and ornaments. We could put that in the boys' room."

"Good! I'll have both rooms upstairs ready for you and gates on the stairs."

"Thanks, Dad. Kyle probably doesn't need them but I don't want to take any chances. And we can share the room upstairs, you don't need to clear out Kelly's old room."

"Yes, I do, it's time. They're my grandbabies and that's the kids' room. Kelly would love them staying in there, so would Shannon."

"Thanks." Tim leaned over to his dad, who was slumped on the couch, kissing the top of his head. "That was pretty awesome what you said to Tony and Abby."

"Tried to say! And then you left."

"Had to talk with Ellie."

Gibbs patted Tim's knee. "C'mon, get to bed or we'll be up all night talking."

"Like that idea."

"Me too, but we have things to do tomorrow."

"Ok. 'Night!" They exchanged hugs and Tim dragged himself to the bedroom while Gibbs dragged himself up the stairs.

**NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS**

All 4 of them were tired the next day. After breakfast, they layered up and then played out back in the fresh air for a couple of hours. After hot chocolate and coffee, Tim and the boys had a shower and then decided to have a story. All 3 were asleep in minutes, curled up together on the big bed. Gibbs didn't bother going upstairs. After throwing a blanket over Tim and the boys, he nudged the heat up and stretched out on the couch, asleep almost as quickly as his kids.

He woke at noon and after putting a pot of coffee on to brew, woke the boys and Tim. After a light snack, they loaded the car with the suitcase to take home on the plane. The car seats, still locked into the backseat of the Challenger, would be carried on for the plane ride. Making sure they had all the photos and the boys' newest works of art for Patrick's room, they left, the boys waving goodbye to the house, telling it they'd be back in 3 weeks for Christmas. Greg frowned when he thought about that, "Daddy, how will Santa know we're here?"

"We'll write and tell him, Greg. He probably already knows but we'll tell him anyway."

"Ok, can we do that tonight?"

"How about tomorrow night? Pretty sure we're all going right to bed when we get home tonight. Besides, you and Kyle need to think about what to ask for."

"I forgot!"

The nurses smiled at the boys and Tim when they arrived in the unit where Patrick was. "It's so good to see you! Come to visit your dad in person this week, huh?"

Greg nodded, "Daddy brought us to Grandpa's house and now to see Dad. Is he still asleep?"

"Yes, he is. Do you need tape for your new photos and pictures?"

"No, thank you, we brought Grandpa's."

They went into the room and one by one kissed the sleeping man. Tim remembered his thought to sue whatever spook agency Patrick was involved with for failing to protect him. He looked at him, wondering if it would be worth it. It was too late for his brother; it wouldn't help the boys at all. What would it prove? If he won, would it hurt that organization? Probably not and in the end, the money would come from the taxpayers. Maybe he'd write a book instead, he'd reach more people that way.

While the boys chattered away to their father, Tim unfurled the new drawings, amused to see one of the table at Thanksgiving with the Porters, Rob, Dad, him and the boys. Each figure had a name attached to it. He liked that Greg wanted to keep his father informed of the latest in his life. In a little over 3 weeks they'd be back with drawings of their Christmas tree and then maybe some of their gifts. He thought about gifts for Patrick. Other than something with the kids' photos, he couldn't think of anything.

He looked at the wall, touching the photos that were there, that Kathy had put up. A wedding photo, a pregnant Kathy, newborn Greg with both parents, various birthdays, Kathy pregnant again, Patrick in uniform with a grinning toddler Greg, newborn Kyle with his family and then Kathy and the boys staring at the camera. The first photo without Patrick.

Tim touched Kathy's photo. "I'll do my best to keep them safe, I promise you. I already love them as my own. They'll grow up remembering you, honoring you, I promise that too. And we'll take care of Patrick. When we can't be here, friends and family will be. I wish I'd had a chance to meet you, I don't even know if you knew about Sarah and me. I bet you did, though. Patrick taught Greg about 'phooey', didn't he? So he must have told you about us. I'm so sorry."

When it was his turn, he talked to Patrick, telling him about the house in Cambridge, the easy walk to the boys' school and day care, taking the train from his point of view, adding that the boys would be taking their first flight, back to Cambridge, in a few hours.

While their grandpa spoke to Patrick, Greg and Kyle put up the rest of the drawings they'd brought. "Daddy, when we come at Christmas, let's take the old drawings down and put new ones up, then we can put the old ones up again later."

"All right, kiddo, that's a good idea."

Finally, it was time to go. The boys and Tim kissed the patient while Gibbs watched them silently, his son's emotional pain nearly radiating off him. Back in the car, they headed for their favorite Maryland diner for a late lunch. Kyle was quiet for a few minutes but he had no memories of his father and while he understood that Greg and now Daddy were sad, he wasn't. He missed his mother, he still woke calling for her but Daddy was always there, cuddling him through the hurt.

Whenever that happened, Tim wondered if this is what life had been like for Dan McGee, with a motherless toddler and infant. He hoped he'd been cuddled when he woke calling for his mama; at some point he decided he had been.

Lunch was hearty and Greg soon regained his happy demeanor. None of them wanted to leave Gibbs but were excited about coming back for 2 whole weeks and it would be Christmas!

Gibbs pulled up to domestic departures at the airport and then helped Tim get the boys and the car seats out. A kind soul left a rental cart by the car and Gibbs watched, suddenly having trouble swallowing, as his son and grandkids walked into the terminal. Wiping his sleeve across his face, he got back in the empty car to leave. Something caught his peripheral vision and he looked at the cup holder next to him. There was a scrap of paper with a note that said, "We love you lots. See you in 21 days!" There was a heart and 3 scrawled names. Smiling, he fastened his seatbelt and went home.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim and the boys reached the house by 7:30 that night. They had an Uber ride home, the boys falling asleep on the way. The driver was patient as Tim woke Greg and carried Kyle inside. When he went back out, he found their suitcase, Kyle's sweater and the bag with their car seats sitting right outside the front door.

They had another light snack, Tim adjusted the thermostat, the boys had a bath and off they went to bed. Tim picked up a favorite book to read to them but both his kids were nearly asleep. Kissing them goodnight, each murmured to him. When they'd left on Friday, he'd left the furnace on high enough so the pipes wouldn't freeze in a sudden cold snap but low enough so that the house was pretty cool. Pulling extra blankets over the kids, he relaxed as the heater came on and stayed on.

He was as tired as the boys, almost too tired to go to sleep. Sending a 'we're home, all is well' text to Dad, he headed back downstairs and into Dad's room. He climbed on the treadmill, walking and running several miles. Upstairs again, toddler gates closed and locked, he made sure he had clean clothes to wear in the morning, quick shower, jammies on, face plant into his pillow. Oh boy, that felt good. As he was falling asleep, he remembered to set the alarm clock for the morning. Then he was out.

They made it through Monday although all 3 of them went to bed early that night. By Tuesday, they were back in their routine. They marked off the days until they'd leave for Christmas vacation, two less than there were on Sunday! Tim's students had finals the following week, partial days for him, and then he was done for the year.

With Greg in school for 2 more weeks and the day care open until Christmas Eve, Tim got busy with his Christmas shopping. He did a fair amount online, having everything shipped to his father's house. But he also wanted to explore some of the shopping areas of Greater Boston. He quickly learned to go early, discovered the best place to take the kids to see Santa, a Christmas village, and a train to the North Pole. While he wasn't shopping or hunting down places to take the kids, he took care of some pressing professorial business – paperwork! Grades, evaluations, all the fun stuff. He also placed a few, long delayed phone calls, satisfied and relieved by his actions.

One morning he pulled up the Amtrak site, ready to purchase roundtrip train tickets, to DC and back, for the 3 of them, pondering getting a bedroom so the kids could rest and they could lock their belongings inside if they wanted to go for a walk, plus there were toilets in the bedrooms, although not the roomettes. He was happy to see that because the kids were Navy dependents, they were eligible for a 'military child' discount. That discount didn't matter much as, wincing at the basic price, he gaped at the price for the bedroom, one way. And there was no checked baggage on any of the trains running through DC that week.

Once again, it might be less expensive, and easier on a single parent, to ship their Christmas gifts home. If he did that, then flying would be less expensive, less time and less hassle for him. The boys had been fine on the plane coming home from Virginia. They'd take other train trips, shorter ones when they wouldn't have much with them. He quickly found the flights he wanted and booked them. They'd catch an Uber home again. He made a mental note that next time they were on the same continent for Christmas, it would be easier for people without children to come to them. Of course, they'd probably be staying in Virginia, not here.

The Porters were also now done with classes. Before they left for their Christmas in Hawaii vacation, the three had lunch together. He finally told them about the Bedford offer and was relieved that they were excited for him. Larry shook his head, "I know Donovan will be disappointed, he's been trying to carve space in the budget to offer you a permanent position but this sounds like more of a challenge for you, Tim. And I know you prefer a challenge. What about your dad and brothers?"

"Rob wants to work some sort of transfer program so he can do his residency in London, maybe finish there. Patrick will have visits from our friends, the same ones who rotate Sundays now. Dad says he's going with us. He'll retire or maybe go part-time, do some consulting work at the agency's London office. He'll live with us, I've already told Sarah what he'll need. A suite like we have here, only he also needs a workshop."

"Oh, good idea! If you find an older home there, many still have basements."

"That'd be great."

"When would you start?"

"The second week in June, for their summer session."

"Will you go to your dad's first?"

"We won't have time. Greg doesn't get out of school until Tuesday, June 2nd and we'll either fly out that night or the next morning. My classes start on the 8th! Most of our clothes and the kids' toys are here now. I'll ship my bed, books, record albums and whatever else is still at Dad's but the rest can ship from here. Oh, hadn't thought of that. We might not have a place right away."

"I'm sure the moving company can do as they do here, hold onto your things and deliver them when you have a place."

"Great, thanks for the save."

"Summer session. So we should probably wait to visit until the following summer."

Tim chuckled, "Yes, please. Unless you want to help us unpack and settle in! I imagine things will be pretty chaotic the first couple of months."

Cyndi nodded, "You know, with you starting classes so quickly after you arrive, you'll need your dad's help with the kids."

"Yes, although there is a day care attached to the university, I'd rather they be with my dad or one of the sibs, if Rob moves too. At least for the first week or two."

He added, "We're flying down and back for Christmas and I know the kids will be disappointed that we're not taking the train. But it's too expensive and there's no checked baggage on the dates we'll travel. Now I'm thinking we might be able to take a shorter train ride around here. Any suggestions?"

"There's a seasonal train that runs on weekends from South Station to Cape Cod. No reservations, it's a zoo on holidays and doesn't start running until Memorial Day. If you did the weekend after that, it might not be too bad. However, that would be two or three days before you leave."

"Yeah, timing would be pretty crazy. Too bad, I've never been out there, it's on my list."

"There's a ferry you can take from Boston's Long Wharf to P-town, that's Provincetown, at the tip of the Cape. I believe it runs in May. That would be a new adventure, wouldn't it?"

"Sure would! I'll have to look into that, thanks."

Cyndi chuckled, "You can always drive out to the Cape, Tim, anytime. But don't drive out there on Fridays, unless it's after midnight and don't drive back from the Cape on Sunday morning or afternoon, wait as long as possible! The bridge gets very backed up. Otherwise, it's about a 2 hour drive."

Tim thought about it, "Ok, that sounds reasonable. I'll look around, see where else we can go on a weekend, by train, preferably before May."

Larry grinned, "There's always New York City!"

Tim's eyes threatened to fall out, "Sure, that sounds great. In fact, I think I'll let you try it with the kids first!"

All three of them laughed. Eventually they split up, the Porters promising to send postcards from Hawaii. Wishing them a Merry Christmas, Tim walked to the day care and found Kyle up from his nap. His little face lit up when Tim walked in, which always made his heart melt.

"Hey, Kyle, want to come with me? I have an idea for something you and Greg can make Grandpa for Christmas."

"Ok, Papa!"

Tim was still confused by that, the kids were now calling him both Daddy and Papa. One of these days he'd ask them. He didn't mind but wondered if there was a special reason.

Hand in hand, they walked home, got the car and drove to a downtown area with a store that made specialized plates. Parking, they walked down the sidewalk to the store. Tim smiled when Kyle giggled and waved at someone. "Who was that, sweetie?"

"Mr. Gween. He weaws gween ties."

"Where do you know him from?"

"He watches da day care."

"A security guard?"

Kyle shrugged, he didn't know what that meant while Tim realized who it might be. There were a few times he'd seen one of the suits wearing a green tie in his vicinity. He'd seen other suits too, but only when he was away from campus, shopping like this or somewhere with the boys. Around the campus, Greg's school and the house, he'd never seen anyone. He tucked Mr. Green Tie away for later thought.

They found a big enough plate, one Grandpa could use for company and picked a design to go in the background. Then Kyle wrote his name, with help from Daddy, and his age, he insisted on putting 2½, on a piece of transfer paper. Tim wrote the month and year on another piece of transfer paper, that would go under the boys' handprints and design.

After Kyle finished writing his name, he pressed his hand in his choice of a deep green paint and chortling with glee, made a hand-print on the plate. The transfer paper with his name and age was painted and applied to the plate under his hand-print. They'd fire Kyle's artwork and then Greg would come in for his turn. The month and date would go on after Greg's hand-print so the placement could be adjusted.

Kyle loved the process, talking about it all the way to Greg's school to pick him up. Big brother was excited about getting to do his hand-print and since the store would be open long enough to have the plate fired the second time, back they went. Greg carefully examined the paint colors, picking an ocean blue that looked great next to Kyle's green. He painstakingly wrote his name, Tim was amused that he wrote it in cursive, adding his age, 6 (he hadn't had his half birthday yet so he didn't add the ½), and with a big grin, pressed his hand in the paint and carefully applied it to the plate. His name was transferred on.

When it was time for the month and date transfer to be put on the plate, the boys chose a color paint called tropical turquoise. That was brushed onto the transfer and then onto the plate. The three colors looked great together and they left the plate to be fired. After the plate was ready, they'd add a note on the back and have it fired again. The designs on this plate were never going to fade or chip!

After they finished there, Tim surprised them with a trip to see Santa Claus! The boys had already written their letters, Kyle with help from Greg and mailed them the day before. Tim cautioned them Santa wouldn't have seen the letters yet, so it was all right to tell him in person.

He knew it would be fun but he hadn't realized just how much fun. The mall had cordoned off part of the parking lot and installed a small barn and corral with a petting zoo, including 3 reindeer. The boys loved that, feeding the goats, sheep and reindeer.

Finally, they went inside the mall where their eyes lit up at Santa's workshop with elves and their helpers building toys. That was interactive, Greg and Kyle were invited to help assemble toys appropriate to their ages and Tim even got to help! Once they'd each finished their work on the toy, they were ushered into the Claus house to see Santa. Knowing Santa's helpers were also taking photos of each child with Santa, Tim stopped snapping and enjoyed watching his kids talking with Santa. Kyle was a little nervous so Greg went first. When he climbed down from Santa's lap, all smiles, Kyle tugged Tim forward. He was willing to talk with Santa but he wanted his papa close.

While the boys were enjoying a cookie and cup of hot chocolate each, Tim purchased their photos from the elf. He was surprised and happy that there were also shots of the kids and him working on the toys and another one with the three of them, smiling as they walked toward Santa's place. Tim bought all the photos with them, planning to copy some of them and frame them for Grandpa, Granducky and Patrick.

Back home, the three of them talked about other things they could make for Grandpa, Granducky, Uncle Rob, Aunts Sarah, Abby and Breena, Uncles Tony, Jimmy, and the Baltimore Uncles. After a quick discussion between the boys, Greg asked if they could make a hand-print gift for Granducky too.

Tim grinned at that. He showed them photos online of the different things they could make. Both immediately pointed to an unfinished teapot. When they looked further, they found different patterns that could be applied before they did their handprints. Spotting one painted in the colors of Ducky's clan tartan, they decided to do that, with their handprints in a different color over the plaid.

By the end of that week, the boys had all their Christmas gifts either in the works or wrapped and in the mail. Grandpa reported mysterious packages appearing on his front porch nearly every day. He was helping the boys with their daddy's gift, they'd talked about it while they were all at Grandpa's house and now he was making a stand for Tim's e-reader that they could help finish. Kyle was also making something for Daddy at day care and Mr. Cooper's students were busy with holiday crafts.

By the time the McGee-Hart family left for Christmas, Tim had everything and everyone on his list handled. He was done, including stocking stuffers for the kids! All but a few items had been mailed to Gibbs' house and those few easily fit in their carry-on bags. They'd wear their jackets on the plane to save room in the bags and Tim splurged on a roller bag that could safely hold his electronics, clothes and shoes.

All 3 of them already had clothes at the house as Gibbs, Jose, Freddie, Bill, Barry, Abby and Tony pitched in to move Tim and the kids' stuff out of the apartment and into the house. As Tim's bed would be moved in June by professional movers, this move crew managed to get it upstairs. They'd dismantled the bunk beds and then hauled them upstairs to the newly christened 'kids' room', Kelly's old room. Tony had helped his new dad clean that out the weekend before and it had nearly broken his heart. He'd talked with Tim about it beforehand and most of the little girl's belongings were quietly boxed and taken to the attic.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The day before they left Cambridge for Christmas with Gibbs, Tim received an envelope from NCIS with a return address of the Navy Yard, forwarded from his old address in Silver Spring. As he was busy, he stuffed it into his jacket pocket to read some other time. He huffed to himself that it would be just like his life that a week after accepting the job in the UK, he'd get notice that NCIS wanted him back. Too bad, he'd already signed the contract – and got a surprise bonus for doing so.

While he was hanging up his jacket, the letter fell out of his pocket. He gave it the evil eye and then shrugged, taking it upstairs and putting it on his dresser. He'd read it in two weeks when they got home. It wasn't a registered letter; the senders would have no way of knowing when he'd received it.

By morning, the envelope had made it into Tim's carry-on bag, although he promised himself he didn't have to open it. Maybe after New Year's. Then he remembered that, along with the contract, he now had legal help. Three of his phone calls once his classes finished had been to the attorneys recommended by the McGee family law attorney weeks ago. He'd selected one and retained her to deal with NCIS and their weirdness. He could even send this straight to the attorney without opening it. Although, for all he knew, this was a memo about the annual blood drive, even though he was no longer employed there, or he was on indefinite leave, take your pick. Whatever, his new attorney would figure that out very soon.

Their Uber arrived that evening and he and the boys got everything into the vehicle, the car seats in their usual oversized bag. With many people taking time off for the holiday, traffic moved faster than usual and they made good time to Logan airport. Tim and Greg had this down to a science and Kyle also knew what his role was. The boys walked with him to the rental carts, then held onto him while he loaded 2 roller bags, 1 backpack and the bag with the car seats into it. Then they held onto the cart handle while Daddy pushed it into the terminal. It was easier now that Kyle was only using the stroller when he was tired. Grandpa would have one for him at the other end, purchased used, but for now the little guy was good. And Greg was strong enough to pull one of the roller bags, which left Tim with the backpack on his back, Kyle's hand held in one hand and the 2nd roller bag in the other, fingers linked with Greg's free hand.

Gibbs' team had signed up for pre-check with TSA, airport security, as soon as that became available and now the kids were automatically allowed to go with Tim. As he'd done over Thanksgiving, he brought their birth certificates and the legal documents proving he was their legal guardian. He'd need to add those to the list for their international flight, along with the kids' new passports. Even with that delay, they were through security faster than those going the regular route.

Pre-boarding was another blessing that they'd lose when Kyle got older. From a passenger's perspective, it made sense to let those with bulky child safety seats board first and get settled rather than making people stand in the aisle waiting. There was enough of that anyway.

The plane was full but Tim had selected a row of three seats so they didn't have to share. All three of them had used the restroom in the terminal so they wouldn't have to get up and the flight was only an hour and 40 minutes. Kyle fell asleep as soon as he climbed into his seat. Once they took off, Greg played cards with Papa and before they knew it, they were landing!

Because the kids' seats had to be unlatched, they waited for everyone else to get off the plane to disembark. That was easier for Tim, meant he didn't feel any pressure to hurry. He sent a text to his dad that they were here and waiting to go last. Once off the plane, they looked around for the rental carts, but a lady walking to a gate stopped in front of them, took her bags out of a rental cart and offered it to them. They smiled, saying thank you and Merry Christmas. Piling everything in and wishing Kyle was allowed to ride in them, they made it to the elevator (carts can't ride on escalators) and down they went to baggage claim.

Dad was waiting, taking Kyle while Tim and Greg pushed the cart out the exit doors. An agency sedan cruised to a stop in front of them and a smiling Granducky popped the trunk open. The boys sat in the front seat while Daddy and Grandpa got their seats locked in, then Daddy sat between them in the back while the boys' grandfathers took them home. Kyle was awake now and looking around at all the bright lights. He was a little upset that he didn't remember the flight until Greg reminded him they were flying home, too. Grandpa drove them as close to the White House as they could get so they could see the huge National Christmas tree and the building all lit up. That was a treat and Tim opened the window just enough to take a photo.

Dropping Granducky at his home in Georgetown, the family continued to Alexandria. Greg, Kyle, and Tim were properly impressed by the Christmas lights on the house, bringing a proud smile to Gibbs' face. "Your uncles Rob and Tony helped me last Sunday. Now all we need is our Christmas tree!"

Kyle looked around, "Da twees asweep now, Gwan'pa."

"They are now, sweet boy, but they'll be wide awake tomorrow when we go look for one."

Tim smiled, "The sooner we get in there and get to sleep, the sooner we can go find our tree!"

Kyle promptly shut his eyes but his giggle gave him away. They carried the boys in and showed them their new room upstairs. Greg looked around, "I like this room, Grandpa. Did you paint it?"

"Yes, with help from your aunts Abby and Ellie."

"That's nice."

"Yes, it was. Now, you two stay here while your Papa and I bring the rest of your stuff in."

"Okay."

Tim smiled as he peeked in the kitchen as they headed back outside, seeing the canister of hot chocolate mix and four mugs on the counter. "You're the best dad, you know that?" As he spoke, he spotted something new out of the corner of his eye.

"Why, because I picked you up at the airport?"

"Brought Ducky with you so we could see him, picked us up, went out of your way to show us the National Christmas Tree and the White House, painted their room, it looks great by the way, moved our stuff out of the old place, and you're ready with the hot chocolate and coffee."

His dad grinned, "It's fun being a dad again, and a grandfather."

Tim reached over and pulled him over for a hug. "We're a lucky bunch, glad you're with us. Thank you! And what's this?" He pointed to the highly polished wooden table that had taken the place of Boss' old metal table from the '50's.

"New table, has several leaves to fit all of us. Well, most of us. Won't be able to fit everyone around it on Christmas with the Baltimore group here too. "

"It's beautiful and I know you made it."

"I did, with a lot of help from Tobias, Tony and Abby. Tobias even worked on it while DiNozzo, Abby and I were working cases. And I think Ed Slater was over one night when Tobias was working here by himself. Tobias helped Ed with his project and then Ed helped Tobias with mine."

"That's awesome, Dad!"

Once the bags and pack were in, the kids' seats staying in the car for now, they all had hot beverages, hot chocolate for the boys, coffee for Grandpa and a mix of coffee and hot chocolate for Daddy. The kids poked around a little bit at the boxes of Christmas ornaments and decorations in the living room and then remembered what Daddy said about sleeping and going to look for a tree in the morning.

They took quick showers, got in their jammies, and cuddled with Grandpa while he read them a story. Then Greg read a story for them and that was enough for the night. After more cuddles with Daddy and Grandpa, both kids said their prayers and climbed into their bunk beds. Which was really an elevated bed with a ladder for Greg and an open area underneath, perfectly sized for Kyle's toddler bed. Tim sat with them until they were asleep and then headed downstairs to look through the pile of boxes and packages that had arrived with his name on them. He had a lot of wrapping to do! He was able to order some things wrapped but not all. Tomorrow, while Kyle was napping, he and Greg needed to buy Christmas wrapping paper, ribbon, tags and tape.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MLK day commemorates the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning, all four were up early, ready to find and bring home their Christmas tree. Kyle made a paper cut-out of one in day care, although he didn't remember ever seeing a real one while Greg remembered Christmas decorations at their old house. He said there hadn't been a tree last Christmas and that made him sad. He cuddled with Papa for several minutes before Kyle approached him, "Gweggie, doncha want to ge' owa twee?"

Greg nodded as he sat up, "Ok, Kyle. I'm ready." Kyle gave him a kiss and Greg kissed him back. After washing his face, he was ready.

It was the perfect day for their tree hunt, sunny and cold. As the nearest forest where trees could legally be cut down was three hours away, Gibbs agreed to a compromise. They'd go to a tree farm much closer. There they'd select their tree and the employees of the farm would cut it down for them. As Tim pointed out, they'd get a straight cut across the bottom that way, which would make placing it in the stand much easier. They'd also avoid a 6-hour drive with a 2 ½-year-old and a 6-year-old, both excited about their tree.

Before they left, Gibbs and Tim brought the tree stand and boxes of ornaments and decorations down from the attic. Then Tim showed his dad a surprise he'd brought with him, solar chargers that could be used for both the outdoor and indoor lights. He'd remembered talking with Boss about it the year before when he'd switched to LED lights. He put the chargers in the sun on the back deck to charge while they were gone.

They were all surprised and the kids excited, when they got to the tree farm and saw people riding in a horse drawn sleigh. The rides were less than 10 minutes so they didn't have long to wait for the next one. While they waited, the boys played in the snow.

The ride was a lot of fun, the horses wore bells on their harnesses and the boys, their daddy and grandpa sang _Jingle Bells_. The horses took them around the back of the trees, winding up a hill with, the driver said, the best trees. He explained how it worked. Each tree was numbered and had a tag with its number and height. Part of the tag repeated the information and needed to be removed and taken down to the cashier to pay for it and then lumberjacks would return with them to chop it down. He cautioned them not to remove any tags until they were sure about a tree. He let them out on the hill to save little legs having to walk back up again.

They hiked a bit farther up the hill, examining the trees and then Grandpa spotted a little valley, more of a hollow, below with more trees. They walked down a short slope to the valley where Tim and Greg spotted the perfect tree. After pointing it out, they watched as Grandpa and Kyle circled around the tree, Grandpa pointing out various attributes. They cheered when he pronounced it 'their' tree. Finding a shortcut, they made their way back to the building with a tag displaying the number, height and price of their tree. After paying for it, two of the tree cutters went with them to cut and carry it back for them.

As they started back up, Tim kept an eye on Kyle. Although he was a sturdy little boy, hiking up and down in the snow had to have tired him and Tim didn't want him to miss out on anything today. They'd just started up the hill when Kyle made a surprised, happy noise as his papa swept him up into his arms and then onto his shoulders.

"Come on, Doodle Bug, let's make you a little taller so you can see!"

Kyle giggled as he called out to his brother, "Gweggie, I'm bigga dan you!" In a surprised voice, he added, "Gwan'pa too!"

"You sure are, Kyle. Hold on tight to your daddy."

"I will, Gwan'pa."

Once the tree was cut and properly shaken to rid it of any critters, and dead or loose needles, they followed it and the lumberjacks back to the building, Kyle riding on Daddy's back this time. There the bottom of the tree trunk was leveled and the whole tree was wrapped in netting to keep it safe and intact on the way home.

While that was being done, the family waited inside the pleasantly warm building, where they found complimentary hot apple cider and cookies. There were many displays of Christmas decorations and Tim held Kyle up so he could see them all. They spotted one they knew Greg would especially like and with Grandpa's help in distracting older brother, bought it for him, Kyle thrilled to have a secret. Grandpa and Greg bought a big wreath to put on the front door. Other items were surreptitiously purchased while the kids were distracted by one of the employees dressed as an elf.

Finally, they set off for home, the tree bundled in its netting and tied securely to the top of the car although Greg worried about it all the way home. Parking in the driveway at the house, the kids waited on the front porch, nearly dancing with excitement as their new tree was carried in by their daddy and grandpa.

Gibbs had forewarned Tim about the 'fun' of getting Christmas trees straight in stands and then stringing the lights. For now, they leaned the tree, still in its netting, against the wall and Gibbs made a pot of coffee for the two of them. When he brought out an old jar with a tattered sign taped on it that read 'Swear Jar', Tim burst into laughter. Then he thought about strings of coated wire with fragile light bulbs attached, tree branches that had grown out of the trunk wherever there was space and nodded at his dad, he'd warn the boys about his and Grandpa's language.

As it turned out, placing the tree in the stand so it stood straight wasn't as much of a pain with two people with a fine eye for angles, handling it. Greg was proud to help hold the tree while that was happening. Then came the lights. That was a bit more of an adventure but with the task split between the four of them, it wasn't so bad. There were enough strands of lights so that each quarter of the tree had its own set. After watching, Greg and Kyle did the bottom parts of the tree, crawling under it to get the very bottom branches lit. It was a good thing they'd trimmed some of the lower branches before putting it into the stand or there would have been no room for the train or the gifts!

When they plugged the lights in, there were a lot of 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. They took a break for lunch and then the boys played outside until it was time for Kyle's nap. After the others promised, crossing their hearts, that they wouldn't do anything else to the tree, until he woke up, he dragged his tired little self up the stairs. Tim followed, cuddling with him until the little guy fell asleep.

Leaving Gibbs to relax for a couple of hours, Tim and Greg slipped out to do some shopping. Deciding to avoid the big box stores, usually crowded on Saturdays and probably insanely so the Saturday before Christmas, they drove to a craft store for all their wrapping needs. It was odd without Kyle but Greg liked the chance to spend time alone with his papa.

While they were driving, Tim asked the question he'd been wondering about since Thanksgiving. "Greg, last month I noticed you and Kyle started calling me Daddy as well as Papa. Was there a particular reason for that? I like both names and either is fine, I'm just curious."

"Oh. Uh, one of the kids in my class heard me talking about my papa and wanted to know if I was going to see him at Thanksgiving. I told him that we lived with you and he asked why we lived with our grandfather. I said we didn't live with our grandfather, that we lived with our papa. He got kind of mad, not really but…I don't know how to say it, maybe pushy? He said our papa was our grandfather and I said no, my papa is my papa, my dad. Then he said only grandfathers were called Papa."

Tim smiled at him. "Does he call his grandfather Papa?"

Greg shrugged, "I guess. I didn't ask. Then I thought we should call you daddy. You are our daddy now and not our grandfather. Grandpa is our grandfather but we hadn't asked him yet. But we like calling you Papa too."

"And that's fine, Greggers, I really do like both. What about your dad?"

One shoulder lifted in a shrug, "He's asleep. I don't think he's ever going to wake up. Besides, there were kids in my old class who had two daddies." He looked over at Tim, "Is that all right?"

"Of course. And Greg, I know I'm not your grandfather, you don't need to worry about that."

"Okay. Then it's okay if we call you Papa or Daddy?"

"Yes, it's absolutely okay." Tim paused and then forged ahead, he knew he needed to talk with Greg about Patrick. "Your dad is still alive, you know. As long as he keeps breathing by himself, I'm not going to give up hope that he'll wake up."

"You're not?"

"Correct, I am not. He's my little brother and was my best friend. I thought he was dead for a really long time, kiddo, 28 years, but I never stopped loving him or missing him. When I saw him in the hospital, I knew it was him. And he's breathing by himself, he doesn't need any machines to help him breathe or do anything. So I'm going to do my best to keep believing he'll wake up someday."

As they pulled into the store parking lot, Greg nodded and then started crying. Tim lifted him out of his safety seat, into the front seat and held onto him. When the boy's sobs were quieter, Tim said, "I want you to remember him. Tell Kyle, Grandpa and me, your aunts and uncles, all the things you remember about your dad. Write them down. Talk about your mom and your dad, Greg. It's important for you, Kyle and me. I never got a chance to meet your mom or your dad as a grownup."

He heard a sniffled 'ok' and reaching into the glove box, found a packet of baby wipes. "Ok for now?"

"Uh huh."

"All right, let's clean our faces and then get our shopping done. How about when we get home, we find some pictures of your dad and mom – or you can draw them – and we'll put them on the tree. That way we'll feel like they're with us on Christmas." That brought a smile and he hugged his little boy, telling him he loved him.

Once they cleaned up, they got their shopping started. After selecting wrapping paper, tissue paper, tape, bows, ribbon and tags, Greg steered their shopping cart, following his papa over to the picture frames, the main reason they'd come here. Between the two of them, they found several frames they liked for the aunts and uncles, larger ones for their grandfathers and Ms. Lu and small, even tiny ones to hang on the tree. When they discovered the same frames decorated for Christmas, Greg smiled, "Papa, can we decorate the ones we're buying?"

"Great idea, kiddo, let's go find the glue and see what else they've got."

They were quite proud of themselves as they left the store, having found all kinds of tiny Christmas decorations to glue on the frames that would go on the tree and three sweet ones that would adorn their grandfathers' and Ms. Lu's frames. They'd also spotted train tracks set around a Christmas tree and bought a few little fake evergreen trees. Tim was relieved that he remembered the Christmas tablecloth was a green print so they bought green paper tablecloths, red napkins and LED candles for Dad's new table and the ones they were borrowing.

Everyone was coming Christmas Day, all of Tim's family. The NCIS bunch, who were off both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for what Tony said was the first time since he'd joined the agency, would also have a separate dinner together on Christmas Eve.

While Kyle was napping and the other two shopping, Gibbs was busy. After seeing how Tim managed to handle a toddler, a 6-year old and luggage for all three of them, he'd thought about ways he could make it easier. He didn't have time to go to different stores, make phone calls or the knowledge to search on a computer for what he had in mind. Finally, he asked Abby for help. To his relief, she found just what he had in mind and printed out the information, prices and reviews for each brand. Once he made a choice, she helped him order it online. It had arrived yesterday, shortly before the boys did and now he needed to get it upstairs to his room to wrap the box and hide it in the back of his closet so his curious boys wouldn't find it.

The other thing he needed to finish was a set of buildings and people for the train setup. He'd meant to make little trees too but didn't think he'd have time. Digging through the linen closet in the hallway upstairs, he grinned when he found a flat white sheet, perfect for "fake snow". He smiled when he thought of the kids making papier-mâché mountains and hills, maybe even a tunnel. Thinking about the tunnel, he realized they might need a form for that.

Back downstairs in the basement, he looked at the project pieces and shaking his head, temporarily abandoned researching a form for the tunnel to finish the buildings and people. They were all built or carved, but needed painting. He got busy with that, remembering to paint a frame around the windows and doors of the buildings. The buildings were easy, roof, body of the building, window and door frames and the door. The windows already had clear cellophane insets glued on the inside.

While the paint dried on the buildings, he started on the people. He'd already painted their faces, the hardest part, now he was doing their clothes, shoes and any accessories they might have, such as a watch. Pleased with his work, he turned to the last bits, the train crossing. The train kit came with a train gate, to prevent cars from crossing, all he'd had to do was make a roadway with two cars and a truck waiting for the train. The truck had a driver with an arm out the window waving to the train. He'd painted the "Railroad Crossing" sign, the roadway, the bodies of the cars and truck already. Now he painted the wheels and the truck driver's face, shoulder and arm and hand as he waved. The windshields of the cars were the same cellophane as the building windows and then he'd made two half people, upper torso, neck, shoulders and heads, with one arm and a hand on the steering wheel. Both faces had smiles.

Leaving everything in place to dry, Gibbs looked at his watch, wondering if Kyle was awake yet. If he was, they could go for a walk. He headed up to the main level and then up to the second floor. Peeking in, he saw the little guy was still sound asleep and he smiled, they'd really worn him out this morning! He'd thought Tim was spoiling him a little when he carried him at the tree farm, now he realized how much he'd forgotten about little kids and their energy levels.

Back in the basement again and still thinking about a train tunnel, he dug through his various design books, stopping at something that might be useful. The plan wasn't for a tunnel but Gibbs could easily adapt it. Looking through his box of scrap odds and ends, he found a piece of window screen left from a project last spring. He bent it into an upside-down 'U' shape, cut it down so it was about a foot long and then stapled thin lengths of wood along the bottom of each side of the upside-down 'U' to add stability. There, now they had a form to use!

Putting that aside, he checked the paint; most of the pieces were dry. He left them while looking at Tony's gift. He'd made him a piano bench with storage for sheet music. When the lease on Tony's baby grand was up, he'd purchased a gently used, beautiful upright. Unfortunately, the bench that came with it didn't match either the style or the color of the piano. No problem, said Tony, he'd use it until he found something else.

Weeks later, he opened the bench top to retrieve a piece of sheet music and the whole bench fell apart. When telling Boss about it, Tony said he was glad it hadn't happened while he was sitting on it! Then he decided to just buy a chair somewhere. Gibbs had a chair he'd brought back from Stillwater after Jack died and he took that over to DiNozzo's place. He'd had it for a year and a half now.

When Gibbs was at Tony's shortly after the whole debacle with NCIS and Tim, he saw the chair might be fine to sit on but it looked very out of place, an old country chair he thought might have originally come from his grandparents, with the elegant mahogany of the piano and DiNozzo's apartment in general. He'd snapped a close-up of the piano and was able to match the style and the color for the bench. He knew the color matched because he'd stained a scrap of wood from the bench, showed up at DiNozzo's with pizza and beer one night, waited until Tony was in the head and sighed quietly with relief when the stained scrap matched the piano. It was ready and he'd found a box big enough for it. The box was down here, he'd wrap it after he had all of Tim and the kids' gifts done.

Shaking his head in amusement and a little frustration, he looked at the nightstands he'd made Tim. Originally, he'd made them for the Silver Spring apartment. Then Tim and the kids moved to Massachusetts and that house was well-furnished. When he heard about the move to England he nearly threw in the towel, but then Tim said he was taking his mattress and bed. After that, Jethro finished the set, adjusting the design so they could be placed on the floor or the wall. Tim's bed was a modern platform and the nightstands matched the style. He could pick what color stain he'd like on them.

He'd made Abby a shoe rack with enough space for her many pairs of Chucks and her platform boots and painted it 'goth black', which his favorite home center had to special order. He'd showed Emily and she'd loved it, asking if he intended to stencil little skulls on it. And then laughed herself silly at the look on Uncle Gibbs' face. In the end, he gave in, she found a stencil and did a border of pink skulls across the top and sides.

Ellie Bishop and her husband were going to her family for Christmas but he'd made them a cookbook holder as they were learning to cook. Or trying to learn, he thought Jake would probably end up being the cook.

He'd been touched and amused when Ed Slater, Jimmy's father-in-law, called, asking if he would be willing to help him build a crib for the baby. As Ed knew little about woodworking, he'd come to Gibbs' basement to learn. They picked a pattern and worked on it every night and weekend hour they could squeeze in which meant Gibbs' work on the new dining room table had to be done when Ed wasn't there. Once he felt Ed knew what he was doing, Gibbs gave him a key to the house so he could work on the crib even if Gibbs was stuck on a case at work. They'd finished it last weekend. The only thing left to do was apply the stain and Ed knew how to do that.

Knowing that Ducky would have an active role in his grandbaby's life, Gibbs made him a separate top for the bureau in the room the baby would stay in when visiting. Then he padded it and put fasteners on so it would stay put, thus changing the antique bureau into a temporary diaper changing table. Knowing Ducky didn't particularly like sitting in rocking chairs, he also made him a glider chair with a detached footrest. That way he could cuddle the baby and be comfortable while rocking him or her to sleep. That took him awhile to do and he was glad he'd started as soon as Jimmy and Breena asked Ducky to be Granducky.

He hadn't known what to do for the Palmers, finally writing a card with a promise to babysit for 12 hours. That at least would give the couple a chance to get out to dinner occasionally and give Gibbs a chance to know the baby to whom he hoped to be 'Uncle Jethro'. It would also mean Granducky wouldn't have to be on hand all the time. Of all of them, Ducky had the busiest social life, between bridge on Tuesdays, the free clinic, Pilates, the historical society, his work with the Smithsonian, his mystery loving group The Sherlocks, and his book group. Not to mention the women he escorted to this or that social function.

After Tim's Thanksgiving weekend visit, Gibbs checked with Ducky and Ed and found an essential item missing from everyone's baby list. That led him to asking Abby for help but she was so skittish about asking Jimmy that he finally asked the man himself.

When he'd asked Jimmy if the baby was going to sleep in their room until s/he was done with night-time feedings, Jimmy went pale and clutched his arm. "In our room? I still don't get her back? I mean, yeah, I know about the breastfeeding but that's still…in our room?"

Gibbs didn't know whether to laugh, hug or give him a head slap. Instead, he sat him down and explained the pattern for the baby's first months of life.  
"She'll be feeding every two hours. That means at night you will be getting up every 2 hours, walking to the nursery, changing her diaper and cleaning her up and by the way, the first weeks, his messes will be epic. Bringing him back to Breena to nurse, which takes time, it's not like drinking a glass of milk, wait until they're done, including burping baby and then take him back to the nursery. He sleeps for 2 hours and you go through the process all over again."

"They don't tell you that in medical school."

"Nah, you learned how to get the baby out, not how to raise it."

"Explain the 'in the room' thing, please."

"There are little beds for newborns, cradles and bassinets, that can stay right in your room. Baby sleeps in there at night, you change the diaper in there, the room, not the bed, Breena nurses, baby goes back, you save yourself a good 30-40 minutes a night. Doesn't sound like much but believe me, you'll treasure every minute of sleep those first few months."

"Cradle or bassinet. When does the baby move to the nursery? How are we ever going to uh…"

"Your wife may not feel much like that for several weeks, even months. With Shannie and me, it was 9 very long weeks. As for the baby, when she or he is sleeping say four or six hours at a time, move him or her to the nursery. Kelly always slept in her crib during the day so it wasn't a cold move."

Jimmy took a deep breath, "Man, the things nobody tells you!"

Gibbs chuckled, "I did, kiddo! Reason I'm asking because if you're going that route, I'd like to make the cradle or bassinet for you."

"Gibbs!" Still overwhelmed, Jimmy hugged him and smiling, Gibbs hugged back.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome, does that mean yes?"

"Yes, absolutely. Even if Breena says no at first. And if we have the bassinet or cradle already and _you_ made it for us, that'll make it easier for her to cave." He grinned, "We were going to ask you at Christmas what I'm going to ask you now so if you could pretend to be surprised then, that'd be great. We'd like you to be Uncle Jethro, if that's ok. I know Emily calls you Uncle Gibbs but…"

Gibbs patted his shoulder, "Thank you, I'm honored now and will be again when both of you ask. Emily named me herself and I'm good with being Uncle Gibbs to her but I'd rather be Uncle Jethro to Baby Palmer."

"Great!"

"Have any names picked out?"

"Yes, but we're keeping them to ourselves for now."

"Smart idea, then you won't get unsolicited opinions."

"Uh, so either a cradle or bassinet is fine. Cradles rock, don't they?"

"They can, yes."

"That'd be good to rock baby back to sleep. You know what, surprise us, either is good. And thank you, for telling me about this and for the baby bed!"

"You're welcome."

Feeling connected to his future niece or nephew and to Jimmy, Gibbs returned to the bullpen with a smile, which frightened a few people. His team was getting over their fear of the new smile and they were the only ones he cared about. When he sat at his desk, he looked at the empty desk across from him and lost his smile. He caught DiNozzo's eye and the two exchanged a look.

The core team, Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, had been kicked to the curb with the enforced departure of Timothy McGee. It had been hard enough when Ziva left them but at least that had been her choice. Although Gibbs and DiNozzo knew Tim felt he should leave the field anyway, find a position with regular hours and eliminate the daily gamble that he would be hurt or killed, none of this mess had been McGee's choice.

Now, Gibbs finished attaching the legs to the cradle and turned it over to attach the rockers. He looked at his watch again, time to wake his grandson up or he'd never get to sleep tonight! Leaving the cradle upside down, he quickly put away anything that could hurt either of the kids and then hurried up the stairs.

Kyle was just waking up and smiled when he saw him, "Gwan'pa! How's da twee?"

"The tree is still beautiful, Kyle. We didn't touch it while you were asleep. Your papa and Greg are shopping, they should be home any minute. Then we can get started!"

"Good! C'n I have a snack, pwease?"

"Yes. Do you have to go to the bathroom first?"

Kyle nodded and scooted across the hall to the bathroom. Gibbs smiled when he heard the little guy humming to himself as he climbed onto his little stool to reach the faucet, washing his hands and drying them on the towel with his name on it.

He joined his grandfather, "I'm weady."

Grandpa gave him a kiss, "I'm ready too, Kyle."

Kyle looked at him, Gibbs could see he was watching his mouth so he said the 'r' word again, slowly exaggerating the movement of his mouth and tongue. "RRRR ready."

The little boy opened his mouth, mimicking him and said, "RRRRR, ready. I did it!"

"Grandpa."

"Grrandpa."

"I'm so proud of you, Kyle!"

"Tanks, Grrandpa." He giggled.

Tim and Greg were just coming through the door as Gibbs and Kyle walked down the stairs. Kyle ran to his daddy. "Did you have fun with Grrreggy?"

Tim picked him up, twirling him around, "Yes, and you said an 'R'!"

"Grrandpa showed me."

"Proud of you both. Great job, Kyle," Kyle giggled as Daddy kissed him and turned to his grandpa. "Great job, Dad!" Daddy kissed Grandpa while Kyle slid down his legs and he and Greg danced around the room.

Tim took their purchases upstairs to his room, leaving them on the bed for now. Downstairs, Grandpa had the ornament boxes out. "We have a star for the top, let's put that up first. Boys, I'd like your daddy to put that up this year, then next year we'll trade off."

Tim grinned and taking the star, carefully placed it on the tip of the tree. Then he plugged it into the multi-outlet cord they'd woven through the back branches. "Let's put the lights on so we can see where to put the ornaments. Kyle, Dad, Greg and I thought we'd put some photos and maybe drawings of Patrick and Kathy on the tree. Dad, if you want to…" His father shook his head and Tim nodded in understanding. "We bought some frames to hang on here but we want to decorate them first. How about we do that tomorrow or Monday?"

Everyone agreed and soon they were busy decorating the tree. It worked out much as it had with the lights. Tim and Gibbs did the upper half of the tree, while the boys did the lower half with Kyle doing the bottom branches with very little help. He sat on the floor, half under the tree, while Grandpa, Papa and Greg handed him ornaments with the hooks already on. Then he carefully found a place for the ornament. When he'd hung each one, he would smile with satisfaction and gently pat the branch. Tim used his phone to record him, that was a memory they'd all enjoy!

When they finished, they sat down for snacks and to admire their handiwork. Grandpa showed them the sheet for the snow under the tree and the boys and Tim spread it around the tree, the boys sitting on the floor while Tim sat cross- legged. Then the track went down and around; that was nearly as challenging as putting the lights on. When the track reached around the circumference of the tree, Grandpa sat back on his heels. "I had an idea about the train. What would you think of making a tunnel for the train to go through and hills to go around?"

Kyle wasn't sure what a tunnel was so they showed him. Greg loved the idea and both kids were excited about making it. Tim handed Grandpa the bag with the little trees and he grinned, "Great, I thought of making some but didn't think I'd have time! Shall we wait and put them up after we do the tunnel and hills?"

Greg nodded, "Yes, or we'll have to move them."

"Good point. Ok, what's next?"

Digging through the boxes, they found gold and silver garlands that were draped around the tree and then some icicle ornaments that hung on the very tips of the branches. There were Christmas bears that went on the bookshelf and the pretty green tablecloth that they set aside to wash before Christmas Eve. A nativity scene went on the mantel and Tim was relieved when Greg knew the story of the birth of the Christ child. Taking the boys to church had been fairly hit or miss, mostly miss, but Tim had never been in the habit and couldn't seem to remember until too late. If Greg and Kyle hadn't been in the habit of saying their prayers at night, Tim wasn't sure he'd have remembered those either.

When Tim's stomach growled, he looked at his watch and then at his dad. "It's dinnertime already!"

"Time flies. You want me to cook or…"

"I'll cook, see what you have."

"Eggs, cheese, bacon, pancake mix, milk, butter, bread. Veggies in the freezer, might be some lettuce in the refrigerator."

Tim pulled out what looked edible and smiled at the pancake mix, calling out, "Dad, I'm going to make a quiche with Bisquick, eggs, milk, bacon, cheese, frozen vegetables and a small salad."

"All right, son. That going to have any other seasoning in it?"

"Yes, found an onion. And I'm pulling chicken from the freezer for tomorrow night."

"Sounds good."

Tim set the oven to the temperature he wanted, found a cake pan for the quiche, cooked the bacon and then lightly sautéed the onions, sliced mushrooms and broccoli florets with a little of this and that as far as seasonings. First spraying the cake pan with vegetable oil, he poured everything in and then into the oven it went and he set the timer. Then he made a salad with the bits of romaine lettuce and fresh spinach he found in the crisper. It was still good and he wondered who'd been here for dinner recently. Someone who liked romaine, fresh spinach and broccoli, which eliminated DiNozzo but not Fornell or…no, that wasn't any of his business. He wasn't gonna go there. Not right now, anyway.

When he found a bottle of raspberry vinaigrette dressing in the refrigerator and a box of croutons in the cabinets, he was pretty sure he had his answer. He laughed to himself when he looked in the back of the small freezer section up top. Yep, that ice cream was a dead giveaway; no way Tobias, Tony or almost anyone else he knew over the age of 10 would eat that flavor. Only one person and she was addicted to it, Baskin-Robbins' Pink Bubblegum ice cream.

He decided not to say anything, it really wasn't his business. Mostly. Not as far as Dad maybe, but as far as the lady concerned, oh yes. But still, he'd leave it, they were all tired after a fun day, best to leave it.

They sat down at the new table for their quiche a few minutes later, the boys eating their salad and the quiche. Tim covertly watched his former boss take a bite of the broccoli and then chew it with a surprised look. "This is good, what did you do to it?"

"Sautéed it with the onions, mushrooms and a tiny bit of bacon grease."

"I'll eat this anytime you make it, as long as it tastes like this!"

Tim nodded. When Greg finished, he asked if there was dessert and Grandpa said, "There's ice cream in the freezer."

"What flavor?"

"Uh, I think it's called Bubblegum."

Greg grinned, "Ooh, that's good, haven't had that since my birthday at the shelter. Ms. Lu brought it in, it's her favorite flavor."

Tim turned his head toward Kyle who was having problems cutting a piece of broccoli. "Like some help?"

"Pwease."

He cut it slowly and then turned back to his plate to find his father glaring at him. No, that was a Boss glare. He gave him a look right back. He hadn't said a word.

He said to Greg, "No ice cream tonight, Scooter Bug. It's late and you know it'll make you cold. We've all had more cookies and treats than usual today."

"Tomorrow?"

"Or the next day, remember we're here for two weeks!"

"Oh yeah!"

They took the boys through their nighttime routine and listened proudly as Greg read them a story from a book meant for readers 3 or 4 years older than he was. Kyle fussed a little but settled down soon enough while Greg decided to read in the big comfy chair in his dad's room until his bedtime.

Back downstairs, Dad looked at Tim, "How did you know?"

"The raspberry dressing, the croutons in the cabinet, the fresh spinach and romaine lettuce in the crisper. Those last two could have been Fornell but he and Tony both make their own dressings, I've heard them bonding over that in the bullpen. The frozen broccoli florets, I could see Fornell with fresh broccoli but not frozen. But really, it was the ice cream. Ms. Lu is the only person I know over the age of 10 who eats that flavor."

"Oh. Man, I'm slipping, I never even thought of that."

Tim shrugged, "Your social life shouldn't be any of my business."

"Except when it involves the woman who's been the closest thing to a mother you've ever known."

"Except then and really, my business is with her, not you. Except…"

"You know too much about me. It was just dinner, Tim. She offered to make me dinner, how could I resist that? She's a good cook, we ate, watched a movie and then she went home."

Tim stared at him and then shuddered, "I…please don't tell me anymore. Neither of you. I don't want to know what you did or didn't do but don't you hurt her!"

Gibbs stared at him and then hung his head, trying to hide his laughter. "I get it – we're your parents. Your single parents."

"Ugh, stop it, please."

"What if…"

Tim had his fingers in his ears. "Lalalalalal, can't hear you."

Gibbs was still laughing, "Kelly would have been grossed out when she got older?"

"Weren't you with your parents? Oh! I'm sorry." He'd momentarily forgotten Anne Gibbs had died just about when her son would have been entering puberty, figuring out the birds and the bees and unable to deal with his parents having 'done it'.

"I wanted to hit my dad but LJ talked to me about it. Not about sex but just about accepting my dad and mom as human beings who existed outside of my little universe."

"Yeah, the problem of many children. Seeing a parent as a person."

"So?"

"Look, I trust you not to intentionally hurt her. And I have no right to warn you off or anything like that, she's no shrinking violet, she can certainly speak up for herself. But I am warning you, there are guys out there who don't know and love you as much as I do. Guys who know where you live."

"You mean your four or does that also include Rob?"

"He's not as hot-headed as the others can be."

"All right. I don't even know if we'll see each other again."

"Okay. Please, no playing footsie at Christmas. And no mistletoe!" Tim sighed. "It's useless. When Lu wants something, she can be ruthless."

"Uh, Tim, not my first rodeo."

Tim scrunched his face and Gibbs tapped the back of his head. "Knock it off! How long since you've been on a date?"

"The night before Kathy Hart went missing. The next time I spoke to my girlfriend, I told her I was fostering two boys. She said she wasn't interested in children, asked how long I'd have them and when I told her, she said to call her when they're gone, but she wasn't promising anything."

"Had you been dating long?"

"Yeah. She's the one who works at the DoD, the one I met during the Parsons fiasco."

"Ok, I remember you talking about her. You'd been dating over a year, must have been some sort of serious?"

"I thought so, although apparently we were not as in sync as I believed we were. But I'm glad she was honest about not liking kids. I'd hate to find out while I was introducing her to the boys!"

"You ever hear from her?"

"Had an email last month that she was transferring to Dubai."

"So she was hurting, too."

"I guess so. Haven't felt much like dating since then."

"Met anyone?"

"There are several interesting women on the faculty and yes, I'd like to get to know some of them better. Haven't been there long enough to find a trustworthy babysitter and I'm holding onto the Porters for emergencies." He snorted, "Cyndi mentioned my college girlfriend to Greg and he told me I should find her."

"Who's that? I don't remember anything about a girlfriend at MIT."

Tim told him about Artemis, "She's Greek, her father is in the Greek Diplomatic Corps. They were posted in San Francisco while Artie was at MIT. I met her mother a few times. When Papa Galanis had to go to DC or NYC, Mama would come along and stay in Cambridge to see their daughter. Artie and her mother taught me Greek."

"She…you speak Greek? No, don't tell me, it's in your file!"

"Greek, Italian and a little Polish."

"Where did you learn that?"

"Italian, a little from Artie but mostly in school. Polish, at the camp. Nate and Juanita's grandmother was Polish, Nate taught me some key phrases."

"And swear words?"

"Not until I was in college at Johns Hopkins."

"Well, you were 15 by then." Gibbs looked at him, "Are you going to talk to Lu?"

"I don't think so. I'll talk with the guys though, ask them to be cool. Otherwise I'm afraid Christmas dinner will be NCIS on one side, the guys on the other and you, Lu, me and the kids in the middle."

Gibbs sighed, "Over one dinner?"

Tim looked at him thoughtfully, "Do you want to see her again?"

"I did before we started talking about all this!"

"Ok, then don't worry about it. I'll talk to Rob and we'll talk to the guys."

"Thanks. I think. We going to see Patrick tomorrow?"

"Like to. Thought we'd go early, beat some of the holiday shopping traffic. That way we can chat with Sarah, too."

"Good idea. Is she still spending Christmas with her friend's family?"

"Yes, there is a cousin joining them that her friend wants her to meet."

"Huh, that could be interesting. Think that family will be divided?"

Tim rolled his eyes at him, making a mental note to talk to Rob and/or the guys as soon as possible.

"I was looking at kids' Christmas activities online and there's something called "Holiday in the Park" at Six Flags in Upper Marlboro. I'd like to take the kids if you're up for it. Thought Rob might want to go too."

"Sounds like fun."

As they made plans, the two men migrated to the living room with fresh coffee. They sat and Gibbs found the remote, turning the TV on. He turned to ask his son what he wanted to watch and found him staring at the wall.

"What's up?" No response.

"Tim?"

"Huh, oh sorry. It's…I got something in the mail from the agency, haven't opened it yet."

"You talk with that lawyer about it?"

"No. Got it Thursday, stuck it in my pocket and then forgot about it yesterday."

Gibbs snorted, "No sense tripling her hourly rate by calling her on a weekend."

"Yeah."

Gibbs shook his head, "Go get it, we'll look at it together."

When Tim just sat there, his dad nudged him. "Go on, you haven't done anything wrong."

"I know. It's just…"

"Afraid this will be worse – or the end? You've been in limbo for months."

"The end and that I'll never know why." Tim disappeared upstairs, returning with a legal sized envelope that he held as if it was burning his hand.

His dad pulled him onto the couch next to him and switched on the floor lamp. "Want me to open it for you?"

"Yes. But I'll do it." Then he stopped to think. "You know, I paid a retainer to have someone take care of things like this."

"Good point. So…Monday?"

"Yeah, I'll drop it off."

"You gonna worry about it anymore?"

"Nope."

He got a hair ruffle for that and laughed. The two sat on the couch for a couple of hours talking about plans for the rest of the week, the various activities planned for the boys and of course, Christmas. At some point they moved on to the move to England and what Tim hoped for in terms of housing.

Before they left the house the next morning, Gibbs handed out elf hats for each of them to wear and then took a large paper plate full of goodies, covered in bright red cellophane, from the refrigerator. Tim and Greg brought a tiny little artificial tree with battery operated lights they'd found on their shopping trip. The other little tree, from the Silver Spring apartment, was already in the boys' room. Greg carried a big manila envelope with all their new drawings and cards signed by the family for the medical staff. Kyle carried a smaller envelope full of new photos to put up.

They stopped for breakfast at Gibbs' favorite diner, wishing a Merry Christmas to Elaine, her husband Jacob and the rest of the staff. Then they went to Bethesda to see Patrick. They wore their elf hats to deliver the plate of candy and cookies to the nurses' station where Greg shyly handed a Christmas card from the family to a nurse he recognized.

Then they went into the room, Tim sighing in relief. His brother was still breathing. He had a recurring nightmare where he took the boys into the room to find a desiccated corpse. He thought that was probably misplaced guilt at not bringing the boys every week. Once again, he wondered about having Pat transferred to the UK with them. Maybe he should speak with a child psychologist to see if that would be beneficial for the children, except it felt more like something from one of Tony's favorite movies, "Weekend at Bernie's". There was nothing funny about this, though.

The boys greeted their father, telling him everything they'd done since Thanksgiving. While they were talking, Tim and Gibbs started taking down all the old drawings and putting up the new ones. They'd had the boys sort them into the order they wanted to show them. Leaving a few of the drawings for the kids to put up, Gibbs started putting up the new photos while Tim spoke with his brother, pinging Sarah on Skype.

Everyone but the sleeping Patrick grinned when Rob walked into the room. The McGee siblings had a rousing conversation about something, Gibbs quit paying attention, he just knew their laughter sounded wonderful. Then he stepped over to say hello to Sarah, forgetting to remove his elf hat. After she stopped laughing, they explained it to Patrick. Sometimes Gibbs thought that was fine and sometimes it felt a little ghoulish.

While Greg read to his father, Sarah, Tim, and Rob talked about the move planned for Patrick. Drs. Mallard, Palmer and McGee had given their approval for two of the long-term care facilities Sarah had on her list and the siblings had picked one, in Baltimore. Patrick would move to the long-term care facility in mid-January and would share a room with one other comatose patient. Rob said the walls around each patient's bed had corkboard on them for photos, letters, drawings and other things family and friends put up. He'd already promised Greg to oversee the removal here of all the drawings and photos and would put them up in the new place in the same order. Gibbs and Rob would visit with Pat after the move. Tim and the boys would see him in February.

They left after Sarah signed off and the boys approved the placement of the drawings and photos. Rob followed them to Six Flags where the family had a fun afternoon enjoying the "Holiday in the Park" festivities.

They hugged and kissed Uncle Rob goodbye as they left the park later that afternoon. He'd spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them, planning to stay over both nights.

Gibbs hadn't told any of the McGees, but he'd recently received a large manila envelope in the mail. It was from Geordie, who'd written Gibbs, enclosing a letter for his brothers. Saying he'd written Sarah directly, Geordie asked him to give Rob and Tim the letter on Christmas morning. His letter to Gibbs was heartfelt, introducing himself as the 'missing' McGee and congratulating Gibbs for his unofficial adoption of Tim and Rob. He expressed concern for Tim with everything going on, the discovery of his long lost brother, the death of a sister-in-law he never knew he had, never had the opportunity to meet. He was especially concerned about Tim taking on the two boys, saying he knew he'd be a great father, he already had been to Sarah and Rob, despite Sarah's years of anger and cruelty toward the only parent she remembered. That stopped Gibbs dead in his tracks and he wrote a note to ask Geordie about that remark. Although Rob, Tim and the Baltimore group had made veiled remarks about Sarah's behavior, nothing was specific.

Returning to Geordie's letter, he continued reading. The man said he worried about the cumulative affect of everything on Tim: Their previous lives, the discovery, the investigation into the death of a family member, even one he'd never met, who'd also been forced into homelessness, assuming care of the boys and losing his job at NCIS, all at the same time.

Gibbs had already started a reply to him, one he'd mail after the holidays, complete with photos of the NCIS family dinner on Christmas Eve and the extended family on Christmas Day. He'd add his questions about Sarah's behavior. As for Geordie's concerns, Gibbs shared them and planned to speak with Tim after Christmas. He was concerned that Tim had no time for himself, no social time and as much time as he himself spent in his basement, he knew it wasn't the healthiest thing to do.

Tim was much younger, he needed to find someone to child-mind so he could get out and live a little. He also intended to suggest counseling, which he realized from Geordie's letter would be a return to counseling. And before he signed off on his reply, he'd read Tim's file. He'd brought it home with him, locking it in his gun cabinet in the basement.

He was thinking of all this as Tim drove them home, as well as sending one of his frequent prayers that Patrick would either wake or let go. It sounded cruel but his concern was for Tim, the boys and the rest of the family. How would the boys cope, growing up with a comatose father? His biggest fears, however, were for Tim. While Patrick slept, there was no moving on, no dealing with the death of a beloved brother, no finding a way to live with it.

Hell, it'd taken nearly 2 decades for Gibbs to do that and in the meantime, he'd just kept going, with periods of hope before each of his failed marriages. He didn't want that for his son. And that was another thing, he wondered about formalizing the relationships with Tim, Rob, Tony and Abby. He thought Tony would probably say no as Senior was a presence in his life. And Abby, he didn't know if she'd want to, either. He thought Tim would want to and probably Rob too. And maybe Sarah when they got to know each other better.

He smiled, wondering what their lives in England would be like. At some point he intended to speak with Craig – or Vance, if he ever surfaced – about consulting with the London NCIS office.

Jolting back to the present, he realized it was full dark and Tim had taken an exit that wasn't theirs. In fact, it looked like they were entering a residential development.

Seeing he had his dad's attention, Tim called out to Greg and Kyle, both dozing in the back seat. "Hey guys, we're going to look at some houses that are all decorated for Christmas. Dad, I'm gonna pull over, could you get Kyle and hold him in your lap for our tour? I'm afraid he won't be able to see much."

"Sure, kiddo."

Thrilled to be all buckled up with Grandpa in the front seat, Kyle had a blast pointing out all the snowmen, Santas, elves, penguins and other Christmas or winter figures. Greg was equally enthusiastic and the two of them provided commentary on each house they saw. Tim laughed in surprise when Greg squealed, something he'd never heard him do before, at a Christmas display of the Hundred Acre Wood, complete with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Tigger, Owl, Eeyore and of course Christopher Robin, who was sporting a red and white striped sweater with a green hat. They paused long enough to take photos of that yard and Tim exchanged looks with his dad. One or both of them would be doing some additional shopping in the next few days!

As they finished the last block and turned out of the development, Gibbs noticed the line of cars waiting their turn. Tim's timing, intentional or not, was perfect. Back home, they had a light dinner with Kyle nodding off in the middle of it. Tim carried him upstairs where he woke enough for a bath, story and cuddles before falling back to sleep.

Greg lasted another hour before he too headed upstairs. When he was in his pajamas, he was surprised to see Grandpa waiting for him with a Winnie the Pooh book. Smiling, he climbed onto Grandpa's lap, happily listening to his favorite stories of his favorite bear.

While Greg looked like his father, aunt and the photos of his grandfather McGee, Gibbs thought his personality was akin to a younger Tim, and possibly his mother, Kathy. Intelligent, endlessly curious, great memory, what an older generation would have called 'bookish' and generally a little shy with 'new' people although he was friendly, loved to talk, had no problems speaking up, smiled and laughed freely.

Conversely, Kyle looked more like Tim but his demeanor was more in line with what Gibbs had heard about Patrick and knew about Sarah. Not her sarcasm, but the little guy was more outgoing and boisterous than his older brother. Of course, that could also be due to their different experiences in their short lives. Greg had had a father who was presumably away from home a lot and was old enough to be aware of his father's injuries. He'd been a child living alone with his mother. Then, too, he'd certainly been aware of having to leave their home, living in a homeless shelter, going to a new school and then, sadly, losing his mother.

Kyle had no memories of having a father who was awake and although he probably hadn't been happy when they'd had to leave their home, he'd been too little to have lasting memories of that. Eventually, he'd probably only have fleeting memories of his mother. Tim had no memories of his mother, not even someone singing to him, rocking him or anything like that.

When Gibbs learned that, he was grateful for the years he'd had with his mother.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone noted the coincidence of Secretary of the Navy Sarah Porter having the same surname as my original characters Larry and Cyndi Porter. It's just a coincidence. The professorial Porters came into being in another story I started writing so long ago that Clayton Jarvis was still the SecNav on the show. They're based on real people, family friends.

Chapter 10

After cuddling with Greg until the boy was asleep, Tim went downstairs, smelling fresh coffee. He smiled at the mug set out on the counter for him, "Thanks, Dad. Was that Kelly's Winnie-the-Pooh book?"

Gibbs nodded, "It was her favorite book, the collection of all the stories. I brought it home from the house in California along with her Pooh bear, Piglet and Rabbit. I think Tony boxed them up."

"Then they're in the attic."

"I'd like Greg to have them, and the book."

"You sure?"

"Yes. It made me happy to read those stories to him, he loves them as much as Kelly did."

"All right. I'll get a new Pooh bear for Kyle. He's a little too young to appreciate Kelly's animals and I hope the book and the animals will last long enough for their kids."

Gibbs' eyebrow raised and he smiled, "Hadn't even thought of that. It's good, I like the continuity." He smirked, "Although I wouldn't count on the animals lasting that long."

Tim chuckled, "Wishful thinking on my part."

They sat on the couch, once again talking about anything that came to mind. Gibbs would stay with the boys Monday while Tim did some shopping and stopped at his attorney's office with 'the envelope'. Dad told him to 'take the day' off, that he wanted the kids to himself for a day. Tim opened his mouth to object and then smiled, "Thanks, Dad!"

Gibbs smirked, "Take advantage of me while you can, I won't be living with you until we're in England!"

"You mind if I have dinner out then?"

"Not at all, Elf Lord, stay out as late as you want."

"Wow, that's awesome!"

Excusing himself, he went upstairs to invite an old friend out for dinner. A classmate at Johns Hopkins, they'd both been considerably younger than the other students and quickly became friends. While they never developed romantic feelings for each other, they eventually became friends with benefits, knowing each was safe with the other and that each could learn from the other. Although they hadn't seen each other since Tim started dating Delilah of the DoD, they'd kept in touch and Carly knew Ms. Lu, the guys and about Gibbs as Dad, the boys, Patrick, NCIS and what Tim had been doing at MIT.

They talked for over an hour, making plans for dinner at one of their favorite burger joints, an old joke with them. Carly had been an emancipated minor and Tim was raising 2 kids in a tent when they met, both living on scholarships and neither had much money for splurges. The burger place was their favorite, the prices were low, the plates of hot, crispy French fries and the stacked burgers piled high. To this day it remained their favorite place to reconnect.

Tim went to sleep that night with a smile on his face, happy for the chance to see Carly and hoping there might be more involved than dinner. Up early the next morning, he ate a hearty breakfast with the boys while he told them that Grandpa wanted to spend time with them today. He would be running errands and meeting an old friend for a late dinner. Their dinner wouldn't really be late but Tim didn't want to explain why he might not be home in time for the boys' bedtimes. He got a raised eyebrow and a look of approval from his dad.

Kissing the kids and Dad goodbye, Tim grabbed the keys for Dad's truck before heading out the door. He'd ordered a new classic Winnie-the-Pooh for Kyle last night, it would be delivered, already wrapped, on Wednesday. He'd also ordered several Pooh Bear movies and those were also on their way, although not yet wrapped.

At his first stop, he found just what he was looking for, paid for it and moved on before the rest of the world joined him on the road. He'd contacted his attorney's office this morning and was surprised when the receptionist set up an appointment for that afternoon. He squeezed in two stops before driving to Maryland. His shopping done and his purchases safely locked out of sight under the hard shell liner of Dad's pickup truck, he joined Rob and their friend Barry for a light lunch.

When they teased him about the salad he ordered, he told them he was meeting Carly for dinner later. Rob grinned while Barry did some sort of thing with his eyebrows that was probably meant to be suggestive. Then Tim launched into his tale of Lu and Gibbs' dinner together, watching for their reactions. Rob thought it was funny while Barry didn't seem to know how he felt. That was good, Tim could work with that.

He made his case for a peaceful Christmas Day and dinner, for the boys' sake, allowing Lu and Gibbs to figure out what they wanted to do. He had Rob's agreement while Barry thought about it before shrugging. "Lu knows what she's doing and I trust you when you say Gibbs will proceed cautiously. That is, if Lu lets him! I'll talk to Bill, Jose and Freddie. Did Joe ask if he can bring his girlfriend along?"

"No, but that's fine."

Barry shook his head, "We sometimes lack the social niceties, my friends. I'll remind him he needs to call you or Gibbs."

They left the restaurant, Tim off to see his attorney while Rob and Barry were braving the hordes to go shopping. Tim laughed to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of his attorney, looking at the security camera. He chose a spot away from the newer and considerably higher priced vehicles in the lot. Then he made a face as he realized he'd already paid toward the replacement of one of these vehicles. If they went forward with a lawsuit against NCIS, one of his conditions would be payment of all his attorney fees.

He was ushered right into Ms. Rowe's office and offered a beverage of his choice. He declined with a smile as he pulled 'the envelope' out of his pocket.

"This arrived at my Massachusetts address last week. I decided to let you have the honor of opening it."

She smiled, "Likely a dubious honor but that is what you've paid me for. Let's see what's going on."

Slitting open the envelope, she rolled her eyes as she donned reading glasses. "Better, much as I hate to admit it."

She scanned it, shaking her head. "It's from someone named Frank Cahill, apparently the head of the NCIS Legal Department. It might be an apology, it's a bit vague. I'll read it to you."

"Dear Agent McGee,

I've recently returned from an extended leave and in reviewing everything that happened while I was away, I'm appalled at the information directed at you."

She paused, "Wonder what that means…directed at you?" Both shaking their heads, she continued, "I've been unable to reach you at either your agency or personal contact points."

"Contact points?"

Tim shook his head, "Guessing cell phones, personal or agency, or addresses or quite possibly my old desk."

Rolling her eyes again, Ms. Rowe went back to the letter.

"Oh, he wants to talk. This could be fun!" She looked at her client's raised eyebrow, "Sorry, sounds conciliatory. I need to know what you want from this 'talk' before I call him."

With a half-smile, Tim pulled a manila envelope from his briefcase and handed her a list. "Good, thanks. Ok, your back salary, why only to the end of October?"

Tim explained his current job and she nodded. "I see your point but if he says you're still employed at the agency, then they owe you up to and including today and however long this takes to straighten out. And because it's their snafu, they'll also have to step back and allow you to honor your contracts – or pay to break them. Which would you rather see happen?"

"Honor."

Nodding, she made a note. "Now, did you happen to bring a copy of the letters you sent them…" she smiled as Tim reached into his envelope for two letters, one his resignation letter and the second, a follow-up letter he'd sent before accepting Donovan's first offer.

"Excellent. All right, anything else you want to tell me before we call this guy[DC1] ?"

" _We're_ going to call him? I…"

She was shaking your head. "You get to listen. If it gets to be too much, I'll take it off speaker but I want you to hear firsthand what he has to say."

"Thanks. Uh, I don't necessarily think this is his business, but Gibbs and I have been in touch since Thanksgiving. He spent it at the house in Cambridge, MA, with my brother Rob and my kids. That weekend, we rode back with him to Alexandria and stayed until Sunday. Saturday we had a gathering of my NCIS team and other old friends. That Sunday, we went to see my brother Patrick, aka Commander David Hart, and then flew home.

"The boys and I flew up here last Thursday night and were met at the airport by Gibbs and Dr. Mallard. I've seen and talked with my former team since then and will spend Christmas Eve with them and my brother Rob. They'll be there again Christmas Day along with Rob, the same friends from Thanksgiving weekend and possibly Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., father of one of my former teammates. He sometimes just shows up. Oh and Jose Maier, one of my old friends, is bringing his girlfriend, I think her name is Chelsea, don't know her last name. I believe Tobias Fornell, who's an FBI agent and Gibbs' best friend, and his daughter Emily will be there too. Or they'll be there Christmas Eve, I don't know if that's been settled yet."

"Settled?"

"Custody of Emily on holidays…always tricky."

"Ah, I see. So for the restrictions, you basically stopped following them?"

"My team is a family, my family and I've already spent weeks being a good boy. The hell with that, life's too short and I've spent too many years without family."

"All right. I won't volunteer the information, but if it comes up…"

"Rob was there over Thanksgiving, at the party on Saturday, there was an attorney, Jake Malloy, who's not NCIS and Breena Slater Palmer, a friend." Tim shook his head in frustration, "Ms. Rowe, I'm not new at this. I've been doing this job for over a decade and I certainly know how to keep my mouth shut about criminal cases! We all do, we wouldn't last long at the agency, much less law enforcement if we didn't! Frankly, I was insulted the issue was even raised, I voluntarily recused myself from the case before Vance or Gibbs even knew there was a reason to."

"Vance is…"

"Leon Vance, the director of the agency, Gibbs' boss."

"Last question before we make the call. Tell me about your team."

"We're the MCRT, the Major Case Response Team, the only one based at NCIS headquarters aboard the DC Navy Yard. We've been the top team in the agency for 12 consecutive years. More successful closures, more convictions, fewer cold cases than any other team. For 12 years. I've been on the team, _was_ on the team, for ten of those years. We bust our butts out there, every damn day, working to keep our Navy and Marine personnel and their dependents safe. And sometimes to keep the public safe from one or more of them."

She nodded, "You're passionate about the job, even after being kicked to the curb."

"The job didn't do that, my team leader or teammates certainly didn't. The agency did it and I don't know why."

"This…" she consulted her notes, "O'Connell. What do you know about him?"

"Had one conversation with him, about how we should approach a suspect."

"Because?"

He shook his head. "I can only tell you what's on the public records. The suspect has a record that indicates the presence of mental illness."

She asked another question about the conversation and he shook his head.

"I'm used to pushing, sorry. Have you ever met O'Connell in person?"

Tim shook his head, "Not that I know of. I may have seen him in the break room or out at the coffee cart but I don't know what he looks like, nor have we been introduced."

He frowned at that and Ms. Rowe motioned to him to continue. "New attorneys coming on board are always introduced to the teams. Either I missed that or it never happened."

"Do you think you missed it?"

"No, the meeting invite goes out on a group email. One of my responsibilities on the team is to be the watchdog, making sure we read and respond to important emails. And that kind of meeting is always important. If I'd missed it, I would have been told about it and arranged to meet the new person myself."

"Interesting. Can you think of other times new attorneys haven't been introduced?"

"No. I'm mentally running down the list of ones who've joined during my time and I remember meeting each of them."

"What about Cahill?"

"He was already there when I started working with the MCRT."

"Have you ever had dealings with him before?"

Tim bit back a smile, "No, I'm below his pay grade. He'd go straight to the director."

"Not Gibbs?"

He shook his head, "Not voluntarily. Between our work and 3 divorces, Gibbs is generally not fond of attorneys. If one of ours needs to talk about a case, they usually approach Tony DiNozzo, Gibbs' second-in-command. Or they find a way to have the meet in Vance's office with the director present."

"And that helps?"

"Not usually, but I guess they've never lost hope."

She grinned, "You know, I've never dealt with this side of law enforcement and I'm fascinated, we could talk all day."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry, can't afford that and I have a date."

"Too bad. All right, let's call this guy, see what happens. I'm going to put the call on speaker and record it – and yes, I will tell him."

While they waited for the call to be connected, he thought about his date with Carly this afternoon. They'd meet at their favorite burger place but planned to go roller skating before they ate. He'd mentioned his lack of exercise, except chasing the kids, and she'd suggested some fun. He was glad she was off this week, she worked at Johns Hopkins as a biomedical researcher and if they were in the throes of development or trial runs, she wouldn't have been able to break free. She loved to lord it over him that she at least had put her degree to good use!

He returned to reality when Ms. Rowe started speaking, "Mr. Cahill, this is Samantha Rowe with Rowe, Stover and Carroll, representing Timothy McGee in the situation your department has caused. Your letter to him was forwarded to me and I've read it. Your interest is exceedingly odd as it was your office that booted him out. You're on speaker and I am recording this conversation."

"Ms. Rowe, is Agent McGee all right? I've been unable to track him down and his co-workers, in fact our agents in general, don't seem to know anything."

"First of all, your office has made it very clear he is no longer an agent, he has not been since your attorney O'Connell's letter. Why are you asking, Mr. Cahill? Your department was the one who summarily, with no explanation, separated him from his team and the agency. Forced him into an indefinite leave of absence with no pay and no future. Why do you think anyone would tell you anything about him?"

There was a sigh and silence before Cahill responded. "O'Connell's actions were misguided and unfortunately, I was not aware of the situation. I want to make this right with Agent McGee. He's one of the top 10 agents in our agency."

"Now, why should I or Mr. McGee believe anything you say? And why, if O'Connell was so terribly misguided and I'll offer my own definition - flat out wrong - why did the agency director do nothing?"

"Director Vance wasn't involved…"

Ms. Rowe looked at her client who was mouthing a word she interpreted as 'bullshit'.

"I find that exceedingly hard to believe. One of his top 10 agents is thrown out without reason and he doesn't get involved? I'm familiar with Washington politics, Mr. Cahill, but with no hint of any transgression, no tweets, not even internet gossip about Mr. McGee, the word that comes to mind about the director's non-involvement is 'bullshit'."

"I wasn't here! I only know what I've been told."

"And you call yourself an attorney! I've heard enough. Expect to be served with a lawsuit before the end of the year."

She disconnected as Tim looked at her. "Round 1?"

"Yes, it went rather well. How long will you be in town?"

"We're leaving the second."

"And do you have any idea when you'll be back?"

"In February when my older son and I are on winter break."

"All right. I think we'll have this wrapped up by then, he sounds almost desperate to talk with you." She paused, thinking.

"The whole thing seems bizarre to me. Can you describe the general details of the case?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you the most important ones."

"Oh. What would I have to do to be read in?"

"It's…I don't know, we've never had this kind of situation before, not that I know of." He frowned for a second, thinking of M. Allison Hart and her strange insertion into the agency, handling one or two cases that seemed conflicting. "I have a couple of people I can ask, people I trust implicitly."

"Not Vance, I hope?"

"Unless Cahill is proved right about Vance's non-involvement, I can't trust the director."

"Ouch!"

Tim refrained from saying Vance wouldn't be the first director to earn his distrust, that had been Vance's predecessor with her personal agenda. He left with more questions than before. Ms. Rowe's comment about the situation seeming bizarre struck home with him. But he couldn't involve Gibbs or any of his team. That left one person who might be able to find something or possibly answer Rowe's question about being read in. He could only imagine the number of conditions that would have to be met for that to happen.

If he still trusted Porter, he'd have gone to her. But the SecNav was, by nature of the job, a politician involved in many political issues and now he thought that was where the answers lay. In politics. Politics about what, though? His brain answered, his brother.

Looking at the time, he noted he had 65 minutes before he was due to meet Carly. Time for at least a phone call. But not from here, he was sitting in Gibbs' truck in the attorney's parking lot. Backing out of the space, he headed to a nearby park. There he found a parking space in the sun. This was not a conversation he wanted to have in public. Shaking his head at his forgetfulness, he ran his bug sniffer in the interior of the truck. He looked around the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary and best of all, no suits. Glad he'd kept his electronic tools with him, he then employed a disrupter that would disrupt any parabolic or directional parabolic microphone aimed at him. As he was still intact, there had been no explosives attached to the truck in any way. Although his take on this was that it was more intrusive, intended to harass, than life threatening. To what end, he didn't know.

He thumbed through his contacts for the number he wanted and then pressed the call button.

When Fornell answered, Tim smiled to himself, feeling almost as relieved as he would with Gibbs. The other man said, "Are you safe? I'm not getting coordinates."

"I think so…" Tim told him where he was. Then looking around, he said, "But now there are Suits and two minutes ago, literally 2 minutes, there weren't any. I'm nowhere near any federal offices or office complexes."

"You're seeing people in suits? Snoopy people?"

"Yeah, three of them just arrived, weren't here when I got here 2 minutes ago. They're hanging out, I would guess trying not to look conspicuous or threatening. But they're not why I called you. Big picture, yes but I have a couple of questions, can't ask Gibbs. Oh and I disabled my GPS, Gibbs' too, so no coordinates."

"Ok, what can I do to help?"

"Couple of things. Just met with my attorney, Samantha Rowe, and she had a strange conversation with the head of the Legal Department at NCIS. He wrote me a letter saying he was appalled at the information directed at me, which I thought was a weird way to put it _._ When they spoke, he said that O'Connell had been wrong and that Director Vance hadn't been involved. I'm thinking this is all politics connected with my brother. But I want to know who's responsible and meet with them. Need to protect my kids, find out what happened or is happening, I want my life back and I can't keep the spook stuff from the boys forever. They're not always going to be so young and trusting."

Tim sighed, "Ms. Rowe said the situation is bizarre, even for DC. And I agree. She asked if she could be read in on the case, but I've never heard of that being done. Is that something you've heard of, can steer me in the right direction or tell me, please, that it's impossible? For obvious reasons I can't go to anyone at NCIS and you're the only other one I trust. I hope I didn't just land you in the soup with me!"

"Don't worry about that, we report to the Department of Justice, not DoD as NCIS does." He paused and Tim heard a voice in the background.

"Ron's calling in and is on his way to you. There's something odd showing on your call."

"I thought I'd covered everything."

"Would all your electronics fend off an old-fashioned phone tap?"

"Aw crap, what the effing…!"

Fornell was quite impressed with the profanity that followed, in at least 3 languages. He recognized Italian, thought there was some Hebrew and another language he didn't know at all but was very strong.

When he stopped for breath, Fornell said, "We got stills of the suits from the street cam. Ron should be there in 4 minutes, he wasn't that far away."

"I'm not worried, maybe I should be, but I'm freakin' sick of this! How did you know there was something going on with my call? And if it does involve my brother, it'll never end."

"We've been keeping an eye on you and the kids, from a distance, since you got in Thursday night. A request from an old buddy. Don't worry about your brother, or start not worrying about him after his move."

"Huh?"

"Once he's out from under the Navy and whatever spook agency he's associated with, we'll provide a protection detail. For as long as it takes. My director is horrified at the lack of protection one of our honored service members was given by his own service. He can't wait to start rubbing their faces in it."

"You mean the fact that they left him unprotected except for hospital security who wasn't read in on anything important? And that they didn't want to move him from the hospital because it seemed too much like abandonment, instead leaving him to the mercies of...oh God! Tobias, they're…"

"Quiet, McGee! Don't say another word, who knows who's listening."

Tim took a breath before saying, "Ron's here."

"Good. Did you have plans for the rest of the day?"

"Yes, meeting an old friend to go skating, have dinner and…uh."

"Glad to hear it! All right, let me talk to Ron and we'll figure out how to proceed. Secure your phone. I'll let Bear know."

Tim smirked, glad he and Tony had been read in on some of Boss and Fornell's code words. "Bear" was an old nickname of Fornell's for Gibbs but in this case, used with 'secure', it meant to ditch his phone and buy burn phones. He'd do that but he'd also purchase, or Gemcity would, an anti-tapping, anti-tracking stealth phone.

He unlocked the passenger door of the truck as Ron Sacks approached. "Hey McGee, you got some serious crap going on!" He nodded to Tim, he'd been read in. He slid into the passenger seat and continued, "The suits left when I showed up. We have stills of them, they're undergoing facial recognition as we speak. How much time do you have before your date?"

"45 minutes."

"Ok."

Ron took something from his pocket and handed it to Tim. "It's stronger than your disruptive device. And yeah, Gibbs' landline and your cell have taps on them, they're listening to you. We're looking for warrants but haven't found any so far."

Ron took a deep breath. "Have you noticed suits in Cambridge?"

"Yes, but not every day. I walk or drive the boys to school and day care before I go on to my classes. There aren't any suits then. But when we go anywhere else, I've seen them." He huffed, "My little guy, Kyle, waved to one recently when he and I were doing some crafts together."

"At home?"

"No, in one of those 'make your own pottery' stores. I asked him who he was waving at and he giggled saying that was Mr. Green because he wore green ties a lot."

"Had you seen him before?"

"Yes, at least 4 other times. He seems to be the anchor of the suit team, he shows up more than the others."

"Think you have enough detail for a sketch artist?"

"Yes." Tim sighed, "I have a few photos, too. But you know, we all know how to avoid being tagged."

"Yeah, still, it's worth a shot. Obviously, they're arrogant enough to think you don't notice them."

"Or they don't care that I do."

"Huh. That's…you're thinking they're protection?"

"Maybe. They've never threatened the boys – or me for that matter. They seem to be fixated on knowing where we're going. Could be for protection, or harassment. Don't know why in either case."

"What can you tell me about your brother? Not his background, Tobias told me. How is he now?"

"No change. You know about the 3 that were giving him Midazolam?"

"Rumor was they worked for Los Donantes."

"I was never told because I was already in exile from NCIS by the time they were busted. Although it was my team who discovered them. His CO could not have cared less."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Tobias said there's no connection between his wife's killer and the commander."

"You mean no one has been able to find one. Doesn't mean there isn't one. Think it was awfully convenient that after the Navy refused to pay her support, Kathy was more or less forced to go to a homeless shelter and then, oh hey, homeless woman disappears. That's not even worthy of a mention on the newscasts. They failed to take into account that people in shelters and camps look out for one another. And whatever 'they' might have had planned for the boys was thwarted when the shelter manager called me about her missing resident."

"Interesting. What do you think they had planned for the boys?"

"I hope it was just the system – foster care. With the age difference, they might have been split up. Greg, my older boy, might have spent the rest of his childhood, even the rest of his life, looking for his baby brother Kyle. Thus ignoring whatever someone needed to hide or bury – or to stay buried."

Ron started to say something but stopped as Tim was writing him a note. On paper. Sacks didn't think he'd ever seen McGee use paper, other than in files. He looked at the note, which said, _"Containment."_

He nodded. Then he tilted his head, "You feel safe here?"

"Not right now." He wrote on his paper, " _Worried about exposing f to this but canceling means they win."_

Ron took the pen and wrote, _"You're covered until you leave for MA. Protection detail starts there as soon as you're off the plane. Will be at school, day care and around you on campus and wherever else. You have problems, call them, anytime."_ He underscored the word anytime. He kept writing. _"How long you there?"_

_"Leaving June 2_ _nd_ _or 3_ _rd_ _, moving to London. Teaching at a small uni there."_

_"How long?"_

_"2 years."_

_"Good! We'll contact MI-5 and London Metro, let them know. Any chance you can go sooner?"_

_"No, MIT contract runs through May."_

_"Thinking the sooner you put some distance between your bro & you, the better." _

_"You think proximity to b?"_

_"Seems like it. They don't hound you in MA the way they do here."_

_"True. Will talk with Gibbs when I get home. Uh…"_

_"Yeah. Try to relax, enjoy your date. We've got Gibbs' house covered too. T has talked with G. Big G!"_ Ron patted Tim's shoulder, adding one last note. _"Don't forget the burn phones, stay away from cams!"_

As Ron slipped from the truck, Tim rolled his eyes with a smile at his colleague and friend.

On his way to meet Carly, he stopped at 3 convenience stores, buying 6 burn phones and successfully avoiding the security cameras. When he saw Carly, she looked worried and he motioned to join him in the truck. He signed to her as soon as she was in and surprised, she nodded, replying in ASL that she felt like she was being watched. He told her, slowly, to get all the words right, that there was an unknown problem but he had friends helping. Then he frowned. The FBI would not have revealed themselves to her. He shook his head, signing he thought they were okay but once he left she'd be fine, it was him they were interested in and he didn't know why. She suggested they get takeout and go to her place, they could at least keep the curtains closed there. And they did just that, keeping the curtains closed and forgetting all about suits, good guys and bad guys.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After checking the truck, Tim drove home shortly after 0200, singing to the music on the radio station Dad always listened to, country-western. He and Carly had had an even more exciting tryst than usual, there was something about mystery and impending or at least implied danger that could really spice things up. He wished, they both wished, that having a great physical relationship was enough for marriage. They were friends who wanted to love each other but didn't. They liked to have sex together, they were very compatible and they liked the burger joint, roller skating and apparently some level of danger, but that was about it. They weren't in love with each other, didn't feel strongly enough about anything but their sexual relationship, it wasn't enough. But hoo boy, they made each other feel good!

Gibbs was still in the basement when he heard the truck roll in. He breathed a sigh of relief after Tobias' coded text telling him to use a burn phone to call him. When he did as requested, his friend updated him on Tim's afternoon and told him not to use his cell or landline to speak to Tim or anyone from NCIS.

Now Gibbs grinned when he heard his kid humming one of his own favorite country-western tunes. He knew McGee liked electronic music and other music that Gibbs mentally labeled as 'weird', although, thank heavens, not the eardrum splitting stuff Abby listened to. He'd have thought country-western was about as far from Tim's favorites as opera or rap was to him. Live and learn! From the humming, and his footsteps, not to mention the hour, the date had gone well.

He chuckled to himself, glad he'd thought ahead to tomorrow morning, or rather later _this_ morning. Rob and Lu would be here around 9 to take the boys for more Christmas activities, leaving their dad and grandfather to spend time together. Time to finish up the decorating, do some much needed grocery shopping and start wrapping. With so many gifts hidden in every hidey-hole in this house, it might take the two of them until New Year's to get everything wrapped! Tobias mentioned that when Emily still believed in Santa Claus, those presents didn't need to be wrapped. That might help, as long as Tim determined what specific gifts they were. He couldn't wait to show Tim the train tunnel he and the boys made.

He waited as he heard his son's footsteps entering the house and then grinned as those footsteps walked toward the basement door. It opened and Tim's voice drifted down, "Dad, you down there?"

"I am, kiddo, come on down. We have some things to talk about."

Tim trotted down the stairs, looking at the workbench. "Hey, you made buildings for the train? Wow…and there are people!"

"And a train crossing, look…" Gibbs showed him the cars and truck with the driver waving. "We started on the tunnel today. I already had a form for it; we made paper-mâché and all the layers are on. We'll paint it tomorrow, after Kyle's nap."

"This is awesome! Was it fun?"

"Oh yeah, we had a blast. Got messy, which made it even better!"

"You are a cool grandfather!"

"Thanks, kiddo! Your date turn out all right after your crazy afternoon?"

"Yes, we got takeout and went back to her place where a good time was had by all. I only saw friendlies on the way home and here in the neighborhood."

"Wish we could figure out what they're up to."

Tim signed to his father that he was now convinced it was something to do with Patrick and that Ron and Tobias thought it might be proximity to his brother, although no one knew why. He also told him about the protection details.

Gibbs went upstairs with Tim; today had been fun but he was exhausted!

Greg woke Tim up later that morning, "Daddy, it's 7:30 and Uncle Rob and Ms. Lu are picking us up at 9!"

"Ok, I'm up!" Tim shrugged into his robe, slid his feet into slippers and walked downstairs with the boys. Knowing they were going to have lunch a little later than the kids were used to, he made them a hearty breakfast. Not too big, he didn't want them to be sleepy during their outing with Robbie and Lu.

Today, Tuesday, they were going to Gaylord's National Resort to experience ice sculptures from around the world, take a ride through the ice and even crawl through tunnels of ice! As Rob's car rolled down the street, the kids waving goodbye, Tim was glad to see a car following them at a discreet distance, driven by an FBI agent he and Gibbs knew.

Dad watched for a minute before tapping his shoulder, "C'mon, we have a lot of work to do! First, tell me which gifts are from Santa. Fornell gave me an idea about those."

Puzzled, Tim took out his list and they went through it, itemizing which were to be delivered from the North Pole and which were from him. When his dad told him about Emily's gifts, his face broke out into a huge grin. "That's most of the big stuff!"

They got to work, pulling out several gifts at a time, wrapping and tagging them and then stashing them in Gibbs' closet. They figured having everything in one place was easier and they wouldn't have to remember where they'd hid things. By 1100, they'd made good progress and stopped for a coffee break. Then they went back to wrapping, splitting tasks. One of them would measure and cut paper for each gift, the other would wrap and apply the tag. Tim had decided on self-stick bows instead of ribbon and Gibbs wished he'd done the same thing. When Tim realized he'd purchased double the amount of bows he'd need, Gibbs abandoned the ribbon. Every half hour or so, they'd swap jobs.

Because of the Santa gifts, they finished with the boys' gifts by 1400, a real accomplishment. With Tim's help, Gibbs brought the piano bench and box up from the basement. They had to jimmy the bench in, a tight fit but Gibbs said getting it out was DiNozzo's problem. Once it was in, the top was taped closed and then they wrapped the four sides and the top, not even attempting to maneuver the box to get paper on the bottom of it. It looked funny with only one bow so Gibbs found the wider width ribbon he'd bought and used that too. After adding the tag, they pushed it toward the back and side of the tree. No way were they going to try to hide this box! Besides, as Gibbs said, it would drive Tony crazy trying to figure out what it could be.

Abby's gift was just as awkward, but Tim figured out a way to wrap it in sections and then put a wrap 'cover' on it so nothing showed. She got the wider ribbon too. When Tim offered to help Dad with whatever else he had, he got a grin and helped wrap gifts for Rob and the cookbook holder for Ellie and Jake, even though Gibbs wouldn't see them until after New Year's. The only gifts Tim didn't help with were his own, Ducky's and the Palmers. There were also gifts for the Fornells, Ms. Lu, the guys and for Abby's brother Kyle who was joining them for their dinner on Christmas Day.

Tim chuckled, "Not bad for an orphan and an only child."

Gibbs smiled, "You're right, Elf Lord, not bad at all. Reminds me, though, I need to call LJ."

"Any chance he'll join us?"

"I asked him, haven't heard back. Told him he was welcome either night or both."

Tim smiled, "Hope he comes! After all, he is your godfather!"

"Yeah. You ever hear that story?"

When Tim shook his head, Gibbs explained, "He tells it in more detail. When my parents decided they wanted him to be my godfather and my mother's sister as my godmother, both of them said yes. When my dad went to the pastor to set the date for my baptism, the Reverend asked who the godparents were. He was fine with Aunt Meg but when he heard about LJ, he told my dad there was no way he could allow that to happen. That he, personally, would be fine with it but the congregation would be in an uproar. Remember, this was the 1950's in rural Pennsylvania.

"So my dad leaves and finds the pastor for the church LJ goes to, an African-American congregation. He also says no, for the same reason, his congregation would be too upset. So my dad's stuck and he doesn't want to tell my mom, my aunt or LJ. Finally, he remembers that the library in Bloomsburg has phonebooks for every county in the state. He calls and asks the librarian to look up the phone number of a church he and Mom went to in Philadelphia one weekend when they were there. He doesn't remember the full name but the librarian finds it and gives him the number. Then he calls long distance to Philadelphia to the church and explains his problem to the pastor. The reverend says, 'You and your wife come on over, bring the baby, the godparents and anyone else you want. I'll baptize your son!'

"Dad goes home, tells Mom the whole story, she calls Aunt Meg, tells her while Dad tells LJ. They'd had the store for about a year then, so they had to find someone to run it for the time they'd be gone. Then they drove to Philadelphia, had me baptized Saturday afternoon, stayed over, went to the church on Sunday, had supper out to celebrate before driving home. The following Saturday, they had a party in town for my baptism. And no one said a word about LJ being my godfather."

"Wow! That's something. Do you think the pastors said something to them? Or did they know the plan?"

Gibbs looked surprised, "I don't know! Need to ask LJ. Part of it might have been the store. LJ and Jack owned it 50/50 and as far as I know that was never an issue. Except with old man Winslow, Chuck's father, because they'd worked for him. He owned everything in the town except their building and the business."

"How'd they acquire the building?"

"Cleverly, for those times. I'll let LJ tell you."

Putting everything away in their respective rooms, they had lunch and went for a walk. The kids would be home soon.

Tim still had several gifts to wrap. The boys were giving family members a framed photo of them and he'd have the kids help wrap. While Tim was giving his dad, Ducky, Larry and Cyndi a photo of him with the boys, he didn't feel comfortable doing that with anyone else. It felt too presumptuous with their father alive and their mother so recently murdered.

The boys came in, giggling about their morning out. They obviously had secrets. Tim figured Rob and Ms. Lu might have sneaked in some Christmas shopping for Grandpa, Granducky and him and now the kids were having a hard time keeping the secrets to themselves.

Once Kyle went upstairs to nap, Greg settled down, helping Tim wrap the photos. As the gifts were all the same, Greg wrote the tags out but they left them off for Kyle to write his name, attach the tag and put the bows on.

The boys finished their photo-wrapping chores in just a few minutes after Kyle woke from his nap. And then they painted the tunnel. It dried quickly and they brought it up from the basement. Gibbs came up last, surprising the kids with the buildings, cars, truck, roadway and people. They spent an hour putting everything just where they wanted it, including the trees Greg found at the craft store. Nobody was hungry yet, so next on the agenda were the little frames that needed to be decorated. That went quickly as the boys consented to help from their father and grandfather. While the glue was drying with their decorations, they sorted photos, picking the ones they wanted to hang on the tree, doing a little trimming here and there.

By that time, they were hungry so they stopped for dinner. The glue was dry by the time the kitchen had been cleaned and they put the photos in the frames and with help from Dad and Grandpa, hung them on the tree.

After the kids were asleep, Dad looked at Tim. "I'm beat!"

"Yeah, me too. I'm going to take a bath and turn in!"

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve!"

"The day before the Big One."

"Yup. Got anything else we need to do? Do we have everything for the dinners?"

"We have the rib roast for tomorrow night, Fornell is bringing a potato dish, Ducky a green bean casserole, Palmers are bringing rolls, Abby's bringing drinks and Tony's bringing dessert." Tim paused, "I'm making a Yorkshire pudding. You'll like it, Dad, it's not what we call pudding. I'll make it with beef drippings, eggs, flour and milk."

"That sounds good! What about Christmas Day? DiNozzo's cooking, right?"

"Yep, no turkey per our email vote. Once a season is enough! We're having lasagna which Tony is making from scratch and Abby and maybe Ducky are splitting the cost with him. Barry, Jose and Freddie are bringing rolls, drinks and dessert, Bill's making another of his chopped salads, Rob's chipping in with the guys, Ms. Lu is also bringing something for dessert. Is LJ coming?"

"Yes, he'll be here Christmas Eve. And Abby's brother Kyle will also be here tomorrow night. Huh, two Kyles, hadn't thought of that! We need to bring Shannon's china and silver down from the attic for Christmas Eve, get it washed and polished."

Tim smiled. "Why don't we wait until tomorrow morning to do that, that way it won't get dusty sitting around. How about chairs?"

"Fine to wait. Ducky asked to borrow folding chairs from the agency. Pam said that was all right, just not to tell anyone else. "

"Great! We're borrowing TV trays from your neighbors again. We probably need more trash bags for all the wrapping paper."

Gibbs shook his head, "Gotta be a better way."

Tim laughed, "There is. Carly says she and her friends buy gift bags, which can be reused, and they have a little card tied on for the name so you don't have to buy stickers. When you want to reuse the bags, you cut off the card and then use a sticker. Still need tissue paper."

"Sounds faster too."

"It does, but you know for me, guessing what a gift might be from the shape and then ripping the wrapping paper off is part of the fun. Even if it isn't very environmentally friendly."

"What time is Rob coming tomorrow – and what time is our call with Sarah?"

Tim told him, the call with Sarah was on Christmas morning and Rob would be over around 1600 tomorrow. Gibbs nodded. "Good, everything's all set then."

"Batteries!"

"For the kids' stuff?"

"Yeah, I think I bought enough."

"What about your solar charger?"

Tim rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah! I need sleep - time for my bath and bed!"

Christmas Eve morning found Tim up before Gibbs. He had more preparations to do for a special gift that would be delivered this morning. Tobias arrived on schedule and dragged Gibbs out to breakfast, Jethro protesting that they were having dinner together and he had work to do. Tony pulled around the corner as soon as Fornell's car was out of sight. The two of them finished the prep work just as the present and its installers arrived. Tony laughed as they watched the guys at work, "McGee, has it occurred to you that I'll be the one benefiting from this?"

"Huh?"

"He didn't tell you? Gibbs asked me to move in here. So he'll be using this for a few months and then I get it for two years!"

Tim laughed, "That's great! So you get this and my TV, which I know you've always lusted after."

"What, me?" They both laughed and Tony continued, "It does mean that I can charge more for my place with my own awesome media setup."

He got an eyebrow for that, "You're not considering installing surround sound here too, are you? I can hardly wait to see what Dad does when we come home and he finds surround sound in his 90-year-old Craftsman!"

"Uh, yeah, good point."

"I'm glad you're staying here, I was a little worried about that."

One of the installers approached them with a tablet. "It's done. We'd like to show you a few of the features."

The boys, who'd been playing with the train, joined them and watched as buttons were pushed and things happened. Tony signed off, Tim handed him a check and they made themselves a pot of coffee. The boys wandered upstairs to play. As soon as they disappeared, Tony jumped up to inspect the tree.

"Great train set! Is that the one you got over Thanksgiving?"

"Yes. Dad made the buildings, the cars, truck and people. He and the boys made the tunnel and Greg found the trees when we were shopping other day. Tony, has anyone heard anything about Vance?"

Tony shook his head. "No and the team leads decided not to press for information."

Tim frowned and then looked sad, "If he's ill, he's undergoing treatment somewhere."

"If that's what's keeping him away, yes, I imagine very discreetly. In this town…"

"Yeah, got it. Feel bad for Kayla and Jared."

"Me too, but there's nothing we can do, Tim."

Tim nodded and watched Tony check out the big box with his name on it.

The older man frowned, "It's too big to shake."

"Yep."

"You know what it is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"And I'll know tonight. Not like I can't wait."

Tim laughed at that. "C'mon, let's sign the card for Dad and put that big red bow you brought on this thing. You know he'll be home any minute."

They'd no sooner tucked the card in the envelope and attached the bow to the gift when they heard a car in the driveway. Tony looked out, calling, "He's back!"

The two of them stood in the kitchen, Tim making another pot of coffee while Tony pulled mugs down from the cupboard to make hot chocolate for the kids.

Gibbs came in the front door, calling out 'hello', uncharacteristic of him, but then he hadn't had grandkids before. The kids came downstairs, Greg opening the baby gates and holding Kyle's hand. They hugged their grandpa and then followed him to the kitchen, smelling something chocolaty for them and coffee for Papa, Grandpa and Uncle Tony. Although sometimes Uncle Tony liked to have hot chocolate instead of coffee. Kyle squealed when they walked into the kitchen, "Look, Grandpa, a present!"

Tim noted with a proud smile that Kyle had mastered the 'r' sound, reducing it to one 'r' rather than the continuing 'rr' sound he'd first made. And his 'L's' had improved as well!

Gibbs looked puzzled as he stared at the red bow. He smiled at his sons as Tony handed him the card. "What is…a dishwasher? You guys bought me a dishwasher?" He smiled widely, "Thank you! And good timing, too!" He blinked and then asked, "You didn't install it yourselves, did you?"

"No way, store employees brought it and installed it. We wouldn't have a clue!"

Gibbs chuckled, "One of the reasons I've been putting it off. I knew I could do it, but I'm not crazy about plumbing. And I thought I'd have to rip out more than one cabinet."

Tim shook his head, "Tony measured the interior of the cabinet and then we searched for one that would fit."

Tony nodded, "It's a relatively small one. We got this model because it doesn't require a separate electrical circuit, meant we didn't have to hire an electrician to come in for what sounded like major work. Tim took out the cabinet shelves this morning, they're in the basement and we rented a reciprocating saw to remove the bottom. There wasn't a back to the cabinet, the installers said it was an easy install. They cut a hole through the cabinet side wall so the dishwasher utilizes the existing sink lines."

Tim grinned, "And look, you can just open and close the cabinet door to access the dishwasher, we didn't even have to take that off. Open it, load the dishwasher, add detergent, close and lock, then close the cabinet door. Or you can leave it open but the manufacturer's booklet says you don't have to do that."

"Took the back out right before I got my orders for Camp Pendleton and Kuwait. And the girls followed me to California, we planned to install a dishwasher when I got back. And then, along with me not being crazy about plumbing, I didn't have the heart for a long time. Or the need, not until you guys came into my life." He hugged his boys, big and little. "Thanks! And, Tony, I'm sure you'll appreciate it over the next 2 years!"

He laughed suddenly, "Tobias was in on the surprise?"

"He doesn't know what we got you, just that we needed him to keep you out of the house for a couple of hours."

"He must have brought Elaine in on it because the two of them were gabbling like geese! Reminds me, she sent home lunch for you all." He laughed again, "That's why she included the extra entrée, she knew Tony would be here! I couldn't figure out why she did up 4 entrees instead of the 3 I ordered." He shook his head, "You got me on this one, guys!"

Tim and Tony exchanged high-fives and laughing, Gibbs ruffled Tim's hair and squeezed the back of Tony's neck, knowing he hated having his hair ruffled.

After they brought Shannon's china and silver down from the attic, DiNozzo went home, taking the lunch from Elaine with him, to start his lasagna for Christmas Day while Tim took the boys for a brisk walk as it was cold out. It hadn't snowed yet but the weather forecast called for snow the day after Christmas. They didn't walk far and Kyle rode home on Papa's hip. At least they'd had some fresh air and a little exercise.

They had an early lunch and then Papa and Grandpa alternated playing with the boys and working in the kitchen, until it was time for Kyle's nap. While he was asleep, his papa and brother polished the silver while his grandpa loaded the dishwasher for the first time.

Gibbs had been nervous about putting the china in the dishwasher but Tim looked up the make and specific name of the china, noting that it was fine for the dishwasher. They'd only use the china tonight as there wasn't enough for the crowd they'd have tomorrow night.

Christmas night, they'd use dishes that Rob found at a deep-discount store. He bought 5 sets, just the right amount for the crowd they'd have. If Senior showed up, he'd eat from one of Gibbs' dishes. Jethro reflected that Shannon would have loved both dinners, the one for his family and the other for extended family.

By 4:00, the boys were cleaned up and wearing their Christmas clothes. Rob arrived and watched the boys while his brother and dad showered and changed. LJ arrived about 4:30 and by 5:00, the family had gathered. Between the roast in the oven and the tree in the living room, the house smelled wonderful.

As they sat at the new table, beverages were poured and they had a Christmas toast, Ducky noting that the holiday was much cheerier than he'd expected with the return of Tim and the boys. Tim and Tony stood, raising a toast to Jackson, who they all missed, and to other absent friends and loved ones. Gibbs beamed proudly at them. He'd been missing his dad all day, this was the first Christmas without him and he was thankful LJ was here with them for the holiday.

They all waited while Ducky carved the roast, marveling over the Yorkshire pudding, Ducky and Tony were the only ones to have had it before, and the rest of the food. They feasted for nearly an hour before the last fork was laid down.

Deciding to have presents before dessert, they sat in the living room anywhere they could, Breena having dibs on a wooden chair. With only a month to go, she was increasingly uncomfortable, although excited about the baby. Gibbs presented his gift to them first and her face lit up when she saw the cradle. "Ooh, it's beautiful, look at the detail work, oh Gibbs, thank you so much!" She looked at her husband who nodded back at her, "Gibbs, Jimmy and I have something to ask. When the baby's born, would you please be 'Uncle Jethro' to him or her?"

Gibbs' face lit up and Jimmy smiled, realizing that although Gibbs already knew, his reaction was not an act. "I'd love that, thank you Breena, Jimmy!"

Tony's gift from him came next. He was rendered speechless, much to the delight of the rest of the family and LJ laughed so hard they were afraid he'd fall out of the recliner Gibbs bought for Jack two Christmases ago. Tony grabbed Gibbs for a near Abby-strength hug. "It's perfect, how did you match the stain so well?"

Gibbs chuckled as he told him.

Abby was also thrilled by her shoe stand, "Yay, thank you! Now I'll be able to find a whole pair of shoes at a time! And I've never had anything that would hold my boots! And the skulls! Gibbs, was that your idea?" Gibbs pointed to Emily who grinned when Abby squealed.

Ducky got a little teary and then laughed at himself when he opened the package with the changing table top. Like DiNozzo, he was speechless when Tim and Tony carried in the glider chair, Jimmy following with the foot rest.

Each had a good time opening gifts and watching everyone else open gifts. Rob had obviously consulted his brother and father, considering his gifts. Tony got two pairs of white tube socks, with a gift card to his favorite cinema underneath. Abby had a gift card to her favorite goth shop, the Palmers a gift card to Elaine's diner, Ducky an IOU for the tea of his choice from the UK and the kids some of the things they'd liked when out with him this week. He, Tim, Dad and the kids would exchange more gifts in the morning.

LJ brought candy for everyone but his godson and the little boys. Jethro was given a bottle of his favorite bourbon and a framed photo of LJ, Jack and a young, gap-toothed Leroy Jethro with their fishing gear. Tony said they looked like they were right out of the _Andy Griffith_ show, with 6-year-old Jethro in his overalls. That caused a lot of laughter, especially from Fornell. They would find out why a few minutes later. Kyle had a train engineer's cap from LJ and Greg a box of colored pencils and a large sketch pad. LJ enjoyed opening all the little gifts he was given.

The kids especially were excited by everything they got. There were lots of toys and amazingly, no duplicates. Weebles™ for Kyle, who loved the roly-poly people, with a Weebles horse and a boat. Greg received three books in a favorite series, he'd finished the first book two nights ago, now he had the whole series. And he made happy noises when he unwrapped a box of Legos. More toys and books for each of them, with a few clothing items interspersed between the other gifts.

Gibbs had already showed off his new dishwasher from Tim and Tony. Abby gave him a new denim work shirt with a tiny spider tattoo embroidered above the pocket. Ducky gave him a light jacket, saying he would need a 'range' of jackets in the UK and the Palmers gave him 20 pounds of his favorite coffee, to freeze and take to England with him.

The Fornells gave everyone different gourmet foods, except for Gibbs. Grinning, Emily handed him a package. He looked at Emily laughing, as he saw what it was. "Where did you get this?"

"Mom. I've been going through old photo albums at her place. She's always threatening to toss them all and I want the ones with her and Dad. I found that one and she gave it to me. Said it was the only time she ever went fishing with both of you. This is the original, I had a copy made to keep."

Still chuckling, Gibbs turned the framed photo around. A photo of Gibbs and Fornell, both wet, covered in mud from head to toe, holding a huge sturgeon between them and laughing. Everyone smiled, "That's a great shot!" And Tony grinned, suddenly understanding why Fornell thought his _Andy Griffith_ remark was so funny.

Tim saw the looks exchanged between Dad and Tobias and had to ask. "So what's the story?"

Fornell looked at the ceiling while Dad hung his head, laughing. Finally, he said, "We were chasing 'the big one'. Fornell had a monster on his line, took both of us to maneuver it, over what, 30 minutes, Tobias?"

There was a nod while Gibbs continued, "We couldn't move the thing, we'd get a little play on the line and then it'd stop again. We decided to anchor the boat and tackle it in the water, which wasn't that deep. We worked it and worked it, finally got more play on the line and reeled it in."

"Wow and it was this guy, huh?"

"Nope, it was a thick piece of wood, about 4 foot long with nails sticking out and big chunks gauged out. It and Fornell's line had been tangled with who knows what underwater and of course because of the pull and possibly due to the amount of…sunshine we'd had, we thought it was 'the big one'. While we were dealing with that, a guy in a boat 20 feet from ours pulled that sturgeon out. By himself. We paid him $5.00 to borrow it for the photo."

LJ shook his head, "You got off cheap."

"Think he felt sorry for us."

Fornell snorted, "You mean he felt guilty, that was my fish!"

Tony grinned, "Tobias, what'd you do with the wood?"

Gibbs laughed, "I offered to mount it on a plaque for him but he wasn't interested. I brought it home, pulled the nails out and burned it in the fireplace. Might have cooked a steak over it."

They all laughed again. And then the boys were given their gifts from the Fornells: their own fishing gear, complete with tackle boxes and life jackets. They were excited about that and Grandpa promised to take them fishing in England, along with their papa.

Tim grinned at his final gift. From everyone who'd given him or the kids something tonight, it was a gift card for UPS, with enough money on it to ship everything home. "Thanks, everyone!"

The gift giving over for the night, they regrouped at the table for dessert before cleaning up, admiring the dishwasher, packing their new treasures, hugging each other goodnight and Merry Christmas. By 8:30, only Gibbs, Rob, Tim, and the boys remained. Tim took the boys upstairs for their nightly routine while Rob and Gibbs made sure all the gifts had been successfully separated from the wrapping paper. The garbage bags of paper, bows and ribbon were put outside, the dishwasher loaded and started and they were done for the night.

They'd already washed Rob's new dishes that afternoon and those were stacked on top of the dryer in the laundry room. Locking up downstairs, the three men headed upstairs for stories and cuddles with the kids.

When Rob crawled into bed next to Tim that night, his brother chuckled, "You're right, Robbie, we have been doing this all your life!"

"All but 2 years of it, anyway. Great party tonight, Tim. Gave me a chance to get to know everyone a little better."

"Good!"

Rob opened his mouth to say something else, but his brother was out.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Having never experienced Christmas morning as an adult with 2 young children, Tim wasn't sure what to expect, although his father warned him the boys would probably be pretty wound up. He was glad they'd all gone to bed at a decent hour as Greg and Kyle woke them up at 0600.

"Daddy, Merry Christmas! Daadddy, wake up, we can't sleep anymore!"

Rob opened an eye, groaned and rolled over, pulling the sheet, blankets and quilt with him. That woke Tim up. "'M cold, Robbie!" He squinted at the boys. "What time is it?"

Greg smiled, "0600, Papa! Merry Christmas!"

"Uh, Merry Christmas. Ok, you two stay here with Uncle Rob. I'm gonna go take pictures of what Santa left. Either Grandpa or I will let you know when it's time to come downstairs. Go put your slippers and robes on!"

"Ok" They turned to go and Tim said, "Wait! C'mere." He kissed and hugged each of them, again wishing them a Merry Christmas. Giggling, they scooted across the hall to their room.

Rob muttered something and Tim ruthlessly grabbed the bedding away from him. "If I'm up, you're up!"

"Mean."

"No presents if you don't get up."

Rob gave a rusty chuckle as he sat up, "Okay, okay. Merry Christmas."

Tim had his robe and slippers on, grabbed his camera and on the way out of the room, paused to kiss the top of Rob's head. "Love you, Robbie."

"Aww." With another groan, Rob got up, looked around for something warm, squinting at a dark green something lying across the bed. He picked it up, smiling as he saw it was a new robe, with a big red bow on the pocket. Looking down, he saw warm moccasin-style slippers and put them on while he shrugged into the robe.

With a big smile, he ran down the stairs. "Who's this from?"

"Not us, must have been Santa!"

He grinned as he stroked the warm robe. "It's perfect!"

Dad already had the coffee brewing. While Tim took photos, Rob poured coffee for the three of them. Then the three men called out, "Look what Santa brought! Boys, better come see!"

Tim was halfway up the stairs, a little worried Kyle would be too excited and run down. Instead, he scrambled down holding his papa's hand, pulling him with him. Greg was already in front of the tree, his eyes huge as he looked at the piles of gifts.

"Wow! Is this all for us? The five of us?"

"I guess so. I don't see any notes from Santa saying some things are for other children."

"Cool!"

Tim plunked Kyle down in front of the tree and then picked Greg up and put him next to his brother. "One photo of you two before we see what Santa's left."

"Ok, Papa!"

Kyle grinned, "Hurry!"

Several photos were taken before the adults were satisfied. Finally, _finally_ , the boys started opening their gifts, handed to them by Uncle Rob. When the boys had opened several each, their adults started opening presents too. When Dad put some Christmas music on, Tim smiled, he loved old vinyl and he especially loved old vinyl Christmas albums. His eyes lit up at his next present, a vinyl album entitled "Merry Christmas from Bing Crosby".

"Dad, this is awesome, thank you so much! Can we play it after the album you have on there?"

"Sure, you know how to stack them?"

"Stack records? That won't hurt them?"

"Nah, c'mon, I'll show you."

The two moved over to Dad's stereo and Tim learned how to stack records. "Great, I didn't know about that."

"Now they'll play automatically. Won't flip sides though, have to do that manually."

"That's ok, this is…thank you!" Tim pulled Gibbs' head to him and gave him a big kiss while the boys and Rob laughed.

Each of them got more hugs as they opened gifts from each other. When there was a lull as the boys played with some of their new toys, Dad handed Tim and Rob their letters from Geordie. He explained that Geordie had written him, including the letters and sent one directly to Sarah. Rob went upstairs to read his letter while Tim disappeared into the den.

Tim alternately smiled and fought tears as he read his older brother's letter. Geordie wished him a Merry Christmas, told him he was still working on transferring out of Spec Ops and then expressed his concerns for Tim. Reading his brother's words, Tim nodded, he was right, these past few months had been traumatic and while he didn't think about it much, he'd acknowledged to himself that he needed more adult time.

Now he vowed to make some friends, maybe other single parents. While he wasn't big into sports, he loved to bowl, roller and ice skate. Heck, even a book club would get him into adult company once a month. And he really wanted to find Artie. Remembering the last conversation they'd had in Seattle in 2003 after running into each other there, he thought that by now they were more mature and certainly could handle their differing goals. He wasn't so sure they were all that different now. He knew he still loved her, he'd never stopped.

He smiled as he finished reading the letter. He'd write Geordie tomorrow, there was no way there would be any time to do that today!

There were a few special presents that were held until they had their Skype call with Sarah. She grinned as she watched her nephews open their new two piece snowsuits, by Oshkosh B'Gosh. Greg knew what they were right away and as soon as Kyle heard they were for the snow, he cheered as loudly as his brother. They'd already opened boxes with snow boots, so they were ready!

Sarah opened her presents from home, photos in decorated frames from the boys, some of their best drawings and a special plate done by them; a wooden stand that could move at a slant, up or down, made by Gibbs for her laptop after Tim told him what she needed and drew a sketch for him; a new warm, long jacket from Tim and Rob and a generous gift card to Harrods from her brothers.

They laughed when she exclaimed over the card. She loved going to Harrods but claimed she'd never bought anything there as the store was too expensive. Rob explained, "We were going to buy you a pretty sweater we saw online, excuse me, in Brit-speak I mean a jumper, but decided this might be more fun for you. You know, you might decide you want boots instead."

Each of the men had new cashmere pullovers from Scotland. Tim's was the perfect green to go with his eyes, Robbie's was burgundy to go with his dark eyes and Gibbs' was a light blue. After those were opened, Tim nodded at Dad, smiled at Sarah and turned to Rob with a small gift box in his hand. "Rob, this is from Sarah, Geordie, Dad and I. We want you to know how proud we are of you."

Rob blinked back tears when he opened the box to find a sterling silver ring with the physician's symbol, the Rod of Asclepius, over his initials. Inside, they'd had it engraved with a message of love, the year and their initials. Grinning, Rob slid it onto his finger, "It fits perfectly! Thank you!"

Then it was Tim's turn as he tore the ribbon, bow and paper off what he'd thought was one large package, finding two Dad-made nightstands underneath. "Wow! These are…Wow, Dad! Thank you, they're perfect, I love them!" He gave his chosen father a hug and then kissed his head. With a chuckle, Gibbs explained how he'd started them for the Silver Spring apartment, stopped when the sublet came about and started again when Tim told him about future plans. Examining the drawers, Tim found the false bottom and grinned, that was cool. When asked about what stain he wanted, he immediately said, "Same as the bed frame. I have the name of that somewhere, I'll get it to you. And then can we stain it together? Maybe when we're here in February?"

Taking Dad's grin as a 'yes', Tim sat back to watch the rest of the gift exchange. They held back a couple of gifts each for that evening, being careful to pull those away from the tree. When they were finally finished with the morning 'loot', they again sorted the paper, ribbon and bows into trash bags, making sure no gift cards, photos, drawings or small items were inadvertently thrown away.

While the boys and Grandpa played with the train, Tim took the two large trash bags, intending to toss them from the deck into the backyard for now. He'd move these and the trash from last night into the trash cans when he had shoes on. Instead, he stopped, put the bags on the deck and called to the others, "Hey, come look!"

Gibbs grinned while the kids ran to look. "Snow! Papa, it snowed last night!"

"It sure did, now we get to have a snowy Christmas, awesome!"

"Can we play in it?"

Grandpa, standing next to Tim, whispered, "Better do that it before we eat breakfast; it looks pretty wet, be too mushy to play in within an hour or so."

"Thanks, Dad. Ok, yes, let's go put our snow clothes on, we'll play in it before we eat breakfast. Except for Uncle Rob, he'll eat something now and later."

The kids nodded and Greg raced upstairs while Kyle toddled after him. With a chuckle, Tim scooped him up, blowing a raspberry kiss on his tummy and laughing more at the squeal from his little one.

"Come on, guys, let's see what we need to put on."

After a trip to the bathroom each, they dressed in their new snowsuits with long sleeve shirts, warm socks and their snow boots. Tim grinned, both boys looked adorable in their snowsuits by Oshkosh B'Gosh. Once they had their jackets and boots on, he took pictures to send to Aunt Sarah and to add to Patrick's wall of photos.

Tim threw on his own snow pants, a heavy sweatshirt and new jacket from Dad. Hats and gloves on him and the boys and they were ready to play. Downstairs, Grandpa was waiting in his snow clothes, grinning at the boys. "Have you ever played in snow before?" Greg said yes but that it was before Kyle was born.

Tim looked at Kyle, "This is one time it's okay to throw something. We're going to throw snowballs at each other, try to duck away from them." Grandpa pretended to throw while Papa showed Kyle how to duck down or sideways. The toddler watched, giggling at his silly grownups.

When they went outside, Tim picked him up, which didn't make him very happy. "It's all right, sweetie, I'll put you down in a minute. Watch Greg and Grandpa."

Greg was in snow nearly to his knees, he and Grandpa were exaggerating lifting their feet and putting them down again.

Tim started to put Kyle down carefully, hanging onto him. When his feet and legs sank deep into the snow before he was even halfway down, Tim snatched him up. "Oops, too deep for you, we don't want a frozen Kyle!" He put him on his shoulders. "How about you and I stick together today? When we go to the snow next week, it'll be packed solid, more like walking on the ground."

"Okay, Papa. I like being tall!"

Greg smiled at Kyle, "Kyle, when I was in the snow before, I was too little. Dad put me on his shoulders, just like Papa's doing now."

Grandpa patted Greg on the shoulder, proud of him for encouraging his little brother. "When we go to the snow next week, there will be hills to slide down and sleds and saucers to ride on. Your papa and I will be with you on those." He looked at Tim, "Maybe we can find some snowshoes for them, might help."

"Good idea."

They played snowballs for a little while, Tim making the snowballs and passing them up to Kyle to throw. He loved being allowed to throw and giggled when his snowball knocked Grandpa's Elf hat off his head. "We got you, Grandpa!"

"You sure did, kiddo!"

Greg and Rob had fun doing the same thing, making snowballs and then throwing them at Grandpa and Papa & Kyle. Kyle wasn't sure how he felt about the first snowball that hit him but he got to throw one back at Uncle Rob right away and that felt pretty good.

Grandpa thought he'd find a way to build a little hill in the backyard so the boys could slide down it. But not today! Eventually, tummies were rumbling and they remembered they hadn't had their Christmas breakfast.

Stamping the wet snow off their boots, the five of them took off them off inside the door and Greg remembered sliding on the floor. Taking Kyle's hand, the two of them slid on the polished hardwood, giggling the whole way. That made up for Kyle not being able to play directly in the snow.

Breakfast was a hearty pancakes, eggs and bacon feast. The plan was to have a big breakfast, snacks, if anything, at lunch and then dinner would be eaten fairly early, before presents.

Tim shook his head, not the least bit surprised when the doorbell rang about 1330, just as Kyle had finally fallen asleep. He was still upstairs with him and stayed, chuckling when he heard two sets of footsteps on the stairs. Greg joined him, crawling into his lap. He whispered, "Papa, I didn't know who that was. Uncle Rob and I came upstairs."

Rob peeked in the room, whispering, "I'm going to read for awhile."

"Who's there?"

"Someone Dad called 'Chief'."

"Tony's dad."

"Oh. He just shows up?"

"Yep."

Kyle kicked his feet, making an annoyed sound. Tim picked Greg up and the three retreated across to the hall to Tim and Rob's room. The book Greg was reading was there and he sat on the bed next to Uncle Rob, both reading, while Tim decided he'd better say hello to 'Senior', as everyone but Dad called him.

Before he went downstairs, he sent Tony a text that his father had just arrived. He shook his head in sympathy at his friend's reply: a string of characters meant as curse words. Tim sent a second text that there was a 'just in case' bottle of booze for Senior under the tree, that Tony was welcome to give it to him if he wanted. Tony's reply was that he'd also bought a 'just in case' gift and would bring it with him. Feeling badly for his friend, Tim called him and when he answered, he said quickly, "Just remember, _our_ dad is here and loves you and so does the rest of the family. We got your 6."

"Thanks, man. Does anyone else know?"

"Thought I'd send Ducky a text. Abby can be surprised, she's good with him. And the Palmers aren't joining us tonight, remember?"

"Oh yeah. And no Ellie and Jake. Rob's there, right?"

"Hiding in our room with Greg. Actually, I guess I'm hiding too. I was going downstairs when I thought I'd better let you know first."

"Thanks! I'll see you in about an hour."

"Ok, careful driving and remember what I said!"

"Promise."

Putting on his best fake smile, Tim headed for the living room. He nodded as he saw Senior, "I thought I heard someone come in! Merry Christmas, Mr. DiNozzo!"

"Ah, Timothy, same to you. What's this I hear about you becoming a parent?"

"Legal guardian. It's a long story but my brother's sons are living with me now."

"That must be quite a change."

"Not too much. I raised my baby sister and brother so I've been a parent although it's been a while. And of course I didn't have help from Gibbs and the others then."

"You raised…what?"

Behind him, Tim heard footsteps and turned as Rob and Greg came down the stairs. Rob held out his hand for a shake, "I'm Rob McGee, Tim's brother." Senior introduced himself as Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., having learned years ago that this crowd would never think of him as 'Tony'. Rob smiled, "Tony's a great guy, like another brother to me. You must be very proud of him!"

Senior tried not to look surprised but nodded, "I am, Rob."

Greg had a serious look on his face as he held out his hand for a shake, "I'm Greg McGee-Hart." He stood next to Tim, taking his hand. "This is my papa. My little brother's asleep upstairs."

"I see. How old are you, Greg?"

"Six. And Kyle's 2 ½. Our mom was killed and our dad's in a coma. Papa, only he was Tim then, our uncle, took us to live with him. Now he's Papa and Gibbs is Grandpa."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother and dad, Greg. You and Kyle are lucky to have such a fine Papa and Grandpa."

Greg nodded, hanging onto Tim. "We flew down to spend Christmas with Grandpa, Uncle Rob, Uncle Tony, Aunt Abby and Granducky. Oh, and Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Breena but they had to go to her Mom and Dad's today."

"Where did you fly in from?"

"Cambridge, Massachusetts. Papa teaches there."

Tim squeezed Greg's hand with a chuckle. "That's right. I'm a visiting professor at MIT."

Senior was shocked. "Why? I mean that sounds great but what happened at NCIS?"

Gibbs shook his head, "It's temporary but it's classified along with his brother's case."

"Oh. So classified that you can't work with your team or at the agency?"

Tim gave him a little nod and Senior reached out to pat and squeeze his arm. "Sounds like a mess, Timothy, I'm sorry to hear that. Seems you've made the most of it, though, and Greg here sure looks like he's happy. I know you're taking good care of him and his brother."

That got a surprised smile, Tim always thought Senior didn't think much of him. The man turned to Gibbs, "And you – a Grandpa, congratulations!"

"Thanks! We're having a good time, aren't we, guys?"

The three younger men nodded. Rob's watch buzzed and he nodded to Tim. "Mr. DiNozzo, may I get you something to drink or eat? I'm on my way to have a snack myself."

"Oh! Well, let's see, Gibbs always makes great eggnog."

Gibbs smiled, "It's in the refrigerator, Chief. It's child friendly this year."

"Of course! I'll just come along with you, Rob."

As they walked, Tim heard him say, "I didn't know Tim had any siblings!"

"Sure, one sister and four of us brothers."

"Four brothers? Will they be here tonight - and your sister?"

"Sarah's in London, in graduate school, we talked with her this morning, opened presents together on Skype. And yes, there are five brothers altogether." Rob wondered if Tony's father knew or would guess that Tony was one of them.

"And he raised all of you?"

"No, he raised Sarah and me. The other two are older than he is. Sarah and Patrick, the one in the coma, are his biological siblings, the rest of us are 'chosen'."

"That must be some story."

"It is but it's long and parts of it are painful. Not really a story for Christmas Day."

"Of course. Have you followed Tim into law enforcement?"

"No, that's not for me. I'm a pediatric resident. I have two more years of residency and then I'll be a full-fledged medical doctor."

"Wonderful, congratulations! I know that takes a lot of dedication and hard work."

Rob smiled, "It does and it's all been worth it."

The holiday glasses were on the counter, Rob picked one up and took the container of eggnog out of the refrigerator. "Do you know where the liquor is?"

Senior smiled, "I do, yes. Can I pour you some?"

"No, thanks. I'm just going to have a snack and then I'll join you all again. Did you want something to eat? We're having dinner in about 90 minutes."

"Then no, I'll wait. What are we having?"

Rob's face lit up, "Tony's made lasagna for us. Actually, we voted on it. I know Christmas dinner is usually turkey but none of us wanted that this year and we did want Tony's lasagna."

"Great! He's become an excellent cook."

When Senior heard heavy footsteps on the front porch, he smiled, "That's Abby, excuse me."

He hurried out to the foyer in time to surprise Abby as she walked in. "Senior! I didn't know you were coming!"

"I didn't either, my plans changed at the last minute."

Abby looked around after she'd greeted Gibbs, McGee, Greg and Rob. "Where's Tony? And McGee, aren't you missing a child?"

"He's upstairs, trying to take a nap."

"Oops, sorry!"

Tim chuckled, "I think it's a hopeless case anyway. And Tony's not here yet, he was putting the final touches on the lasagna when I spoke with him. He should be here in a few minutes, the Fornells, Lu, the guys and Ducky, too. Where's your brother?"

Abby made a face, "Kyle, my brother Kyle's girlfriend decided to take him home to meet her family, on Christmas Day! Gibbs, he said to say Merry Christmas and he's sorry he couldn't make it." Gibbs nodded.

Senior looked at Tim, "The guys, Lu? Are the rest of your brothers coming?"

"Just one more. The 'guys' are friends we grew up with and Lu helped make sure we grew up. She's a family friend."

Tim had his face away from his father, he knew there had been another date or two but nobody was going to talk about it today. They'd all promised. Of course, adding Senior to the mix might change things. He was an incorrigible charmer and who knew what Dad would do if Lu fell for it or Senior laid it on too thick, which he usually did. Then he remembered something he'd heard Mrs. Handley say once, that Lu's husband, the Welshman, had been a charmer who had run out on her. Lu was too smart to fall for another guy like that and Tim smiled to himself, he bet that was what she liked about Dad. He didn't play games. As long as Lu didn't remind him in any way of Shannon, he'd be fine.

Then Tim snorted to himself, like he had any room to talk! His longest relationship with a woman besides his sister was with Carly. Unless he allowed himself to count his feelings for Artie, which he knew were still strong, hadn't changed. While he'd thought his feelings for Delilah were just as strong, eventually he found he was almost relieved when she broke up with him over the boys. Since Larry's mention of Artemis when he and the boys first moved to Cambridge, thoughts of her frequently drifted into his mind.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After Abby's arrival, there was a lull. Tim went upstairs to check on Kyle and found him playing with one of his new toys. He said he'd been awake since Aunt Abby came, he knew her voice. Tim helped him change his clothes, putting on the new shirt Uncle Tony gave him last night, one that said, 'Engineer' and had a picture of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' on it, the engineer's cap from Uncle LJ and the new jeans with suspenders from Aunt Abby. He wanted to wear his new snow boots but they were still wet. Tim pulled out another pair of shoes, telling him they were just like the shoes train engineers wore. Kyle chuckled as Papa tied the laces for him, "Now I'm a real engineer!"

"You sure are! After all the presents are open, we can run the train like we did last night, how about that!"

"Yay!" Kyle paused, "Um, Daddy, who's gonna be here?"

"Your brother, me, you, Grandpa, Uncle Rob, Uncle Tony, Aunt Abby, Granducky, Aunty Lu and your uncles Bill, Barry, Jose, Freddie, Tobias and a surprise for all of us, Uncle Tony's father."

"What about Emily?"

"She's spending tonight with her mom."

"Oh. What's Uncle Tony's daddy's name?"

"Mr. DiNozzo."

Kyle practiced the name, "That's hard to say!"

"You did great! Now, you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Ok, Engineer, let's go!"

On the way down the stairs, with Papa carrying him, Kyle pulled an imaginary train whistle and called out, "Choo Choo! Train's coming into the station!"

Tim grinned as they hit the main floor, "Engineer on board!"

Kyle slid down, toddling over to Aunt Abby to give her a kiss and then moved on to Senior who was hovering near Abby. "Hi, Mr. DiNozzo, I'm Kyle."

"Hello, Kyle, I'm glad to meet you." The two shook hands and Kyle looked around, "Where's Uncle Tony?"

"I'm right here, Kyle, with Uncle Bill!" Tony was walking in the door with Bill who had two bowls of his chopped salad while DiNozzo had his hands full with two big pans of lasagna. Tim and Rob hurried over, taking one of the pans and one of the bowls of salad from Bill. The four of them went straight into the kitchen where Tony slid the lasagnas into the oven, kept at a low heat to keep the dishes warm.

After that, everyone else seemed to arrive at once and for several minutes there was chaos as people came in, stopping to wish the others Merry Christmas before continuing into the kitchen or living room. Ducky and Tobias joined Senior in adding a 'wee tot' of their favorite liquor to their eggnog.

When everyone was in, the food warming or cooling in the kitchen, Tim, Abby and Rob finished setting the table, with help from Greg and Kyle. Abby smiled at the dishes, "These are pretty, Rob, where did you get them?"

"Bargain store in Baltimore. They're overruns of name brand products, so these are good dishes at a great price."

"That's great, I'm gonna have to go check that place out!"

Rob and all the camp alumni chuckled as Tim said, "Once we had enough money to reach beyond the thrift store, this was our favorite place. I bet each of us outfitted our first apartments from there."

Bill raised his hand, as did Barry, Freddie and Jose. Lu laughed, "I've always shopped there, I think I was the one who told Bill about it."

He nodded, "That sounds right."

Tim and Rob made a seating chart so everyone would have the chance to get to know someone new or not as familiar. While Abby helped them with the table, she watched them put the place cards out, found hers and swapped it so that she was sitting next to Freddie. She grinned at them, "What? He's cute and I like guys who work with their hands." Tim nearly bit his tongue in half to keep from asking her to be careful with his friend. Sitting next to him at a holiday group dinner was not dating him!

That left Barry between Lu and Senior but he was good at small talk and had known Lu most of his life, there shouldn't be any problem. Dad came in, looked at the cards and finding his, swapped with Tobias. That left Tobias sitting next to Bill and Dad sitting between Lu and Jose.

Rob shook his head, "There are only two women tonight!" Joe's girlfriend Chelsea wasn't joining them after all.

Tim huffed, "Yes, a bunch of bachelors here. Although as a new parent, I think I have an excuse."

"You could have invited Carly."

"No, I could not have. She and I have an agreement about that. We don't double date or do family or couple dinners. Besides, she's at her aunt's place in Savannah for Christmas."

"That would be a cool place to spend Christmas."

"I imagine so."

"We need more women in the family."

"And each of us can do something about that, Rob."

"Man, I don't have time to date."

"Neither do I. And those in law enforcement, Tony, Barry and Dad, work crazy hours. Abby, too. It's tough enough if you're already in a relationship but having to cancel dates on a regular basis doesn't usually lead to long lasting relationships."

"If Freddie and Abby date, that doesn't bring anyone in new. We need a rule!"

Tim started laughing so hard he had to leave the table. Tony was in the kitchen and when Tim could finally talk, he told him what he and Rob had been talking about and his last remark. That got Tony going, too. When Dad came in to see what was going on, they shook their heads. "Tell you later."

"All right, I'm going to hold you to that. What can we take out with us?"

"The salads and garlic bread. There are bowls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the table along with the bread plates. Then come back and we'll bring the lasagna in."

Bill came in just as they were picking up the salads, "I'll take those, guys, thanks. I wasn't sure if we were serving in here or put everything on the table."

"On the table, Bill, we borrowed an extra table so there's more room."

"Great!" Tim divided the garlic bread onto two plates and followed Bill to the table. Bill sat while Tim returned to the kitchen to help with the lasagna. Gibbs followed with bottles of sparkling cider and wine. The boys' milk was already on the table.

Kyle smacked his lips when he saw the lasagna, "Yummy!" He protested when his papa put a bib around his neck but stopped when Greg, Papa, Grandpa and Uncle Rob also put them on. Tim explained, "We're all wearing new shirts or sweaters and don't want to get them dirty the first time we wear them."

Abby was examining the bibs and then she turned to Rob, "Did you get those at the bargain store too?"

He grinned, "Yes. They had Christmas themed adult and children's bibs and I couldn't resist but I didn't want to push it beyond the immediate family."

"It's a great idea."

The lasagna was a big hit and they ate both large pans of it, much to Tony's delight. Bill's chopped salad was also a hit and both bowls were as empty as the lasagna pans by the time they finished. After they ate, Abby said she needed a walk before dessert and as the weather was clear and the snow was gone, most of them bundled up for a walk. Greg went with his grandpa while Kyle and Papa stayed home. The long day, after an extra busy, albeit fun, week and the short nap was doing a number on Kyle and while he wasn't whining, Tim saw that he was very tired. When the walkers returned, he asked that they open presents before dessert. Nobody minded that!

The boys sat on Tim's lap as they opened the last of their gifts. Tim loved that his family and friends had coordinated enough so that there were no duplicates and no one had spent over the amount he'd asked them to stick to. He didn't want to spoil the boys any more than he already did and he didn't want his extended family feeling that gift giving was a competition. For all that Freddie and Jose's business was doing well and Bill also made good money, Barry was a civil servant and Ms. Lu worked for a non-profit. He did not want any of them to feel uncomfortable with each other or with Tony, Abby, Tobias or Ducky. Nor did he want his NCIS family or Rob and Sarah to spend ridiculous amounts on the kids. Grandpa, well he couldn't stop him but he'd rather make things for the boys anyway. Spending ridiculous amounts on the kids was his job as Papa!

Once the boys had opened their gifts and thanked everyone, Papa and Grandpa took them upstairs for baths, stories, cuddles and bed. While not as tired as his little brother, Greg was overwhelmed and asked to read one of his new books until time for lights out. One of the gifts from Grandpa this morning was a light that hooked onto his bunk bed so he could read in bed without keeping Kyle awake. Mindful that this was the boys' first Christmas without either of their parents, Tim thought they'd done well. When they said their prayers that night, they made sure to remember their mother and pray that their father would wake up.

As much fun as their two day Christmas celebration was, Papa and Grandpa agreed that next year they'd keep it to one day or at least keep Christmas Eve lower-key.

Saying goodbye to Uncle Rob, the boys spent the day after Christmas playing with their new toys and generally recharging. Their papa and grandpa did the same thing. All four of them took naps that afternoon, played with the train set and organized the new toys. Although they had more than a week left before they had to return to Cambridge, Tim didn't want to spend his last days at home looking for lost Weebles, books, Silly Putty or train parts.

New snow was forecast over the weekend and the family planned to head for the mountains on Monday. Friday, Grandpa stayed with the boys while Papa went shopping for snow toys for the kids, coming home with a sled big enough for both boys and one of their adults. Whoever wasn't sledding could use Kelly's old saucer. He also found two pairs of kids' snow shoes on a Facebook local swap group.

Saturday and Sunday they watched it snow, occasionally venturing out to play in it. This snow was nowhere near as wet as the Christmas snow; Tim had the boys test the snow shoes and was pleased with the results. By Sunday evening the snow stopped and the family made plans for the following day.

Gearing up, they drove a borrowed 4-Wheel drive SUV into the mountains of Virginia and Gibbs found the spot where he and Shannon brought Kelly many years ago. Although there were other families sledding, Grandpa insisted on taking the first few runs himself to make sure it was safe. In the meantime, Papa and the boys, their snow boots locked into snow shoes, started building a snowman. Greg noticed when Papa put a carrot in his pocket before they left and wondered. Now he laughed as the carrot became Mr. Snow's nose. Rocks that also came from Papa's jacket became eyes and buttons while smaller ones made the mouth. The boys, with Papa's help, found sticks for their snow buddy's arms and one of Grandpa's old fishing hats covered the top of his head. Papa took photos as they were building him and later sent them to Sarah and the Porters, still in Hawaii.

Finally Grandpa was satisfied with the sledding slope and with his eyes closed, picked which boy would go first. Papa made Grandpa wait as the boys quietly shuffled around, changing places several times. When Kyle was picked to go first, his little face lit up. Used to being the littlest, it seemed like he always had to wait and Greg was a good sport.

The rest of their holiday at home passed far too quickly. They built a snow family in the backyard, consisting of a Grandpa, a Papa and two boys. Kyle's snow boy mysteriously grew a couple of feet one night so that he was almost as tall as Greg's snow boy, making the little guy very happy. They visited not one but two train museums, one in Fairfax VA and one in Silver Spring, which was really the National Trolley Museum. Granducky joined them for that one.

Both were a lot of fun and they followed them up with a visit to the National Museum of Natural History, where they loved the insect zoo. Although, as Greg said, they only loved it if the bugs stayed in their zoo! Another favorite was the 'exact replica' of a North Atlantic right whale. Another morning, Papa took them to the Air and Space Museum while Grandpa and Granducky joined them for a trek to the National Zoo, a fun if chilly favorite.

All too soon, they'd celebrated New Years with their aunts and uncles and it was time to pack for home. Papa made good use of the UPS gift card, shipping home nearly all their treasures. As his classes wouldn't resume until the 12th, he'd be home when UPS delivered everything. He did keep their snow boots, hats, gloves and new, warmer jackets to take on the plane as it was snowing in Greater Boston!

After spending so much time with Grandpa, first at Thanksgiving, the weekend after and the two weeks at Christmas, it was very difficult to say goodbye. The boys were teary and Tim fought his own emotions.

Gibbs had just as hard a time and considered going home with them for a week or so. However, when he looked at the calendar the boys made for him, he saw that MLK day was less than 3 weeks away and he already had his plane tickets. And then Tim and the boys would be down for the Presidents' holiday/winter break less than a month after that. Rob planned to take some time off then so he could join in the fun.

They could handle that, all of them. The Porters would be home from Hawaii in a few days and they'd have lots of stories to tell the boys. And they'd all get back into their routines.

Still, it was a quiet, almost melancholic ride to the airport. Tim cheered up a little when he tucked Kyle into his new pack. It was large and sturdy enough for the little guy to sit or stand and would help his papa and brother as they maneuvered the luggage into the terminal. With Kyle on his back, Tim used a new gizmo to attach his regular backpack and the bag with the kids' safety seats securely to his roll-along and Greg pulled the second, lighter case, holding Papa's hand.

When they reached the house, the family was happy, if surprised, to find the house nice and warm. There was a note from Dr. Donovan that he'd stopped in earlier that day to 'nudge up' the thermostat as the temperatures were supposed to drop into the teens overnight. Tim smiled at the note, which was signed 'Pete'.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In Maryland, a few days before Gibbs' flight to Boston for the MLK holiday, Dr. Rob, Barry and Freddie gathered in Patrick's room at Bethesda Hospital while Dr. Jimmy, Gibbs, Jose and Bill went straight to Patrick's new home, Restful Haven, the long-term care facility. This was moving day.

At Bethesda, all the photos, drawings and paintings were carefully removed from the walls, the room was checked for other personal belongings and then Rob climbed into the transport ambulance with the brother who'd never met him. Barry and Freddie followed them in Barry's car, carrying the artwork.

Jimmy waited for the ambulance while Gibbs and Jose stayed in the room and Bill met Barry and Freddie at the front entrance. Once Patrick was settled in his new room, the guys got busy putting up some of the artwork. Gibbs took specific photos home, knowing Tim wanted to make professional copies of them for the boys and himself.

They were done with their tasks in less than an hour. After a Skype chat with Sarah, Tim and the boys, the group headed out to lunch before dispersing.

Gibbs' first emotion when he disembarked from the plane in Boston was relief. Although he'd seen Rob a few times and saw Tony every weekday, he'd missed Tim and the boys something fierce. He missed the noise, the chaos, the life of his family in his home. If he'd had any doubts about moving to the UK with the McGees, they'd disappeared in the long days between January 2nd and today.

He grinned as he rode the escalator down to Baggage Claim and the exit, almost immediately spotting Kyle who was sitting on his papa's shoulders and shouting to him, "Grandpa, Grandpa, yay, you're here!" Greg was nearly pulsating with excitement and Tim's grin hadn't wavered since he'd spotted his dad.

Back at the house, Grandpa had to see where their new treasures from Christmas were kept as well as new drawings and pictures from school and day care. After dinner, when the boys were finally asleep, Tim and his dad finally had a chance to talk. The first thing Gibbs did was to hand Tim an envelope with the photos he'd wanted.

"Thanks, Dad! There's a shop in downtown Cambridge I'll take these to."

"Great! You'll send back the originals?"

"Yes, if they're ready before our next trip down, I'll bring them with us. Otherwise, I'll mail them."

His dad smiled at him and then leaned forward, pulling Tim into a hug. "I sure miss you, son. It's only been a couple of weeks but feels like forever!"

"I know, me too. I'm glad you didn't land a case that would have held you over."

"Me too! How's everything going?"

"The boys are doing fine with school and day care and I'm enjoying my classes. But just like before, if I go anywhere, with or without the boys, outside of this area, you know, campus, Greg's school and home, I'm still seeing the guys in suits. Last week, I took the kids to the Boston FBI office to meet some of our protectors, so they'll know who's there to help – or not. We took the SUV and had an FBI car and one other with us there and back. Kyle told our new friends about 'Mr. Green' and we joked about the FBI agents wearing certain color ties but that's too easy to duplicate. Whoever these people are, they're not letting up."

"Yeah, Tobias updated me before I left so I'd know what to expect."

"Have you seen or spoken with Secretary Porter?"

Gibbs shook his head, "Not in months, since before you saw her at the hospital. I've seen her in press conferences on the news and we've had memos from her office but nothing in person. Not that unusual I guess, since the Acting Director isn't aboard the Yard."

"Yeah, Craig. I called and asked to speak with him. Went straight to voice mail. I left him a message but I'm not expecting to hear back from him."

Dad shook his head and they changed topics to the plans for the long weekend. With temperatures expected below freezing, Tim thought they'd probably stay home and play games, cards and watch a few movies.

"Last week, when I saw the forecast for this week I went to the library and took out every Disney movie I could find. Some you might have seen when you were a kid: _Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Gnome-Mobile,_ the _Absent-Minded Professor_ , _Toby Tyler, In Search of the Castaways_ and _The Incredible Journey_."

His father's face lit up, "Cool! I remember most of those. We had to go to Bloomberg to see movies and our parents would take turns. My mom would take us one weekend and then someone else's mom or dad would go the next time. My dad never went as he and LJ were always working at the store. At the movie, we'd get hot dogs or popcorn and always a Coke, a big treat!"

Tim grinned, "Sounds like fun, Saturday matinees. I read 'Swiss Family Robinson' and Kyle's too young for it but I took it out anyway. I've never seen the movie, maybe I'll watch it when the boys aren't home."

At Dad's raised eyebrow, he explained, "The Porters like to take them for a few hours on a Saturday, every so often. So I can run errands and have some time to myself." He chuckled, "They did the same thing with Sarah and Rob when I was a student here. Although the sibs were older than the boys are now."

"You done anything about finding a babysitter?"

Tim shook his head, "No. After our trip to the FBI, I decided I'd never trust anyone besides the Porters or maybe the Donovans. And I can't see that happening."

"I can see your point, not knowing who those people are or what their intentions are. Meant to ask you before if you were thinking about contacting your former girlfriend, the one you mentioned."

"Artemis. I think about her but I haven't done anything about it. It's strange, since we returned after New Year's, this place feels temporary. I know we have a few months but then we're leaving. And then we'll stay put for two years. I'm really looking forward to that, having you, Rob and Sarah with us, or nearby, will be great."

"Does that have something to do with you not contacting Artemis?"

"Yes. Even though she's not around here, I don't want to start something or maybe start something while I'm here temporarily. I know that doesn't make sense, but it's how I'm feeling. And I have no idea where she is. Engineers work on projects all over the world and as an MIT educated engineer, I'm sure she's in heavy demand."

"Guess that makes sense. But you know when we get to Brambury, you'll have at least 3 babysitters, and two years for whatever happens."

"Yeah, wish we could go now."

His dad laughed, "It won't be long and you'll be busy between now and then."

Tim nodded. "Greg and Kyle are invited to a birthday party next weekend, so I'll meet some of the parents."

"Good! And are there PTA meetings you go to?"

"Yes, I've been to a couple when Larry or Cyndi were available to watch the kids. Nice to have other adults around."

"I went to them whenever I was home, Shannon was more than happy to send me! I'd be interested while they were talking about the kids but when they got to the administrative stuff, I was bored stupid."

"Oh yeah, know that feeling."

As predicted, the weather was cold and nasty all weekend and the family stayed inside, snug and warm in the house. They watched several of the movies, played board games and cards, had fires in the fireplace where they roasted marshmallows and Grandpa made 'cowboy steaks' for them. With the basement finished and heated, they walked and ran down there, taking turns on the treadmill. Every day he was there, Grandpa led them in calisthenics, challenging Papa to continue after he went home.

Tim and the boys played a game where one of them would start a story and then would pass it along to the others, a round robin. Once Grandpa got the hang of it, he joined them and they had a lot of fun with their 'cowboy pirates' sailing the oceans of the world in their denims and cowboy boots. At one place, Madagascar, Kyle knew the name from the movie, he had their cowboy pirates find a monkey who left on their ship with them. They named the monkey, Friend, and got into a lot of mischief with him.

When Papa and Grandpa wanted to do some adult stuff, they put together a fort for the boys, a card table with a large blanket over it so the kids couldn't be seen. That was a lot of fun and the fort stayed intact for several days after Grandpa's visit.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Feeling well satisfied with their time together, Grandpa left on Monday, taking Uber to the airport so his family wouldn't have to venture out. Tim didn't relax until he received a text from his former boss saying he was home.

Two days later, Tim had a call from Dad with happy news. A new member of the family, Victoria Elizabeth Palmer, had joined them! Dad reported Mama and baby were fine and Jimmy was holding up so far. Dad, Tony, Ellie and Abby went to see Breena and the baby while they were still in the hospital. There they found a fit-to-burst with pride Ducky and a tired, happy and relieved new daddy. Uncle Jethro and Abby each held little Victoria for a few minutes.

Four weeks later, Tim and the boys took the train down to DC for their winter break. It was wonderful to spend time with everyone, including the baby. When Greg remembered how he'd held Kyle when he was new, Aunty Breena had him sit on the couch to hold his new cousin, with Kyle sitting next to them, gingerly touching the baby's tiny fingers. As Tim watched Greg and Kyle, he had a flash memory of doing something similar with Sarah, sitting on a couch with Patrick while their dad put their new baby sister gently in their arms.

Rob and Tim taught the boys how to ice skate and they went skating a couple of times, the boys improving each time. On Saturday, Uncle Tony and Grandpa took the boys to see a new Disney movie while Papa had the day to himself.

Tim drove to Baltimore to visit his brother. He ignored his FBI tail and the other car following, he assumed they were the ubiquitous 'suits'. When he reached Restful Haven, he sat in the truck for a minute. This place was low-key, no ambulances in and out, a simple parking lot with a fair number of vehicles, he hoped there were visitors as well as staff.

Inside, the lobby was designed to bring comfort and light. A sofa and chairs with tables and reading material, plenty of light, with a coffeemaker on a side table. That was nice, he supposed people might come to see someone; they could sit here and visit with any patient who was ambulatory. Nicer than sitting in a hospital room and a good break for the patient. The hospital provided long-term care but not all of the patients were comatose.

When he found Patrick's room, he blinked at the second bed, another comatose patient. He'd forgotten that little detail, although it didn't really matter. Looking at the corkboard covered wall on Pat's side of the room, he smiled. Photos, drawings, paintings, a schedule of who'd be here next with a big red asterisk next to tomorrow's date when Tim would bring the boys to see their father. He'd wanted his own time with him today.

Tim sat in the comfy chair next to Pat's bed. Leaning over, he kissed his brother, "Hey, Twick, it's Muth! It's good to see you, I like your new place. The boys and I are in town for a few days, I'll bring them tomorrow but I wanted to see you by myself first. Got lots to tell you."

Tim spent the next hour with his brother, telling him about their Christmas parties, taking the boys to the snow, how he and Rob taught them to ice skate, how big they were getting, everything about their lives in Cambridge. When he finished, he sat quietly, holding his brother's hand, just looking at him.

Sometimes he still couldn't believe his little brother was alive and now he watched him breathe. Strong, steady breaths, it was so cruel to watch him and think there might not ever be more than this. Tim stroked his thumb over Pat's hand. Finally, he decided he'd better go or he'd be stuck in commute traffic getting home. He kissed his brother again, told him he'd be back with the boys the next day and left. He didn't cry. But when he got to the shelter and Lu opened the backdoor, he bit his lip and she pulled him in, holding onto him as he cried for his brother. When he finally stopped, she poured him a cup of coffee and they spent a few minutes catching up. He already knew she and Dad had decided to stick with friendship but nodded when she told him.

"You're taking him with you, anyway, Timmy, it would have been a very short relationship. But oh, his smile, those eyes, that hair and those teeth!"

Tim laughed out loud at that, he'd never thought about his dad's teeth! Then Lu explained and he guessed that made sense.

From the shelter, he drove over to the camp where Nate welcomed him with a bear hug. "Welcome home, Timmo!" After they caught up, Tim glad to hear that Nate and Big John were healthy and Juanita no worse than ever, Nate helped him unload the truck, exclaiming over everything.

"You know we can always use more firewood! And ooh, yum, cookies, thank you, that's a treat. Did you and the boys make them?" When Tim nodded, Nate lightly punched his shoulder, "Good for you! And good for us, huh? Ooh, hot chocolate, mmm, oranges!"

Nate kept two of the blankets, one for Juanita, one for him, grinning when he pulled out a pair of wool socks in his size and tried on one of the hats with ear flaps. "Perfect!" He put everything else aside, he'd distribute them later.

Everyone there already had warm jackets but extra blankets were always needed, they usually went under the sleeping bags, providing insulation from the frozen ground underneath the thin layer of the tent floor. At least everyone had a tent to sleep in now. When Tim and his siblings lived there, many folks slept in lean-tos which might be as warm as a blanket or as cold as a sheet or even plastic drop cloths tied up but with one side open, under tarps, even in refrigerator sized cardboard boxes or a series of boxes torn down to make a bed of sorts.

After saying hello to Juanita and Big John, Tim left, after another hug from Nate. He was home in less time than he thought, having forgotten that schools here were also on winter break; a lot of parents took the week off and went to Florida or to the mountains for winter sports.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After a fun 10 days, they climbed into their train, waving goodbye to Grandpa and Granducky, who'd driven them here. The train ride was fun but uneventful and soon enough they were home again. Their next visit to Grandpa's would be over Easter in about 5 weeks.

Picking up their routine, the three McGees, the boys said that was easier than saying 'McGee-Hart', continued with school, teaching and day care. Tim wrote to the day care, called a nursery in the UK, that Kyle would be attending in Brambury, asking what he needed to do before their arrival in June. He was pleased with their reply that as Kyle would be considered a preschooler when he started with them, he should know certain things. They'd sent a list and Tim gleefully drew a line through every single one.

Of course, Kyle knew his 'ABC's! But in the U.S., they ended with the letter pronounced 'zee' and in the UK that same letter was pronounced 'zed'. He'd have to teach both boys about that and saying 'naught' or 'aught' instead of 'zero'. He'd also have to get used to the language changes, but wouldn't start yet, it was too soon. He'd wait until May and start then, for all three of them. He had a student from the UK, maybe he'd ask him what else had been different coming here.

When they had a couple of days of weather in the 30's, the family went out to play. They went ice skating and, taking the Porters with them, went sledding one day. They also continued to see the sights of Boston.

Now that the kids were experienced skaters and Kyle was a little older, Tim asked Tony if he'd like to join them on a train trip to New York City for a weekend. They'd train down Friday night, stay over and take the train home Sunday afternoon or evening. The "Lion King", one of the boys' favorite movies, was still on Broadway and Tim knew the kids would love it.

He was surprised and happy when Tony said yes although he wouldn't join them on the train. He also recommended a hotel and Tim made reservations for the four of them. To simplify his travel, Tony would fly in and out of New York, coordinating his arrival to meet the McGees as they arrived at Penn Station. With only the 2 nights away, the McGees could manage with one suitcase and the special daddy pack for Kyle to ride in style on his papa's back.

Tim was further surprised when Tony told him he'd purchased the tickets for the play, apparently one of his frat brothers knew someone who knew someone involved in the production. They would split costs 3:1 but Tim was happy to see the ticket prices were quite a bit lower than anticipated.

Finally, 'The Weekend' arrived. The boys had been told the previous weekend and had been anxious all week that nothing bad would happen before their fun time. For awhile it looked like Tony might have to join them on Saturday as Gibbs' team was tasked with a protection detail for Friday night, but Grandpa Boss did a little trading with his peers and O'Brien's team took the detail.

The McGees climbed aboard at Boston's Back Bay Station to start their 3-½ hour journey. The boys were excited to see different views although Tim didn't think it would be very scenic, especially once it got dark. They did get to see the ocean while they were traveling through Connecticut and those were great views. The boys looked at everything, whether it was ugly, bleak or someone's backyard. Once it was dark, they turned to other things. Kyle sat on Tim's lap while Greg read some of his little brother's favorite stories to him, a new thing for them.

Penn Station felt like a huge cavern full of trains, tracks and people and Tim was glad to see his brother as the train pulled in. Tony grinned, waved and they all waved back. Once they disembarked, he helped Tim get Kyle situated in the daddy pack and then the two men walked, each holding one of Greg's hands as Kyle looked around from his perch.

Tim smiled at his brother, "So glad you're here with us! How long have you been waiting?"

"Mmm, maybe 10 minutes. I went to the restroom, bought a coffee and wandered down here. Your train pulled in about 4 minutes later."

"Great timing, you've done this before?"

"Sure, I've been to Penn Station a few times."

Tim and the boys looked everywhere as their taxi took them to the hotel. The boys had never seen a doorman before and then were astounded by the plush lobby. Greg said it must be like a palace while Kyle just looked around with big eyes.

Tim and the boys had a suite with a bedroom where the boys would sleep and a pull-out couch in the outer room for their papa. Tony had a connecting room next door to them. The men thought that would be easier; once the boys were asleep, Tim could hang out in Tony's room, watch a movie and leave the door open so they'd hear the boys. Tim knew that no matter how much Tony loved the kids, he'd need his own space.

As they were all hungry, they soon headed back out to a little diner Tony remembered. It was great food and not as expensive as Tim had feared. Of course, it helped to be with someone who knew where the locals ate!

After eating, they walked around for a few minutes before returning to the hotel. Kyle had his bath, both boys had story time and cuddles and then Kyle went to bed while Greg would read for an hour. Both boys had already been back and forth between their rooms and Uncle Tony's and they knew the door would be open. Tim also had an old baby monitor he'd found at a thrift store. He'd reconfigured it so any alerts would appear on his watch.

The "Lion King" tickets were for the Saturday matinee at 2:00 PM. They'd start their day with a hop-on, hop-off bus, visiting the Empire State Building, the One World Observatory and Central Park where they'd all get some fresh air. They'd pick up lunch on the way back to the hotel, eat that and Kyle would have a short nap before the play.

They'd arranged for a late checkout on Sunday so they could take the ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty and then visit Rockefeller Center where they'd ice skate. If they didn't have time on Saturday to see the One World Observatory they might do that on Sunday, although it would likely mean skipping the ice skating. Although Kyle was full of energy, he wasn't yet 3 and still needed an afternoon nap. So the ice skating was a maybe. They also wanted to see the F.A.O. Schwarz flagship toy store, both Tony and Tim remembering Tom Hanks' character playing 'chopsticks' on the giant walking piano at the toy store in the movie "Big". When it was time to leave, the four of them would Uber or taxi back to Penn Station, where the McGees would say goodbye to Uncle Tony.

Tony wondered if the boys would have enough energy for all their plans. Tim had kept their itinerary fairly simple, knowing Kyle would need to rest. Later he laughed, the boys weren't the ones he should have wondered about. He was exhausted! The boys were good kids and Tim was wonderful with them, great at noticing impending fatigue or whininess and being proactive about it. However, as far as Tony had progressed in being comfortable around his nephews, he'd never been with them for two days straight. That was an eye-opener!

The bus tour was fun. The boys sat on their laps, Tony had a pack with extra sweaters, snacks, etc., while Tim wore Kyle's pack. When they hopped off at the Empire State Building and had Kyle safely secured in his Daddy perch, he looked up and giggled, "I'm almost as big as the building!"

It was a clear day and the four had fun looking from each vantage point, Tony pointing out the sights and Tim determinedly looking out, not down. Back on the bus, their next stop was the World Trade Center where they'd take the elevator up to the One World Observatory.

At least that was the plan. Tony hadn't mentioned it but he had some qualms about going in. He figured if Tim could handle it, he could too. However, when they got to the entrance to the World Trade Center, he had to stop, his mind replaying the horrors of 9/11. He looked at Tim, who'd stopped a few steps behind him, a haunted look on his face. Looking at each other, they took the boys' hands, turned around and left.

When they were back on the bus, they held the boys so close that Kyle whined a little. Tim gave him a kiss, "Sorry, kiddo, Uncle Tony and I need hugs. Several years ago, before Greg was born, there was a horrible thing that happened there. It was on TV as it happened, the whole world saw it and a lot of people died. Uncle Tony and I saw it too and we're still sad about it, not ready to go in the building yet."

Greg hugged both of them while Kyle responded with kisses and reassurances that it was all right now. They rode through Chinatown, admiring the sights and then hopped off at a deli Tony recognized. It was early for lunch but they were hungry. They ate at the deli, rather than the takeout they'd planned and then hopped on the bus and off again at Central Park. They visited the Conservatory Water and saw the Hans Christian Anderson statue but saw none of the miniature boats, it was a little too early in the year for them. From there they found their way to the 'Alice in Wonderland' statue and the boys had fun climbing all over it. Tony said he remembered climbing it when his parents brought him into the city. Their last stop in the park was at Belvedere Castle, a miniature castle with a spiral staircase. Climbing that led them to spectacular views of other parts of the park as well as the city skyline.

Back on the bus, they hopped off at F.A.O. Schwarz and had fun on the walking piano as well as looking and playing with all the toys. From there, they made their way back to their hotel where Greg read while Kyle, Papa and Uncle Tony took naps! Tim's watch woke them in plenty of time to get ready for the play. Kyle chortled gleefully when he found out everyone took a nap, even Greg, who'd fallen asleep reading.

They loved the play, it was wonderfully engaging and the boys (including Tim and Tony) sang along with the cast, and most of the audience, to their favorite tunes. The settings were wonderful and the actors believable in their roles. Tim had a portable, folding booster seat he'd brought for Kyle so the little guy could see the stage without having to sit on Papa or Uncle Tony's lap. At intermission, three people stopped to ask him where he'd purchased it. A special surprise from Tony was a trip backstage after the play where they met some of the actors, still in costume. Their programs were autographed and Kyle and Greg had hugs from Simba, meaning the actors who portrayed the young and the grown Simba on stage.

The boys were over the top excited and chattered about the play and their experiences all the way to the bistro Uncle Tony found for an early dinner. Kyle got to use his booster seat again and looked around at the other diners. "Papa, did all the people meet Simba like us?"

Tim shook his head, "Maybe a few, Kyle, but not all of them. We're very special, thanks to Uncle Tony!"

The boys grinned, giving Uncle Tony more hugs and kisses. Papa hugged him too and they all said, "Thank you for our special treat!"

It was still daylight and the boys had plenty of energy to burn off. Their adults decided to head for Rockefeller Center, which wasn't far from the theater and bistro. It was expensive to rent and skate but Tim figured this was a once in a lifetime thing, at least while the boys were this young. They stuck close to each other and had a wonderful time, Greg even trying a fancy step he watched someone else do. Kyle also did great; it was the two men who stumbled a few times but neither fell and within a few minutes were feeling more confident.

As the sky darkened into night, overhead lights came on and they 'ooh'd and ah'd as the ice sparkled. Plenty of photos were taken and Tony told Tim a professional photographer was probably taking photos of them as a group and the boys by themselves, maybe even of the 'big boys' stumbling along. After nearly 90 minutes, Tim gathered his boys and brother, it was time for a hot chocolate and then a return to their hotel. He reminded the boys that tomorrow they'd get to go on a boat _and_ a train!

While they drank their hot chocolates, they looked at the photos taken of them and bought most of them. Tony was right, there was one of each of the men in a stumble but to be fair, the photographer had also caught each of them later as they skated more gracefully around the rink. And there were several of the boys. Greg doing the fancy step, Kyle laughing as he skated around his papa and uncle. The boys skating together and with Tim and then with Tony. They had physical copies of the photos and also downloaded a few to send to Grandpa, Granducky, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob.

Back at the hotel, Tim wanted to buy a few postcards and souvenirs, and Tony watched the boys while their dad hurried out to a shop he'd seen a few doors down from the hotel. He found a cute bib for Victoria and a couple of little things for the boys' teachers to give them on the last day of school. And t-shirts for the kids, him, Dad and Rob. He bought one for Tony too, although he didn't think he'd wear it. Maybe at the gym.

Tony blinked in surprise when Tim entered the hotel room 15 minutes later with a bag full of souvenirs. "How'd you do that?"

"In the last few months, I've learned to be a quick shopper."

Tony snorted, "I remember when you'd shop online, compare everything and then agonize over a decision."

Tim grinned, "Kids change your life in many ways, my brother!"

On Sunday, they caught the ferry to Liberty Island, the boys amazed at the huge statue of Lady Liberty they could see even before the boat docked at the island. When they bought their tickets, they also asked for 'pedestal' tickets. As the top of the pedestal was close to half the size of the entire thing, they'd be able to see amazing views. The additional tickets, while not costing them any extra, would also allow them entrance to the Liberty Island Museum.

They had a wonderful time, all four of them in awe of the Statue. Tim was especially happy, he'd wanted to see the Statue of Liberty since he was Kyle's age, it was one of the memories he'd retained after the hit and run. He hoped he could bring the boys back someday, when the weather was a little warmer and they were a little older.

Back at the hotel, they gathered their suitcase, Kyle's pack, Tony's bag and all their jackets, before calling for a pick up and were at Penn Station in minutes. Tony kissed them all goodbye, "See you in 2 weeks for the Bunny thing!"

"Give Dad a hug from us, ok?"

"Will do."

The McGees climbed on the train, waving sadly to Uncle Tony. Tim laughed at the boys, "Guys, we'll see him at Grandpa's in 2 weeks! That's 14 days including today."

Greg smiled, "When we get home, we can cross today off the calendar!"

Kyle was all in favor of that.

Riding on the train after dark made the time seem to pass faster. Both boys fell asleep and feeling like a nap, Tim set his watch alarm to make sure they woke before they reached their stop.

Back home, they had a late dinner followed quickly by their nightly routine. It was fun to be away and see new things but coming home felt really good.

While the boys felt the next two weeks were very slow, Tim thought they flew by. He was starting to sort things for their move to the UK. Toys, for instance, needed to be sorted into 'must take' and 'donate'. With Kyle's birthday coming up in May, more toys would arrive, although he certainly didn't need any. Still, attaining three years was a big change from two years, no longer a baby or even a toddler. Three would be the start of his preschool years. Tim felt they could donate just about all his toys, hanging onto the classics – his trains and train gear, Winnie the Pooh and friends, all the A.A. Milne books.

He also knew persuading Kyle to part with his toys wouldn't be easy and he didn't want to traumatize his little one. After all, it was less than a year since the boys lost their home, living as a homeless family in a shelter until the worst thing happened, losing their mother. And even though they were safe with him, they'd already had to move twice! That was too much. Maybe they'd take everything with them and he'd let the boys decide when it was time to let some things go.

While he pondered that, he sorted through his own belongings, setting aside clothing, shoes, old electronics he'd already cleaned off and a few books to donate.

When April 2nd, a Thursday, finally arrived, the family packed for a week's stay with Grandpa, remembering it would be warmer in Alexandria than it was in Cambridge. They wore their jackets on the plane though, evenings were still chilly.

The flight was uneventful, the boys were used to flying now, and they all grinned and waved when they spotted Grandpa waiting for them. After hugging and kissing each of his boys, Grandpa led the way to the Challenger. This time, Tim hadn't brought the safety seats as Grandpa purchased his own set. That made traveling here a lot easier and with the short flight, Kyle didn't mind if he wasn't 'big'. He and Greg took turns sitting on their papa's lap to look out.

Once at Grandpa's house, the boys ran up the stairs to their room before coming back down to help carry things. That was Greg's doing and Tim tousled his hair, "You're a good soul, Gregory, thanks for being so thoughtful." The tips of Greg's ears turned red, he smiled at Papa and walked back upstairs with some of his belongings.

Behind him, Tim heard a chuckle and turned as his father pulled him in for a hug, "So good to see you, Timmo! It's been too long. I was thinking that Greg may not look like you, but he's sure got your personality!"

Tim's whole face lit up, "Really?"

"Oh yeah, bright, bookworm, great big brother, thoughtful, mostly quiet, loves adventure and learning new things. And his ears blush, that's all you, kiddo!"

"Thanks, Dad! Of course, we never met Kathy, don't know what she was like."

"I figure Kyle is a solid combination of Kathy and Patrick. He's go, go, go, until he drops. He's boisterous without being bratty or overwhelming. And as bright as Greg. He worships the ground you and Greg walk on, that's probably what's gotten him through everything this past year. He lost his mama but his big brother was there and then there you were to love and take care of them."

Tim had a strange look on his face and his father sat next to him, "Are you wishing you'd had a Tim when you lost everything?"

Tim nodded and then sighed. "If I could, I'd give every foster or abandoned child a permanent home. But I can't do it alone. This is hard enough and I have all of you to help."

"Only when we visit, but I know the Porters have been a big help, with both sets of your kids. And you're right, I see how difficult it is. There's no way you could have remained in the field with 2 young children depending on you. Even if you were married, you'd be away a lot, home too late to see the kids before their bedtime. It was hard for Shannie, but then when I was home, I had weeks, sometimes months off. Field agents don't have that unless they're recovering from an injury."

"Yeah, as much as all the crap with NCIS hurt, still does, I'm grateful the teaching gigs came along. Have regular hours and don't have to worry about being hurt or killed every time I walk out the door," He huffed, "not as long as we have our protection details. That reminds me, when is your retirement effective?"

"May 31st. I've spoken with Joel Morris, the Supervising Senior Agent in Charge in London, and he'd like me to start consulting as soon as we're settled in. Maybe after your second week of school, we should have a routine going by then."

"Great! Then let's plan our first weekend outing for the end of our first month. Any place you want to especially see?"

"Huh, I hadn't really thought about it. You know, I'd like to go to Scotland, is that too far for a weekend?"

"Mm, I'm not sure. I know there's an express train that runs once a day, don't know how hard it is to get tickets. Any place in particular in Scotland? I've always wanted to go to Edinburgh to see the University – you know, where Ducky started out."

"Sounds good. There are a couple of castles there too, one's got a bloody history."

Tim chuckled, "I imagine they all do! The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the one you're probably thinking of, I believe there was a murder there – or a rumor of a murder. It's also the official residence of Queen Elizabeth. That'd be fun for all of us. The other one is Edinburgh Castle, there's a road called the Royal Mile that connects the two. We can get tickets ahead of time. Any place besides Scotland?"

"Stonehenge, of course. I know you'll want to go there and I want to see it for myself. Also, the city nearby, Salisbury. There's a famous cathedral there, I read a book years ago about the building of it, the individuals who built it. It was pretty cool, author did a lot of research."

"You know, that sounds like a better first exploration. Maybe stay overnight in Salisbury, see the Stones and the cathedral, explore to our hearts content. I don't think it's a long trek from London and with any luck we can take a train there and back."

"I like that. For a longer trip, I'd like to go to Germany. My dad was in Berlin for a week after VE day, took pictures. Like to see what it looks like now."

"Also interesting and I've heard great things about Berlin, plus we can see Checkpoint Charlie and part of the old wall. Don't know if you knew this, but Disney has a theme park outside Paris, I'd like to take the kids there. I think a weekend would be enough. Drive there on a Friday night or early Saturday morning, stay over near the park, drive back Sunday. I'll see what the reviews say about the traffic and tourists. Might want to wait until everyone goes back to school for that one."

"From what your sister says, we'll want to go someplace warm during the winter."

"Southern Italy maybe? Rome?"

"Not a weekend trip!"

"Nope. I think once we get there, we'll hear about all sorts of places to go. I could easily spend two years exploring the UK, Wales, Scotland, all the places in England I've heard about. The Roman baths in Bath. The thatched roofs of Cotswold, the Lake District. And London itself! I've always heard there's a great flea market, we should go sometime. You could build things and sell them there."

His father started laughing and that got Tim going too. The two of them laughed themselves silly, leaning into each other. When they finally stopped, they admitted neither one of them knew what he was laughing about. But then Dad said, "Thatched roofs and me selling my wares at the market. You stepped back a couple of centuries!"

"Ah, guess I did. We'll figure it out. It's an island full of history and mysteries."

At that, they called it a night. Tim slept late the next morning, close to panicking when he woke at 0900 and there were no boys climbing on him. He listened but the house was quiet. Downstairs he found a note, "Duck and I are taking the kids for the morning. Not sure where we're going, he's got something planned. We'll be home after lunch. Go have some fun!"

Tim smiled and then had a second cup of coffee. What he really felt like was staying home and relaxing. Maybe catch up on some writing. He had an outline for a new story but hadn't gone further than that.

Or maybe he'd…what? His friends were at work and he knew Freddie, Jose and Bill had made a supply run to the camp two weeks ago. He'd probably see them when he took the kids on Saturday to see Patrick, maybe have lunch with them afterwards. That was always fun! While he was thinking about it, he sent a group text, inviting them to lunch on Saturday at the diner in Silver Spring.

Now that was something he'd like, breakfast at Elaine's. Although it wouldn't be any fun by himself. He didn't feel like contacting Carly, he thought it was time for both of them to move on. Finally, he made himself pancakes and bacon, more coffee and ate every delicious bite. Then he went back to bed for a nap. He hadn't realized how tired he was. He'd slept, showered, dressed and was just putting on shoes when he heard the front door open, the boys calling for him.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Easter Sunday was a warm day. Before church, the boys were encouraged to look around the house for their Easter baskets, which Tim had filled with fruit, a little toy and a bit of candy.

Later, they had a light lunch as the extended family was gathering for an early dinner. Before Kyle had his nap, Uncle Rob, Aunt Abby and Uncle Tony arrived to "help" the boys find Easter eggs in the backyard. Instead of the traditional colored, hard boiled eggs, Tim hid brightly colored plastic eggs with jelly beans inside. They had a good time looking while the others clowned around.

Dad grilled chicken for their dinner and everyone brought side dishes. Tim thought it was even more fun because he and the kids met Bill, Freddie, Barry and Jose for lunch the day before, so they were all caught up. Ellie was there, but not her husband Jake, apparently they were separated. When he heard that the man cheated on her, Tim was proud of her for leaving. She deserved the best, not a cheater!

As always, the days at home passed too quickly. Tim found it easier to ignore both the suits and their FBI protection detail this trip. He guessed he was used to both, which wasn't good. He did get to Elaine's one day with his dad, who'd taken a few days off and while Granducky had the boys for a few hours. When they walked into the diner, Tim grinned as he saw Rick Carter, Jim O'Brien and Tony! That was a surprise, especially on a day when Gibbs was off.

After Elaine gave him a hug, Rick and Jim did the same while Tony grinned at him. "Boss took us off rotation for the week, doing paperwork. And I'm celebrating!"

Tim looked at him, looked at Dad, who was beaming with pride and then back at his brother, "Yeah? Now just what would you be celebrating, very Special Agent DiNozzo?"

"I got the team! Craig offered it to me last night and sent out the notice this morning. As of June 1st, I'm the Supervising Senior Agent for the MCRT aboard the Navy Yard!"

Tim's grin threatened to split his face as he hugged his brother, friend and former co-worker. "I'm so proud of you, so happy for you! You've worked hard, you earned it! You're gonna be great, Tony, I bet you beat Dad's record!"

"Hey!" Dad tried to look indignant but was too proud of Tony to make it work.

The others laughed and Tony said, "It'll take me a few years to work up to that, still missing one team member, now we'll need two. And that's your record too, you know. We'll see."

That was a fun lunch! Another day, Dad took the kids somewhere and Tim met Abby, Jimmy, Ellie and Tony for lunch. That was also fun as he caught up on Victoria's latest accomplishments and all the agency gossip. Ellie had finally found a new apartment and was excited about getting her belongings out of storage and into her new place. She'd been staying with a friend for several weeks, apartment hunting when she had time.

Knowing this was their last visit before the move overseas made everything seem more important and saying goodbye more difficult. While Tim knew that Tony, Granducky, Abby and Fornell would visit them in Brambury, he wouldn't see the Palmers, Barry, Bill, Lu, Freddie, Jose or Ellie in person until the McGees and Gibbs returned for a visit next Christmas.

The boys were quiet as they flew home. When they reached the house, their papa asked them why and Greg said, "We're leaving pretty soon, we won't get to see everyone at Grandpa's house for a long time."

"Grandpa, Uncle Rob and Aunt Sarah will be with us. Uncle Tony, Granducky and Uncle Tobias will visit us during the summer and Aunt Abby is also planning to come see us. You're right, it won't be the same and we'll miss our friends but we can talk with them on Skype and write them letters, send them postcards, make drawings for them. I understand, it's hard to leave people. I've had to leave Ms. Lu and the Baltimore uncles three times now. When we first moved to MIT for my college, when we moved last fall and now. But we're still friends, we're always glad to see each other and you know what? When we do get together it's just like we've never been apart."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. It won't be that way with everyone but with people you really love and treasure and who feel the same about you, it will be."

Greg smiled, hugging his papa. When Papa asked Kyle if he was all right, he nodded. "I miss Grandpa's house. I like our bunk beds and our room. I like it here too but at Grandpa's, it's ours, for keeps."

Tim sat on the couch and pulled both boys to him. "It's hard, not being in the same place all the time. You lost your home last year and went to the shelter. Then you came to me and we stayed with Grandpa for a few days but then we had to move to my apartment. We did okay there, even if we were a little squished, but it was ours. Then we moved away for a month, only it turned out to be longer and now we're moving again, this time for 2 years. I'm sorry we've had to move so much. When I brought you home to live with me, my plan was to stay with Grandpa until we found a house for us to live in. Then the bad stuff happened with NCIS and we had to leave Grandpa and I had to find a new job. I hope after our 2 years in Brambury, we'll be able to go someplace and stay there for years and years."

"Our forever home?"

"Yes, something like that. Why don't we talk about all the things we want to do in England while we're there?"

"I want to see where Robin Hood lived."

"Sherwood Forest, all right, let's find out where that is in England."

Kyle thought for a moment before saying, "I want to go to a beach."

"That sounds good too! And you know, Brambury has trains going through, we can go many places."

"Yay!" With that, Greg helped get the luggage upstairs and they settled in to what would be their home for another few weeks.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Normally Tim worked in his office until it was time to pick up the boys, but with their move coming up in a matter of weeks, he had several things to handle. Along with sorting and packing, he had a project he'd meant to start after Dad's January visit but for one reason or another, hadn't gotten around to it.

That project was having professional copies made of Kathy Hart's photos. When Patrick was moved to the long-term care facility, Rob and Dad took down the photos and Tim had them all. Although the photos looked professional, there were no watermarks, no name of any photography studio or individual photographer on them.

Wondering if Kathy or a friend took them, Tim decided to try his luck at a local photography studio in downtown Cambridge, hoping they'd make copies for him. It was a sunny but not quite warm afternoon and as usual, Cambridge Center was crowded. Tim parked a few blocks away from the studio, thinking he'd at least get some fresh air and a little exercise. Spotting one of his protection detail and relieved that after 7 months he hadn't lost all his investigative skills, he slipped the manila envelope with the photos into an interior pocket of his jacket, zipping the pocket closed. After checking his phone and his perimeter, he set out on his walk.

He'd just turned a corner when he sensed someone near, too near. Pressing a button on his phone, he swiveled, ready to respond to whatever happened next. He was attacked from the right side, good, that left his dominant left hand, arm and leg available, giving him the advantage. As he battled with his attacker, he felt a hand in his jacket pocket. Using his leg, he swept the 2nd attacker, or pickpocket, off his feet. He was making good headway against both men when two additional men pressed in. He again used his feet and sent one flying, he thought that one was unconscious. The other one made a noise as Tim got him in the right place and incapacitated him. That was when he saw a knife coming at him and managed to move a fraction of an inch, hoping to minimize his injuries. Reaching into his pocket for his phone, he pressed another button. The knife hit home as the phone was grabbed out of his hand, someone yelled and a cannon was fired. He heard loud voices but he was losing consciousness too quickly to react.

Then he was on his back and he thought he was moving. Someone called his name and he managed to open his eyes to find something over his mouth and a man leaning over him. He tried to roll away from him but he couldn't move, something was restraining him. His name was called again and he looked at the man. Frowning, he waited and the man said, "I'm an EMT, blink once if you can understand me, don't try to talk."

Tim blinked, now he understood. He was in an ambulance. He frowned; he needed to make sure the boys were safe and warn this guy about the phone. And where was his protection detail? He'd seen them when he parked, why hadn't they stopped the attack? And who fired the cannon?

When another voice spoke, he grimaced as he tried to move his head to see who it was. The voice spoke again, "Sorry, Professor, I'm FBI. I'm on the other side of you, please don't move your head, neck or shoulders. The boys are safe, another detail picked both of them up and they're with the Porters, along with a team. A friend is notifying your father and brother, they'll be here soon."

Remembering that some of the FBI agents could read ASL, Tim hoped this was one of them. He could move his hands enough to sign the information about the phone but the agent shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm not one of the agents who reads ASL." The EMT spoke up, "I do. He said something about his phone. Professor, will you repeat that please?"

"Part of phone grabbed, decoy. Will explode if accessed. Not kill or maim, minor shrapnel and blood. Bad if happens around others. Guy who took phone is 'Mr. Green'." He paused as the EMT interpreted his messages. He heard a harsh noise when the EMT said the name Mr. Green.

"Four of them."

"He says there were four of them."

"Disabled two, never saw the other one clearly, don't know features."

Tim heard the EMT repeat that as he fought to stay awake. He was terrified the boys' protection detail also had a mole or moles. The last thing he heard was the agent telling him that his SSA was with the boys and that he personally knew the detail.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Gibbs had just returned to the bullpen with fresh coffee for everyone when he felt the first twist in his gut. Handing out the coffee to the team, he sat at his desk, his focus inward. Tony turned to thank him for the coffee and froze at the look on Gibbs' face. Ellie caught his motion, looked up at Tony and then followed his gaze to Gibbs.

Tony stood up. "It's not any of us. Tim, Rob or Sarah?"

Gibbs' throat was so dry he didn't think he had enough saliva to speak but managed to say, "Tim."

"Give us your keys, Ellie will get your go bag and I'll call Tobias."

"No. Yes, my go bag." He passed his keys to his older son.

"I'll call him and then we'll book the earliest flight."

Gibbs started to nod when his phone rang. Tony gave the keys to Ellie and remained standing by Gibbs' desk as Boss answered the call. "Tobias?"

"Jethro, Tim and the kids are all right. Is DiNozzo there? Put me on speaker."

Gibbs looked at his phone, "Speaker."

Tony reached over and hit the button. "You're on, Fornell."

"He's all right, he was wearing a vest, a new one that's like a turtleneck. He took a knife but he's all right, he's been conscious in the ambulance. And the boys are with the Porters with a protection detail."

"They catch the guy?"

"Guys, four of them. He fought them off, knocked one guy out, kicked the other one in the nuts, we have both of them. His detail was distracted by a bomb threat, but they got to him as he lost consciousness. Dirt bags got his phone but he told the agent in the 'bus that it was only part of the phone. I don't understand."

Tony nodded, "I do. He has a new stealth phone and it's built so the owner can separate the inner workings. Then if it's stolen, the thief gets nothing, a built-in decoy. The other thing is, he bought an extra feature built into the decoy. If the thief tries to use the phone, it'll explode."

"Oh, that explains what else he tried to tell the agent, who doesn't read sign. The EMT was interpreting Tim's signage. Jethro, grab your go bag. Car's on its way for you, one is on its way to Johns Hopkins for Rob, we're flying you two to Cambridge. DiNozzo, I assumed you'd need to stay to lead the team."

"Right. I'll be there in spirit."

"Be available, though, huh? Got some tough decisions ahead."

"Will do. Thanks."

Gibbs had his eyes closed and Tony carefully placed his hand on his shoulder. "He had a vest on."

"Yeah. I'll call you when we can get in to see him."

"All right, as soon as you leave, I'll let the others know."

Ellie walked back into the bullpen, handing Gibbs his go bag as he stood. "Thank you, Ellie. Fornell called, Tim's injured but he'll be all right and the boys are safe. Rob and I are flying up there." He paused, "Hang onto my keys, Tony, will you? Don't know how long we'll be there."

"We'll watch your house, too."

"No! The FBI will do that, let them. I don't want to risk either of you or…our TAD." They'd had many TADs since Tim left, the current one had been there nearly 2 weeks, a record.

"You be careful, watch your perimeters. Tell Abby and Jimmy to do the same…I'll ask for details for them, too. Geez, Breena and the baby…"

DiNozzo took his go bag, "We'll take care of everyone, Boss. Don't want you to worry."

Gibbs looked at him, "But I do, Tony." He wanted to hug his older son but knew that wouldn't go over well in the middle of the squad room. He settled for patting his face. "You know."

"I do know and so does Tim."

Gibbs' desk phone rang and he picked it up, listened, said, "Be right down" and hung up. "Car's here."

Ellie grabbed his jacket. "Better put this on."

"Thanks."

She looked at her boss, wanting to hug him but knew Abby was the only one who could get away with hugging anyone. He patted her arm, "Thanks, Eleanor."

DiNozzo went downstairs with him and was relieved to see Fornell in the car. He watched as they drove off, wondering what would come next. It was inconceivable that this had gone on so long – or was this something unrelated? He shook his head, no, this was not a coincidence.

When Gibbs got in the SUV, Fornell said, "Rob's meeting us at Andrews. You and I are taking a helo from Anacostia Bolling to Andrews to avoid the traffic. We're taking the FBI jet from there."

"Good. Where does that put us in Boston?"

Fornell told him, adding, "Tim's at Cambridge Hospital with Dr. Jarsdel as one of his physicians. They have a helipad, so we'll helo in from the airfield."

"You have an update?" The question wasn't necessary. By adding Dr. 'Jarsdel', Fornell had just told Gibbs that Tim's condition wasn't bad but was being made to sound worse.

"Nothing in the last 30 minutes."

"What happens next? This is an escalation!"

"Yes, I know. As I said, we have some tough decisions to make."

"You mean Tim does."

"You and Rob have a part in that."

"But they're not after us, whoever 'they' is. Tim and the boys are the ones in danger and no one will tell us who or why."

Fornell sighed, "I know. I wish this was over, for all of you, for the whole family. You know, I was thinking, Jethro. We should have taken them fishing with Destry when they were down for Easter."

Gibbs' shoulders relaxed a fraction. "Yeah, would have been a nice break for them, Tobias."

No regrets there, they had taken Tim and the boys fishing to one of their favorite spots on the Potomac. Tobias had now informed him, with the inclusion of the name 'Destry' that he had more information that he could not give him in front of anyone else, probably including Rob.

They rolled into Anacostia-Bolling and quickly climbed onto a waiting helo. Within minutes, they were landing at Andrews, where they met Rob and Ron Sacks. Gibbs was pleased that the Bureau had made sure Rob would be protected by someone he knew. He shook Ron's hand and then pulled Rob into his arms, whispering to him that Tim was okay, they were playing it up for appearances sake. Rob leaned down, burying his head in his father's shoulder, saying, "How much more of this?"

"Don't know, Robbie."

The four of them climbed on the FBI jet and were soon in the air on their way to Boston. During the journey, Fornell had a call confirming that Patrick was safe, his condition unchanged, he'd not had any visitors today. A detail was on site and would remain until further notice.

After the jet landed in Boston, they boarded another helo. Father and son sighed in relief when they landed at the hospital.

Inside, they were ushered to Tim's private room where the agent in the room gave them an update. "He's been agitated, worried about his sons, you two and your other son, Agent Gibbs."

Tim had been dozing but when he heard familiar and much beloved voices rumbling, he opened his eyes, croaking, "Dad? Rob?"

"We're here, Tim."

Remembering he wasn't supposed to talk much, Tim used his hands to sign, "Did they tell you about the mole in the FBI?"

Gibbs's face went blank while Rob was confused. The only moles he knew about were growths on individuals and of course the animals. He decided to listen, hoping he'd learn how an entire organization could have a mole.

Tobias joined them and after greeting Tim, confirmed the children were with the Porters and a protection detail who had been vetted a second time by the lead agent. Fornell also explained the agent who'd attacked Tim was part of the mysterious suits and the one Kyle had nicknamed 'Mr. Green' because of his green ties.

Rob remembered Tim telling him he'd taken the kids to meet the FBI agents who were guarding them. Knowing their local teams wouldn't be the only ones on the protection detail, the lead agent worked with Tim to determine the best way for the boys – and Tim – to identify the good guys. It was Kyle's mention of 'Mr. Green' that made one specific 'suit' known to them. Now he understood what Dad and Tim meant by a 'mole', Mr. Green was a bad guy, a mole, a spy, in the FBI.

Now they could be told what had happened. They believed the attacker with the knife had been aiming for Tim's jugular but finding it protected by a vest, he'd moved his hand just as Tim also managed to move. The knife went in at the top of the vest and with Tim's move, the tip penetrated the side of his neck a half inch, tearing skin and muscle, but missing vital blood vessels. The cut was close, fractions of fractions too close to vital tissue. But they were not penetrated.

While the wound was painful, bloody and traumatic enough to cause a brief unconsciousness, the medical team determined there was no life threatening or life altering damage. The FBI, hoping to buy some time while they flushed out the dirt bags, decided to make it sound worse. BOLOs had been issued for 'Mr. Green' and his accomplice, whose image had been caught on a traffic camera. The two men Tim fought off were in custody but were not talking, nor had their names been discovered.

Now that his father and brother were here, Tim consented to the rest of the treatment he needed. He'd already had a scan, now the medical staff would numb him up, clean the wound, suture the torn muscle with absorbable sutures and then glue or suture the skin. The procedure would take less than an hour.

Before he was taken for treatment, Tim, again using ASL, asked his father to go to the boys, knowing they were likely terrified. Gibbs agreed and after kissing both sons, took his go bag and disappeared with Fornell and another agent. On the way to the Porters, he sent a text to Tony.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Gibbs and his protectors entered the Porters' home, his terrified grandbabies ran to him. He picked both of them up, kissed them and then sat on a couch, still holding them and saying, "He's all right. Your papa is all right. They're stitching him up now, he'll have a bandage for a few days."

Greg and Kyle were sobbing too loudly to hear him and he held on, rocking them in his arms, murmuring comforting sounds. When they'd calmed a little, he repeated what he'd said about Tim and kissed each of them again. "He'll be fine."

"Why did they hurt him? Who did it?"

"We don't know why or who yet. But we will, Greg."

Kyle snuffled, "I gonna kick da bad guy and bite him. I hate him. He hurted our papa."

"I know, sweetie, I know."

Greg pulled back to look at his grandfather, "Are you going to stay with us? Who's with Papa?"

"Yes, I am going to stay with you. Your uncle Rob is with Papa."

"Oh good, he's a doctor, he can help."

"That's right."

"Are we going home?"

"I don't know, son. I don't think so."

He looked up as the lead agent approached him, "Agent Gibbs, Gregory, Kyle, excuse me."

They nodded at him and he squatted on his heels in front of the couch. "We have what we call a 'safe house' for you to stay in tonight with your grandfather and the Porters. If your papa is released from the hospital this afternoon, he'll stay with you too."

"How long until we can go home?"

"We're not sure yet, Greg. That's something I'll know better by tomorrow morning."

"Can I go to school tomorrow?"

"No, kiddo. Not until we catch the bad guys who hurt your papa." The Porters had suggested the agents refer to Tim as 'Papa' to avoid any possible confusion with the boys' comatose father in Maryland.

The agent continued, "Your teacher, Mr. Cooper, gave us your workbooks and some assignments for you to do."

Greg nodded, burrowing into his grandpa again. He heard the agent talking with his grandpa but he just wanted to see Papa and to feel safe again. He took Kyle's hand and squeezed, his little brother was scared and wanted Papa and their mama. Gibbs swallowed hard, hearing his littlest grandbaby sob brokenheartedly for his dead mama and his hurt papa.

The agent told Gibbs he'd sent agents he knew personally to the house to pack overnight bags for the boys and Tim. There was room at the safe house for all of them. He added that in the FBI, knowledge of safe houses was kept within a specific office, so the 'mole', aka Mr. Green, would not know the location. They were interviewing all the 'loaner' agents but so far no one knew how Mr. Green had joined them, where he'd come from or who he was. The office manager had put out the initial call for additional agents and was now reviewing his replies and notes for any clues.

As soon as it was full dark, the Porters, Gibbs and the boys climbed into a dark colored van without windows and were driven to the safe house. Once they were inside, with their inside protection details, they worked to get the boys settled. Larry found hot chocolate mix in the kitchen and made some for the boys while Cyndi made coffee, remembering that Gibbs liked his extra strong. She made a pot of extra strength for him, poured it into a carafe she found and then made a pot of regular strength for her and Larry.

Fifteen minutes later, one of the inside agents was given new information and he smiled, turning to the boys, who were huddled on Gibbs' lap. "Your papa and uncle will be here in 20 minutes."

The boys and Gibbs cheered. Then they went to make sure Papa's bed was ready. There were 3 bedrooms, each with multiple beds, and 2 bathrooms in this house. The Porters took one bedroom, Tim and Dr. Rob would share the second room and Gibbs would share the third one with the boys.

Kyle and Greg nearly danced with impatience when they heard a vehicle pull up outside and then had to wait for Papa and Uncle Rob to come in. Papa was moving a little slowly, he'd had another pain pill before leaving the hospital and he leaned into Rob as he walked. His face lit up when he saw the boys and held his arms open. Rob quickly threw his arm around his waist to support him and Gibbs watched the boys carefully, he'd warned them to be careful. Kyle followed Greg's lead as older brother carefully folded himself into his papa's arms. Rob and Gibbs guided the trio to the couch but Tim stopped in front of it, making a face in lieu of shaking his head and speaking softly, "When I sit, I won't get up until morning. Can you please steer us to wherever we're sleeping?"

They did that, taking them to Tim and Rob's room and helping Tim change to pajamas. "Hey, someone packed clothes, thanks!"

"Wasn't any of us, our agents did it."

"Great."

Once he was lying down, his head, neck and shoulders propped up on pillows, the boys cuddled with him for a few minutes before Grandpa said it was time for their baths. After kissing their papa, they left with Grandpa while Rob checked Tim's bandages. They were intact with no blood. Kissing Tim's forehead, Rob grabbed his go bag as he wasn't ready to sleep yet.

The boys had stories and more cuddles before they settled into bed. Greg was happy to see the book he'd been reading with his clothes and had permission to read for an hour, as it was Kyle's bedtime, not his. Before Greg went to sleep that night, he padded quietly down the hall and peeked into his father's room, watching him breathe as he slept. Greg was a little worried about that, his first dad breathed too but didn't ever wake up. When Papa opened his eyes, smiled and held out an arm, Greg went to him. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I'll go right back to sleep, promise! I'm not hurt like your dad was, Greg. I'll wake up in the morning, like I did just now."

"Ok. I love you, Papa."

"I love you too, son. Let me give you a kiss before you go and then give one to Kyle from me, all right?"

Greg nodded as he was kissed twice, one for him, one for Kyle. Then he scuttled back to his room, kissing his baby brother and whispering to him. "That's from Papa. I wanted to make sure he'd wake up and he did. He sent a kiss for you."

Kyle smiled in his sleep and murmured something. Greg hugged him before climbing into bed. He woke up twice, when Uncle Rob came in and kissed them both and then when Grandpa came in to go to bed. He didn't mind waking up, he was happy to see both of them.

After breakfast the next morning, the boys went downstairs to a finished basement to play, happy to find some of their toys down there. The Porters, Uncle Rob and an agent went with them while Papa and Grandpa met with the local SSA, Gibbs' counterpart in the FBI. The agent, whose name was McCaughey, had questions and news for them.

"Professor, where were you going when you were attacked?" He added, "I know you told the agent in the ambulance with you, but I'd still like to hear it again."

Tim raised an eyebrow, "Couldn't talk much, had to sign and he couldn't read sign but the EMT could. But then I had be more careful."

"I understand."

"I was on my way to Phelps' Photography Studio. Kathy Hart, my brother's wife, the boys' mother and the woman whose death seemingly kicked all this off, had professional grade photos on the walls of my brother's hospital room. They are family photos and I wanted the boys to have their own copies but I wanted professional grade for them too.

"When my brother was moved from his room at Bethesda to his new room at Restful Haven, the long-term care facility, all the photos and the kids' drawings were taken down and Rob gave my dad the ones I'm talking about. Dad gave them to me them months ago. There are no watermarks or names of studios or photographers on the back; I think Kathy must have done them herself or had a photographer friend take them.

"Yesterday, I finally had a few minutes to take them in. I had to park a few blocks away. The photos are in a manila envelope and before I got out of the car, I tucked them in an inside zippered pocket of my coat." He looked anxiously at the agent, "They should be with my personal effects."

All the color drained from his face. "It's the photos, it has to be. This all started after I discovered Commander Hart is my brother and began visiting him. And now the attack…there's something in them, on them, they knew they'd be removed from Bethesda but…Agent McCaughey, get them to your lab, now and then lock it down!"

Dad hurried to the bedroom, returning with the bag of Tim's personal effects. Using a glove, he pulled the 9X12 manila envelope out of the bag. McCaughey had also snapped a glove on and took the envelope, placing it in an evidence bag, writing on the label. He called for a rush delivery, staring at Gibbs when he suddenly said, "Don't send that to DC. They'll expect you to send it to the lab at Hoover. Get it done here."

"Makes sense, Agent Gibbs. Professor…"

"If you can salvage them, great, if not, we'll deal with it."

"We can at least make paper copies before…"

"If it's possible but don't risk anyone's life. And for God's sake, don't tell us what's on them."

Once the photos had been picked up by other members of McCaughey's team, they breathed easier although Tim thought he wouldn't relax until they were safely locked up in someone's very secure lab.

Rob was summoned from the basement, Gibbs made coffee for the group and they sat drinking it for a few minutes before McCaughey cleared his throat.

"Dr. McGee, Professor, I'll have each of you sign a non-disclosure agreement; you need to know what's going on." Rob nodded, Dad had explained that to him. Tim wanted to cry, that wouldn't be necessary if he was still a federal agent.

McCaughey continued, "We don't know if getting rid of those items makes you safe. We believe your theory, Professor, that the danger comes from an American black ops, off-the-books agency. It's not the CIA. As enthusiastic as they are sometimes, we've cleared them but as yet don't know who this is. Our director has taken it to his boss, the U.S. Attorney General. I have to tell you, I'm not feeling you're off the hook. Until we know who this is or until this mystery entity announces a cease-fire, truce or whatever you want to call it, you and your sons remain in danger. Yesterday and this morning, Fornell, Sacks and two additional agents they trust interviewed other family members."

He smiled, "Fornell made a list and checked with your Agent DiNozzo, who confirmed the names and added a few. No one interviewed has noticed anyone watching them and each reported that either the Professor or Agent Gibbs had warned them to be aware of his or her surroundings. A Ms. Sciuto said she'd promised Agent DiNozzo to stay away from her favorite clubs until this is over. We've assigned a protection detail for Dr. Palmer's wife and baby daughter and we have someone undercover at the shelter and the camp, although Ms. Morgan and uh…Nate, know who they are."

Gibbs nodded in satisfaction while Tim sighed, saying, "Thank you, Agent McCaughey, I'm grateful for and impressed with everything you've done. But how long can you keep this up or do you think the need will disappear when we leave for the UK?"

"Given that this started when you came into proximity of your brother, that's our belief. We've consulted with MI-5 and London Metro PD in the UK and they're prepared to offer protection if necessary."

Tim rolled one shoulder and then sighed when Rob got up and gently massaged the other one, "Thanks, Robbie." He looked at the FBI agent, "I'm guessing our choices are to stay in a safe house for the next month or to go now."

"You're right. Although Fornell hazarded a guess that you'd choose to leave early. To that end, we contacted Dr. Donovan, who'd heard what happened yesterday and seemed to know a little about the Suits – they've been noticed by campus security. He's more concerned with your safety than holding you to the last month of your contract. He says if you insist, you can teach a class online for them at some point.

"Once we'd cleared that with him, Agent Fornell asked Agent DiNozzo if anyone was helping you with housing in the UK. Then the two of them contacted your sister who reported that she'd found a house yesterday and sent you a video. You have your laptop, Professor, if you'd like to take a look to see if the house suits you."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Rob brought the laptop and Tim logged on through a secure wifi, keeping his right arm tucked closely to his chest so he wouldn't move any sore shoulder or neck muscles. He found Sarah's video and he, Rob and Dad watched, smiling. She'd included the square footage, average utility bills and the gross cost of the rent, before deducting the housing stipend. It was perfect and with agreement from Dad and Rob, he sent her a note that it was perfect and to please get it under contract immediately.

"Ok, yes, it suits us. And I've got enough tucked away to live on for a month, that's not a problem. However, our flight reservations have already been made by the university. Changing them to something as soon as this week is going to be hugely expensive."

"We've already talked to the HR person you've been working with. She will be able to cancel the reservations without penalties. You'll be flying on a Department of Justice jet, although we won't tell anyone at the Bureau or publish the schedule until we're on the airfield. And yes, the aircraft will be thoroughly searched and the flight crew vetted again before we take off."

"A government… _we_?"

"You're in protective custody, Professor. Putting you on a government jet by yourselves is not protecting you. My team and I will escort you to the UK, where your protection will be transferred to MI-5 and possibly London Metro, they'll meet us when we land."

"And we become their problem."

"You are not a problem, you know that from your own work! They've agreed to provide you with protection, although, as I said, we believe it won't be necessary once these jackals realize you've left the country."

Gibbs cleared his throat, "Are Rob and I going? All of us need to pack."

"Yes. Dr. McGee, I'll come back to you in a minute. Agent Gibbs, Professor, we'll pack up your respective houses, Agents DiNozzo, Fornell and Sacks have volunteered to help." He smiled to himself as the two men visibly relaxed.

McGee looked at him, "Would it be possible for Agent DiNozzo to pack or help pack my house? We need to say goodbye, he's part of the immediate family, our brother, Dad's eldest son."

"Ah, then yes, we'll fly him up tonight with Fornell."

"And some of our stuff is at Dad's. I want my bed – mattress and frame and a few other things that were going to be shipped. And the kids have clothes and toys there."

"And they will be shipped, along with Agent Gibbs' belongings. Your Bedford Uni HR contact was kind enough to share your itemized list with us."

Tim smiled, "Thanks!"

"Now, Dr. McGee, your transfer has been approved. If you'll make a list of what you want to take, we'll see that it's packed and brought to you or shipped."

"I don't need any furniture shipped, I share a furnished apartment and I'll be in a furnished flat in London. It's just my clothes, passport and stuff. I need to sell my car."

"Agent DiNozzo and your friend Bill Colter have volunteered to see to the sales of your vehicles. Agent Gibbs, you're shaking your head."

"I don't want to sell my Challenger or the pickup."

Tim pursed his lips, "Dad, Freddie and Joe might have room for them at their warehouse, they have the Prius there. They can sell it, make room for your vehicles." He looked at McCaughey, "Are we allowed to contact them?"

"No, we'll handle it. Those would be your friends the plumbers?"

"Yes."

"All right, they can coordinate with DiNozzo and Colter, they'll need to prepare Gibbs' vehicles for long-term storage."

"How soon are we leaving?"

"Agent Fornell will pack the rest of Gibbs' clothes and tools, whatever projects he has in progress, Agent Sacks will pack Dr. McGee's; it will all arrive with Agents DiNozzo and Fornell tonight and be stored at our secure facility. Professor, your house here will be packed tomorrow, suitcases with your clothes, books and the kids' toys will be delivered to the airfield. Provided we get everything, plan on flying out early Sunday morning. And by early, I mean 0100."

"Nobody will be expecting that. And what about my bed?"

"Larger items will be shipped according to the original plan, although the moving company has agreed to come in earlier. They will be at the house in Alexandria on Monday, your bed and whatever other large items that are going will leave port on Thursday. The current ETA for delivery to your new home is two weeks from Thursday. Part of that timeframe will be a thorough search of the container holding your belongings by British law enforcement when the transport ship docks in London."

"Great, thank you again!"

"Back to your departure, DiNozzo and Fornell will be flown home a few minutes later."

"Will there be anyone else on the flight, our flight?"

"The 5 of you, the 4 of us and the flight crew, that's it. The aircraft seats 40 passengers so there will be plenty of room to move around, the kids can have a play area if you'd like. The seats fold out into beds so put your favorite pillows on the packing list. There's also a galley that will be stocked with beverages, snacks and meals suitable for your sons and the rest of us."

"And DVDs."

"Yes, DVDs, laptops, tablets, phones."

"That's…you're spending a lot of money on us! And we appreciate it but it is taxpayers' money."

"Your expenses will be reimbursed to the Bureau by whatever agency this turns out to be or its proxy. And then they can have the fun of explaining who they are and why they don't appear on any records, to Congress and the American people. While they're defending themselves against charges of harassment, conspiracy and the attempted murder of a federal agent."

"I'm no longer a federal agent."

McCaughey nodded to him, "So you say and I understand you've been told your resignation was valid. While that's true from your standpoint, your name, when input to the DoD databases, still lists you as a federal agent. That non-disclosure form you'll sign is just to cover our collective butts."

Tim shut his eyes in frustration, rolling his good shoulder and feeling Rob once again gently massaging his sore side. "Fine, as long as I don't catch any grief over working other jobs to, you know, feed and shelter my children."

"It will be interesting to see how that plays out with NCIS. I'm sure Ms. Rowe has pointed out the validity of a case against them."

There was no response to that and the agent quickly moved on with more details of the plan. When he finished, Tim sat in thought before giving a head tilt of agreement, which hurt less than nodding. He didn't see any other way around this mess. They'd endanger the other passengers and crew if they flew commercial and their best hope really was to leave as soon as possible. And pray that the harassment and attacks wouldn't continue in the UK.

"So we have today and tomorrow here. What about the Porters?"

"We don't believe they're in any danger. However, it's in their best interest to remain ignorant of our plans. We'll take them home this afternoon and leave a detail with them for the weekend. Agents I know personally."

"Thank you." Tim looked at his father and brother, "So, as much as there is to be done, we're not allowed to do any of it. What do you guys feel like doing?"

Gibbs grinned, "Found a couple of decks of cards."

Rob smiled back at him, "Any poker chips?"

McCaughey snorted, "No, the boss confiscated them after things got out of hand."

"Recently?"

"Couple years ago."

Gibbs looked at his watch, "It's 1100 now. How about Rob and I make our lists, I'll put lunch together and then Tim, you need to get some rest."

Rob smiled in approval. "That's right, big brother. You can nap while Kyle does."

Tim started to disagree when he realized he was sore and exhausted, physically and emotionally. Even though his injuries weren't as serious as the times he'd been injured on the job, the trauma felt worse. "You're right, Doc. I'm just going to sit in the recliner and read until lunch and then I'll lie down."

"You can go lie down now and we'll bring lunch to you."

"Thanks, Dad, but I don't want to scare the kids again and I need to tell them what we're doing. I'm not ready to sleep just yet." He added with a wistful look, "And I want to say goodbye to Larry and Cyndi."

Moving to the recliner, he sat back with a sigh of relief. Rob brought him a book he'd found in their room this morning and then added a glass of orange juice. Tim scrunched his face, "No coffee?"

"Not today. Your system's still in recovery mode, Tim."

"All right, thanks."

He read while Dad and Rob put their packing lists together and the protection detail moved around him. Or he thought he was reading. When his older son kissed his cheek, he woke to find Kyle, his brother, father and the Porters sitting at a table with plates of food in front of them, two empty chairs waiting for Greg and him. Kissing Greg, he maneuvered out of the recliner and over to the table, kissing the top of Kyle's head as he sat next to him.

He smiled at lunch, spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. He looked at his dad who smiled, "I didn't feel like making sandwiches. Robbie can make those for dinner." Rob, caught with a fork full of spaghetti halfway to his mouth, gave a shrug as he took his first bite.

Tim managed to eat half the food on his plate, making sure the protein filled meatballs went first. He really wanted to lie down but first he needed to say goodbye to Larry and Cyndi. He probably wouldn't see them until the following Christmas, if it was safe to return to the U.S. for the holidays.

Quietly, he thanked them for everything they'd done, kissing Cyndi and hugging them both. Then he left the table, feeling like an old man as he walked down the hallway. He stopped when a strong arm slid around his waist, "Lean on me, son."

With a nod, he did and Dad helped him to his bed, taking his shoes off. "Sleep as long as you can. Ducky always says it speeds healing."

"I shouldn't be so exhausted, it's just ther…" Tim never finished his sentence, asleep mid-word. Gibbs finished for him, "There's too much stress in your life, too much out of your control. I hope that changes for good in the next 48 hours, Timiny."

He woke late that afternoon, to find Greg and Kyle sitting on the floor, quietly playing with the Weebles. "Wow, you guys are really quiet! Was I snoring?"

Greg shook his head no, while Kyle gave a mighty snort and then giggled. "No snoring, Daddy."

They crawled up on the bed with him, being very careful not to bump his sore side. After cuddling for a few minutes, Tim said he had something to tell them. "You know how we were going to pack up and leave for Brambury after your school got out?" It was easier for Kyle to imagine one place than a whole new country. He knew Brambury was in a different country but didn't know what that meant yet.

Now the boys nodded, Greg's eyes showing his fear. He wanted to leave Cambridge right away, this place had bad guys who'd hurt Papa. Tim kissed Greg, guessing at his thoughts. "It's all right, son, we're not staying here. Tomorrow night, very late, we'll get on a plane and fly to our new home in Brambury. Aunt Sarah found a house for all of us, with lots of rooms and a yard to play in. And we can walk to our schools, too." He smiled at them, "And you know what?" They shook their heads. "Grandpa and Uncle Rob are coming with us! To stay!"

"Yay!" The boys hopped off the bed and danced around the room, happy that Grandpa and Uncle Rob would be with them.

Kyle stopped, looking very serious, "Daddy, will da bad guys be der too?"

Tim realized his speech had slipped a bit but decided to see how his little guy did in a few days. He thought it was probably stress.

"The agents who are protecting us now believe we'll be safe, Kyle, and I agree." He decided not to mention MI-5 unless he absolutely needed to. "So no bad guys."

"Dat's good because dey already hurt you. No more hurt!" Kyle leaned down and gently kissed his shoulder.

With Greg's help, Tim sat up and tucking the boys around him, read them a story from their favorite Winnie the Pooh book. Somehow, the tales of Christopher Robin and his beloved bear made all three of them feel better, lighter.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, the adults were pulling on inner reserves to keep from joining the kids in their whining. They'd played, read, watched movies and played tag in the basement. Everyone relaxed a little when Kyle finally went down for his nap. Tim read for a while and then fell asleep in the recliner while his dad and brother played gin rummy at a penny a point. Rob was cleaning Dad out!

Salvation arrived with DiNozzo and Fornell late that afternoon and Tobias nearly laughed aloud when the adults in the room discreetly pushed the kids to them. Tobias kicked things off by asking for some music. Then he had Kyle stand on his feet and he danced them around the room, Tony following with Greg, both boys giggling. The boys switched partners and giggled some more.

Tobias thought of offering to play horsey, always a favorite of Emily's when she was little, but then decided both he and DiNozzo were a little too old to play steed for 6-year old Greg. He remembered teaching his daughter the movements and words to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and was grateful neither boy knew that. That took 10 minutes to teach them and led to Tim remembering a song with hand and arm movements he'd learned in Webelos. He'd taught Rob and Sarah when they were little and restless and now he asked Rob if he'd teach Greg and Kyle. It took three tries for Rob and Tim to remember all the movements but once Rob had it all, he taught the boys. That led to another Webelos song with a little dance, this one originating in Kenya. Rob again taught the boys while Tony and Tobias started dinner preparations.

Gibbs objected, the two men had been working for 2 days straight on their behalf, organizing and packing their belongings. He was, however, overruled.

As Tony said, "When was the last time you had both of us cooking for you? And how long will it be until the next time?"

Tobias added, "We like to cook, Jethro, it's a stress reliever, like you and your boats, Tim and his writing. And besides, look at us, we've figured out how to get along without a referee!"

When that made both Gibbs and Tim laugh, Fornell and DiNozzo exchanged fist bumps, mission accomplished.

As they worked, the two men entertained the others by telling them what they were doing. The dinner would be a fusion of dishes of two regions: Sicily, where the DiNozzos hailed from and Emilia-Romagna, ancestral home of the Fornells.

Dinner was, of course, delicious and the family stayed at the table for nearly an hour after they'd finished eating, relaxing and enjoying what would likely be the last time Tony and Tobias would see them for several months. Much to Tim's amazement, Tony wanted to help him with the boys' nightly routine.

Once the boys were tucked in, the two men went down to the basement to talk privately for a few minutes. It wasn't anything earth shattering but they wanted the chance to say goodbye. Tim brightened when Tony told him his plan to visit that summer. When they returned to the main floor, Dad was waiting to speak with his eldest. That nearly did Tony in, but they soldiered through.

By 2350, they were ready to go, all that remained to be done was to wake the boys. They'd stay in their jammies, Tim planning on setting up beds for them on board as soon as they could. Gibbs and the two McGees checked the safe house several times for any stray items, especially in the basement. By midnight, a dark panel van, loaded with everything from the house, pulled away and a second van pulled in, ready for passengers. Rob and Gibbs carried the kids, Tim carrying a sack of toys, books and stuffed animals. When everyone, including DiNozzo and Fornell was buckled in, they left for the airfield.

When they arrived, they found the jet ready to go. After quick, heartfelt goodbyes, the party of 9, including the FBI protection detail, boarded, watched closely by the remaining agents. Once everyone was in a seat, seatbelts fastened, they rolled down the runway and took off. As soon as they were on the runway, a smaller jet appeared and within minutes, Tony and Tobias were on their way home, already missing their family.

When the seat belt sign went off, Gibbs and Rob helped Tim push seats down to make beds and then moved the kids into them, covering them with blankets and fastening harnesses over them to keep them from rolling out during turbulence. Then they did 3 more beds, one for each of them.

Tim didn't think he would actually sleep but he did, waking when the smell of coffee tickled his nose. Dad must be up! Checking his watch, he was astounded to find they only had about 90 minutes left of flight time. Unfastening his harness, he padded back to the galley for coffee, finding Agent McCaughey and Dad there quietly talking. "Good morning, Professor!"

Gibbs gave him a hug, "How you feeling?"

"Pretty good, thanks. Got any more coffee?"

With a smile, McCaughey poured him a cup. "If you want something to eat, better make it quick. We've got forty minutes before starting our descent."

Tim nodded, thinking about waking the boys. "What's available as far as breakfast foods?"

McCaughey showed him and he smiled at the cups of oatmeal. "Can we heat these after we start our descent?"

"Sure, just don't want anyone moving around too much. Especially not the kids."

"They won't, I'll wake them and then heat these up, I have dried fruit to add into these, I know they like them."

"Milk?"

"I have a milk box, like a juice box, that'll be enough."

"Great! And you?"

"The scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns!"

Dad laughed, "His favorite breakfast!"

"Second favorite. Pancakes, eggs and bacon is my first. You gonna eat?"

"Yeah, same as you."

"Rob awake yet?"

"No, I'll go wake him."

As the microwave prepared Tim's breakfast, his brother joined them, smiling sleepily when handed a cup of coffee. "Thanks."

Tim told him his choices for breakfast and smiled when his baby brother picked scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and home fries. Tim grabbed a seat near the galley to eat, joined by his father and brother. They ate quietly as two of their four agents were sleeping nearby.

After eating, the three took turns showering, Tim careful with his wound, and changing into clean clothes. Gibbs, the last one out, emerged to find his grandsons eating their breakfasts: pancakes, eggs, bacon with juice boxes. Tim smiled at him, "McCaughey found two more of these at the back of the galley freezer. It's also the boys' favorite."

Dad ruffled his hair, leaning down to kiss his head. After the boys finished, they washed up, brushing their teeth and changing from pajamas to jeans, long sleeve shirts and pullover sweaters. McCaughey told them the midday temperature forecast for central London and they grabbed jackets.

Back in their seats, once again buckled up, the boys grinned as the jet came in for a smooth landing. When they'd taxied to a stop, McCaughey stood. "All right, we're here! Your detail from MI-5 will board while your belongings are being offloaded. They'll check your paperwork, good thing you already had your visas, and then we'll do a hand-off with them.

"We won't disembark with you as the FBI isn't supposed to be on foreign soil and we do try to keep our feet clean. You'll be riding in a van again, but this time you'll have windows, you can see out but no one can see in. In fact I'm told from the outside, the windows aren't even visible. Don't know how that works, but then this is the land of Harry Potter!"

Greg laughed at that and McCaughey winked at him. Tim smiled his gratitude, reminding himself to write a letter of commendation and thanks for McCaughey's help. Tim and Gibbs knew very well the duties and responsibilities of a protection detail and this team had gone well above and beyond their duties.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Within a few minutes, they'd been welcomed by the MI-5 team, one of whom looked familiar to Gibbs and McGee. Passports, visas and verification of employment paperwork checked, they disembarked once the cargo hold was empty. Seated in the van, the adults each took a window seat, Greg and Kyle in their safety seats. They had no frame of reference for the location of the airfield with regards to London but relaxed and watched out the windows. It was about 40 minutes into London and then 20 minutes more to Brambury. Tim and Rob were getting excited now as Sarah had already moved into the house and would be home to welcome them.

As their van pulled into a driveway, they saw Sarah bundled up and waiting for them. Climbing out, they were told to get inside quickly to warm up while the cargo van unloaded. Two of the agents came inside with them, including the one who seemed familiar. When the agents were introduced to Sarah, Tim grinned, "Got it! We met you on MTAC during…uh, a case."

The agent nodded, "Wondered if you'd remember. Yes, Clayton Reeves. I was with a different agency then, on loan to MI-5 right now as the Brass thought you'd be more comfortable with at least one face you'd seen before."

Gibbs nodded, "Thanks, we appreciate that."

The team lead came in with the last of their belongings. "All right, this is it until the rest is shipped." He looked at the children and smiling, welcomed them to England, land of Robin Hood, St. George and the dragon, Thomas the Tank Engine, Mary Poppins and of course, Harry Potter.

The boys giggled and everyone relaxed. He told them they'd alerted the local police who would have no trouble spotting strangers or loiterers in town. The MI-5 team would keep watch but wouldn't be obtrusive. Each of the adults was given a wrist band with a button that would link them to the nearest police. That would work well for Sarah and Rob who would spend most of their days in London. As Greg and Kyle would always be with one of their adults or in school or day care, they weren't given wrist bands. The lead, whose name was Forsythe, looked at Tim as he said that. McGee understood the wrist bands were available for the kids if he wanted them. Forsythe did ask that if they planned to travel, within the UK or abroad, to let them know.

Then he and his team withdrew and Sarah led everyone to the lounge, where they collapsed onto comfy chairs. The boys wanted to look around so Aunty took them and Tim smiled as he heard their exclamations drifting downstairs, "Cool!" "Wow!" "Wait till Papa sees his room!"

Eventually, the three men decided to take their own look and followed Sarah and the kids upstairs. The stairs were well lit, fairly wide, a little steep, and brought them to a hallway that went in both directions. Hearing Sarah's voice on the right, they turned that way. The first room they came upon looked like a guest room and Rob thought it could be his. Close to the stairs so if he arrived late, he could slip into his room without waking anyone. He decided to see the rest of the rooms before making any decisions.

The second door on that side of the hallway was another guest room, similar in size and style. The third door opened onto a large bathroom, tiled in black and white, with a pedestal sink, an enormous tub, separate shower, a window and a cabinet that looked like a bureau only with four doors with shelves inside instead of drawers. Spotting another door, they opened it to find the commode. Tim smiled, "Good, I like that. Using the toilet or the bath or shower doesn't tie up the entire bathroom."

Dad flipped the two switches in the little room and nodded in satisfaction when the second one proved to be a fan.

Across the hall were two bedrooms; peeking in, they saw they'd be perfect for the boys. Remembering something Sarah had said about a 'secret' passageway, Tim opened the closet door and grinned as he spotted a small door in the back wall. The kids could sneak back and forth between rooms, that was fun! When he looked at the room he was in, he knew immediately this was the 'cool' room and would be Greg's. The reading nook in the bay window told him that. The next room had a shelf around the entire room, running above the door frame and curving at the corners. Tim grinned, "Kyle's room and we'll put a train up there for him."

Dad smiled back, "He'll need a remote to operate it." He winked at Tim, "I'm sure that won't be a problem for you!"

The master bedroom was at the end of the hallway, where they found the boys and their aunt exploring. The en suite bathroom was nearly as large as the boys' bathroom and the closet was so large, Tim thought they could probably stick a double bed in it, not that they needed to. At the least the boys could play in it. His clothes and shoes would only take a fraction of one wall. There were built-in drawers, too.

The bedroom itself had a gas-burning fireplace and Tim grinned at the chairs centered around it, a great spot for stories and cuddles. The bed was old-fashioned but not in a good way. It was more nondescript than anything else and too short for tall Tim. The nightstands were freestanding and matched the bed frame. Tim grinned at his dad, the nightstands he'd made for him would perfectly complement his own bed and he'd replace the light fixtures, little candlestick lamps on the nightstands that would provide very little light, and a dainty chandelier, with something that would further modernize the room.

Sarah pointed out the large rug and he examined it, thinking the abstract design might have been purchased with his style in mind. It was definitely staying. The drapes across the windows were all right too, no fussiness about them and the color was a deep blue-green that went well with the rug and of course Tim's eyes. A flat screen TV graced the wall across from the bed and Tim nodded. Good, he could watch this TV up here and his larger TV would go in one of the rooms downstairs. Then he remembered his TV wasn't being shipped, Tony would be using it. He made a mental note to look at whatever TV was downstairs.

While the hallway and the other bedrooms were carpeted, the master bedroom had real hardwood floors, only partially covered by the rug. Dad speculated that the rug would be welcome on cold winter mornings. And that reminded him to take a look at the furnace. He smiled happily when Sarah told him it was only 3 years old.

As they exited the master, Tim noticed a door on the left and looking in, saw this was his office. Nearly the size of one of the bedrooms, it had plenty of light along with a large desk and chair, a sofa that Sarah said was a pull-out bed, a few occasional tables and chairs. Tim smiled, he was very happy!

Walking back down the hall to the other side of the staircase, Tim noticed an odd-shaped door on the right and opening it, found stairs leading to the attic. Leaving that exploration for later, the family continued their trek. There were two large rooms at the other end. The one at the very end looked like a second master and Sarah explained it had formerly been a large nursery. It had an en suite bathroom that was behind the door into the room. Tim understood why when he spotted another door in the hallway. The bathroom could be accessed from either the hall or the bedroom. The bedroom wasn't quite as large as Tim's new room and didn't have a fireplace. The décor wasn't anything too exciting but in Sarah's terms, 'wasn't ugly' and a few personal touches would give it some distinction.

When they opened the door to the room next to the 2nd master, Tim inhaled a surprised, happy breath. It was a library, much as Ducky had in Georgetown. About twice the size of his bedroom, almost all the walls of this room were covered by floor to ceiling shelves full of books. Library tables of varying sizes were scattered around the room. At each end of the room were overstuffed chairs with footstools in front and a floor lamp to the side of each one. As Tim looked around, he nearly squealed like Kyle when he caught sight of the beautiful cherry wood writing desk with a matching rolling chair tucked against one of the walls.

"That's beautiful! Wow, it fits right in here, like it was made for this room."

He looked at Sarah who was grinning. Then at his dad and Rob, also grinning. "What's up?"

Sarah shook her head, "There was a desk here, it's now in my suite downstairs, Gibbs is going to strip and stain it for me. But when we were here looking for housing, we went into a few antique stores, too. I saw this and it seemed perfect for you. I took a photo and sent it to Rob and Gibbs; they agreed you'd love it and wanted in on it, so here you are, it was delivered yesterday!"

"Wow! It is perfect, I love it! Thank you!" He kissed each of them. Suddenly Greg exclaimed, "Papa, look! There's a whole shelf of kids' books and Kyle and I can reach them! There's…I think all of the Pooh Bear books!"

Sarah grinned, "Rob told me which ones they had and I found more of them. They're old ones, well-loved. Look…" She took one off the shelf, opened it to the flyleaf and showed her brothers and Gibbs. There was an inscription at the top, 'To Stevie on your 3rd birthday, Love Mummy and Daddy', dated 1925. Underneath that, the name Stephen Jr. appeared and under that was the name Thomas with a note that said he was Stevie's great-grandson.

Tim found a pen in the desk and handed it to Greg who wrote 'Gregory and Kyle, brothers from the U.S.' and the year 2015, 90 years since Stevie's parents gave him the book.

Leaving the library, Sarah pointed out one more room upstairs. Across from the library, it was a large room set up to be a school room although it looked like it hadn't been touched since young Stevie's time and Sarah pointed out what might be markings where walls and plumbing fixtures had once been. After that, they walked carefully down the stairs, Tim holding Kyle's hand although his little one was doing just fine.

Turning left on the main floor, they reached a hallway that took them to Sarah's suite, in a wing clearly added on. Her quarters were even larger than Tim's, with a separate lounge, and her closet was full. She'd already added a few personal touches with throw pillows but that was as far as she'd gotten. There was a sliding patio door out into the back garden, with her own small terrace. The windows on that side of the suite had views of the garden and the boys had fun pointing out what they could see. They all thought it funny that she had her own guest room, with its own en suite bathroom.

Back down the hallway toward the main part of the house, they found a spacious and modern kitchen, complete with an American style refrigerator, gas burners, electric oven, microwave. Next to the sink, Tim spotted a dishwasher and they sighed in relief. There was a breakfast table that would seat all of them and beyond that a family room with chairs, sofa and a wall with a TV almost as large as Tim's. The extension of that room was called a conservatory, a glass walled room that could be used year-round.

On the other side of the kitchen was a doorway that led to a dining room with a china hutch, a sideboard and a very long table. Tim mused that unless their entire extended family came to visit at the same time, they'd probably never fill it but if there were too many people to sit at the kitchen table or it was a more formal occasion, he guessed it would be handy.

There was another doorway on the far end of the dining room leading to a hallway that led to Gibbs' suite. It was also accessible from the front of the house. With the same configuration as Sarah's suite, Dad shook his head at having his own living room, guest bedroom and bath. The only differences in the suites were the décor, Sarah's decidedly feminine while Dad's was masculine, and the bathroom, which had extra features. Sarah said it'd been updated for use by the current owner's elderly father, with grab bars, a separate shower and a walk-in, jetted tub. Gibbs was glad when his kids laughed at the idea of him needing the grab bars. Someday he might, but he sure hoped not in the next two years!

Leaving Dad's new lair, they took the hallway to the front of the house, on the way finding the kids' playroom, a large bright room with a cork floor, cubbies and shelves for their toys and books. Kyle squealed when he spotted the mural of the Hundred-Acre wood on one wall with other pictures on the opposite wall taken from several children's stories, 'Alice in Wonderland', the 'Wizard of Oz', the 'Chronicles of Narnia' and 'The Cat in the Hat'. Next to the playroom was a powder room or half bath. Reaching the living room, known in the UK as the 'lounge', brought them full circle.

Gibbs looked around, puzzled. Sarah watched and then looked at Tim who was making sawing motions. "Oh, the basement and your workshop! There's a door in the family room, Gibbs, sorry I forgot to point it out!"

They went the short way to the kitchen and family room, this time spotting the door. Trooping down the stairs, Gibbs' kids and grandkids giggled at the look on his face. The workbench was spacious, there were shelves above it and plenty of room for his tools. It was well lit and with a door to the back garden, he could work on larger projects without disassembling them or taking a wall down to remove them from the house.

Sarah pointed, "There's plenty of room for storage back there. And that door goes outside."

Beaming, Gibbs kissed her forehead, saying, "Thank you!"

Tim seconded that, "Sarah, this is the perfect house for us, well done and thank you!"

She smiled, happy her family was pleased with her choice. As tummies were rumbling, they trooped back up to the kitchen for hot soup and sandwiches. Then they dispersed to their rooms to start settling in. The boys were done first, with their father, aunt and uncle helping them, and they settled into their new playroom with Aunty Sarah while Tim unpacked his bags.

As Rob's flat wouldn't be available for a few weeks, he'd stay here and commute into London when necessary. That meant he needed to pick a room and he chose the big room at the other end of the hall, next to the library. If he got home late he wouldn't disturb anyone and wouldn't be wakened in the morning by the children.

Noticing her nephews were rubbing their eyes and yawning, Sarah took them upstairs to Kyle's room, sitting in an overstuffed rocking chair with both of them on her lap, reading to them. Kyle was asleep in less than 5 minutes and Greg helped her get him into bed before he too fell asleep. Making sure both boys were covered, she left them to take their first 'jet lag' nap.

She found Tim dragging himself around his room and persuaded him to lay down. Once he agreed, she tackled Robbie, who was used to being sleepy but agreed to rest. Downstairs, she found Gibbs' door partially open and knew from the light snores that he was already asleep. She nudged the thermostat up a little before returning to her suite to continue her own unpacking.

Three hours later, she made the rounds again, waking them up. She knew from experience that the sooner they adjusted to this time zone, the easier it would be for them. Once they were up, she told them they were all going for a walk. Jackets were donned and off they went. They took a quick tour of their gardens, admiring the terrace and large lawn area. Then they walked through a side yard to the front of the house and the street. Following Sarah's directions, they turned right to walk towards Greg's school and Kyle's day care. After finding those, they walked through the town, the adults making mental notes of places they wanted to visit.

Stopping in at a local coffee shop for hot beverages, they warmed up before winding their way back to the house. They'd walked for 45 minutes plus the twenty minute hot chocolate break, enough for now. Probably more than enough for Tim, whose body was a scant 3 days post-attack, and the boys. Gibbs and Rob were 3 days post their fear they were losing their father, son and brother with the sudden move on top of everything else. They needed rest, quiet and most of all a life without fear of mysterious people in suits following or attacking them.

They napped again, this time for an hour and then everyone but Tim explored the attic, which was full of boxes, old furniture and a lot of dust. Dr. Rob said he'd done more then enough for one day and he was to stay in bed or rest, either reading, writing or watching TV.

The next 2 days were spent much the same way, napping, eating, seeing the sights around town and making sure they were working toward adapting to the time zone. Under his brother's supervision, Tim took it easy as he continued to heal.

After school was arranged for Greg, he'd start the following week, Tim contacted the day care and made the same arrangements. Both boys would visit on Friday and start on Monday.

Tim looked at the calendar on his phone, Kyle's 3rd birthday was in a couple of weeks. He hoped he could make new friends by then and made a note to ask if birthdays here were celebrated at the nursery school. Greg's birthday was in July and Tim knew he'd also have a couple of friends by then. He made a note to plan an event or excursion for him rather than a kids' party. He might end up doing that for Kyle, too, if there was a lack of new friends to invite to a party. He'd research kids' birthday parties in the UK, maybe they'd invite everyone from the nursery!

Their first week passed quickly. Greg had assignments from Mr. Cooper and he worked on those while Tim quickly taught him the British English way of spelling a few words that were different in American English. On Friday, Tim took the kids to their new schools. Kyle said hello to his preschool teacher and future classmates. He looked around the room, his eyes lighting up at various things. From the preschool, the three of them continued to Greg's school. They were introduced and Greg was allowed to sit in for a few minutes while Kyle and their papa went to the office to make sure all the paperwork was done. When they heard doors opening, they knew it was time to collect Greg. Everyone was friendly, the children were curious about both boys and Papa liked both teachers. They'd have 3 weeks of school before their week-long half-term break. Their summer break would come in July with the autumn term beginning in September.

They spent more of their first weekend continuing to explore Brambury and made their first foray into London. With Sarah guiding them, they took the Tube into the city and bought tickets for the hop-on, hop-off buses. The boys remembered how fun that had been in New York and reminded the rest of the family about their adventures there with Papa and Uncle Tony. They hopped off at Trafalgar Square so the kids could see the huge lions and all the pigeons. There were too many people for the boys to run around so they got back on the bus and off again to see the London Millennium Footbridge and walk across the Thames. Tim was thrilled to see the bridge linking the Tate Modern with the City of London and St. Paul's with its famous dome. They took a quick peek into St. Paul's but didn't go in as Tim knew Kyle would be restless and he wasn't sure his father, brother or sister would be as enthralled as he was. He wanted to spend at least a couple of hours, more if possible, in St. Paul's.

Back on the bus, they saw Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye across the river and Tim and Sarah's favorite, Westminster Abbey. Tim figured he'd need at least a couple of days there, between Poets' Corner, all the history and the architecture. He'd buy books, photos and make gravestone rubbings if still allowed. He thought this was one church where he'd willingly attend a service.

When he judged that the kids needed to burn off some energy and have some fun, they hopped off at Kensington Gardens for a visit to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground, inspired by the novel "Peter Pan". The boys made a beeline for Captain Hook's huge wooden pirate ship, the center of the playground. They played in the teepees and had fun running around the sculptures.

Back on the bus after nearly an hour at the playground, they got off at a family friendly restaurant. Lunch was tasty and from there they headed home, where Kyle went for a nap without protest and Greg joined him. When their grandfather remarked on that, Tim grinned, "They were so excited about today that neither one of them got a full night's sleep. They're all right."

Dad nodded. "And what about you?"

"Me? That was fun but not even the tip of the iceberg for me! I want to drink in everything. I've always loved London and the UK in general. Being here is a dream come true but I can see now I'm going to have to plan my sightseeing very carefully."

"Without the boys."

"For the most part, yes. For instance, I already know I need at least two full days at Westminster Abbey and probably close to a month at the British Museum." Tim looked at his father, "You know how much I love the Smithsonian, right?"

"I may have heard you mention that, yes."

"I imagine I'm going to love the British Museum just as much. Do you know what else you want to see? Sarah, you said there were places you hadn't been to yet."

"Stonehenge and Salisbury. I've been but I need to go again and I know Gibbs wants to go. Bath, with the 2000 year old water in the Roman baths. Cardiff, Wales, did you know there's a beach there with dinosaur fossils? The Pontcysyllte aqueduct in northeast Wales, we can take a boat across it. It's supposed to be a beautiful ride and it's way up over the land. I bet the boys would love that! There are castles in Wales, too. Cornwall, Plymouth, everything in southern England. Oh, Liverpool to see where the Beatles got started. Suffolk County with Bury St. Edmonds, the ruins of the Abbey and I think that crooked house town is nearby, Lavenham. York and York Minster, did you know York is still a walled city? You can walk on the wall. Chester and all the half-timbered buildings. The Lake District, I went on my own, want to have someone with me next time. Cotswold and Warwick Castle, you and Gibbs will love that! Stratford on Avon, of course. And Glastonbury, where, allegedly, very strange things happen. Brighton, Sandringham Castle, Windsor, geez, you haven't even seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace yet! We need to do that before the tourists start arriving in June. So many things to see and do in London, you could spend 20 years just in the city! And the rest of the island, there's so much to experience.

"Let's see, Scotland, all of it. Ireland, the Republic of, all of it. I haven't been to Northern Ireland; I know it's safe now but I didn't want to go alone and I'd want to have you and Gibbs with me. And maybe a few Marines."

She took a breath, "And that's just the British Isles! The continent is another huge list. Now do you see why I'm living over here?"

"Okay, let's pick a destination and plan a weekend then. How about we go back into London tomorrow for the Changing of the Guard? Sari, do you know the best spot?"

She grinned, "I do."

"I'll take Kyle's pack so he can see and we can put Greg on our shoulders."

Rob grinned, "And Sari!"

She made a face at him, "I can see just fine. These are my people here, not giants like you guys."

Gibbs started laughing and laughed so hard he had to hold his sides. When he finally stopped, he just shook his head when asked what was so funny. Sarah beamed, "Ha, I made Gibbs laugh! Doesn't matter why."

Gibbs didn't want to tell his kids it was the way Sarah 'managed' her brothers. There was a deep love and respect between the 3 of them but Sarah quite often had the upper hand. He wondered if it had always been that way or was it the year apart that had changed things? She'd gone from being the only girl to an independent woman on her own and maybe that changed her perspective. He knew Tim and Rob had missed her fiercely and he was sure she'd missed them just as much. But she'd been here, having new adventures on her own, stretching her wings without big brother worrying, or at least worrying from a distance, or little brother teasing. Both his boys were laser focused on their careers, law enforcement and medicine and maybe that had been a little overwhelming for Sarah.

Both were noble professions, all about helping people. Writing was wonderful and he had a strong appreciation for it but while it sounded more glamorous than her brothers' chosen professions, maybe she'd felt she should be doing something more active. Although as Tim discovered, it was often easier to get your message across in a book rather than in practice. He guessed that if you were a talented writer as both siblings were, you could wrap almost any message in fiction and get people to think.

He focused again when he realized they were making plans to go to Stonehenge and Salisbury the following weekend. Greg had a half day on Friday for some reason Gibbs missed and decided didn't matter. After much discussion, they decided to take the train to Salisbury, buying train and bus tickets at the train station, Sarah said it was Waterloo. Once in Salisbury, they'd check into their lodgings and then take the bus to Salisbury. And then Sarah raised the issue of someplace named Avebury which apparently also had monolithic stones but there you were allowed to approach and touch them. After some research and discussion, they decided to rent a van here and drive to Avebury and Stonehenge, then go on to Salisbury. With a vehicle, they could take their time seeing everything they wanted in the area.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

About that time, they realized Sarah was the only one with a UK driver's license. Tim called a rental agency who also operated in the U.S. and asked them about renting with U.S. drivers' licenses. He was assured that as long as his license was valid and his insurance covered him in the UK, he could rent a car. An alternative would be to buy their insurance, good for the length of the rental. The four of them decided that was a good option for their first trip and reserved a 9 passenger van, sure to hold the kids' safety seats, the four adults and their belongings quite comfortably.

In the meantime, Tim, Dad and Rob each realized they'd need to get UK driver's licenses. Although Tim didn't mention it to the others, he started thinking about buying a vehicle of some sort. While the Tube and train stations were within walking distance of the house in daylight, good weather and without luggage, they could end up spending a fortune on Uber or taxis when they had the kids, luggage, arrived home at night or during inclement weather.

Back in London that first Sunday, they had a wonderful time watching the changing of the guard. Sarah knew the schedule, they picked the earliest changeover they could get to and arrived in plenty of time to grab spots close enough for the kids and Sarah to see. Dad said later he'd had a hard time keeping himself from marching in place with the guard.

When Sarah told them about the barracks at the back of the Palace, they found other things to do and see until shortly before the next scheduled shift change. Then they walked onto the unassuming side street and found spots at the edge of the pavement. Within a few minutes, the replacement guard exited the guardhouse and marched down the street, turning the corner toward them. They stopped in front of them and did some maneuvers and steps that they thought were probably meant just for their audience there. Then they marched on to the Palace. The boys were over the top thrilled with that, all of them were thrilled! Tim recorded both ceremonies with his phone, sending the videos to Tony, Lu and the Porters.

Monday, Tim walked the boys to their new classes, doing his best to hide his nervousness from them. He was glad they'd visited on Friday but still he was nervous. He'd always hated the first day of school in a new place and as a Navy brat, he'd had more than his share of first days. Rather than sit at home and worry, he and Sarah went back into London, spending most of the day at Westminster Abbey. Sarah had been several times but was always ready for another visit.

They left about an hour before the Abbey closed for the day and were home in time to collect the boys from their first day of school. Tim was happily relieved to find both boys had a good day, liked their classmates and teachers. Kyle was quite impressed that he was a preschooler, telling his father several times that he was 'big' now. Greg was excited that they'd covered spelling words that he knew, as well as some math problems he'd done last week, one of the assignments from Mr. Cooper, his Cambridge teacher. They decided to write Mr. Cooper to thank him.

With the kids in school and his own classes not scheduled to start for another month, Tim decided to take full advantage of his free time. Every weekday, he saw something on his list, whether it was in London or a short trip by train or bus.

Friday morning, he and Sarah rode the Tube into London to pick up their rental vehicle for the trip to Salisbury. Tim decided to drive home, feeling comfortable that Sarah would guide him. Although he was very nervous, they got home without incident. She would help drive but wanted him to drive on the way down, reminding him he'd be on a multi-lane divided highway part of the way.

While Dad went to get the kids, they packed snacks, a few DVDs, the portable DVD player, converters for the electrical connections, the dinner they'd have tonight, frozen chicken Dad grilled Wednesday night, milk and juice boxes, oatmeal cups, protein drinks, peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a weekend's worth of snacks for Rob and they were set. They'd already packed their clothes along with light jackets as Sarah warned them it might be windy on Salisbury Plains. While their furniture hadn't arrived yet, Tim's cooler-on-wheels had been at the house in Cambridge and traveled with them on the FBI jet. Today it would go with them to Salisbury.

They were loading the van when the boys ran up the driveway, their grandfather following at a sedate pace. "We're ready!"

"Okay, let's all have a bathroom break and then we'll go. Rob, got snacks where you can get them?"

"Yes. I'll sit in the last row of seats, I can reach the cooler from there."

When everyone was in the van, the boys secured in their safety seats, Tim slid into the driver's seat. "Sarah?"

"You'll be fine, Tim. I'll tell you if you're doing anything wrong, need to change lanes and I'll watch for signs."

"Ok, then here we go!" Backing slowly out of their driveway, Tim maneuvered through Brambury, which was not a multi-lane divided highway. Managing to get through town, he breathed an audible sigh of relief as they entered the highway. "What's the speed limit?" Sarah reminded him and Dad, who was sitting 'shotgun', chuckled, "I'll watch it, son, let you know if you're going too slow or too fast. You watch the road."

Once Tim established where the 'slow lane' was and moved into it, he felt better. Although as he drove along, he noticed this wasn't really a slow lane. Sarah chuckled, "I don't think there is one, Tim. There's over here and 'get out of the way'. You're fine where you are."

When they pulled into the car park at Stonehenge, already mesmerized by what they could see of the stones, the passengers cheered as Tim took the car out of gear, set the brake and turned off the ignition. He smiled and then slumped against the steering wheel. "Next time, let's rent a driver-less car!"

Dad looked surprised, "Like the one we had in that case?"

"Not a sabotaged one, but yeah. They're being developed and tested in several countries. Doubt they're available for hire though. Maybe in a few years."

They loved Stonehenge and the mysteries surrounding it. Rob and the boys ran around the paved path, carefully dodging legs and feet, minding their manners and burning off some energy. When Greg was done running, he walked around with his papa, looking at the stones that had been moved from far away. Kyle stuck with Uncle Rob, he liked the big rocks but was a little too young to understand the mystery surrounding them. Although there were plenty of people there, it wasn't crowded and certainly not as congested as Tim thought it might be.

He wished he could see the place without the fencing and security measures and remembered one of the librarians in Baltimore told him about doing that. She'd first seen Stonehenge in the late 70's, had wandered in and around the stones for a couple of hours, just touching them, hoping to feel some of the mysterious power they were rumored to have. She and her travel companion had pictures of each of them leaning against the stones. She said there were no signs, no directions not to touch them. And there was no museum or gift shop, she said she only remembered pulling up on the bus, getting out and walking up to the Stones. She told Tim the next time she was there, years later, she thought she was prepared for the change but nearly cried when she saw the differences, especially knowing her earlier experience had been one of thousands that had necessitated the change.

Remembering what Sarah said about Avebury, he looked at the time. It was mid-afternoon, they had plenty of daylight left and Kyle had slept in the car. There were no fences in Avebury. When he thought the others had had their fill and they'd all bought postcards and a souvenir or two, they got back in the van and off they went to Avebury.

The place was unbelievable, Tim almost felt overwhelmed. One of the biggest and best known prehistoric sites in Europe, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world.

Constructed over several hundred years in the late Neolithic period (also referred to as the New Stone Age), the site consists of large stone circles dug into the chalky terrain, with huge stones, some of which remain buried. One of the largest circles contains a present-day village with nearly 500 residents. The site is huge, there are massive stone circles of differing sizes across multiple fields bisected by a small roadway.

After seeing this, Tim was glad they'd gone to Stonehenge first as this was far more impressive. He touched some of the stones, made sure the kids did and took copious photos, hoping he still had his friend-the-librarian's email address so he could send her one. She needed to see this place! Sarah hadn't been before and was just as enraptured as he was. Dad kept shaking his head, thinking about how this place had been constructed – the huge circles were dug with deer antlers. Rob was far more impressed than he had been with Stonehenge, he hadn't wanted to say but he'd been a little disappointed because of the fences.

With the boys tired and restless from school, the drive and sightseeing, the family made a quick visit to the museum before continuing to Salisbury. Their hotel was in a restored building originally constructed in the 13th century, older than their house. They had 3 rooms, the first for Tim and the boys, a connecting room for Sarah and the third one for Rob and Dad. They'd reserved a space in the gated car-park and were happy to see that they really could walk from the hotel to Salisbury Cathedral and other sites in the city. They were also glad they had dinner with them as they were all tired, although as Rob pointed out, there were surely takeout restaurants in town. Heating the chicken in the microwave, they ate in Tim's room, adding chairs from Sarah's room for the adults to sit on.

Tomorrow they'd take the boys to River Bourne Community Farm where they'd see plenty of chickens, goats and donkeys, take a walk on a nature trail and generally see and do things more suited to their ages. They'd also discovered 'Salisbury City Guides', who offered several tours geared for specific ages, one of which was Salisbury Cathedral as seen through a child's eyes. Tim would go with the boys on that while the others took a grownup tour of the cathedral. Although Dad said the kids' tour might be more fun.

After that, they figured there were a couple of other options for the boys, one was a 'space station' and the other was a family fun facility with a full sized bowling alley. Tim and the boys had been bowling several times; he knew that would be a great treat for them, one the whole family could enjoy. The adults decided to split their time so each of them had time with the kids and time to see or do what they wanted. And they wanted Tim to have time to himself.

First, they'd all see the cathedral and then they'd go to the farm. After that, Dad and Sarah wanted to see 'Old Sarum' while Rob thought he'd had enough of ancient sites and Tim was ambivalent about it, he'd rather see Salisbury. The McGee brothers would have lunch with the boys, then Tim would take off while Uncle Rob and the kids would watch a movie and play games. After Kyle's nap, they'd reconvene for bowling and then probably get takeout for dinner and watch a movie before the kids' bedtime. That was easier and more enjoyable for everyone. On Sunday, Sarah would watch the boys while Dad went to the cathedral for Sunday services and Tim and Rob finished their sightseeing, although Tim thought he might go to church with Dad. They'd leave for home before lunch, stopping for a picnic along the way and then Kyle could nap in the car. They hoped to beat the worst of the weekend traffic.

The Salisbury City Guides' kids' tour of the cathedral was wonderful! Tim found it enlightening and, as Dad predicted, more fun than what he heard in passing for the regular tours. More to the point, the boys found it interesting and enjoyable. They giggled when Uncle Rob joined them halfway through the other tour. When the Guide raised an eyebrow, Tim smiled, "He's with us. Ok if we pay for him after?"

She chuckled, "That's a first! Yes, of course."

Afterward, Dad said he'd found the history of the cathedral fascinating and was glad he'd gone.

After a short break, they piled into the van and went to River Bourne Farm. That was fun! Kyle had a blast chasing, and being chased by, the chickens, while Greg fell in love with the goats and donkeys. They walked on a couple of the nature trails and Tim bought some fresh produce he hoped would make it home in the cooler.

The boys, Rob and Tim got out at the hotel while Sarah moved into the driver's seat and waved as she and Dad headed out to see 'Old Sarum'.

Tim bought a jar of raspberry jam at the farm and now he opened it to make peanut butter and jam sandwiches. He'd also managed to buy a selection of farm kitchen baked cookies without the boys noticing and now surprised all three of his boys with them. With that and lemonade they'd brought with them, they had a yummy lunch.

After they finished, Tim strongly considered taking his own nap but didn't want to waste any of his time in Salisbury. Kissing the boys and Rob, he left to see more of the city. He had a great time just walking around, stopping in at various shops. He bought a few things for Christmas and had them shipped to the house in Alexandria, making a mental note to let Tony know. Thinking about Christmas, even though it was more than 6 months in the future, put him into a gift shopping mood and he found several more items for the extended family. When he saw a model of Stonehenge, rated for 7-10-year-olds, he bought one for Greg, found something else for Kyle and some fun things for baby Victoria, who would be nearly a year old by Christmas. A book for Dad about the ancient sites, one for Abby about the religious aspects of Avebury and another one for Ducky similar to Dad's and he was happy, shipping it all to Alexandria. He found a couple of things he thought Ellie might like for her new apartment and then had fun picking out some things for himself. Those he kept and when he finished shopping, he wrote down what he'd bought and for who because he'd never remember by Christmas! He found a quiet spot along the river to sit for a few minutes and read one of the books he'd purchased. He'd been thrilled to see his books in the bookstore, under both Gemcity and his other penname, Zubin Cai.

Sitting on the riverbank made him think of Artemis. The two of them often met at their favorite spot along the Charles River, passing through Cambridge on its way to the Atlantic. They'd sit for as much time as she could spare from class and her studies and Tim could spare from the kids, back then that meant Sarah and Rob, classes, studies and work. They'd relax, laugh and dream together, often discussing their futures, their dreams, goals and aspirations. Tim sometimes talked to her regarding Sarah, his worries about and troubles with his little sister, and always appreciated Artie's thoughts and different perspectives.

She too had a younger sister, although the age difference was only 3 years rather than 6. She also had an older brother and so could offer differing perspectives of being a younger sister as well as an older one. Now, Tim lay back, his jacket folded under his head, as he thought about Artie. His daydreams were cut short by the buzz of his watch alarm, time to get back to real life.

In less than 10 minutes, he was back at the hotel where he found Rob and Greg playing cards and Kyle just waking up. As he helped him wash his face, Sarah and Dad arrived. As they drove to the bowling alley, Sarah told them about Old Sarum. Tim smiled to himself, it sounded wonderful but he was glad he'd had his time to dream by the river.

Bowling was fun and the kids bowled better than any of their adults. Rob and Greg had tracked down what takeout they wanted and Rob called their order in as they were finishing their last game. When they reached the restaurant, their food was ready, much to everyone's glee. They were all hungry.

Their dinner was delicious and cleanup was easy. Afterward, Tim popped a movie into the DVD player. He was enjoying it and then Greg was tugging on his sleeve, "Papa, wake up."

Opening his eyes, Tim laughed. He and Greg were the only ones awake and the movie was over. He woke the adults, sending them to their own rooms. That woke Kyle up; he stayed awake long enough for his bath and then was out like a light. No stories tonight! Greg was already in bed when Tim and Kyle emerged from the bathroom. Although he usually read for an hour before he went to sleep, tonight he was asleep before his papa changed into his jammies.

Back home in time to make sure Greg had enough clean uniform shirts and short pants for the week, the family relaxed Sunday evening. While Tim initially thought he'd want to stay home on Monday, one look at the calendar quickly changed his mind. June 8th, his first day of classes, was three weeks away; he still had a lot he wanted to see before then! Dad wasn't starting his consulting with the London office of NCIS just yet and Sarah and Rob said they'd take the kids to and from school.

Knowing his dad really wanted to see a castle, Tim looked online for some sort of day tour they could take. He found a bus tour that would take them to Warwick Castle, the one Sarah recommended, Stratford Upon Avon and Oxford. Showing Dad the details of the tour, he smiled when his father grabbed his jacket, asking when they were leaving. Tim purchased the tickets online and then noticed that the bus picked up passengers at hotels, but didn't specify which ones. He took a chance and called, pleased to reach anyone on a Sunday. He was even more pleased to find the bus could pick them up at one of the hotels in Brambury. That would save them time and money as they wouldn't have to go into London.

They left before the boys Monday morning, kissing them goodbye, both men carrying day packs in case they found treasures. There were two other people waiting for the tour bus at the hotel and the four of them climbed on when it rolled in, right on time.

Dad was like a kid at Warwick, wanting to see every part of the castle, from the ramparts to the dungeon. They had a good time comparing that to the holding cells at NCIS and the various jails and prisons they'd seen. Gibbs' eyes lit up when they saw the exhibits of various armaments and the life-sized figure of a knight in armor, mounted on a horse, holding a lance and ready for battle. Although they joked about it, Tim could easily imagine Sir Knight Gibbs and his men-at-arms (aka his team, although then it would be 'people-at-arms' to include Ziva or Ellie) riding off to defend their liege lord and the castle. When Dad declared Vance as the liege lord, Tim had to think about it, finally saying he'd sworn his loyalty to Sir Gibbs, he would perform his duties and responsibilities.

In Stratford Upon Avon, Dad surprised himself by knowing more about Shakespeare than he'd thought. The two of them enjoyed the visit to the town, learning more of the history of Shakespeare's time. Dad quipped that he was glad he didn't have to wear the men's clothing popular in the 16th century and Tim agreed. They had a few minutes to themselves after the tour and stopped to buy souvenirs, postcards and a few things for the boys.

Oxford was interesting and fun for Tim as they were shown some of the items, e.g., the staircase and the dining hall, that had appeared, somewhat transformed, in the Harry Potter movies. Dad liked the antiquity of the buildings, the river and the boats still in motion, although by then it was early evening.

They were home shortly after 7:00 PM, after a long, fun and interesting day. They told the boys about the castle and how they imagined the two of them riding off in their armor on trusty steeds.

Over the next 3 weeks, Tim crammed in as much sightseeing as he could during the week, visiting those museums and places that wouldn't be interesting to the boys. He was nearly a regular at the British and Science Museums although he stuck with his adult interests and not those exhibits the kids would like.

He did stay home for a couple of days when their belongings arrived from Alexandria. That was fun, he'd forgotten how much he loved his bed and his Dad-made nightstands. He'd already purchased and installed a new overhead light and it too looked great with his bed and the stands. He'd also purchased a small couch and chair for his room; with his bed, the room was complete. The extra bed was moved into the library for now and remembering the extra mattress they'd kept in the closet of the Silver Spring apartment for Geordie, Rob joked that this was their older brother's British bed.

The kids were excited to see their bikes, toys and books they'd been missing and Papa had to make some new rules about where they were allowed to ride their bikes. Luckily their driveway, as befit an old country house, was a half circle and the boys could ride or skate from one end to the other. Dad was also happy to have the rest of his tools. When Tobias and Tony packed for them after the attack on Tim, they'd packed all of his hand tools but left the heavier ones for the movers. His gardening tools were here now too, although not the lawnmower! But the house here had its own lawnmower and Dad had fun mowing. Tim was just glad he wouldn't have to do it every week, they'd trade off.

On the weekends, even after Tim started teaching, they traveled. They celebrated Kyle's 3rd birthday in style, taking the Flying Scotsman from London to Edinburgh for the weekend. Kyle had a great time, helped along by the Thomas and Friends TrackMaster™ Flying Scotsman he received for his birthday. They arrived in Edinburgh less than 5 hours later, checking into their Airbnb lodging, before a brief walking tour. Later, while they were again on the Royal Mile, Greg tugged on his papa's arm, "There's the museum we read about, the _Museum of Childhood_!"

They all smiled at that, wondering what they'd find inside. It was a rambling old museum full of fun things to look and play with, plenty of old toys from the last couple of centuries. Grandpa's face lit up when he spotted a few toys he recognized and even Papa saw a toy or two he remembered from his short childhood. After they'd had enough, they continued their walk up to Edinburgh Castle and had a great time exploring it. All in all, they had a wonderful trip, spent exploring the ancient city, and it opened their eyes to the many places they could visit on weekends.

Another weekend they visited Cardiff, Wales, the castle there and a beach nearby which supposedly had dinosaur fossils. They thought they'd found one but it turned out to be just a piece of driftwood.

The next trip, they drove through the tunnel to France and toured some of the towns along the coast. That was followed by a trip to Brighton, then Bath, Glastonbury, the Cotswolds and the Isle of Skye, which had been on Tim's list since he first read about Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Other weekends they explored London and their own backyard. Knowing tourist season would be upon them by early June, they took another continental trip before the rest of the tourists arrived, this time to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. They added a day onto their weekend for that trip and enjoyed every second of it, bringing home more Belgian chocolate, wooden shoes, tiny windmills and other trinkets than they could possibly eat or play with. And photos, photos on each of their cell phones that were uploaded to their online photo albums, with links sent to Tim and Dad's NCIS family along with the Baltimore group.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Along with the train trip to Scotland, Kyle's birthday was celebrated with a backyard party attended by all of his preschool classmates. As there were only 10 in his class, that was manageable. Tim asked one of the teachers and she kindly gave him several pointers about 3-year-old birthday celebrations. They played some of the games they played at school and set up various fun things for the kids to do. There were 3 tables set up with activities on each for the children, they could move between them to try everything or stick with their favorite. One table had sand and toy earth movers. Another table had play dough and cookie cutters; a third table had pictures cut from magazines, with glue and paper to put them on in any kind of pattern they wanted. The kids had fun, they sang songs they knew from school and had a cupcake and juice each.

More weekends were spent exploring London, visiting the Tower of London, seeing a matinee performance of _Shrek_ as part of Kyle's birthday family celebration and making their first family visit to the British Museum.

During the last week in May, Tim received a call from a senior officer at MI-5, asking if he'd be willing to consult for the agency. After some thought, he'd responded that he would like to be a consultant, as long as he was not in the field and his availability would be dependent on someone being home for his sons. He agreed to contact the agency after he'd seen his class schedule.

The first week in June was Greg's half-term holiday and the family spent it in Ireland. They flew to Dublin on Friday night, picked up their "Dublin Pass Card' which would give them discounts to many places they wanted to see, including a 'hop on, hop off' double decker bus, and then Ubered to their Airbnb accommodations, a large flat close to transportation and the city center. They were all tired, so after a walk to a nearby park and time to play on the swings, slides and climbing equipment, they returned to their home for the week, buying food for dinner and breakfast on the way back, turning in early.

The next morning, they were up and out early. Their first stop was Trinity College, where they saw the Book of Kells, much to Sarah and Tim's delight. As fans of Star Wars, Tim, Rob and Greg noticed the resemblance of the main library to the Jedi Archive Temple. The next museum they went to was a lot of fun for all of them. Called Dublinia, the museum had recreated the streets of Dublin as they would have been in the Middle Ages, when the Vikings were around. There was a lot of history presented in a fun way so that even little Kyle was engrossed. There were Viking clothes to try on and medieval games from the time period to play.

After that, the boys needed a break. They went to the park at St. Stephen's Green, where the kids chased the ducks, explored little forests and generally had a good time. While they were playing, Grandpa and Aunt Sarah returned to a deli they'd passed on the way and bought lunch. Before they left the park, they enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Next was a surprise for the kids, a Viking Splash tour! They toured the city and the waterways in an amphibious vehicle, each of them wearing Viking helmets and channeling their inner Viking. It was even more fun because of their visit to the Dublinia museum that morning. Kyle and Greg were both quite good at Viking yells, although Grandpa won for best adult Viking cry.

After they landed on dry land, they found one of the hop-on/off buses and climbed up to the top deck. The boys settled in, still wearing their Viking hats, waving to everyone. They hopped off at the National Museum which they all enjoyed and then that was enough for the day.

Back at their Airbnb flat, Kyle took a nap while Papa and Rob went to the grocery store, buying enough food for the rest of their stay. They'd brought an insulated bag and cold packs with them so they could take snacks and picnic lunches with them every day.

On Sunday, they took a train called the Dart, providing rail service from/to Dublin and its suburbs. As the day was sunny and warm, they went north to the fishing port of Howth. They walked to the lighthouse, Kyle riding in the Daddy pack, pausing at the West Pier to look at King George IV's footsteps. The monarch visited there on his first trip to Ireland in 1821 and his footsteps were set in concrete. When Grandpa put his foot next to one of the King's, they all laughed, obviously modern feet were much larger than ancient ones! Or at least of those particular ancient footprints.

From the lighthouse, they could see seals in the water and playing on the rocks and watched them for several minutes. After exploring what there was to see, they caught another train and got off at Sutton, spending the rest of the afternoon on the beach and in the water, everyone but Rob getting their feet wet. Rob was more susceptible to the cold and opted to remain on the nice warm sand.

Taking the train back to the city, they Ubered back to their flat as everyone but Rob was damp.

That night, Grandpa announced a surprise for all of them, he'd arranged for a private day tour that would take them from Dublin to the medieval city of Kilkenny. A limousine would pick them up in the morning, drive them to Kilkenny and then bring them home in the afternoon. They'd have their own guide with lots of fun things to see and do, including walking through an old castle. They'd take the Daddy pack for Kyle, in case he needed to be taller to see things. Aside from snacks, they didn't need to bring anything as they'd have lunch out.

Tim didn't say anything but he'd looked into private day tours and found they cost in the hundreds of dollars. Still, he knew his father loved being able to treat them and Kilkenny sounded interesting and fun. Additionally, there was good weather forecast for the day while rain was expected on Tuesday. That would work out well, he had three or four places identified to visit for rainy days, all in Dublin.

The tour was great, they had a wonderful time looking out the windows of the limo as it took them to Kilkenny, the boys able to see from the safety seats provided. There was a lot of walking but Kyle alternated walking and riding in his Daddy pack on either Papa, Uncle Rob or Grandpa's back. That made everything easier and more enjoyable. Tim and the boys especially loved the castle, looking into every corner. Lunch was in a pub and quite tasty. By now, they'd eaten in pubs in Brambury and London and knew the drill and the usual menu. After an interesting and fun day, they rode back to Dublin, Kyle sleeping the entire 90 minutes.

On Tuesday, they were tired and decided to spend the morning at the flat before taking the boys to Imaginosity, a museum for children. There were all sorts of interactive experiences, with role playing activities and things for the children to experience themselves. Inside the museum was a climbing tower with a tree house at the top. On their climb up, they passed through a ship, a wizard's workshop, a fairytale castle and a rocket. There was a play supermarket and a play doctor's office that let you listen to your heartbeat, sounding like a drum. Tim, Sarah and Rob took the boys, while Dad went on a tour of the Guinness storehouse. Back at the flat that evening, Greg and Kyle had a wonderful time telling Grandpa all about their latest adventures.

For the rest of their stay, they wandered. On Wednesday, they took a bus out of the city and saw more of the beautiful countryside, stopping in a little village for lunch and just to look around. On Thursday, their last full day, they wandered through Dublin, getting more of a flavor of the city, taking in more of the sights, visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral and doing some shopping.

Friday, they packed, tidied the flat and returned to the airport for their flight home. Once they landed, they headed for the train for a quick ride to Brambury, where an Uber vehicle delivered them to the house. Arriving mid-afternoon, the 6 of them agreed they'd had a wonderful time and needed a rest before tackling unpacking. Greg woke his papa 3 hours later, he and Kyle were hungry.

They took the weekend to unpack, do laundry and prepare for the coming week, Greg's return to school, Kyle's return to his nursery/pre-school, Rob's first days of his London residency and Tim's return to work, his first week of professorship at Bedford!

Grandpa took the boys to school Monday morning while Tim walked to the university for his first class. He'd been over Saturday afternoon to set up his desk in a shared office. His morning classes went well, during his break he met with his department Master, followed by his afternoon classes.

One of the differences between what he'd experienced at MIT and here was the requirement to wear the academic regalia Tim had earned with his Masters and Doctorate for the first day of classes and for all ceremonies. He had the appropriate robe and accoutrements and took them into his office on Saturday, hanging them, with his name pinned on, in a small coat closet. He slipped into his office before class and managed to put everything on correctly. When one of his office-mates arrived and did the same thing, Tim was relieved and asked the man to take a photo of him. That evening, he sent the photo to the Porters as well as Tony, Ducky and Lu, knowing they'd share with the others.

That Monday was also Rob's first day of his residency. Since their unexpected early arrival, he'd been called to 'fill in' at the hospital when needed but now he'd be working full-time as a 3rd year pediatric resident. He'd moved into his flat after their return from Edinburgh and was excited to be 'back in business' again.

When Tim got home that evening, the first thing he did was to post his class schedule. He had classes on Monday and Wednesday from 8-12, a break until 1 and then classes until 5. Tuesdays and Thursdays, he had classes from 8AM until 7PM, with a 90-minute break midday. His Friday schedule was shorter, from 7:30 AM until 11 AM. His last day of class coincided with the end of term for Greg the penultimate week of July. Unless he could do the MI-5 consulting from home, he didn't see how he could do anything on any day but Friday. And giving up his Friday afternoons was not an option. Ultimately, he thanked the agency for the opportunity but turned them down, not willing to tie up what little spare time he'd have.

In the meantime, Dad gave NCIS a schedule of his available hours, working around Tim's class schedule so he'd be available to take the children to and from school and be home with them Tuesday and Thursday evenings. He rode into the city Tuesday to meet the Senior Supervising Agent, Joel Morris, and was also introduced to the team, the SFA, Lydia Worden, a junior agent, Julian Bashon-Martin and another junior agent, Laurel Miller.

As he related the meeting to Tim that evening, Gibbs told his son that Miller was the most 'airy-fairy' agent he'd ever met. During the brief team meeting in the conference room, she'd been unfocused and he thought playing with her phone under the table. Tim's eyebrows hit his forehead before he started laughing, sure that his former Boss was kidding, or at least exaggerating.

June flew by. The last week of the month, the Director of MI-5 contacted Tim, asking that he, Sarah and Gibbs come into the office after Tim was through with his last class that Friday. The invitation also included Rob, but the director understood when he wasn't available.

After days of speculation, the three of them arrived at the agency and were ushered into the director's office. They were surprised to find SSA Morris and FBI Director Sailes waiting for them. They'd conjectured there was news about the trial but expected to be on a video chat with Acting Director Craig and Sailes. Tim and Sarah were introduced to Morris, who explained that Acting Director Craig had delegated to him, and Sailes, who greeted them warmly, asking about their lives in the UK.

The news was only indirectly about the trial. The murderer of Kathy Hart, Winston Frayne, was dead, having suffered a fatal brain aneurysm two days before. An autopsy had already been performed to confirm the cause of death and that it was a natural cause, that no artificial means had been used to trigger the aneurysm.

Having delivered his news, Morris bade them goodbye, leaving for his office. Sailes then told Tim, Gibbs and Sarah that he believed NCIS would contact Tim soon to return to work at the agency. Tim understood he needed to speak with Ms. Rowe, his attorney. Shaking his head, he told his father and sister that he hoped they were done with the Patrick-suits-murder drama.

Sailes also told them that the photos Tim had in his pocket when he was attacked revealed encrypted information which had been decrypted and placed in the hands of the U.S. Attorney General. He handed Tim the packet of photos, they'd been able to save them. When Tim finally looked at them, he smiled, they'd had the professional copies made for the boys. Above and beyond!

Between his family and his classes, Tim procrastinated about calling his attorney. When the family received an invitation to the Morrises' home for a Fourth of July party, they were happy to accept. Although they now knew people in Brambury, at the university, at the primary and nursery schools, they hadn't yet met any other expats in town and hadn't figured out what to do for their Independence Day celebration. The party at the Morrises' was fun, they met several other expat families as well as the team and the Intel Analysts.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Over the next few weeks, the family stuck with exploring Greater London as tourists on vacation poured into the UK from all over the world. As Greg's birthday, his 7th, fell on a weekday, they celebrated the weekend before. He asked two of his new friends to see the musical "Newsies", followed by cake and ice cream at home. As with Kyle's birthday, his family celebration was separate and included video chats with his entire family.

One word of advice Joel Morris gave Dad when he began consulting was to make reservations immediately for anything they wanted to do between June and September. Not only would the island be crowded with tourists but the British themselves would begin traveling as soon as school was out in July.

That was probably the best piece of advice they'd had. After a fair amount of discussion and research, they decided that as soon as school was out, they wanted to spend a few days on a beach in Cornwall. They also confirmed plans for a trip to Prague before Tony, Ducky and Tobias arrived for their visit in August.

One of the things that group decided was to stay together in a vacation rental rather than a hotel. With 9 of them, they'd need several rooms. When the vacation rentals they found only slept 6, they upped their budget and started looking for villas to rent.

For their stay in Cornwall, Tim and Sarah found a cottage right on the beach, literally steps from the water. The cottage had 3 bedrooms, a full kitchen, a common area and an outdoor shower. Unfortunately, Rob couldn't go, but for a good cause, he would be in Greece with them.

They didn't waste any time after last classes for Greg and Tim, heading out late that same night for their beach vacation. Heeding Sarah's warnings, they brought jackets as the weather could include rainy, even stormy, days. Loving the cottage as soon as they laid eyes on it, they settled in for days of fun in the sand and water, with time also set aside for exploration.

Their second afternoon, Tim and Greg were outside, showering off the sand prior to eating lunch inside when Tim's phone chimed with a call. He didn't answer as the phone was in his pack on the kitchen table. However, Kyle, who'd already showered with Grandpa, did hear it. Grandpa was in the bathroom but Aunt Sarah was there.

"Aunty Sarah, someone's calling Papa and he's in the shower. Can I answer it?"

They were expecting a call from Rob so Sarah said yes, without looking at the time. Kyle, who'd already dug the phone out of the pack, grinned in excitement as he pressed the button to take the call. His play phone looked just like Papa's.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hello, is Tim McGee there?"

"He's outside in the shower. Aunt Sarah's here."

"May I speak with her, please?"

"Sure." Kyle looks at Sarah. "For you."

Sarah took the phone, wondering who it was, if not Rob. Tim's classes were over and he wasn't expected back to the university until late September. They'd spoken with Lu, Ducky, Tony, Abby, Larry and Cyndi before they left Brambury.

"This is Sarah."

"Sarah, this is Leon Vance from NCIS. I've just returned to the office after a lengthy time away and find your brother is missing."

As soon as she heard the name, Sarah's anger flared and the rest of Vance's statement didn't help at all.

"He's not missing. Why do you care where he is? You're the one who booted him out of the agency for no reason! Just…go away and leave our family alone, you and your effing Navy have caused us enough grief."

With an angry huff, she disconnected, stuffed Tim's phone back in his pack and went to find her younger nephew. Kyle had lost interest in the phone and was in the bedroom he and Greg shared, looking for his favorite toy earth mover. After lunch, they'd go back to the beach where he and Greg were going to build a castle!

Gibbs exited the bathroom and was starting to put lunch together when Tim and Greg came in. "Hey, beachcombers!"

Greg grinned, "Can we eat lunch on the beach?"

Papa shook his head, "Not today, I want your brother to take his nap inside. Remember how tired he was last night?"

"Okay."

Grandpa looked at Tim and Greg. Lunch was easier inside but he thought he'd stay inside today during Kyle's nap, no reason for all of them to be off the beach. Poor little guy, he hated missing anything but at 3 years, he still needed his afternoon nap. Yesterday, their first full day here, they'd tried letting him nap on the beach but that hadn't worked well.

"Tim, thought I heard your phone earlier. Think Sarah got it."

"Huh, if she didn't say anything, it must not have been Rob. Thanks, Dad."

Gibbs put lunch on the table and called for Kyle and Sarah. They came to the kitchen with one of Kyle's toys. "Papa, after my nap, Greggy and me are going to build a sand castle and I'm gonna use this to help scoop the sand away."

"That's a great idea, sweetie boy. How about we put it in your pack now, then it will be all ready for you."

"Ok!" Kyle carefully put it in his pack and then sat in his booster seat to eat his lunch.

Tim waited for Sarah to say something about the call but she didn't say anything and in fact looked upset about something.

When the boys were finished, they went to wash their hands and faces. The adults remained at the table with their beverages. Finally, Sarah sighed and opened her mouth to tell her brother about Vance's call. As she did so, Gibbs' phone rang. He disappeared into the room he was sharing with Tim to answer it.

"Hello, this is Gibbs."

"Gibbs, thank God!" Gibbs closed the bedroom door before replying.

"Leon? You ok? Where are you?"

In the kitchen, Sarah was telling Tim about her brief conversation with Vance. He was astounded that he'd heard from the man after 10 months. He was not unhappy when Sarah told him of her outburst.

"That's what I would have said. Maybe not those exact words but it's what he needed to be told, Sari, thanks!"

In the bedroom, Gibbs was pacing as he listened to Vance.

"We're home and I'm ready to get back to work. Couldn't sleep and came into the office early, decided to leave a message for McGee, dialed his extension and got voice mail for someone else. As Pam isn't in yet, I looked in our directory and there's no McGee listed. I called his cell, got a weird message to dial 011-44-20 and then the number. That got me his sister, who blasted me for booting her brother from the agency. While I was trying to figure that out, I decided to call you and your extension is now DiNozzo's! And you're not listed in the directory either. What's going on?"

Gibbs frowned at the phone, deciding to tell Vance about his actions and the consequences. "After Tim discovered his comatose brother back in October, you put Tim on an indefinite leave of absence, after he resigned from the agency. After protesting and waiting weeks to hear anything, he needed an income and you know, benefits. He's the legal guardian of his nephews, who call him Papa, and needed a job, fast. Long story short, he was offered a job at a university. I retired and came with them, the boys call me Grandpa. Right now, we're vacationing on a beach."

When Tim appeared in the doorway, Gibbs put his finger to his lips and while Vance was talking, put the phone on speaker.

"Gibbs…I did no such thing! I knew about the boys, he was to have his 4 weeks' family leave. Why would I boot him out? He's one of my top agents, I have big plans for him!"

" _Was_ one of them, he's now a college professor. Have no idea why you'd boot him out, Leon. Along with the slap in the face of the indefinite leave of absence, he was told he couldn't associate with any of us unless there were non-agency personnel around to witness our conversation. He wasn't allowed to stay on our team and wasn't allowed to transfer. We're federal agents, under oath, one he and I and everyone we work with take seriously. There's no way any of us would have discussed the Hart cases with him or him with us. This has been an insult to him and the rest of us. I shouldn't even be speaking with you. You need to talk with your Legal Department and have them speak with Tim's attorney about contact. Goodbye."

Gibbs disconnected, looking at Tim who was sitting on the bed shaking his head.

"I hate that all this is raising its ugly head."

"Timothy, maybe now there's a chance we'll find out what's been going on, why it's happening."

"Dad." Tim paused and then sighed before saying, "I'm not there anymore. This is my life now. I won't go backwards, I swore I'd never do that."

"Even if it means one step back, two steps forward?"

Tim gave him a look, finally shrugging.

Kyle went down for his nap and Sarah stayed in with him. "I've got some work I need to do, this is the perfect time."

Greg led his papa back to the beach. He didn't know what was wrong but Papa had been happy at lunch and now he wasn't. Grandpa wasn't either.

The beach cheered them up. Gibbs wished he hadn't pushed Tim while Tim wondered where that 'thicker' skin he thought he'd grown had disappeared to. The threesome went back to their chairs, towels and toys, and sat for about two minutes before Tim jumped up. "C'mon, Greggers, I'll race you to the water!"

The two of them raced to the shoreline where Tim grabbed his 7-year-old and twirled him over the wavelets lapping the sand. Lowering him slowly, he dipped the boy's toes into the water as Greg laughed helplessly. Tim turned and smiled at his father who, returning the smile, joined them.

As they played, Tim leaned toward his dad. "This is where I am now, where you are, present here in Cornwall, England with the boys and Sarah. Whatever happened before is the past. Maybe I'll take up the thread again, maybe not. That's for later."

Dad leaned over to kiss his head, "You're right. And I'm so proud of you I could burst."

Back in sync, they spent the next two hours playing with Greg and doing some preparation for the building of the future sand castle. When Kyle and Sarah appeared, they were hand in hand. The little boy carried his toy earth mover while his aunty had a bucket and two trowels she'd found in the garden shed.

It took the rest of the afternoon but the castle was finally built, complete with several towers and a Papa-made moat. Using Grandpa's phone, Greg and Kyle took several photos of their masterpiece as did Aunt Sarah and their papa. They sent some of the photos to Uncle Rob, at work in London, as well as Granducky, Uncle Tony and Aunt Abby.

They were just wrapping up when Tim's phone chimed with another call. He looked at the caller ID and then shook his head. "Ms. Rowe. Guessing this is Round 2."

Sarah and Dad got the kids to the outdoor shower while Tim took the call as he sat in one of their beach chairs. One of the things they loved about the cottage and beach was that their chairs and umbrella didn't have to be put away every evening.

"Hello, Ms. Rowe, this is Tim."

"Oh good, you're there! Hello! I heard you had a phone call earlier and I want to give you an update. First, though, is there any way we can do this on Skype – it's cheaper."

"Yes, I'll get it set up. Ping me in about 10 minutes?"

"Got it!"

Tim set up the Skype call in his and Dad's bedroom as it was noisy in the common area. When Ms. Rowe appeared on screen, she smiled, "It took a while for Round 2!"

Tim nodded as she continued, "Mr. Cahill called me after the calls to you and Agent Gibbs from Director Vance. The upshot of it is that Vance wants to rescind everything, the restrictions and the leave of absence, to be replaced only with the rejection of your resignation, the proper form for that and the family leave you should have had. I gave them our terms, including the honoring of your current contract; our terms were faxed to him. I received an email confirming he'd received, that he'd have to review and discuss with Director Vance. So now we wait but from the tone of my conversation with Cahill today, I don't think we'll be waiting long. Do you have anything to add?"

" _If_ I agree to return to NCIS in the U.S., I want them to pay for our move back, including our transportation and our belongings and they need to reimburse the FBI, London Metro PD and MI-5 for their expenses in protecting us. In the FBI's case, that includes transporting us from the US to the UK. If I return to NCIS here in the UK or anywhere outside the US, I want our expenses paid. I doubt we'd be able to stay in the house we're living in now."

"Would you need housing for a few weeks while you look for something?"

"Yes, if I go back, wherever we're posted, we'll need housing immediately and until we can find a place large enough for us. If I return to the Navy Yard, the place we'd normally stay has been rented. As the tenant has sublet his own place he would need to give 30 days notice to his lessee and then another couple of weeks to clean and move. Say 60 days. And of course your fees and expenses."

"Of course. And the apology."

"Yes. And I don't care if Vance apologizes to me by Skype or email, I still want it in writing and published to the agency. Whatever I said before."

"There was something about a cold day in hell but I'm getting the feeling you're not as firm about that."

"I do miss law enforcement but I won't go back to being a field agent. I won't put my kids through that. You'll send me a copy of the updated terms?"

"Of course. Does email work for you?"

"Yes, it hasn't changed. Thank you for your work."

"Pleasure to help a good guy, believe me! I'll let you know. If there are any challenges I can't deal with, I'll call, otherwise I'll email you."

"Good."

They disconnected and Tim stepped into the living area to gather the boys, it was time for their weekly Sunday call to Patrick. This week, their volunteer was Jimmy.

Dad looked up while Sarah supervised the boys making salad which made Tim want to laugh. It was probably the only thing as far as making a meal that she did well. Or at all. She'd never been interested in cooking. And Tim guessed that made sense, it wasn't as if she'd grown up around anyone cooking.

Dad cocked an eyebrow and Tim tilted his head and made a gesture with his hand. Things were happening but nothing was yet decided.

Finishing the salad, Sarah covered it and popped it into the refrigerator while Greg helped set the call up in the kitchen. When Jimmy answered, he was just walking into Patrick's room. He smiled at the images he saw, Tim, the boys, Gibbs and Sarah in a small bright room. "Where are you?"

Greg and Kyle giggled, "At the beach, Uncle Jimmy!" They told him what they'd been doing and he smiled at his friends, glad they were relaxing and having fun with the kids. Then he listened as the kids repeated everything for Patrick along with telling him about their school and what games they played in their garden. He blinked back tears as Tim told his brother how much the boys had grown, how much they were all enjoying the UK and feeling safe. Jimmy signed off using ASL to tell them he missed them and would see them, here, in 20 weeks or at their next family Skype call, whichever came first.

The call was typical of their calls through their volunteers in Patrick's room. The volunteer of the week saw the McGees and Gibbs and heard the family news while the boys and Tim spoke to the silent body in the bed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Vance hung up the phone with Secretary Porter feeling like he'd stepped into a nightmare version of his job, which wasn't sunshine and roses on the best of days. Madam Secretary hadn't been much help and Leon had a headache. He shook out two of the over-the-counter tablets he was allowed to take and swallowed them with a glass of water. Pulling out his phone, he made an entry. With his immune system still not at full strength, his doctors wanted him to keep track of any physical ailments, like the headache, any probable cause and what, if anything, he'd taken for the ailment.

Next, he called Cahill who was in his office in less than two minutes. "I have an updated set of demands from McGee's attorney. She spoke with him."

Vance was very unhappy with his Legal Department. "I want to know who instigated this. I know you said O'Connell was 'misguided' but there's more to this than what's happened between Agent McGee and NCIS."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you know he was attacked?"

Cahill shook his head, "Was he hurt?"

"Yes. He and his children were harassed before the attack and after it, the FBI, who was guarding them after NCIS apparently dropped the ball, determined they couldn't keep them safe." Vance's voice was low and any of his agents could have told Cahill he was spitting mad.

"Director, I wasn't here!"

"Who the hell authorized a 5 month leave for you?"

"Acting Director Craig. I wrote McGee as soon as I saw what happened."

"It still happened. The man was still booted out of his job and told not to contact his family!"

"Sir…" Cahill still wasn't following.

"Get out of my office. Fix this, agree to whatever Tim wants, he deserves it."

"Director, that could cost…"

"Do it and get out." Vance was standing now, walking toward the attorney. He hadn't lost his temper in nearly a year but he was so mad now he was afraid he'd lose control.

Cahill was backing toward the door when Pam came in, "Director, sorry to interrupt but Agent Carter needs to see you asap." She waited for Cahill to leave, nodded at her boss and closed the door after her. Vance waited a few minutes before he realized she'd lied to get Cahill out of his office.

When she knocked a few minutes later, she found him working on a legal pad. He nodded to her, "Thanks for getting him out of here. I'm trying to put all the pieces together. Do you think DiNozzo would be willing to help me?"

She smiled, "I'm sure he will, this has been especially hard on Gibbs' family."

Vance held up a finger, meaning to wait. Writing a note, he handed it to her. She read it, wrote something on the bottom, gave it back to him, he looked at it, adding something else before he gave it back to her.

With Pam helping him, he started the ball rolling on his own internal investigation. Until he knew who he could trust, he would not go to Internal Affairs. By the end of the morning, he'd meet with Agent DiNozzo, whom he trusted implicitly, hoping to have a timeline sketched out.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The rest of the beach vacation went well although too quickly. The day after Vance's call, it drizzled all day. They piled into the car for a drive, having a fun day exploring the area, finding an reproduction of an old ship that the kids explored and a horse farm open to the public. The farm had pony rides and the kids had a blast, not caring in the slightest if they got drizzled on while they rode. In town, they bought souvenirs, seashells, t-shirts and postcards and then, after finishing their lunch in a family friendly restaurant, wrote notes to their friends and family on the cards. They'd remembered to buy stamps with the cards and asked the cashier at the restaurant where to mail them. They'd already sent photos to everyone.

The rest of their time was spent on the beach in the warm sunshine. Tim, Sarah and Gibbs found the description of 'warm' amusing as the high was in the mid-60's Fahrenheit which would be considered quite cool and very welcome in July in the DC metro area. The high temperatures in DC that week were in the high 90's with 75% humidity, about average.

The day before they left, they were all on the beach and all but Sarah in the water when Tim received a text from his attorney, asking for another Skype call. Sarah heard the buzz of his phone and told her brother. Asking her to read it, she told him and answered for him, saying he wouldn't be available for the next 48 hours. This was their last day of vacation and being with his family and in the water was more important. Although Sarah didn't put all that in, just stated the delay.

Ms. Rowe grinned to herself as she texted the acting head of the NCIS Legal Department, a woman named Horner, of the delay. In his office, Vance tried not to grind his teeth as he reminded himself that not only had someone at NCIS created this mess but that the McGee family was on vacation. Tim's kids were not going to be little forever, time with them was important. Vance certainly knew that with his own family. In the past year, he thought his kids had grown several inches apiece.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Vance settled in to wait out the 48 hours. He had plenty to do, but he was still thinking about his first day back, the frustrating phone calls and the meeting with his newest Team Leader, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

That first morning, when Tony got the call from Pam that Director Vance wanted to see him, he had conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he was relieved as getting anything done with the workarounds he and his new peers implemented had been tough. On the other hand, he worried that Vance had been involved or at least knew about the McGee-Hart fiasco. Determined, he'd grabbed the files he needed and headed up the stairs.

He hadn't thought much about it since Pam's call, but when he walked into the inner office and saw Director Leon Vance sitting behind his desk, he smiled, a real genuine smile. Maybe things were about to get better.

"Director, it's good to see you."

"And you, DiNozzo. Congratulations on your promotion, it's well-deserved and long overdue."

Tony had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping open. As an opener, that was almost guaranteed to quell any fears or concerns. However, DiNozzo hadn't worked with Gibbs as long as he had for nothing. He nodded his appreciation and then, following Vance's gesture, sat at the conference table.

When Vance engaged the SCIF, DiNozzo allowed himself to let go of a little more concern. He wasn't sure which topic Vance would want to cover first but thought it would be McGee's banishment.

He was right. Vance looked at the folders on the table. "Couple of things we need to discuss. One is, of course, McGee. Another is what happened here; I've spent the last few hours outlining what happened, when, who and how. Third might be related, who proposed your new agents and when."

Tony nodded. "First, I need to tell you that your SCIF was compromised at some point after Tim was banished but before Gibbs retired. He and the other Team Leads thought something was wrong when it kept going off and on. They were already suspicious of certain people and so didn't call attention to it but limited their conversations to case work. McGee was already at MIT and under protection of the FBI. Gibbs contacted him for advice and he contacted the Bureau's Buck Fuller, who co-developed the SCIF with him. Buck found the breach and installed some new and tighter security that McGee would have already installed if he hadn't been tossed out of the agency. He said the breach would never have happened with the update. I only know this because Gibbs gave me the file for the incident before he left; there's a copy of McGee's work calendar and one of the items is the update that never happened."

He handed Vance that file and mentally crossed it off his list. "Do you have questions about what happened with Tim?"

"Yes. I'm confused about most of it."

"I've written what I experienced and Gibbs included his and Tim's write-ups. I don't know if Ms. Rowe, Tim's lawyer, is aware we have a copy of this. Strike that, I'm sure Tim would have told her. Gibbs and I also included some suspicions and theories. The other Team Leads have more to add." He handed Vance the folder with his and Gibbs' write ups.

"Thank you. Now, will you please tell me what you saw happening?"

"We got the missing person case when it was called in by Tim's friend Lu Morgan and Gibbs invoked his Rule #38, giving McGee the lead. While we started investigating, he called a friend, Sgt. Barry Rudd of the Baltimore PD, asking him to check for any Jane Does. Rudd found a body in their city morgue that matched Kathy Hart, complete with identifying mole. Gibbs, McGee and Mrs. Morgan went to the Baltimore morgue for the identification. Before they left here, McGee ordered a protection detail for Commander Hart as his former CO stated that he is, was, involved in special ops if not black ops. The CO told McGee he'd need to go to the White House for any information on Hart.

"The missing woman had two sons, Greg and Kyle, and the three were regular guests at the 59th St. Mission, which is managed by Mrs. Morgan. Ms. Hart's husband is a Navy Commander who at the time was at Bethesda Hospital in a coma. He's still comatose and has now been moved to a long-term care facility called Restful Haven, closer to Baltimore.

"When we first received the call, the boys were at school and day care. When Greg's teacher left, she took him to the school office and left him in the hands of Mrs. Marla Hoover. She's the one who called Mrs. Morgan for any information about Kathy Hart's whereabouts.

"After Mrs. Morgan identified the body as Kathy Hart, Baltimore PD ceded jurisdiction to NCIS because of the Navy connection. They summoned Ducky and Jimmy who were in the morgue before the others left. After leaving there, Gibbs and McGee took Lu, that is, Mrs. Morgan, back to the shelter. Then they went to Bethesda to see Commander Hart.

"I wasn't present at the hospital but Agents Carter and Gibbs were in Hart's hospital room and witnessed McGee's reaction to him and his actions shortly after. They wrote up witness statements which are in Gibbs' file." Tony picked up that file folder, handing it to Vance.

"After leaving the hospital, McGee and Gibbs made two stops before returning to the office. One was at a private lab where Tim dropped off 2 DNA samples to be tested clean, no databases were to be consulted. His order was to test the samples against each other and also look for any anomalies. The second stop was at a diner for dinner."

"The children had been at NCIS with various employees who are certified foster parents. Once the team had given sitreps and found bus routes for the case, we were dismissed for the night and Gibbs and McGee took the boys to Gibbs' house to stay. As it was after 0300 when we left, you ordered us to stand down until 1300 the next day, a Friday.

"Friday, we had the autopsy report and information from the bus company and Kathy Hart's employer. Agent Bishop and I left the office to interview witnesses who'd come forward after hearing about the murdered woman. While we were gone, McGee and Gibbs planned to interview 3 employees of the dry cleaners where Mrs. Hart worked. The first interviewee had already been cleared of any involvement but he had valuable information. The second interviewee also had valuable information and his alibi checked out.

"The third interviewee had a sealed juvenile record. When we received the permissions to open the record, both agents felt they'd found a solid suspect. He had motive and opportunity. Before they had a chance to interview him, Bishop and I returned with descriptions of the man who'd accosted Kathy Hart at the bus stop – and they all matched Winston Frayne, the suspect. At that point, reviewing Frayne's file, McGee consulted with O'Connell in the Legal Dept. There were a couple of items in his file that Tim felt might force a change in our usual protocol.

"When O'Connell got back to him, he started asking strange questions and McGee got suspicious, asking if the questions mandated changes. O'Connell admitted they did not, he was being 'extra cautious'. That raised hackles for both McGee and Gibbs. O'Connell did promise to push through a court order to draw blood from the suspect that Abby would then test for the medications he was supposed to be on.

"In the meantime, the suspect was still in the holding cell. With the information in his file, Gibbs and McGee notified Holding personnel that the suspect needed as much quiet as possible and that until he had the chance to be interviewed and ask for legal representation, anything he said should not be recorded or addressed unless he was in dire need.

"The court order was granted in a very short time and Dr. Palmer drew blood. McGee and I approached the suspect and told him what was going on. McGee had previously asked me to Mirandize the suspect and I did so then.

"Late that afternoon, McGee received word from the lab that he and Commander Hart are half-siblings, they have the same mother. After Tim recovered from the shock of discovering he was not a McGee by birth, he asked you for time to visit his brother. He'd already recused himself from the case and agreed he would take family leave to spend with his nephews."

"We know that Secretary Porter was at the hospital when Tim was there, the two of them met in Admiral Albert's office, using the SCIF. Gibbs has included what Tim told him she said, but none of us have approached her about it."

"While McGee was at Bethesda, Gibbs was told by Legal, again it was O'Connell, that Tim couldn't stay with him, that he couldn't work on our team or any of the teams that were providing protection details, which was all of our teams, the Pentagon, DC Field Office and their subordinate offices in Maryland."

"Gibbs told him that night when he got back to the house from Bethesda. Feeling he had no choice, McGee sent in his resignation, copying Secretary Porter. Several days later he received a letter saying his resignation was rejected, but the form required by the Federal Government informing someone they're an 'essential' employee was not included. Also in the envelope were a list of restrictions he'd have to follow until Frayne's trial was over and a Leave of Absence form, signed by you and stating that the leave was 'indefinite'. No salary, no benefits."

"Tim's brother Rob and their friends from Baltimore, including Sgt. Rudd, arrived at Gibbs' house the next morning, helping McGee and his nephews move to his 1-bedroom apartment in Silver Spring. And that's where any personal contact with Tim ended for all of us at NCIS. We weren't even allowed to provide protection details, that went to the FBI."

"During the next few weeks, Tim's sister Sarah, who is legal guardian of Commander Hart, arrived and a service was held for Kathy Hart. Everyone went, including SecNav, the Brass and a lot of suits. Tim, the boys, Sarah and Rob sat in the front and Tim never even looked at anyone. There was a reception afterward but he left with the boys. Sarah, Rob and their friends handled the reception although they didn't speak to Secretary Porter, anyone from NCIS or anyone in a uniform. Their friends stood in for them.

"In October, Gibbs received a letter from Tim telling him that he and the boys were moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he would be teaching at MIT for several weeks. As he didn't yet have the address where they'd be staying, Tim gave Gibbs the contact information of friends, both professors, in Cambridge.

"Fed up with the insulting restrictions imposed on our family, Gibbs contacted the professors, telling them he wanted to see Tim over the Thanksgiving holiday. In the end, Tim's brother Rob joined him, they drove up to Cambridge and surprised Tim. That broke the ice. Earlier that week, Dr. Donovan, Tim's boss at MIT, asked him to stay on through May. Tim had also received a job offer from a prestigious university offering him a job as a visiting professor, starting in June. He'd already retained Ms. Rowe as attorney and she informed him that his resignation stood. Without that 'essential employee' form, there was no legal way the agency could make him stay.

"Tim and the boys rode home with Gibbs on Thanksgiving Saturday and we all had dinner at Gibbs' that evening. We've been in touch ever since and I'm planning on visiting them week after next."

"When did Gibbs retire – and why?"

"Gibbs and McGee have grown closer since the incident with Kevin Hussein in Russia. At some point they agreed to be father and son to each other. Rob has also joined in and I wouldn't be surprised if Sarah has too. Anyway, when Tim accepted the visiting professor gig, he asked Gibbs to visit as often as possible. By then the boys were calling Tim 'Papa' and 'Daddy' and asked Gibbs to be their grandpa. That sealed the deal and when Tim asked him to come with them, he agreed.

"The third week of April, before the end of McGee's term at MIT, he was attacked on the streets of Cambridge by some of the 'suits' who frequently followed him. He fought them off as best he could but there were four of them, armed with clubs and knives. Tim knocked two of them unconscious but the other two went at him with at least one knife. When a shopkeeper came out with a gun and winged one of the attackers, he and his buddy took off, throwing their friends under the bus. EMTs, local PD and the FBI were there in less than 3 minutes. Tim's FBI protection detail had been distracted by a bomb threat.

"At least Greg and Kyle's details were alert, they had the school and day care on lockdown before the ambulance arrived. Tim was banged up, had a knife wound in his neck and lost consciousness at the scene but woke in the ambulance. Because Tim saw the knife, he was able to move a little before the strike. The doctors said that move saved his life. Although the knife didn't hit anything vital, it barely missed his blood vessels. None of his other injuries were life-threatening. They kept him long enough for Gibbs to fly up, actually the Bureau flew him and Rob to the hospital and he was discharged later that day."

Vance swore before saying, "The two he knocked out?"

"Ghosts. No IDs and they won't talk but they're military of some sort and they are Americans. The CIA were investigated and they're clean in this regard."

"The one who was shot?"

"Found the bullet in the sidewall of a tire on a car parked in the street with blood on it so it was a through and through. Abby was working on the blood, obtaining IDs or any information but after suits started following her, the Bureau took it all. They still haven't found anything."

"Are they being followed by these 'suits'?"

"No, this is definitely Navy related." DiNozzo hesitated and Vance gestured to continue.

"Before he left, Gibbs and I discussed what was happening. We know from Captain Sheridan, Hart's former CO, that he was high level black ops. Tim said that SecNav asked why Hart hadn't been moved to a long-term care facility, it was one of the questions McGee posed to you. The answer was that the CO felt that would be tantamount to abandoning a fallen soldier. When she asked the questions, someone would answer her but nothing was written. We think there's an off-the-books black ops agency behind all this, situated at a very high level so they're not accountable to anyone but the White House. Gibbs even theorized that the 3 medical staff who were arrested for drugging Hart worked for that agency and had been moles in the cartel. They're dead, by the way, all 3 of them."

Vance shook his head, "McGee had been in Cambridge since late October, right?"

DiNozzo nodded and the director continued, "What happened in April to change things? What initiated that attack? Did McGee uncover something? Was he going to talk with someone? Did he have something on him that they wanted?"

DiNozzo shrugged as he brushed a finger across an eyebrow. Vance nodded and changed direction.

He frowned, "What about AD Craig? Was he consulted about any of this?"

"He was but his response has been that he hadn't handled any of it, only knew about it when Gibbs told him."

"Has he stepped up to do anything about this situation?"

DiNozzo looked warily at his boss. "In what respect?"

"Did he talk with Secretary Porter or Tim – or Legal?"

"Not with Tim; Tim placed a call to him while he was at MIT, was told Craig wasn't available. He left a message but never heard back; he followed up with at least 2 other calls with no response. And I don't know whether Craig spoke with Secretary Porter or the Legal Department."

"How has he done running the agency? I've been preoccupied with the McGee fiasco all morning, haven't yet told him I'm in the office."

"Director, I only know what we've experienced here. He has not been proactive about anything and when we've approached him for help, with warrants, etc., he'll only sign if we already have the evidence we need."

"Huh? Why would you need warrants…do you mean anecdotal evidence or instinctive evidence?" Over the years, that was the definition the directors, starting with Morrow, had developed to apply to Gibbs' gut hunches.

"No, sir. Physical evidence."

Vance closed his eyes. "Your honest opinion, please, Tony. Is he too cautious, lazy, stupid or is he in on this fubar against McGee?"

"I believe Craig, O'Connell, probably Cahill and possibly someone in HR have been compromised. Unless O'Connell knew the correct forms. And someone approved using your electronic signature on the letter to Tim."

"Only Craig or Secretary Porter. Tell me what you know about Legal."

"Days after we last saw you, Cahill asked for a 5 months long emergency leave, leaving O'Connell as the de facto head of the department. And yes, Craig approved it. It's probably better you don't ask how we know."

"Gibbs and you?"

DiNozzo shook his head, "All of the team leads. Gibbs read me in before he left."

"So at least two, possibly three or four agency personnel have been threatened, bribed or blackmailed into going against their oaths by a deep level black ops American agency who left one of their own wounded unprotected until his brother stepped in. And then proceeded to follow and harass said brother, eventually pushing him away from the agency. But that wasn't enough, so it's not Frayne's case, but you knew that."

DiNozzo nodded, "Yes. Also, Frayne was in a psychiatric hospital being evaluated to see if he was sane enough to stand trial. We learned from Tim and Gibbs, who were told by FBI Director Sailes, that Frayne is dead. The autopsy proved natural causes, a brain aneurysm." As Tony didn't know if Vance knew where Tim and the family lived, he didn't mention the London office SSA being present at the meeting.

"Great, that's just peachy. Did Sailes contact Craig? Scratch that question, I'm sure he did and Craig didn't bother letting anyone else know. So there will be no trial, no justice for Kathy Hart or her sons. Or her husband but he must have known what his puppet masters were like. Was there any hint of involvement by the black ops ghouls in Ms. Hart's murder?"

"No, sir, we investigated that. This was a crime of opportunity. She had $150 in cash and a pawn ticket for her jewelry that he wanted. We still don't know why the Navy hadn't paid her the support she was due. We put in a request to hire a forensics accountant to find out why she lost the house but Craig wouldn't go for it."

"Another nail in the coffin of his career with NCIS." He paused, "Are they safe where they are? McGee, the kids and Gibbs?"

"So far. They have help and the town they're in is small enough that strangers stand out. Trouble is, it's a university town so there are frequent visitors, not to mention students changing every term. My theory is that the four who attacked might not have been following orders and the puppet masters are now lying low."

"What about the FBI, are they still providing protection detail?"

"Yes." It was a bit of a stretch but the Bureau had asked London Metro and MI-5 to watch over the McGee family and DiNozzo figured that was close enough for now.

"Where are they? I know they're at a beach right now but where do they live?"

DiNozzo shook his head, "I don't have permission from McGee to tell anyone that, Director, not even you."

Vance sighed. "He thinks I was in on this."

"He did at first. When it got ugly he decided you weren't but he's angry, Director, and bitter. Considering how the Navy has treated his family for most of his life and the horrors of his childhood, it's understandable and you are tightly connected to the Navy. Something else, Kathy Hart's support money is now being paid to the children, via Tim. There is still no word on the McGees' support money from their childhood. Secretary Porter promised to look into it but that was before you left. There's been nothing since then."

"So they allowed support for the Hart children's support but not Commander McGee's children?"

"Yes, sir. Except that should be two different entities, shouldn't it? The Navy for McGee and the black ops agency for Hart, only the money might be sent through the Navy, filtered, if you will." Tony sat back, thinking about what he knew about Commander McGee.

"Sir, are you familiar with the McGees' case file?"

"For the hit and run?" DiNozzo nodded and Vance thought for a few seconds. "No, I've never seen it. Morrow told me his predecessor had a special team on it, this was in the 90's, years after the case had gone cold. Gibbs was involved on the outer fringes of it but he was a new junior agent on Franks' team at the time. Do you have a reason to look at it?"

"I don't know. Might be helpful, might be wishful thinking."

"I'll have it retrieved from the archives."

DiNozzo shook his head, "Best let one of the field agents look for it, sir, maybe Dorneget. He's so open no one would think anything of it, especially with him on the Cold Case team. Don't want any eyebrows raised and we don't know if there are others in the agency who might be willing to do a little favor here and there for the black hats."

"I don't like playing cloak and dagger in my own agency, DiNozzo, but I see your point. I can at least look up the case number."

"No, sir, nothing electronic! Remember they hacked the SCIF. If they could do that, who knows what else they have access to, especially if they're on the federal network. I have the number memorized, Gibbs gave it to me." DiNozzo wrote it down on paper, passing it to Vance.

"All right, I'll ask Dorneget after our meeting. Which is in 15 minutes, DiNozzo. Sorry to keep you so long but I needed to know."

"My job, Director. Gibbs tasked me with getting the information to you when you came back."

Apparently Vance liked that because DiNozzo was given a full smile, a rarity from the director. It was minutes before Tony realized that was due to Gibbs' belief that he would return. Tony removed his note pad from the one file he'd take back with him and changed seats.

He felt good for Vance when his fellow Team Leaders came in, smiling at their boss. The director remained standing once the others sat. "It's good to see you all! And yes I'm back, everything is fine now. But I don't like the troubles you've had to go through and I'm thankful to each of you for keeping the agency afloat. There will be several changes in the next few weeks, although that does not leave this room and yes, the SCIF is engaged. Now, I've been picking Agent DiNozzo's brain for the past hour. As you can imagine, I was…surprised when I attempted to call Agent McGee's desk phone early this morning and got a stranger's voice mail. I eventually reached him and Gibbs and was shocked at what little I was told. When DiNozzo told me the rest, I..., well I'm angry and horrified. So, things are not yet rosy but I hope they will be soon."

Carter looked around the room. "Sir, we haven't seen or heard from McGee since last fall. How is he? And the little boys?" He was lying, of course, he and Jim had seen Tim in April at Elaine's but he was suspicious of one of his peers and this was his way of baiting a hook.

Vance nodded to DiNozzo who cleared his throat. "They're all right, he is now the boys' legal guardian."

"Are they returning to DC any time soon?" That was from an agent Tony didn't know well, one who wasn't involved with the volunteer rotation for Patrick, which might mean Tim didn't trust him.

DiNozzo shook his head. "No." Mentally, he added the man's name to the list of those who were suspected of working with the black ops group. Carter was writing something while O'Brien's eyes narrowed as did Vance's. Good, he wasn't the only one watching and listening.

Vance changed his plan. After his meeting with DiNozzo, he'd thought to share some of the information with the rest of his leaders, now he realized there might be more employees compromised than originally thought. Instead, he went over last year's results and asked for status on current cases. He'd only had time to briefly review the Progress report this morning but remembered enough to sound halfway intelligent.

As he listened to his team, part of his mind was reorganizing the rest of the day. He'd walk through the office, get reacquainted. If he could find a positive reason, he'd call his boss again. And he'd most definitely be speaking with Craig! Once he listened to whatever drivel that man had to say, he'd start working on the IA case that he hoped would lead to his firing. In the meantime, he would certainly remove him as Assistant Director. Maybe he'd play dumb and thank the man for what he'd done and release him from the position as a reward. Might work. Then he'd need a new Assistant Director, maybe he'd find one who'd actually do some of the work expected of him!

Mentally, Vance sighed. He would meet with Sailes, head of the FBI; they'd done too much to be ignored because of his stubborn pride. He'd ask that Eckles, the agent who'd just asked when the McGees were coming home, be investigated for possible compromise. If he had been, then the black hats might not be as knowledgeable as feared. Although they probably didn't share information with compromised or blackmailed agents.

Now, startled from his thoughts by a phone call, Vance noted there were 46½ more hours to wait until he could speak with McGee and Gibbs.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Tim, Gibbs and Sarah laughed at the boys when they got up the morning they were leaving for home and found it raining again. They were happy they weren't missing any beach time by going home.

Within an hour, everything was packed into the car and they were ready to go. They'd drive to the train station, unload the luggage, checking it through to Brambury. Then Tim would return the rental car. The train ride would take about 5 hours but they'd have plenty to do and see and best of all, wouldn't be stuck in traffic. They'd Uber home from the train station in Brambury.

Because of the summer holidays, they'd reserved seats and were comfortable all the way home, enjoying the views as they traveled. The three adults took turns sitting, walking and playing with the boys, which proved successful.

On their last leg before reaching London, Sarah returned to their seats with Kyle.

"I just met the most interesting man! Kyle was upset about losing his engineer's cap and we were turning back to look for it when this really cute guy came up to us. He said, "Excuse me, young man, is this your cap?"

Kyle grinned, "I said, yes, I lost it, thank you!" He giggled, "I hugged his leg, he's big like Uncle Rob. I told him that too."

Sarah smiled, "Yes, you did and he liked that. He said it was always good to meet or hear about others as tall as he is. He's recently moved to London; he's from a small village near Manchester, called Castleton."

Tim looked at her, "Coffee/tea, drinks, dinner?"

"Lunch at the Thai place Dad likes that you won't go to because it's close to the agency."

Dad beamed, he loved it when they called him Dad and that was new from Sarah. And the Thai place near the NCIS London office was pretty good.

Tim nodded, "That's a good place to meet, lots of law enforcement there."

Dad smiled at Sarah, "I could be there, Sari."

She shook her head. "Thank you, we'll be fine!" Tim grinned at her, giving her a fist bump.

Eventually, they ate the lunch they'd made this morning in the cottage. Afterward, Grandpa read to the boys until Kyle fell asleep in Aunty Sarah's lap, still wearing his engineer's cap. Greg curled up into Papa, reading a new book he'd found in Cornwall. Tim played Gin Rummy with Dad and eventually Greg joined them, skunking them both. Aunty Sarah and Kyle were in the aisle seat in case James, her new acquaintance, should wander by.

Kyle was awake by the time the train pulled into London and he and Sarah moved to the window seat to look for James when they reached what would be his stop. The little guy spotted him first and waved. "Look, Aunty Sarah, he's waving back!"

Sarah smiled as she too waved. So much for trying to be cool! Tim grinned to himself as he watched them, that was one smart guy.

Their Uber van was waiting for them when they disembarked in Brambury. Sarah and the boys waited at the van while Tim and Dad brought the luggage. They walked in the door a few minutes later and Tim smiled as he looked around. The cottage and the beach were a lot of fun but it was good to be home. The boys moped around a little bit until they started noticing their favorite things waiting for them, their toys, books, bikes, skates, bats and balls. Within minutes they were in the backyard playing while Tim removed shoes, books and toys from their suitcases, shaking the sand off each item of clothing as he threw it in the washer. Then he took the suitcases outside to dump the sand out. He shook his head with a laugh, they'd carefully dusted and shaken the sand off everything before it was packed. At least he thought they had. A little more in the suitcases and they'd have had their own beach!

All of them turned in early that night. Although the train ride mostly involved sitting in comfort, traveling was tiring and traveling with young children was even more tiring! Tim reflected how much easier it was to travel with another adult along.

The next day, the boys wanted to go to the nursery to see all their friends. The adults were not adverse to the idea, all three of them longing for some time to themselves. Tim went for a long walk while Dad disappeared into his workshop and Sarah got ready for her lunch date with James. Tim 's walk took him into the countryside where he enjoyed watching the birds flit from tree to tree and the sheep nibbling away at the grasslands. By 1300, he was nearly home, hungry.

The Skype call with Ms. Rowe was set for 1400 here, 0900 in DC. Tim wasn't sure if the call would include just his attorney or if Vance and Cahill would be in on it too. He didn't like Cahill, didn't trust him any more than he'd trust O'Connell.

He relaxed in the conservatory with a ham and cheese sandwich, coffee, a cookie and an apple. After he ate his sandwich and apple, he decided to hold onto the cookie as a reward for going through with this call. Or he'd need it to provide solace, as sugary treats do so well.

Setting up his laptop in his office, he was just sitting down when Skype pinged with the call. It was Ms. Rowe, "Hello, Tim. You and I are on first and then we'll bring in Director Vance and Attorney Horner if you have questions."

"Who?"

Rowe smiled, "The acting head of the Legal Department at NCIS. Don't know what happened to Cahill. My personal opinion is that he and O'Connell should be kicked to the curb. They're both a disgrace to the profession."

Tim started laughing and laughed so hard he was sure he'd slide right off the chair. When he'd caught his breath, Ms. Rowe wanted to know what was so funny and he shook his head. "My dad's been divorced 3 times. With that and his career in law enforcement, he hates lawyers. I was imagining his response to your wish. I'm sure he'd be surprised that any lawyer would have the integrity to call other lawyers a disgrace. To him, the whole profession is a disgrace."

She sighed, "Yeah, I hear that a lot. Starting with Shakespeare, you know, 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers!'"

Tim nodded, "Yes."

"But we live by the rule of law. Lawyers are a necessity to interpret and guard the law."

Tim grinned, "Hey, I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're right, you are and we should quit wasting the Navy's money."

Tim nodded, "I've got another condition."

"Yes?"

"They want me back so badly, the Navy needs to cough up the support money, with interest, that Sarah and I should have had growing up. I spoke with the Secretary of the Navy about this in October last year and have heard nothing."

"Nicely done! Consider it on the list. I've spoken with Horner about your conditions and although she's new to the position, she indicated she didn't think any of them would be a problem, including the apology."

"What if Vance didn't do it? What if he isn't responsible for any of this?"

"Do you have reason to think that?"

"It's always been a possibility. He was so shocked when he talked with my dad the other day – and with Sarah, who verbally hit him with both barrels."

"Has he ever lied to you before?"

"Yes, when he was new to the position. It nearly cost him his job and several of his top agents. For me, it was an omission rather than an outright lie."

"Did you trust him after that?"

"No. It took the better part of a year before any of us began to trust him."

"Before all this started, did you trust him?"

"Yes, implicitly."

"High praise."

"He earned it."

"All right, let's make that clear then. If we find out that Vance had anything to do with this, we want the apology. If not, then yay!"

Tim shook his head, "No, we're criminal investigators. The phrase should be, if not Vance, then who and how will they pay for ruining my career, reputation and doing what they did to me?"

"What if it's out of Vance's hands?"

"I'm certain it is. This is a big ugly. If you see one or more men in suits following you, call that number I gave you."

"I can take care of myself."

"I believe you, but that's in ordinary situations. I'd hate to see that on your tombstone. I was in law enforcement for over a decade, well trained in weaponry, including mixed martial arts, use of a knife and firearms. And, this part is confidential, I'm a trained sniper and yes, I've used my training. All that and I asked for help against these people. They don't react like human beings. They've been conditioned to live in the shadows, lying in wait for their prey and then, depending on their orders, will hurt, maim or kill without another thought. They've been trained to obey their puppet masters. These people have known for years that Patrick and I are brothers, that I was a field agent with NCIS but they never told him. I have to think they wanted him to remain angry."

She nodded, "All right, I'll call the number."

"Thank you! I'd never forgive myself if you were injured because of me."

"Can't have that. Okay, so are we good on all your conditions?"

"Think so."

With a nod, she pushed a button to bring in the NCIS folks.

When the screen cleared, Rowe said, "Ms. Horner, this is my client Timothy McGee." Then she inclined her head toward Vance.

Tim swallowed hard as he looked at Vance. He looked better than Tim had feared but seeing him was…he hadn't realized how glad he'd be. It was like seeing the agency all rolled up in one person and happy to see him.

He smiled, "Director, I'm surprised to be saying this after everything but it's good to see you."

"Thank you. It's good to see you, too, Agent McGee."

Ms. Rowe started the meeting, "All right. We have one possible change and one addition."

"What's the possible change?"

Tim cleared his throat, "Sir, did you know about any of this? Did you order the letter to be sent out with the indefinite leave of absence and the order not to associate with any of the teams in the area?"

Vance was shaking his head. "No, God no! I rejected your resignation on the grounds that you were – are – an essential employee to this organization, hell, McGee, to the federal government. I included the form with my note to Legal, I filled in your name and ID number, signed it myself. I made copies, they're locked up in my office. And the leave form I authorized was for your family leave, for the boys.

"As for the restrictions, I never saw those and would never have endorsed them. You're a seasoned agent, one of our top agents, you know very well what would happen if you talked about the case, any case. Your team certainly would not have as many successful convictions if you talked about your cases. I'm your boss and I have a hard time getting any of you to talk about them, to give me a sitrep! The same goes for your teammates and the rest of the field teams. We're proud of the integrity we've built at NCIS. And the others, none of them are new to the business, they'd never bring anything up. And if they did, you'd stop them, I know that."

Tim sat back, taking a deep breath while Ms. Rowe looked at him. Seeing his nod, she replied, "Thank you for your candor, Director Vance. In that case, we'd like to remove our condition that you make a written and verbal apology."

"Thank you, although, Tim, I do regret this has happened to you, especially after the horrors of your past. And I wish I'd been here. What I'd like to do, if, _when_ , we work things out, is to publish a welcome back memo to the agency as a whole and to _Stars and Stripes_. In the same issue and agency memo, I'll also announce the arrests of O'Connell, Cahill and Craig, charged with accepting bribes, falsifying documents and information."

Tim's face went chalk white and he sat still, working through the shock. It wasn't O'Connell or even Cahill, it was Craig who shocked him. Given the responsibility of running the agency when Leon must have fighting for his or one of his children's lives, instead, he turned on the agency and booted him out. For what? And what else had he done?

"Why? Why would Craig do that?"

"Other than greed, I don't know. I know Gibbs was his mentor years ago, always found that a point in his favor."

"That's…never mind. This is costing you money, I'll think about it on my own time."

Horner smiled, "Thank you. What's your addition?"

"Mr. McGee wants the Navy to pay the dependent support money they should have been paid when their father was killed in 1986. With interest."

Horner frowned, "Was he killed while on active duty?"

Tim nodded, "Yes. If you look at the records for my father, he's listed as killed on active duty."

Vance agreed, "I agree. Yes, we'll take that on, Tim. It's about time."

Horner looked frustrated as Vance agreed to something without her input. "I'll need to find that notation, Mr. McGee." Vance handed her something and her eyebrows flew up her forehead. Shaking her head, she said, "It seems Director Vance was one step ahead of you. He has the record right here."

Tim smiled at Vance, "Thank you. If they won't pay, Sarah and I deserve to know why. And that includes Patrick's support as well."

"Very well."

"As to your other conditions, your back pay and benefits, your tenure, all that is in the works whether you decide to return or not." Horner leaned forward, "You never should have been cut off like that and the director insists you know that one of the HR staff has also been arrested for accepting a bribe and falsifying documents and information. The new head of HR is personally cutting your check today. If your banking information is the same, it'll be deposited overnight."

"It is."

"Next is honoring your current contract. While Director Vance would prefer you return to NCIS immediately, he – and I – understand your contracts with Bedford University and MIT were signed in good faith that you were no longer a federal employee. We will, of course, honor your contract. How much longer will you be working there?"

"21 months, it's a two year contract."

Vance's eye twitched and Tim knew he was unhappy about that. "Sir, I don't have free time during term to work for the agency. I've already turned down MI-5, I just don't have time. And I need to spend any spare time, including vacations, with my children. This all started with their mother's murder and their father's coma."

"You're right, McGee. Are you close to any NCIS offices?"

Tim was surprised, "Yes, sir. I'm a 20 minute Tube ride from the London office. Gibbs does occasional consults with them. I met SSAIC Morris over the 4th of July and when Director Sailes flew over to tell us about Frayne. Agent Morris said Craig delegated that to him."

"Sailes flew over to tell you? I'm impressed, McGee, and I had no idea you were in the UK! Would you be able to consult for London if you worked from home?"

"Possible, Director but not probable. I have a heavy class load next term, they went easy on me first term, being a newbie."

"Any chance you'll be returning to DC – for a visit?"

"Not unless it's safe. Don't know whether you're aware but I was walking in downtown Cambridge when I was attacked."

"Yes, Agent DiNozzo gave me the details. From what I'm learning about these thugs, you acquitted yourself very well. They're trained assassins."

Tim huffed, "Remember I worked with a couple of those for several years."

"Frankly, what I'm finding out scares me more than Mossad."

"Me too. And I'm afraid that's what my brother Patrick's become."

Vance sighed, "Deal with that when and if, Timothy."

After agreeing to the rest of Tim's conditions, the NCIS call disconnected and Ms. Rowe followed shortly after.

Tim sat in his office for a few minutes before going to look for his dad, finding him in his workshop.

"You done? How'd it go?"

"They arrested two NCIS attorneys, Cahill and O'Connell. And someone from HR, all for accepting bribes, falsifying legal documents and information." He sighed, "And Craig."

Gibbs carefully put his chisel down. "Craig?" He stood in shock for a minute before wrapping his arms around Tim. "What's the rest?"

"Vance didn't know any of this so I removed the apology condition. And added one that they get the Navy money for Sarah, Patrick and me – or tell us why we can't have it."

"Good!"

"The rest…this gives me the option of returning to the agency. They've agreed to honor my contract with Bedford and agreed that I signed both contracts in good faith – that's good because they could have made that an issue although I'd have ultimately won. A check for my back pay will be in my account tomorrow and all my retirement and medical benefits have been restored. Vance asked if I could consult for NCIS: London occasionally but I had to tell him no. With the kids and my class work, I don't have time. Even with all your help, I can't see that happening."

"I agree. You'll have a heavier load for Fall term, right?"

"Yes. I haven't seen the schedule yet but I was told I'd no longer have Friday afternoons off."

"Then don't worry about it. You didn't make this mess. And yeah, Vance didn't either but he's going to have to deal with the reality of it just as you've been doing for the past year."

"Dad, this is good, I'm relieved, especially that Vance wasn't involved. But it doesn't do anything to fix the big picture. I'm no closer to knowing who's been after me and the kids than I was before. We can't go home at Christmas, it's not safe. Not for the kids, for you or me. And probably not Sarah either." Frustrated, Tim ran his hands through his hair.

"So we work on it from here. Maybe Joel can help us."

"You think the two of us can do this?"

"Hey, we're two of the best in the business, aren't we? Ask DiNozzo to bring his files with him next month, between the 3 of us we'll figure it out."

Tim laughed at him, "While lying on a beach in Greece!"

"Reminds me, he asked me the other day why we're not going to the French Riviera."

"Cost. It's closer so the flight's a little cheaper but lodging and food this time of year is more money than we want to spend. Greece isn't cheap by any means, it's high tourist season there, but airfare isn't bad and the villa is far less expensive than the Riviera and the restaurants and cafes I've seen online are less expensive than France." Tim grinned, "Besides, I speak the language which means we'll be ripped off less than we would in France or any other country where none of us speak the language!"

Gibbs grinned back, "Sounds great to me!"

Tim made a face. "I might go into the city tomorrow, pop in to talk with Joel. Are you going in?"

"Planning on it, they have about a half day's work for me. Some cold case they want me to decipher. So, drop the kids at day care again?"

"Unless Sarah's home and has time. What's the dress code?"

"Wear what you wear to class, uh, not your robes though. You'll be fine. Want me to let Joel know?"

Tim laughed at the tease, "You know that's just the first day and for ceremonies! And no, thanks, I'll call Joel a little later."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In her office at the Pentagon, Sarah Porter was once again reading the complaint against the U.S. Navy from Timothy McGee's bulldog of an attorney regarding the lack of dependent support for Tim and Sarah and now they'd also added Patrick. It'd been nearly a year since Timothy was told the Secretary of the Navy would look into it and he'd heard nothing since then. In her complaint, the attorney asked if they needed to file suit to get this done.

Porter was frustrated with everything these days. She'd been under extreme pressure for months now and she questioned whether it was even worth staying with the job. She'd lost two of the top three agents at NCIS and apparently lost the trust of everyone else at the agency, at least those aboard the Navy Yard. There was minimal communication between the agency and her office, only what was mandated. The bright spot was that Leon had returned, having beaten back the cancer that threatened his life. That was a win!

Determined to do as she'd promised Tim last October, she called Leon for Tim's new address.

Vance had only known Tim's location for a few hours. With McGee's permission, Rowe gave him and the Acting Head of the Legal Department Tim's address before ending their call today. When Secretary Porter asked for it, he told her the truth, that he'd have to check with McGee. A quick text to the man had a reply of "Yes, but why?" Vance told him he didn't know but would find out. That got a "Thanks!" and Leon emailed the address to his boss.

An hour later and hoping she wasn't risking his health, Porter asked Vance if he'd like to go with her to London, telling him why she was going. Knowing there were comfy beds aboard, his kids were visiting friends, and he'd get the necessary rest he needed as well as the answers they all wanted, he agreed. Her next step was to order her jet to be ready for a transatlantic flight that evening. Then she summoned her security force. Driving a short distance to a nondescript building, she headed for the stairs to the basement, knowing exactly where she'd find her quarry. Her security team, concerned they were marching into the devil's lair, called for backup, nevertheless following her.

The basement was full of electronics, security feeds and old filing cabinets. A guard challenged them but someone behind him gave an order to allow entry. Once in the room, Porter stood in front of her quarry, openly challenging him to face the family his agency had been covertly manipulating. To tell them the truth, once and for all.

When the man agreed, there was palpable shock in the room. His security team moved forward but he raised a hand and they stood back. Porter was right, it was time to break this.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Tim contacted SSAIC Joel Morris about coming into the office, Agent Morris asked him to come in the morning, saying he'd be there at 0700. Agreeing, Tim hung up, feeling better about things.

The kids had had a great time at day care and asked if they could go back again the next day. Tim reluctantly agreed. He was glad they were having fun with their friends and he knew at least two of the resident adults had plans but he felt like he was shirking his responsibilities and he genuinely liked being with his kids.

As he rode in on the Tube the next morning, he watched out the window at the various stations, just people watching. When he thought he saw a familiar face, he blinked and then looked again, catching a startled look from the woman as she turned away. He thought about jumping off but knew he needed to focus on talking with his possible future boss.

Unless the mess with the black ops mystery agency was cleared up, he'd ask to be posted to NCIS: London when his contract with Bedford was up. What position he'd hold at the agency, he still had no idea.

Agent Morris gave him a warm welcome. "I'm hoping this means you're back with the agency! Do I get you? Oh, that's too much to ask for. Let's get some coffee and I'll listen."

Tim was bemused, not sure what all that meant. Over coffee he explained that he might return to the agency and Vance asked him if he had time to consult. "I said no as I have my boys and a heavy class load next term, but then I thought I'd come in to talk with you in case I do have some time."

"Wonderful! Of course, we've met socially and with the Frayne business. And your dad has told me a bit about you and the team in DC. What you've been through is inexcusable and I'm glad to hear Leon had nothing to do with it. I bet every office stopped to celebrate the other day when word got out he was back at work."

They spent about 20 minutes talking before Tim realized he was monopolizing the work time of an SSAIC! Horrified, he apologized but Joel waved it off, saying he never regretted spending time with a fellow agent. Before Tim left, Joel gave him a quick tour of the office, making him feel at home.

He was in the lobby, on his way out, two feet from the front entrance when the receptionist called out, "Agent McGee, wait please!"

He turned as she motioned him to her desk, "Agent Morris needs to speak with you."

Nodding, Tim took the phone, listening to what Joel had to say. He thanked him for the information and handed the receiver back to the receptionist. "Apparently I have surprise visitors at home. Thanks!"

He hurried to the Tube station, still reeling with the news that Secretary Porter, Director Vance and some unknown person were in his living room waiting for him. He bit back a smile at the thought of Dad entertaining them. That would be something to see! Rolling past 'that' station on the way home, he looked but didn't see any raven-haired beautiful women hanging around waiting for him.

He laughed as he got off the train, spotting his sister getting off two cars ahead. Dad called in the troops! Catching up with Sarah, she looked at him, "Where have you been and what's up with these people just showing up? Who are they?"

Telling her where he'd been and who the people were, he caught her arm as she started to turn around. "I don't need to see them! I don't like them, I hate what they did to you and I don't work for them, why do I have to be there?"

"The only thing I can think of is that it's about our support money."

"They flew over the Atlantic to deliver a check? No wonder people complain about the government wasting money!"

"Sarah, I told them we wanted the money or an explanation why we can't have it."

"Oh. And you think this is the explanation. Dang, Tim."

"Maybe it's something else. Who knows!"

"All right, I'll come with you but under protest."

By that time they were nearly home anyway. Sarah gaped at the suits in the front yard, "Tim!" He'd stopped, reflexively pulling her behind him, just as he'd done when she was a child.

"Identify yourselves."

"Agent McGee, we're Secretary Porter's security team." Their IDs were shown and Tim nodded. They stood aside as Sarah moved from behind him, grabbing his hand.

"Do they go everywhere with her?"

"Yes. She's in charge of the U.S. Navy and the USMC. Not a cabinet position but darn close. All those people have security teams."

They walked in the front door, not quite knowing what to expect. What Sarah saw was a nicely dressed woman in her 40's or early 50's with a man she recognized as Leon Vance, Gibbs' former boss and a scrawny man who looked so much like a gnome that she immediately started building a story around him.

Dad looked so relieved that Tim wanted to grin but decided to behave like Agent McGee for the time being. Except these people were in his home, uninvited. Sarah crossed the room to kiss Dad hello, that brought a smile as always. Tim's shoulders were already tense and he too crossed to the safety and sanity of his father. Right now, he'd give anything to crawl into Dad's arms. When he stopped at his father's side, Dad put a hand on his back and that helped considerably.

Tim looked at the visitors, "Madam Secretary, Director Vance, welcome. And this is?"

"I'm Marvin Lee Hatman, head of the Intelligence Protection Force."

Tim backed up, wanting to get as far away from this man as possible. He knew immediately who he was, the force behind the crap that had been happening all year. Angry, he spoke, "I didn't invite you into my home and you're not welcome here. Take your evil and get the hell out of here!"

"Don't you want to know the truth?"

"There's no truth coming from you. Sarah, leave now and call our oldest brother, tell him who this man is. Don't bring the boys home until you hear from me." He gestured to her and she responded with a blink, she understood.

Sarah knew the look on his face, she'd seen it for the first time when she was 4 years old and a big scary man dragged her and Robbie away from Tim. He'd yelled at them to bite, kick, scratch and run! She and Robbie had done so but the bad guy held on until he suddenly let go and fell down. That was when she saw Tim's knife sticking out of him.

Now, without a word, she grabbed her purse and went out the back door, afraid the goon squad out front would stop her and hoping she had enough of a charge on her phone to call Tony. Although that call would be her second priority. First call would be to a number Tim gave her when they moved here. Silently, she repeated Marvin Lee Hatman, Intelligence Protective Force.

Tim opened the front door, gesturing to the evil posing as a scrawny little man. "I told you to get out. Go."

"Your father started all this."

"As I don't know who my father is, that means nothing to me."

"McGee. He started it all."

"You have 3 minutes to talk, then you're going, either walking or I'll pick you up and throw you out. Your choice and I should warn you, I can throw pretty far, you might not like the ride."

"Timothy, please listen."

Looking at Porter, Tim's face was devoid of any expression and she took a step back. Vance watched what was happening with interest and anger. He'd been as blindsided and angry as Tim when they disembarked from the plane and he realized who the other passenger must be.

Gibbs remained still. When the doorbell rang, he'd been in his workshop, came upstairs and answered it, speechless when the Secretary of the U.S. Navy stood there along with his former boss. He'd moved aside to let them in. He never saw the creep until he was already inside, the door closed. Now, he felt his chisel in his pocket. It would make a good weapon if it came to that and he was sure Tim had at least one of his knives on him.

Hatman was speaking again and Gibbs turned his own blank face toward him.

"Commander McGee started this years ago after he met Natalie Volkov in a bar in Okinawa. He had a background check run on her and forwarded the results to ONI who asked us to look into it. We contacted him, told him we wanted to bust her but didn't have any evidence and would he be willing to participate in a 'sting'? He said he would, as long as his boys were safe and we guaranteed him they – you and your brother – would be."

"He and Volkov began a relationship where both of them were pretending. After clearing it with us, McGee asked Volkov to have an in vitro baby, using frozen eggs from his deceased wife and his sperm. She insisted on marriage. Their officiant, in Okinawa, was a Navy Intelligence officer, the wedding was a sham, but Volkov had no idea. Afterward, she got nervous and stole the form for the Navy to 'vet' her. The form McGee left out for her to find. She doctored it up and left it out for him. Of course, he took it but didn't bother to give it to anyone, we already knew it was bogus.

"Your sister Sarah was born and Volkov was stuck taking care of her and you two plus McGee when he was home. Once he returned to his ship, Volkov got back to work. She was a spy for the Soviet Union and had all kinds of secret packages arriving and phone calls to make. She wasn't very good at it, though, never noticed the motion-triggered security camera in the bedroom, where she handled her stuff, knowing you boys had been trained to knock and wait for permission to enter. Every week when she took you to church, someone went in to exchange the cassette tape for a new, blank one.

"In the meantime, we occasionally gave McGee tidbits of information for the spy to find. He had a small box with a lock at the back of his side of the closet and routinely found that the lock had been picked. The information was a mix of lies and truth, enough truth to keep her in good stead with her masters, but never anything of any consequence to US National Security.

"There was an incident at the 1984 Olympic Games in LA. Her mistake was obvious and she was unable to account for her time. Because it was obvious, McGee was forced to say something. He was aggravated when she halted her operations for several weeks.

"In 1986, we were finally ready to take her down. But McGee jumped the gun, telling her he wanted a divorce. After he left to pick up you and your brother from school, she panicked. She used her car as a battering ram and believed she killed you all. Then she saw you in the street, got you to a hospital and returned to the burning wagon. She found Patrick and called 9-1-1 from a pay phone.

"The NIS report stated that you and Sarah were dead and we believed them, had no reason not to. We knew Patrick was alive and that he was eventually adopted. We didn't get involved, too much sensitive information at risk. We figured he was safe and that was it for the McGees. Unfortunate, but then these things happen.

"Until you got your doctorate and credentials to teach higher levels of education and had a background check, we continued to believe you were dead. When the check was run, it triggered an old alert that had never been canceled. So we knew you were alive and eventually found out Sarah was too. We noted the facts but took no action.

"When Patrick joined the Navy as Patrick Blair, his background check showed he was the younger son of Commander McGee and that same alert was triggered. We didn't do anything about it, didn't look into it as it was no longer any of our concern. Our business was with Commander McGee and the spy.

"We recruited Hart after his marriage and subsequent name change. When he was severely injured in the cartel bombing, we again made the connection between him and his brother Timothy McGee, now a Federal Agent. Our investigation showed that you and your sister survived living on the street for 9 years, which still astonishes me. I regret you went to NCIS; if the information about your background had been known to us earlier, you would have been an excellent candidate for the IPF.

"The consensus was that Hart and her sons might be safer living anonymously in a homeless shelter where the cartel was unlikely to look, than in their current home. And it was cheaper for us, we wouldn't have to provide support funds or security, we'd cut them loose as collateral damage. We take on operatives, not families.

"After Hart's wife was found dead and you started your investigation, we realized you weren't going to let go of the questions about your brother and you were already beginning to interfere, to distract us from our work. We needed you out of the picture. It was remarkably easy to persuade Cahill to fake an emergency leave and hire O'Connell, one of our own attorneys, before he left. O'Connell came up with the idea to get you, McGee, out of the NCIS picture, saying it was for a more successful trial. Lucky for us, Vance had just been diagnosed with a serious illness that removed him from the agency and DC and removed support for McGee or Gibbs, if it came to that. In case it did, we started working to influence AD Craig. He was also remarkably easy to turn but then we have a lot of experience with that.

"We didn't expect you to resign, thought you'd disappear into Cyber Crimes and the basement for the duration." Hatman shrugged, "It happens. We weren't worried, O'Connell, Cahill or the prosecution would subpoena you for the trial. In some aspects, it was easier because we'd cut you free of your support and we could follow you to make sure you hadn't uncovered any secrets or wouldn't do anything stupid like try to expose us. We had contingency plans, just in case.

"We hadn't counted on the FBI and that proved more difficult with their many resources. By the way, the attack was not sanctioned, it was the brain child of the man your son called 'Mr. Green'; your attackers have been dealt with.

"When you left the country, we were satisfied and ordered all details to stand down. Further injury or death became unnecessary once you were no longer skulking around your brother, poking into national security.

"As none of you have mentioned it, I'm assuming you haven't been told. Your suspect, Frayne, died in prison. I believe it was natural causes, a brain aneurysm. The cartel who plagued your brother is finished. With the leader in prison, the rest of the leadership group and I use that term derisively, engaged in a firefight with a rival cartel. I'm happy to say that with a little help, both cartels have been demolished, a win-win for us. And as I'm sure you know, Svetlana Stacevyko, aka Natalie Volkov and Natalie McGee, was finally arrested by DHS and the FBI and sent to Gitmo where she was killed by a former employer.

"There is no longer any reason for secrets about the McGees or Harts and thus, when Secretary Porter challenged me yesterday, I came willingly. IPF is done with your brother and therefore you."

He stopped talking when Tim started clapping. "What?"

"I haven't heard such blatant fiction masquerading as truth in a long time. Thanks for the entertainment, don't expect any awards. The only thing that's true is Frayne's death, we were told that when it happened. Time to leave."

Tim opened the door and Hatman walked out. And was immediately swarmed by London Metro PD and MI-5 officers, executing arrest warrants for crimes against the Crown. Tim thought of leaving the door open to watch, but he'd just as soon be done with all this.

The tip-off would have come from one or more of three sources. Either Sarah's call, her first priority, to MI-5, or Joel's actions after speaking with Dad or Tony's actions after Sarah also contacted him. Hatman was lucky he was in the UK, there were outstanding arrest warrants against him in at least 6 other countries. Accommodations would be much more comfortable here than in some of the other countries. He'd been a fool to leave the U.S.

Closing the door on the noise and gathering crowd outside, McGee looked at Porter. If ever he'd seen a bonehead play, this had been it. He supposed it had served its purpose in that it resulted in the capture of Hatman, who had eluded his pursuers for decades, holed up in the dark basement of IPF's headquarters. And gave him the information that the harassment was done. If that was true. But Hatman was so arrogant Tim couldn't see him bothering with a cover up, not after ten months of harassment.

Tim raised an eyebrow at the U.S. Secretary of the Navy and she swept out of the room. Tim and Gibbs both refrained from thanking her for delivering a wanted criminal.

Vance took a deep breath, giving Tim and Gibbs a sad look. He brightened a little when Gibbs shook his head, "Leon, you really need some help in picking your friends."

Tim gave him a wan smile, asking, "Are you all right?"

"I don't know. Physically, I'm tired but I'll be all right. Mentally, emotionally, I'm torn into almost as many pieces as you must be."

Gibbs joined Tim and they stood with Vance. Tim sighed, "Don't be, please. Although I'm curious as to how you got here."

"She called me, happy that she'd figured something out but wouldn't tell me what. Asked if I wanted to come with her, see you two and listen to what had happened. I jumped at the chance. I was the last to board the jet and never saw Hatman until we disembarked here. I didn't know who he was, she didn't introduce us for which I'm now grateful. Nasty excuse for a human being."

Gibbs shook his head, "He's not human, not anymore. He sold his soul somewhere along the line."

Vance nodded in agreement. Tim looked at him, assessing his physical condition. "Are you staying overnight?"

"Yes."

"You're welcome to stay with us if you'd like, we have plenty of rooms and beds. A word of caution though, the kids will likely be the only ones sleeping tonight. I'm not going to even try, Sarah will have the nightmares I'm avoiding and our pops here will help us through – avoiding his own nightmares."

Vance nodded. "I'd rather stay here, nightmares or not, but I'd better go. Not ready to retire yet or find another job. Uh, Tim…?"

"We're good, Director, as long as I don't have to see her in person or speak with her for a long time."

"So, work here in London then?"

"Please, although I have no idea in what position."

Leon smiled, the first time he'd smiled since Gibbs had opened the front door.

"I have a few ideas and 21 months to put them into action!" He walked toward the door, turned around and wrapped his arms around his friends. "Stay safe and healthy. And congratulations on deciding to be father and son, it suits you both very well." He could feel the grins at that and relaxed a little more.

"Thanks, Leon. You stay safe and healthy too, remember to go home at night and good luck finding a new Assistant Director!" They hugged him back, both chuckling as he groaned. "My best candidate is retired and living outside the U.S.!"

Tim grinned, "He could work remotely and that way he could avoid any politics. After all, NCIS is global." He and Vance chuckled when his father made a disparaging noise, giving him a light tap on the head.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONI is the Office of Naval Intelligence.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to say thanks for all those reading, and commenting. I've been lax about replying to your comments and while I do apologize for that, it may not change for a few weeks. I'm in the middle of moving (plus pet sitting and had surgery 2 weeks ago because apparently I like my life to be muddled) and really need to concentrate on packing. I'm posting a chapter now, very early Sunday morning, and another Sunday evening/early Monday morning. During the week, I'll be making 78 mile round trips to my new home at least every other day and don't know how much time I'll have to post. I can't wait to be fully moved in! For those of you who followed "Pirates, Traitors and Goats" as I posted it back in the autumn of 2013, that was the last time I moved, nearly 5 years ago.
> 
> BIG thanks to my beta, Alix33, for her incredible work!
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Chapter 17

After Vance left and the excitement outside died down, Tim went out the back way to bring the boys home. He'd already called Sarah to let her know their surprise guests were gone.

When he reached the day care, he found Greg and Kyle and most of the other children excited about a bad guy who'd been found and busted right here in town! Gathering his sons' belongings, Tim didn't say a word, just listened to the kids' excited chatter. They'd seen several police cars go by with red lights flashing but no sirens. And a lot of dark colored cars too, which meant – they weren't sure what it meant. Then the police cars came back with their red lights still flashing and the plain, dark colored cars came back too, only now the police cars went before and after them. And later a giant limousine drove past, going toward London!

Knowing it was only a matter of hours, probably less, before their house was pinpointed as 'Action Central', Tim gathered the boys at the kitchen table when they got home.

"There was a dangerous criminal who was arrested today, right here in our yard."

"Wow, Daddy, why was he here? Did you see him?"

"I'll tell you the whole story but you have to listen, all right?"

"Ok!"

Tim told them about going into the city and meeting Agent Morris and then getting the call from Grandpa. "Your aunt Sarah and I came home together and found a security detail, that's like our protectors, in the front yard and a big limousine parked in the driveway. When we went in the house, we found Secretary of the Navy Porter and Director Vance, who is in charge of NCIS. And they brought another person with them. He was the dangerous criminal but Grandpa and I knew that right away. I told Sarah to leave and told her to call Uncle Tony, tell him the bad man was here. And for her not to come home or let you two come home until she heard from me. Then I talked to the bad guy and he talked some. After that, I made him leave the house. And all those police and detectives were there to arrest him."

The kids sat there staring at him, their mouths wide open. Greg finally said, "What happened to the other people?"

"They left. They probably went to a hotel to stay overnight, they'll fly home tomorrow."

"Our house? That bad guy was in here? Did he touch our toys or books?"

"No, son, we wouldn't let him do that. He didn't even sit down."

"What did he do to get arrested?"

"I don't know that. We'll look at the news and see what they say."

"But if you didn't know, how come you called the police?"

"I don't know exactly what he did but I knew that several countries wanted to arrest him."

"Oh. Is that from work – your old work?"

"Yes."

"Were you in trouble with the Secretary for calling the police?"

"Maybe. She wasn't very happy with me, but I don't work for her anymore. Greg, Kyle, this man, the bad guy, is the one that had all the people following us and the one who had me attacked in Cambridge. Kyle, he was the boss of 'Mr. Green'. He's also the one who is responsible for letting your dad get hurt and for letting the bank take away your house."

"Did he hurt Mama?"

"No, that was a man called Frayne."

"Oh yeah, he's sick in his head."

"Yes. He's dead now, he had a bad thing happen in his head and the doctors couldn't fix it."

"Daddy, does this mean we can go see everyone when we go home? You can talk to everyone?"

"Yes, son, it does. We'll go at Christmas and stay at Grandpa's, do you remember how much fun that was last year? With the train around the tree and all the fun we had with our friends and family?"

Greg nodded, happy again and Kyle understood that they were going to Grandpa's old house for Christmas. He giggled, "We'll ride the horsey sled again, Papa! And I'm bigger now so I can walk the whole time."

"And drink hot chocolate while we pick our tree!"

"Yes to all that! But it's a long time until Christmas, let's mark it on the calendar."

Greg nodded and turned to his little brother, "Kyle, it has to be cold before it can be Christmas."

Behind them, Grandpa said, "And first we have your papa's birthday. And then Thanksgiving and then it'll be almost time for Christmas."

Tim grinned, "We have at least 2 more trips before that. And your grandpa's birthday comes before mine. Let's put it all on the calendar."

They took the calendar from Cornwall off the wall and marked all the important days in red. They were flying to Prague, Czech Republic, tomorrow afternoon for their first flight onto the continent and had all kinds of fun things planned to do there. Both boys cheered about that and again when Papa carefully printed, "U. Tony, G-ducky, U. Tobias", Greg counted, there were only 9 more days until they got here. They were going to Prague tomorrow and then when they came home, there would be 2 days until Granducky and the uncles arrived! And when they got here, they were all going on a plane to Greece, even Uncle Rob!

After the kids heard the retelling of the afternoon's excitement from Papa, Grandpa and Aunty Sarah at least twice, Papa said that was enough for the day. They talked with Uncle Rob when he called, responding to the text and message they'd sent him while he was at work. Tim let the boys tell him about the 'dangerous criminal', telling him the details afterward. Like Sarah, Rob was relieved that the whole mess was over. Frayne was dead and the spooks were done with them; as far as he was concerned, that was excellent news.

When the kids finally settled down enough to sleep that night, Tim sat thinking about the past 24 hours. He'd been heartened by Agent Morris and disgusted, to say the least, by Hatman and very pleased to have helped in his capture. Finally, he allowed himself to think of the woman he'd seen from the train, of who it might have been. He scrolled through his contacts but her name didn't appear. He guessed it had fallen off his list at some point when he'd switched phones or maybe when he'd gone from using both a Blackberry and cell phone to his first iPhone.

That was understandable as they hadn't seen each other since 2003, before he'd even been to FLETC. He smiled, remembering the surprise of hearing her voice calling his name that day in Seattle and the amazing weekend they'd spent together.

Despite the drama of the day, he slept that night. He thought later that the news that they were finally free of the oppressive Intelligence Protection Force had allowed him to sleep. That and the news that the restrictions regarding the trial were null and void also cheered him immensely. Now they could live their lives without constantly looking for the 'men in suits' that had bedeviled them for nearly a year or making sure there was a 'civilian' around before having any kind of conversation with a fellow Federal Agent. He did wonder if Frayne's 'aneurysm' had truly been natural but decided he didn't care.

As for Hatman's narrative about his stepfather McGee, Tim had his doubts. He still believed it was McGee's desperation for another child of Lily's that led him to introducing Natalie into their lives. It really didn't matter what he believed, all the players but Sarah, Patrick and him were dead, they'd never know for sure. But it was a safe bet that he'd never again take any records at face value, not after meeting Hatman.

Tim smiled happily when he woke the next morning. Today was definitely a new day; from now on he could live his life and his family their lives, without worry. Well, worry about the suits and the trial anyway. Other worries were still present but today he'd let them go.

Surprised to find himself the first one up, he made a pot of coffee and looked in the cupboards and refrigerator, deciding what to make for breakfast. He reached for the eggs and chuckled at the note on top of the carton; he hadn't been the first one up after all. The note was from Dad and said, _"Woke up earlier than usual, had breakfast, on my way to the office so I'll be back early and we can get to the airport! Love, Dad"_

To celebrate their freedom, he made a special breakfast, bacon, eggs and pancakes for his kids. Sarah joined them and the four of them made plans to meet around 11 to do something special. The boys wanted to go to the day care again, at least for the morning. Greg said, "That criminal was in our house, we should get to tell the story to our friends!"

"All right, but just this morning. We're leaving for the airport at 2:30."

"Ok, then we'll have time to tell our story. Ooh, can we watch the news to see what happened?"

Tim had already seen the news and knew they were not mentioned nor was the house pictured. That was good news to him, he was sure the university wouldn't be excited about having one of their professors connected to a dangerous criminal. He thought he'd better write the President a note, though, explain what happened. Although a list of charges against Hatman were reported on the news, he didn't mention them.

"I watched it. He was taken to London, to Scotland Yard, in one of the dark colored cars. When he got out, he was in handcuffs. They have holding cells, like a small jail, in that building and he's probably in there. You know what, boys, I'll come in with you this morning. Then we can make sure the questions get answered."

Greg gave his father a look that reminded him of Sarah at the same age, "Do we still get to tell first?"

"Of course."

"Okay. You're not going to stay all morning, are you?"

Tim almost laughed, realizing he was crowding his sons on a day when they had big news. "How about I come in and talk with your teachers? Then you can tell your friends."

"All right, thanks Daddy."

While the boys dressed, Tim sat down to write a quick note to the President of the University so he'd know how his visiting professor came to be connected to a wanted and dangerous criminal. It was difficult to write. How to say that his former boss, four rungs up the ladder from his position, had suddenly flown across the Atlantic, showing up without warning, with the criminal and another former boss, this one three rungs up, in tow to tell him the truth about why the criminal and his employees had been harassing Tim and his family for the past year? Guessing that was as close as he was going to get, he did some editing before sending it.

The boys nearly ran to the day care center and Tim had to grab Kyle who was so excited he almost ran into the street without looking in the correct direction for cars. He'd hoped that the other kids would have lost interest in yesterday's excitement but his hopes were dashed when they entered the day care and were pounced upon by the boys' friends, exclaiming about the man being seen on TV in handcuffs!

While they jabbered, Tim found the manager and quickly filled her in on what had really happened at his home yesterday, without going into much detail. Apparently what little he said was more than enough as her eyes got bigger and bigger.

The news was hot for that day before being replaced. Sarah was the only one who noticed as her housemates were gone.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim noted that their trip started with a new adventure, flying from Stansted airport. They'd taken the train to the airport, a great way to start! Their flight was comfortable, not as crowded as they'd feared and short, a little over 2 hours. Dad later told Tim he hadn't thought about how close the countries of Europe are. At home, a 2 hour flight would get you a couple of states away. Unless you were in Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, or California, then 2 hours would likely just put you in another part of the same state or, in the case of Hawaii, mid-ocean or a different country.

Tim felt he'd accomplished miracles for this trip. Not only had he found an Airbnb in Old Town, he'd found one that was on the ground floor of an apartment building, in the location he hoped for and…drum roll for this, with air conditioning! He'd sifted through many listings, finding too many without air, until he found gold. As they finished with Customs, he grinned at the man holding the sign with Dad's first name, 'Leroy'. That was his other miracle, the Airbnb host, Petr Bílek, agreeing to meet them at the airport and drive them to the apartment. Tim had a sleepy Kyle in his Daddy pack and Greg was holding Dad's hand. They'd brought a backpack that Dad had on his back and two roll-along carry-ons with enough toys, including one of Kyle's beloved train cars, games and books to keep the kids happy. The apartment had a stroller and a combination washer and dryer they could use as well as a fully equipped kitchen.

They introduced themselves to Mr. Bílek, who asked to be called Petr and spoke excellent English, he'd studied in the U.S. and when asked where, said MIT. Gibbs mentally rolled his eyes, hoping that wouldn't start a 'did you know' or 'who did you have for…' conversation. But Tim just nodded, he was tired and didn't feel like talking about Cambridge when they were seeing Prague for the first time.

When they arrived at the apartment building, Petr parked the car, grabbing one of the roll-alongs. "It's difficult with two little ones, isn't it?"

Greg frowned, he wasn't little and Papa always said he was a big help. Then Papa winked at him and he smiled. He, Papa, and Grandpa knew he wasn't little, that's all that mattered. Maybe the man wasn't used to kids. Yeah, that was probably it.

Once inside, Petr quickly showed them around before handing them the keys, wishing them a happy holiday and left. Papa hugged Greg. "If he'd seen how much you help at home, on the train, in the airport, he wouldn't have said that. I bet he's not around kids much."

Greg felt better; Papa and Grandpa always knew what to say or do to make it better. He put his pajamas on while Papa changed Kyle's pants, he already had his pajama top on. Kyle woke up and looked around. "Where's the plane, Daddy?"

"At the airport, sleepy boy. We landed and you climbed into your pack and then we drove here. This is where we're going to stay while we're here. You and Greg will share this room and your grandpa and I are right next door. Do you want to see the rest of the apartment?"

"Sure." Then he made a face, "Gotta go potty!"

"Come on, I'll show you where it is." They found it in time and while washing up, Kyle's tummy rumbled. Papa laughed, "All right, how about a snack before you go to bed?"

Their host advertised that he stocked the kitchen with food for the first day so his guests wouldn't have to find their way to the shops right away. Tim knew the cost was in the overall price but very much appreciated the man's thoughtfulness. After they'd all had a snack, the boys washed their faces and hands, brushed their teeth and went to bed. Greg might read for a while, although his papa thought he'd last about 10 minutes before falling asleep.

After the men unpacked, Dad took a shower while Tim poked around the common area of the apartment. He smiled at the DVD/VCR combo and looked through the VHS tapes, yep movies from the late 90's and early 2000's, probably Petr's college movie collection. He took a photo of the machine and the bookshelf with the VHS tapes, one of the oldest movies pulled out to display and sent it to Tony. Tim sat on the floor, going through the VHS tapes, remembering his first machine, a used VCR with a corded remote he bought at a thrift store in Cambridge. He and the kids probably spent a solid couple of months, over the years they were at Mrs. Ferguson's, catching up on the movies they'd missed growing up. Sometimes during the winter, the Baltimore libraries would show kids' movies so they'd seen a few. But to sit at home and watch them was a real treat and sometimes they even had popcorn.

Tim smiled, that reminded him of Artie. Her parents didn't allow popcorn so it was as big a treat for her as it was for the McGees. He'd pulled out 3 movies for the kids to watch when he heard the bathroom door open. He turned to his dad, "Look, old movies!" He told him about the VCR and all the movies they'd watched in their room at Mrs. Ferguson's.

Dad smiled, "You still have the machine?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, although it needs a few repairs. It's…huh, I guess it's at your house now!"

They laughed at that. Tim decided he wanted a shower and headed off. Gibbs waited until he heard the water go on before he took his own look at the movies, pulling out a couple of westerns. Those would be fun to watch too! Then he laughed to himself, here they were in a country they'd never been in, wouldn't have been allowed to visit during his youth or most of Tim's, and they were looking at movies!

Moving their selections next to the VCR, he yawned and headed to bed. He smiled as he walked in the bedroom, Tim forgot to mention one more wonder, this place had a king sized bed!

Over breakfast the next morning, they talked about their plans for the duration of their visit. With the amount of preparation they'd done, they should have an easy time of it. Today, they would have a private tour geared toward children and their parents. With the fairy tale qualities of the city, the tour operators promised to show it to them in a different light, using games and activities to engage the children's and adults' interest and imaginations. Tim was excited about this tour, although it was expensive, it would be worth it to cleverly introduce the boys to the wonderful architecture, statuaries and history of the city. The tour would be led by a local guide, a professional 'kids' friendly' guide and a professional art historian accustomed to working with children. The tour enabled them to 'skip the long lines' at the historical spots. From the reviews Tim and Dad read of the 'skip the lines' tours, they were well worth the extra money to avoid the long lines. As this was a walking tour, they'd take Kyle's Daddy pack, leaving the stroller at the apartment. Cobblestones and strollers were not a good match!

After the tour, they'd eat lunch and visit a playground or park before returning to the apartment for Kyle's nap. After his nap, they'd make sure they marked what they'd seen and what they wanted to see more of in their "Prague Family Guide", a product Tim found on one of the travel sites. It was a step-by-step guide to direct families with young children in exploring the wonders of Prague by themselves. The 3 self-guided tours would take them through their visit, making sure they saw all the fun things and best of all, the boys had activities, stickers to mark what they'd seen and done. There were more than 23 sites and 18 family adventures inside, including directions to playgrounds, parks and family friendly places to eat.

When they returned to their apartment after the private tour, they wore happy smiles. This city was amazing with the romantic, fairy-tale castle, the Charles Bridge, the medieval Old Town, the narrow alleyways and of course, Wenceslas Square. It was beautiful, full of history and a lot of fun for all of them. They'd definitely gotten their money's worth from the tour.

They'd used their Prague Family Guide to find a kid-friendly place for lunch, visited a park where the boys ran around for a few minutes before Kyle sat his butt on the ground, he'd had enough! Papa scooped his intrepid little boy up with a gentle hug and kisses and then Grandpa helped him into the Daddy pack. He was asleep in minutes, not even waking when he was lifted out of his perch and gently laid on the bed he shared with Greg.

Taking the backpack, Tim left to do some grocery shopping, they'd passed a store on the way back, while Grandpa and Greg relaxed. Greg was a little tired but not in need of sleep and he pulled a box of Legos from the kids' toy basket. He thought he'd see if he could make a miniature of the Charles Bridge. In the meantime, Grandpa silently berated himself about how out of shape he was. A 2½ hour walk and he was done in! He eyed the recliner in the living area, knowing if he sat for more than a couple of minutes, he'd fall asleep. Locking the front door and digging out his cell phone, he lowered himself to the floor beside Greg. "Mind if I join you?"

Greg's smile was enough of an answer. "I forgot you like to play Legos. I'm going to make a little Charles Bridge and the road leading to it."

"Great! I'll watch for a few minutes, make sure I'm following the same pattern you are."

The two of them worked diligently for a few minutes before Greg scrunched his face, "Grandpa, the word Prague sounds like frog. How come it's spelled differently?"

Gibbs chuckled, glad he'd been around Tim and his love of language so long. He remembered an almost Ducky-length lecture one day in the bullpen when Ziva asked about a word…oh yeah, 'though' as opposed to 'through'. They'd been buried in paperwork and he let McGee ramble on for a few reasons. The first was that it was driving DiNozzo crazy, which meant he was awake and listening, the second was that he rarely allowed Tim to finish a sentence, much less an explanation, a third reason was that he was finding the lecture interesting and lastly, Ziva was still listening, looking as if he was giving her answers she'd given up trying to find.

He remembered being amused, entertained and satisfied with that he'd learned – and the startled look on Tim's face when he gave him a nod of appreciation. He'd thought that look was funny at first but when he stopped to think about it, he decided he needed to change some things. While he was generally tolerant of DiNozzo's distractions, although the man might disagree with that, he mostly viewed anything educational or electronic based as an annoyance, which meant Tim rarely had a chance to speak outside of casework.

Pulling himself back from the memory, Gibbs smiled at his grandson, "It has to do with where the word started from. We should look it up but I think the word 'frog' came to the English language from France, where people ate frogs' legs a lot. It hasn't always been a nice word and might have visited a couple of other languages before it became 'frog' in English.

"As for the word Prague, it comes from the Czech language. English has adopted many words from other languages and that's part of why a lot of words sound alike but are spelled differently or they look alike and sound differently."

"Oh! That's interesting, thanks!"

They worked on the bridge for another few minutes before they heard the key in the lock and Tim entered, the backpack full of food for the rest of their stay.

When Kyle woke, they returned to the Charles Bridge, this time there weren't quite so many people and they walked on it, Kyle riding in his Daddy pack on Grandpa's back while Greg rode on his papa's shoulders. Otherwise, neither of them would have seen much. Tim noticed they received a lot of smiles and nods too. From their first encounter with their host at the airport, they'd found the people of the Czech Republic to be friendly and inviting. They stopped to look at the tower, the statue of Charles, the bridge itself and Prague Castle in the background.

From there, they found one of the playgrounds listed in their Prague Family Guide and spent a couple of hours there. After a while, Grandpa and Papa took turns wandering on their own for a few minutes before returning.

Although that was the only private tour they took, the routine they established worked for them and by the time they left Monday morning, they'd experienced all the places and events on their plan as well as many more, had a lot of yummy food, especially the pastry and ice cream, and learned a few words of the Czech language. The boys had marked everything in their books without having to be told and chattered excitedly about what they'd seen.

With Kyle only 39-months old, he probably wouldn't remember much but their books, photos and souvenirs would help. Tim knew he'd been about the same age when they moved from Puerto Rico to Japan and he remembered a few things about the move. Considering the brain damage Tim had suffered in the hit and run, his little guy might retain even more memories.

Leaving a thank you gift for Petr and a glowing review for him and the apartment, the family used the Prague Airport Private Departure Transfer service. Now, the boys were in awe when a limousine arrived for their trip to the airport and the driver waited patiently while Tim took a couple of photos. Kyle giggled as he sat in his car seat, facing Daddy. Greg was happy too, his car seat gave him a bit of a lift so he could see out the window. Using back streets, they avoided the worst of the traffic, arriving at the departure terminal right on time.

Their trip home was short and painless as they talked about their adventures. When they were through Customs, they found the train station again and had a relaxing trip to Brambury where Uber picked them up and delivered them to the house.

As they walked from the driveway to the front door, Tim shook his head at his father, "I could get used to this, having other people transport us. It's nice!"

"It is nice, although it adds up."

"Yeah, every once in a while I wonder about buying something."

"Bigger than a sedan to fit all 6 of us, not to mention leg room for Robbie! If things go well with Sarah and James, he'll need a lot of leg room too."

It was something to think about but at that moment, Tim was more concerned with unpacking, laundry and getting ready for their trip to Greece!

He hadn't bothered with his email while on their trip, other than looking for confirmation of their tour, rides and flight. Once he had the first load of wash going and the kids were in the backyard playing, he sat down with his laptop to comb through his messages.

The first one he spotted was a response from the University president, who thanked him for letting him know, saying he hadn't been worried.

The second email he opened greatly surprised him, an apology from Secretary Porter. She was, she said, horrified at what she'd done in virtually forcing that heinous individual on him, his sister and Gibbs. Tim shared the note with Sarah and Dad. Sarah shrugged off the apology, she didn't know the woman and hoped to never deal with her again. Dad was relieved, he'd put some trust into his dealings with Sarah Porter and she'd seriously eroded that trust when she brought that bastard into their home. Tim didn't know how he felt.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The family was busy over the next two days, getting the house ready for their visitors. They'd be here for a couple of nights before and after the trip to Greece and would need beds. Having had virtual tours via Skype, Tobias and Granducky were given the choice of Gibbs' and Sarah's guest rooms or the guest rooms upstairs. Both had opted for the downstairs rooms, Granducky staying with Sarah. That left Tony with a choice of 3 rooms, the 2 guest rooms or the 2nd master upstairs. He chose the 2nd master with its en suite bathroom. Rob could have had one of the guest rooms but preferred to share his brother's California King with precious inches more leg room.

The stay in Greece would be 10 days, the U.S. travelers had listened to Ducky, deciding that for that costly a flight, a week's vacation would hardly be worth it! Booking 2 weeks vacation plus weekends, they'd have some time in the UK before and after Greece. They'd planned the trip so they'd still be with the family for Jethro's birthday.

When the great day arrived, Sarah and the boys stayed home while Tim and Gibbs took the train to the airport. As the two men walked into the waiting area for Customs, Tim grinned at his dad, "Can't wait to see them, feels more like years than four months!"

Dad nodded before saying, "You know we'll see them again in about 4 months, at Christmas?"

"And we can talk all we want to and not have to worry about men in suits! Something to look forward to." He nudged his dad when he spotted Tony. "There are Tony and Tobias. Where's Ducky?"

"Going through English passport control."

"Forgot about that."

With a quick trip through Customs, Fornell and DiNozzo were soon reunited with their family; Ducky showed up a minute or two later. "Ah, there you are!" He joined the happy group and eventually, they let go of each other. Tim grinned, "Tobias, Tony, welcome to the United Kingdom. Ducky, welcome back!"

They all smiled and Gibbs looked at the luggage. "That's not bad, one suitcase, one carry-on each."

Tim smirked, "They didn't bring everything they own like we did."

Tobias shook his head, saying softly, "We weren't chased out of our own country."

Tim nodded, "It's done now, guys. When we get home, I'm hoping you'll tell us the latest on the suit company."

Knowing he meant the Intelligence Protection Force, they agreed as they gathered their belongings. Tim and Gibbs helped and then steered them toward the train. Tony asked, "How long does it take to get to Brambury from here?"

Tim told them, adding, "If we drove at this time of day, it'd easily take an hour more than that."

"Big cities."

"Yep."

They found a train car with enough seats together for all of them and relaxed. Ducky commented on a few things but for the most part the men were quiet, watching out the window. Two stops before Brambury, Tim requested an Uber vehicle for 5 with room for luggage and grinned when he spotted a large van waiting at the station there. "Our transport is here."

"Do you use Uber a lot over here?"

"Mostly when the whole family travels together or it's late or stormy. By ourselves, we usually walk. Sarah almost always calls them or the local cab service on her way home."

Dad nodded, "We've been talking about taking Uber or a local cab all the way to the airport when we leave for Greece and when we get back. We'll be on the road early enough to avoid the worst of the commute traffic, both going and coming home. Tim's negotiating with the local cab service, they have a van big enough for all of us. It'll be really good on our way back. Figure with the kids and a 4-hour flight, we'll all be tired and have more stuff than we left with. Easier to get in a car and be driven home."

He chuckled, "We're getting used to it, spoiled! Rarely need a car to get around. Mostly for road trips when there's something off the beaten path we want to see or do. Even then, we try to take the train to our main place and rent local. And we can get anywhere in Greater London on the Tube and buses. Flights are a heck of a lot cheaper too. From here to anywhere on the continent, you can get relatively cheap flights, all the time. Lot easier than it is in the States where in so many places you have to have a car. Trains and flights are expensive and buses, well can't complain about them, haven't taken one in years." He paused in thought, "Of course in the U.S. there's a lot more ground to cover, makes a difference but that's no excuse for the lack of public transportation!"

They piled into the Uber van, the visitors chuckling when the driver pulled into a driveway less than 5 minutes later. The three visitors followed their hosts from the driveway into the front garden and then stopped and stared. Tim and Gibbs noticed and also stopped, grinning. Ducky was the first to speak, "It's not quite large enough to have been a proper manor house, but it's close."

"Yes. From what we've learned of the history, this was a farmhouse, built in the 1400s, that was renovated into a country house during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 1500s, shortly after Bedford was given its charter. It became a small manor house during the reign of King James I. It's been renovated several times and is modern enough for us. Contemporary plumbing, wiring and heating with some great antique furniture and a huge layout. You know from your virtual tour how big it is."

Tobias' eyes looked like they were going to pop, they were so wide. "Yeah, we did that but seeing it in person…wow! How'd you swing this?"

"Sarah found it, was the only place available that ticked all our boxes. Enough bedrooms, an office for me, a garden and playroom for the boys, separate quarters for her and the cherry on top, separate quarters and workshop for Dad, too. Oh and each suite has a guestroom. We split the rent, the Navy pays monthly support for the boys and the University pays a monthly housing stipend."

Tim smiled at the two little faces watching them from the front windows. "Come on, let's go in before the boys explode with excitement!"

He'd cautioned the boys to be gentle with Granducky and the Uncles as they would be tired after their long plane ride. Now he smiled at Greg who was holding Kyle back. When everyone was inside, the boys were scooped up into loving arms for hugs and kisses. Uncle Tony couldn't believe how much they'd grown in just 4 months! Sarah joined them and there was happy chaos for the next few minutes.

When they were sorted into their various rooms, they took some time to freshen up, Uncle Tony saying he wanted to burn the clothes he was wearing, much to Greg's consternation. Eventually, they reconvened in the kitchen where they had a snack before having a proper tour of the house.

That evening when the boys were finally asleep and after naps of their own, Tony and Tobias met with the others in Dad's living room. There they updated them on what was happening with IPF and in particular, Marvin Lee Hatman. After silence for several days after Hatman's arrest, the White House ordered a special prosecutor to look into the IPF and reportedly opened all their records to the prosecutorial staff. The federal agents shook their heads, that had given whoever was involved plenty of time to destroy records and for those who needed to get out, to do so.

Of course, as Tim pointed out, they had no idea what else the IPF had done over the years. They could be, with the exception of their actions toward the McGee-Hart family, knights in shining armor for all they knew. Although that wasn't likely. Deeply covert agencies like them were off the books for a reason and there was plenty of 'dirty work' involved to keep a country safe, especially one as big a target as the US.

Hatman would stand trial in the UK within the next year, with the current occupant of the White House promising to honor the verdict. Depending on the outcome of that trial, the former head of the shadowy spook agency would be extradited to whichever country won the coin toss for his next trial. Conventional wisdom, Tobias said, was that the UK would make Hatman's sentence stiff enough to satisfy the other countries involved. Tim was pleased to hear there was progress, he'd been afraid the whole thing would be allowed to fade away.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Over the next day and a half, the visitors slept, ate, walked through Brambury, slept some more and managed to stay awake long enough for a trip into London for some sightseeing and a ride on the London Eye for a birds-eye view of the area. Of course, they slept all the way home on the Tube.

After much discussion back and forth across the Atlantic, the group had decided they wanted to vacation on a Greek island and also wanted to see some of the sites of Athens. That made the selection of an island a lot easier, there was a small one in the Aegean Sea, just off the coast with frequent ferry service to Athens.

Rob arrived the afternoon before their flight to Greece, happy to see them all. The next day, their Brambury taxi van arrived to take the group to the airport for their flight to Athens. From the airport in Athens, they'd catch a shuttle to the dock in Piraeus for the ferry to the island of Aegina. A van from the local cab company would meet them at the dock on the island. The villa they'd rented was in the village of Perdika.

After realizing how many beds they'd need, even with some of them sharing rooms, they'd switched from looking at hotels to vacation rentals, as close to the beach as possible. There were a few that had the number of beds and bathrooms they'd need and once they decided which one suited their needs, Tim volunteered to handle the reservations.

When he contacted the owner directly, the man was impressed with his Greek, giving them a 10% discount. After the call, Tim used his Gemcity credit card online to pay for rental of the villa. The owner called him several hours later. "The name you gave me is Timothy McGee, your credit information is for Thom E Gemcity, although the same address. I wanted to make sure this was you and not a scam."

"My apologies, I hadn't even thought about which credit card I'd use. Yes, it is me, Timothy McGee. I'm an author and Thom E Gemcity is my penname. I have a separate credit card under that name that I use for unusual purchases."

"Then you are both Timothy McGee and Thom E Gemcity, the author of the _Deep Six_ books?"

"That's right."

"Wonderful! I have several of your books at the villa, I've read them all and my guests always enjoy them. But I cannot charge you this price, you've given me so many hours of wonderful entertainment. I'm going to give you another 20% off the full price, so that you now have a 30% discount."

Tim's jaw dropped but eventually he thanked Mr. Yannaghas, the owner, for his generosity. Although they'd paid their own ways, the additional discount would especially help the three coming from the U.S. He resolved to autograph the books while they were there.

He and his siblings were really excited about staying in a 'villa'; not bad for three kids who'd grown up on the street, sleeping in a tent! The rental slept 10, they'd have 8, with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths, and a full size, fenced pool. There were steps from the pool deck onto their private beach. It was pricey but as a group they'd voted to go for it. They'd save money by cooking meals instead of eating out. The four cooks, Tobias, Dad, Tony and Tim, had already planned several menus and brought spices and staples (coffee, tea, sugar, flour, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, a supply of snacks for Rob, juice and milk boxes) with them so they wouldn't have to stock up on those although they'd buy fresh meat, produce and fruit once they got to the village. There were bikes at the house and the owner told Tim the stores were less than 5 minutes walk.

Tim chuckled as he packed his suitcase and the boys'. He had 3 bottles of SPF #50 sunscreen, sunhats, 4 pairs of shorts, 4 lightweight shirts, jammies, underwear, 2 bathing suits, a t-shirt, sandals, flip flops and water shoes. He'd wear another shirt, long pants, sneakers and bring a light jacket on the plane. The boys had 2 bathing suits each, shorts, tops, sandals and water shoes. They each picked three toys (Kyle was told he could not take an entire train as one toy) to bring, 2 books for stories and Greg selected 3 books to read. Tim downloaded everything he wanted to read to his e-reader, threw in a box of poker chips, their game of Tripoly, one of the kids' board games, three decks of cards, the kids' portable DVD player, a few DVDs, Tony would have more, and he was done.

The 4-hour flight to Athens went quickly as they were all excited. Tim was amazed when Kyle fell asleep on Granducky's lap but then he'd been awake early and probably hadn't slept much the night before. He slept the whole flight as did Granducky, Grandpa, Tony and Rob. But then Rob's family often teased him that he fell asleep if sitting in the same place for more than 3 minutes. Tobias, Greg, Sarah and Tim played cards, read and talked.

They were the first ones on their particular shuttle bus and when other people got on and saw the size of their group, several said they'd wait. Instead of the 60-90 minutes they'd been told to expect to reach the dock, they arrived in 45. The Flying Dolphin, a hydrofoil, took another 40 minutes to reach the town of Aegina and the taxi company's van was waiting for them. They walked into their villa a few minutes later, happy to be there!

Leaving the luggage in the living area, they toured the building, first looking for the bedrooms. Tim and Rob's room had a California King bed and was next to the boys with a bathroom in between. Sarah's room was across the hall and Tony's room, also featuring a Cal King bed, was next to hers. Tim, Tony and Rob had been ecstatic and relieved to learn there were two rooms with Cal King beds. Ducky, Tobias and Dad had rooms in another wing of the villa.

Once they knew their rooms, the luggage was sorted; Tim, the boys, Sarah, Rob and Tony changed into their swim clothes, slathered on the sunscreen and set out for the beach. Before they left, Tim stopped to check the thermostat and lowered the temp a bit. They'd be hot when they came back from the beach! Tony started to open what he thought was a slider, that is a patio sliding door, but Rob stopped him, "That's not a door, Tony, it's part of the wall!" They looked at it and saw that the whole wall could open up. However, since it was only 10:30 in the morning, they didn't want to leave it open. The first thing they'd noticed when they got off the plane was the heat and one of the 'must haves' when looking for a place to stay was air conditioning, either central or in every bedroom. The group exited through the open part of the wall, carefully closing it.

They grinned when they saw the beach. Not just the water, which was beautiful and very inviting, but the chaise lounges that were set up for them, each with a large umbrella. Each lounge chair had a rolled towel across it and a side table beside it. Although they all had flip flops, a complimentary pair lay under each lounge.

Behind the lounges, in a 3-sided tent-like structure that Tony called a cabana, there were comfortable reclining chairs, a small table, more towels and what looked like a beanbag single bed. A ceiling fan spun lazily over the center of the structure. On one side was a large cooler full of cold drinks: Bottled water, iced tea, lemonade, sodas, Greek beer and a large tube of sunblock.

Reading the label on the cooler, Tim laughed, "That's great, the cooler is solar powered. Needs a solar charger but two hours in the sun and it'll keep things cool for 12 hours."

Tony looked around, "The house is great, but this setup is wonderful, worth the money!"

Kyle pulled on his papa's arm, "Papa, can we go in the water now, please?"

"In a couple of minutes, Kyle. We have to put your life jackets on and then check for drop-offs first. Remember how we did that in Cornwall?"

Greg nodded, "I do, to make sure we don't fall in a hole!"

"That's right. Ok, Uncle Rob, want to do the honors for us? First we stand Kyle next to you and his waist comes to about…here." He tapped an area on Rob's leg. "I don't want either of them to be in water past their waistline so we'll let Kyle be our guide."

Understanding his instructions, Rob walked into the water about a foot and then turned to walk sideways, first one way and then the other. There weren't any drop-offs and the boys cheered. Following a nod from Tim, Rob walked out another foot and did the same thing. The water was well below the spot on Rob's leg and there weren't any drop-offs. The boys could go that far without any problem, providing there wasn't any undertow and according to everything Tim could find, that was not usually a problem here. He waded into the water after Rob, grabbing a stick first, poking into the sandy bottom before placing his foot. His brother frowned, "What are you…oh, stingrays?"

"Yeah, they like to bury themselves in sand. Sorry, I didn't think of it until just now."

"What about…?"

"Everything else? Well, there's a beach next to us for that house and one just past that. And that tower-chair is for a lifeguard. I'm hoping we're just earlier than expected this morning."

Tony joined them, "There are lifeguards here?"

Tim chuckled, "Part of what we paid for with the house, Tony. Weird but true, one lifeguard for every 3 or 4 of these villas. Since there are 3 villas here, we should have one lifeguard."

Sarah cleared her throat as a muscular, bronzed young man ran down the beach. "I'm guessing that's him."

The kid, Tim thought he was probably 19 or 20, approached them, "I'm sorry I'm late. I thought you were staying at…well a villa up the beach, around the point. When no one was there, I came down here. You're all clear to swim, there are no sharks or jellyfish in the vicinity and stingrays don't hang around here much. Too many people, I guess." He looked at the boys, "Hello, I'm Clay, your lifeguard. What are your names and how old are you?"

"I'm Greg and I'm 7."

"I'm Kyle and I'm 3."

"Glad to meet you both." He shook their hands, adding, "Did you bring a parent with you?"

Tim raised his hand as Greg smiled and pointed. "That's our papa."

"Great! Now, I noticed you've already looked for drop-offs, that's good. We keep an eye out for them, especially after storms or heavy tides but we haven't had either in a few months. Does everyone know how to swim?"

The adults and Greg nodded while Kyle looked at his father who said, "Kyle's still learning. He can hold his breath underwater and more or less dog paddle."

"All right, then Kyle, you see where your papa is now?" Tim was still standing in the water, two feet out, in back of Rob.

Kyle nodded and Clay-the-lifeguard said, "That's how far out you can play in the water. Want to check it out?"

"Ok." Kyle walked out to his papa. "It's not to my tummy. Daddy, can I learn how to swim here?"

"In the pool, son, sure." Kyle hadn't been very interested when they were in Cornwall, now Tim thought he was probably ready.

"Excellent! And the life jackets are already on the boys, great. Now…it would help if I knew your names. It's easier calling in a specific person than yelling 'hey you' through the megaphone."

They chuckled and introduced themselves. "Is this all of your party?"

"No, there are 3 additional men. They're Jethro, Tobias and Ducky. Jethro and Ducky are the boys' grandfathers, Tobias is a family friend."

"Ok, thanks. I'll meet them when they come down to the beach. By the way, there won't be anyone next door to you, but there is a family arriving day after tomorrow at the 3rd villa before the point there and I believe they'll have children with them."

"Great, it'd be nice for the boys to have other kids to play with."

"All right, anyone have any questions?"

Tim nodded, "How's the rip current around here?"

"We don't usually have one, not at this beach anyway. If you go to any of the other beaches, check with me first. Even telling me in which direction you're going will help. If you have a map of the island, I can mark out the beaches where you need to watch for the rip currents."

"Thanks."

"One more thing, if you rent jet skis or boats, you'll need to stay far off the beaches, the vendors will tell you how far. People frequently swim farther out than you'd think and it's difficult to see one or two heads bobbing in the waves."

"Ok. What about boards here? I'm thinking boogie boards, not for surfing."

"Sure, you can use them or paddleboards. Just…check with me first." Later, Clay told them he hadn't wanted to frighten the boys but sharks sometimes mistook legs and arms dangling from boogie boards as fresh food. As long as they checked with their lifeguard to see if there were sharks in the vicinity, they should be fine.

Clay smiled at them, "All right, one last warning. It's pretty hot here and you'll burn faster while you're in the water. Sunscreen and liquids every 90 minutes, no matter who you are. Hats are a good idea too."

Tony made a face but nodded. Rob winked at the boys and Tim smiled, "I have my watch set and we'll put our hats on before we get in the water, thanks for reminding us."

He and Greg went back to their lounges, pulling out hats and caps for all of them, leaving three on one of the little tables for the older men.

Hats and sunglasses on, Sarah, the boys and men jumped in the water. Sarah said, "There's no having to get used to this, the water's wonderful!"

When Tony looked puzzled, Greg explained, "At our cottage in Cornwall, it wasn't very warm out and the water was cold too. Daddy and Grandpa built fires on the beach to keep us warm when we were out of the water. It took a long time to get used to it."

"When were you there?"

"The last week in July."

"And it was that cold?"

Tim and Sarah laughed, "The locals kept saying what a lovely warm day it was but the air temperature never got past 65 degrees Fahrenheit. And we didn't want to know what temperature the water was!"

Tony's eyes widened, "I have the thermostat in my apartment set for 64, for the heater!"

They nodded and he shook his head, "You went in anyway, you're very brave people."

Kyle grinned, "Grandpa said we were at the beach so we hadda get in the water. Then he built us a fire."

Tim stayed with the kids, playing with them, while the others swam and jumped the waves. Rob returned in a few minutes, "Tim, this water is so warm it's like a spa! Go swim, I'd like to play with my nephews for awhile."

Rob was right and Tim had a great time, swimming parallel to the beach. When he was ready for a break, he headed in and found Tony with the boys. His goofball brother was crawling along the shoreline, in the water, making noises and pretending to be a sea monster while the boys 'tried' to get away. Tim quickly got to his pack and snapped a few photos, of sea monster Tony after the boys. He sent the photos to Jimmy and Abby.

Abby had planned to visit them in Brambury this summer but ended up having to spend her travel money helping her brother and his family when they ran into some problems. She'd told Tim she was grateful she had the money available for them. Dad told her if she ever ran into a spot like that and needed help, whether it was financial or otherwise, to let him or Ducky know. They'd see her at Christmas and the last Tim heard, her new plan was to visit them during the June half-term week. Perfect timing for her, the weather would be hot in DC and warm-ish in England. And if it was too warm, they'd plan a trip to Scotland.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Dad, Ducky and Tobias appeared about an hour after the others hit the beach, admitting to taking naps, which Kyle thought was hilarious. After being introduced to their own personal lifeguard, they quickly got in the water and all three sighed in happiness. Ducky chuckled, "This water is like manna from heaven for these old bones."

Tobias nodded, "Today's flight was pretty short but oh man, it hurt to sit in those seats again!" He grinned at Ducky, "I can feel my body healing as we speak."

Granducky stayed with the kids, sitting in the water and playing with them, while Jethro and Tobias swam out several feet before copying what Tim had been doing, swimming laps parallel to the shore. Tony and Rob joined them while Tim joined the boys and Ducky in the shallow water.

When Tim's watch buzzed with a sunscreen reminder, Rob volunteered to make lunch but his father shook his head, chuckling. "Beat you to it, Doc. We made sandwiches, brought some goodies with them. Brought our cooler down with a bag of ice, only to find the fancy cooler in the cabana. It's all in there."

Everyone got out of the water and when Ducky and Rob insisted, sat in the shade under their beach umbrellas. They enjoyed their lunches, complete with carrot sticks and home baked cookies Dad found neatly wrapped in a cookie jar in the kitchen. The beers went untouched, Dad said he'd have one after they were out of the sun for the day and Tony decided that was good advice. The group had iced tea, lemonade or water to drink.

The boys giggled when Tim spooned several ice cubes from the cooler into his lemonade and he winked at them. It was a standing joke between the three of them that Papa only used ice when he was hot enough to sweat. When they were on the beach at Cornwall and Grandpa built a fire to cook dinner and keep warm, Grandpa and Aunty Sarah still put ice in their drinks. The boys had been drinking hot chocolate, so ice wasn't an option.

When Rob asked if anyone was going to the store, Tobias chuckled, "We planned to until we looked in the refrigerator. There's a leg of lamb in there along with fresh vegetables, produce, berries and heavy cream. There are apples, oranges and bananas on the counter. What exactly did you say to the owner, Tim?"

Tim rolled his eyes. "When we talked, I told him my name. After we hung up, I went online to pay. And I used my Gemcity card. Didn't even think about it because I normally use it for large or unusual purchases. He called me later wanting to know what was going on. Good catch on his part."

The feds all nodded and Tobias grinned, "So you had to 'fess up?"

"I did and once he understood that both names were me, he was happy. Seems he's a big fan. That's why he gave us the extra discount and maybe the stocked kitchen."

"Not the lifeguard?"

"No, his services are included with the villa and private beach."

Dad and Tobias were laughing, slapping each other's backs. Finally Dad stopped long enough to say, "Never in a million years would I dream that I could afford a vacation like this! My father and grandfather were coal miners!"

Tim grinned at his sister and brother, "And we're orphans who grew up on the street. It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"

Tobias was wiping his eyes, "We have to take pictures of the place, inside and out and send them to my dad and my aunt. They're never going to believe this."

"Not Emily or Diane?"

"Better not. Emily's not 18 yet, Diane will start plotting how to get more money out of me."

Tim was smirking, "I'm thinking we take several photos, one with each of us with the house in the background, use them for Christmas cards."

"Ooh, great idea."

Tony snorted, "You could do that with this place or the house you live in, McGee. That's almost a palace."

Ducky smiled, "As a matter of fact, Anthony, you're right." He went on to talk a little about manor houses and how the house in Brambury was a smaller version of one. Tim added, "Without the turrets and the moats."

"There is that, of course."

When they'd dried off enough, they reapplied the sunscreen. Ducky frowned at Tim's back and with a sigh, he pulled the t-shirt out of his pack, one that had sun protection built into it. "Good fellow, that will save you from troubles later on. Hats, everyone!"

Tim wanted Kyle to take a nap this afternoon and thought he'd have a better chance if he and the boys played in the pool for awhile. He and Kyle could work on the preschooler's swimming skills. Greg was fine with that, he thought when his brother went in for a nap, he might read for awhile.

Rob, Tony and Tobias ran down the sand to the water's edge, running right in while Sarah followed them more sedately. Grandpa, Granducky, Greg, Kyle and their papa carried their belongings up the steps to the pool. Kyle squealed when he saw the pool toys waiting for them. "Papa, I can go deep here, huh?"

"A little deeper, Doodle Bug. If you learn how to swim, then you can go a little more."

"Ok, I'm ready."

"Great! Why don't you show me what you remember? I'll stand right next to you."

"No sharks in the pool, Daddy."

"Only Grandpa or Granducky sharks. Let's see how you put your face in the water. Do you remember, talking to the fishies? You blow bubbles in the water to talk to the pretend fishies. Here, I'll do it first." Tim sat on the steps in the water, leaned over and put his face in the water, blowing bubbles. When he sat up again, he was smiling.

Kyle followed his example. "I did it!"

"Great job, sweetie!" They high-fived. "Now let's…" Patiently, Tim took him through the steps he'd found online to teach his son water safety and the basics of swimming. Holding his breath under water and not panicking was the biggest challenge. After that, they practiced arm movements, which Tim called catching fishies. It was a cleverly designed procedure for parents to use before their toddler or preschooler had formal swimming lessons.

Kyle did well and when Tim saw he was tiring, the two of them sat on one of the lounge chairs. When Kyle started to fall asleep, Tim wrapped a towel around him and, quietly telling Greg and Dad they were going into the house, he climbed out of the chair, holding Kyle. To his surprise, Greg came with him and when Tim looked a question at him, Greg said he might read for awhile. Knowing neither boy had slept well the night before, and were also tired from the flight and all the excitement, Tim smiled and leaning down, kissed the top of Greg's head.

Greg read about 5 minutes before falling asleep. While both his kids slept, Tim also took a brief nap. When he woke, he pulled out his laptop and wrote for a few minutes. When Sarah came in, offering to stay in until the boys woke, Tim jumped into the pool and swam laps. While he'd been running in the mornings at home, he was starting to feel sluggish and knew he needed to amp up his physical routine. Swimming felt great and now he thought he'd join the local gym, get a swim in as often as possible. If he got a family membership, the boys could swim too, that would help both of them further develop their swimming skills. And the pool at the gym was indoors so the weather would not be a factor or an excuse.

When the boys woke, they accompanied their papa down to the beach again, playing for 3 more rounds of sunscreen before Granducky decided they'd all had enough for the day. Grandpa and Uncle Tobias had the grill going by then and delicious smells were luring the group out of the water anyway. Clay finished his shift and waved goodbye as he climbed out of the lifeguard tower.

After dinner, the group played with a backyard bowling set they found in the garage, along with several other games. The boys had a great time, giggling at the antics of their uncles. Afterward, they played Simon Says, which Kyle knew from day care. Their last game was a simple game of tag, which Aunty Sarah won. When it was Kyle's bedtime, Greg went in with him and the two kissed everyone goodnight. Papa and Grandpa took them inside for their nightly routine. When it was story time, Papa started a new tale about two little monkeys on an island. Greg quickly realized he and Kyle were the monkeys and told his little brother. The two of them giggled their way through Papa's story.

As the days progressed, the family swam in the ocean and pool every day, rode bikes, Kyle riding in a toddler seat the family down the beach loaned them from their villa, went hiking, explored the village of Perdika and had other adventures. Tim found his books and autographed them for Mr. Yannaghas. They had busy days and days when one or more of them just wanted to kick back on the beach or in the pool.

For all he enjoyed the sightseeing and other activities, Tim loved his time in the water and on the beach. He'd lay on one of the lounges with his e-reader and try to read, his mind drifting off to other things. He found himself thinking of Artemis more than a few times, wondering where she was, what she was doing. Once again he thought of looking for her but put it off, finally admitting he was afraid of being rejected again, as he had been in Seattle. Rejected after a long, passionate weekend together.

The group took the ferry back to the mainland and explored Athens, climbing the Acropolis and exploring the Parthenon, touring the agora, thrilled to be walking the streets of the ancient city. They found museums, more historical sites, clubs, shops and restaurants that required more than one visit. After that, more ferry rides were taken.

One afternoon, Tim and Dad caught a ride with Clay to Aegina town where they rented a van. They drove all over the island, exploring more of the villages and beaches. One night, Granducky and Aunty Sarah stayed with the boys while the others visited a taverna Clay recommended, with Tim as the designated driver. The men had a great time, at first watching from the sidelines as some of the locals demonstrated their dancing skills and then finally trying a few dance steps themselves. Rob, Tony and Tim were brave enough to try and were told they hadn't done too badly for rank amateurs, or words to that effect.

The family down the beach had four kids, two who were approximately Greg and Kyle's ages and two young teens. The group soon became friends and Sarah was glad there was another woman in the vicinity. Only a few years older than Sarah, the woman was also happy to have another adult woman around.

Tim had a call one night and two days later disappeared with the van, returning with James Powell, Sarah's boyfriend. James had unexpectedly received a bonus at work and called Tim to see if there was room for him at the villa. He'd wanted to surprise Sarah and that went over well, not only with Sarah but also with Timpa, Dad and Rob. He was with them for an extra long weekend before he had to get back to work. As a fairly new employee, he had little vacation time.

The feds in the group were surprised when James revealed that he worked for NCIS in the London office. Sarah chuckled, she'd known since their first date but told only Rob, who didn't mention it to anyone. James was an IT technician for the agency and was enjoying his job. When he left early one morning, Tim and Rob drove him to the ferry and then turned in their rental van, catching a ride back to the villa with Clay, who was on his way to work a lifeguard shift.

While in their villa, the group celebrated Gibbs' and Ducky's birthdays. Although the group would still be together for Gibb' actual birthday, the allure of celebrating in a villa on a Greek island was too strong to ignore. Knowing both men preferred simple, Tobias, Tony and Tim made a special dinner for them.

Ducky's birthday cake was cupcakes ordered from the village bakery. Several traditional Scottish items were showcased as sugary toppers: the Scottish flag, a tiny set of bagpipes, the Loch Ness monster, a tiny bottle of scotch, a Scottish thistle and a tiny clan tartan.

Tim and Tony made Gibbs' cake from a recipe Tim found online. Years ago, Gibbs had mentioned an orange-almond cake that first his Gibbs grandmother and then Shannon made for him. While they didn't know how close they'd gotten, Gibbs said it was perfect and hugged his big boys for their thoughtfulness.

The little boys made their grandfathers plaques with a photo of the two of them with each grandfather. They'd surrounded the photos with tiny seashells and other treasures from the beach, painting their names and the year on the back. Tim, Rob, Tony and Sarah gave Gibbs a sleek jacket they'd noticed him admiring in Athens and a gift card, with no expiration date, for a nice restaurant in Alexandria. Ducky's gift from all of them was an invitation to a traditional 'Burns' Night' held in a stately antebellum mansion in North Carolina, including airfare and a voucher for a hotel stay.

The gang reluctantly packed up several days later, hating to leave their posh villa, private beach and personal lifeguard. They'd had a wonderful time and all had beautiful tans, despite the gallons of sunscreen they'd applied. They teased about winning the lottery and coming back. With the cost of airfare from the U.S. and the cost of the villa, it would likely be several years, if ever, before they returned. This was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

The family down the beach had another week of vacation so the perishable foods went to them and the toddler seat for the bicycle was returned to their villa. Games were neatly put away, the cabana double checked for personal items, towels checked to make sure they didn't belong there, their lifeguards were suitably thanked and finally, the group hauled their luggage, including more souvenirs than any of them would admit, out the door and into the same taxi van that delivered them. Back to the dock, the luggage was stowed and the group boarded the ferry.

Tony perked up as they flew to the UK, reminding everyone that he and Tobias hadn't really seen London yet and would have a few days to squeeze everything in. That made everyone happier and Sarah and Ducky pulled out the plan they'd developed, 20 'must see' places. Before they left, Tony saw all 20 while Tobias made it to 15 of them.

DiNozzo loved the city and vowed to return for more in depth sightseeing and visiting his family. Ducky showed them where he'd lived back in the 1950's, during his residency in London. He laughed when they arrived at the right street address. What had been a cramped, drafty old building mostly full of bedsits was now a modern high-rise apartment building. They peeked in at the lobby, which looked fairly swanky.

The night before their flight home, Tony said he had to go home to rest and save some more money so he could hurry back here. Tobias and Ducky agreed, they'd had wonderful times and the memories would keep them going until the family came home for Christmas.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The boys, big and little, and Sarah were sad after Ducky, Tony and Tobias left. They knew they'd see them in a few months but right now that seemed an impossibly long time, at least to Greg and Kyle. To cheer them up, Sarah and Tim decided to take the boys into London on Friday morning, a few days after their visitors left. They'd ride the London Eye and a double-decker bus and probably stop in at Sarah and Tim's favorite bookstore. Greg hadn't been yet and it was on his list of places to visit.

While Kyle loved stories and knew his alphabet, he wasn't yet reading and his papa and aunty thought he'd likely be restless after a few minutes at the bookstore. The two adults planned to rotate so that each of them would take Kyle for a walk while the other one had time to look for books and help Greg.

The details worked out, they rode into the city less than 2 hours after Dad went to work at the agency. He was working a big case with the London team and Tim spent time helping him the previous evening, mostly just talking things out although Tim did a few discreet searches. That felt very good to the once and possibly future Agent McGee and when they set out the next morning, he was still feeling the buzz of working a case.

After riding the Eye, this time enjoying it more because they knew what most of the buildings and areas were, they rode a double-decker bus, riding up top to the delight of the boys. When they disembarked, they made their way to the bookstore.

They were happy to find a 'story time' scheduled that would suit Kyle. He sat with a few other youngsters in a separate room with the storytellers. When Tim saw other parents complacently browsing in the shop while their children were with the storyteller, he decided to embrace their new post IPF freedom and leave Kyle with the other children. The story was Beatrix Potter's tale of Peter Cottontail and Tim grinned to himself as he slipped out the door.

Finding Greg in his favorite section, Tim told him where Kyle was and helped his older son find more books written by his favorite authors. Leaving Greg to curl up with the books, Tim went looking for one particular book he wanted.

When story time was done, Sarah took Kyle for a walk. The two of them were walking hand in hand down the sidewalk, Kyle telling Aunty about the story, when Sarah heard her name called. And not just 'Sarah', but 'Sarah McGee'.

Frowning, but remembering they should be safe now, she relaxed as two people in suits, one a woman, walked past them, giving them a nod and approaching someone. So, their protection detail was still intact, that was reassuring! The voice calling her name had been feminine and when the detail moved to the side of the woman they'd approached, Sarah's mouth opened and then curved into a smile. "Artie? Artie Galanis?"

"Yes! Sarah, it's so good to see you; you're all grown up!"

"I can't believe you're here, in London! Tim said he saw you in Seattle."

The woman laughed, "That was more than 12 years ago."

Sarah was a bit embarrassed at that and Kyle was hugging her leg, scared. She patted his head, "It's ok, Kyle, our friends are here with us and she's also a friend. She and your papa were friends the first time he lived at MIT."

The little boy listened intently, looking up at her, "It's okay to talk to her?"

"Yes, as long as you're with me or your papa."

"Ok, Aunty Sarah."

Their protectors were giving Sarah questioning looks and she nodded, this person was all right. They moved aside but didn't leave.

Artie approached, "I want to ask about your escort but first, who is this charming young man?"

Kyle hid his head again and Sarah put her hand on his shoulder. "This is my nephew, Kyle. Kyle, this is Ms. Artemis."

He moved his head so he could see before standing straight and holding his hand out, "Hello. I'm Kyle."

"I'm very glad to meet you, Kyle. How old are you?"

"Three!"

"Wonderful! I have a little girl, but she's still a baby, not quite 2."

Kyle knew what a baby was and nodded wisely. Sarah looked at Artie's hands but didn't see any ring. She decided to try an indirect route for more information. "Are you here on business, vacation, or do you live here?"

Artie wrinkled her nose, "Got married, moved here for my husband's job, got pregnant, he freaked, we split up, he transferred back to Australia. I had Marissa, my daughter, two days before our divorce became final and then I found work. My sister finished school and works here. She lives with us and helps with childcare. How about you?"

"I've been here a year and a half. I'm a grad student, publishing my second book. Tim and his family moved here in April, that's a long story. They'll be here for a couple of years, he's a visiting professor at Bedford."

"Bedford, here? A professor? Family? I thought…"

"He was in law enforcement for over a decade but things went wonky. As I said, it's a long story."

"And this is his son?"

Kyle nodded, "He's my papa and my brother's too."

"Two kids?"

Sarah realized she might be about to ask about the kids' mother and cut her off, not wanting to upset Kyle. "Yes. He's just down the block, in the bookstore -Battersea Books."

"Oh, that's where I was headed, it's my favorite bookstore! Uh…"

Sarah laughed, "Go ahead, I don't mind – here's my cell number, stay in touch, no matter what!"

Artie nodded, gave Sarah a quick cheek kiss, grinned at Kyle and set off down the street. Sarah and Kyle stood watching her before entering the toy shop that was their original destination. Their protectors spoke into wrist mics as they split up, one remaining outside the toy store, the other following Artemis.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim and Greg were carrying their book selections toward the cashier when a woman appeared in front of them, standing still. Greg stopped and Tim, who'd been distracted by spotting what he thought might be a first edition of a favorite book, nearly tripped over him. Standing still beside his son, he looked him over to assure he was all right and then followed his gaze. His mouth dropped open and then shut again. He finally managed to croak out a name,

"Artie?"

"Hi, Tim! I just saw Sarah and Kyle down the block, they said you were in here."

Tim kept looking at her. "Artie. I …wow!" Collecting himself, he remembered his 7-year-old son was right there. "Artie, this is my son, Greg. Greg, this is Artie, whose whole first name is Artemis."

Greg beamed. "You're not in Japan anymore!" He offered his hand for a shake, "I'm Greg McGee."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Greg! You look like your Aunt Sarah."

Greg nodded, "And like my other dad, too, he lives in a hospital. Kyle looks like Papa and our mom but she died."

"I'm so sorry. I'm glad Kyle looks like her; that will help you remember her."

The boy looked at her thoughtfully, liking what she'd said.

Tim was still in shock and then remembered, "Artie, on the train weeks ago, I thought I saw you at a station."

She nodded, "I swore I felt someone watching me and when I turned to look I saw you just as the train took off. Until I saw Sarah, I'd convinced myself it was a doppelganger."

"Are you working here?"

"Yes. I first moved here with my husband but we're divorced now. Sarah told me you're teaching at Bedford! That's quite a feather in your cap but not what I expected to hear you were doing."

"Me neither, but I'm enjoying my life. Do you have time for lunch? We were going to eat out before we head home."

"Yes, for lunch with all of you, I'll make time. Where are we going?"

Greg grinned, "Papa wants to try the Thai place over by Grandpa's office."

"Uh…"

Tim said where it was and then added. "My former boss is my chosen father. Sarah and Rob's too. And I suppose Geordie, but they haven't met each other."

"That's great that you three have a parent after all these years. Although I guess that's really your parent since you were always Sarah and Rob's Timpa."

Tim smiled, "Don't get called that much anymore."

In line to pay for their books, Tim and Artie chatted while Greg listened, learning more about his family and Papa's former girlfriend. Once they'd paid, Tim texted Sarah and the three of them walked down to the toy store where they found the others. With a blink, Tim acknowledged their protection detail. Sarah took the pack while Tim picked Kyle up and the five of them walked to the nearest Tube station, catching a train that would get them within a block of the Thai restaurant and the NCIS: London office.

Tim was still in shock from Artie's sudden appearance. Happy and excited but a bit dazed. Sarah smiled when she saw Tim's reaction. When they reached their Tube stop, she grabbed Kyle's hand and winking at Greg, took his hand too. He, Kyle and Aunty Sarah walked ahead of their papa and Ms. Artie, giving them a little privacy.

The boys smiled when they saw Grandpa waiting for them, Kyle tugged on Aunty Sarah's hand and looking up, she grinned at her dad. And then her eyes sparkled with mischief, whispering to the boys to watch Grandpa's reaction when he saw Artie.

Gibbs smiled at his kids and then frowned when he spotted his son meandering to the restaurant, deep in conversation with a dark-haired woman. As their heads were inclined toward each other, it was difficult to determine height or eye color but Gibbs had a gut feeling who this might be. The happiness radiating from his son was a big clue.

She was introduced as Artemis Galanis and he as Jethro Gibbs, their father. He gave her a polite smile, knowing she was the girl from MIT who'd broken his son's heart by leaving for Japan and again three years later when she told him, after a weekend of passion, that they had no future together. Two strikes against her. At least Carly, she of the 'friends with benefits' designation, had never pretended their relationship was anything but what it was.

Noticing Dad's 'I don't trust you but I'll be polite for now' smile, Tim had to rein in his immediate objections. While they were being seated and then perusing their menus, he thought about his past with Artie and gave his father a discreet nod. He'd proceed with caution. He smiled as his father relaxed. While they ate lunch, Artie asked questions about their lives. Tim wondered what was going on with her, why she seemed to be deflecting attention from herself.

When they finished, Sarah offered to take the boys home and Tim agreed, it was his turn to ask questions! With a kiss to each of his kids and a nod to Artie, Dad said he had a few more hours of work but would be home to make dinner. The McGees laughed when Sarah sighed in relief.


	19. Chapter 19

 

Chapter 19

From the restaurant, Tim and Artie walked to a park where they found a bench in a fairly secluded area. As they sat, Tim smiled, "This has been great, Artie. Good to see you. Where are you working these days?"

She named a local engineering firm, "I was working for a firm in Melbourne, Australia, when Oskar, my ex, was transferred here. Luckily, one of the senior partners there went to school here and knows my current boss. They hired me on his word – and for my previous work. Right now, I'm working on a project I love. The only problem is it takes so much time away from my family."

She took a deep breath, "Tim, I have something difficult to tell you. When I returned to Japan after our weekend in Seattle, I missed my monthly. With all the travel, time changes and stress over the interviews, I wasn't worried. After all, we'd used protection. When I missed the second month, I started to worry. About 2 weeks later, I got what I thought was my period, but with worse cramps, pain and blood than I'd ever had before. I went to a doctor later that week and she said I'd had a miscarriage. That was hard to hear and really hard to deal with. I know a lot of women have them but I felt horrible that I'd miscarried the first time I was pregnant and I was upset that I'd been pregnant at all. I was so upset that my mother started getting nosy.

"I emailed my yaya, my mother's mother, and asked if she'd call and ask me to come for a visit. She called and within a week, I was on my way to Greece.

"I found a job in Athens and was content to live with Yaya. I'd been there about a month when I realized my clothes were all too tight, I was getting fat. When I said something to Yaya, she fussed around me and then asked me more about the miscarriage. Finally, she dragged me to a doctor who told me I was four and a half months pregnant. Apparently, there had been 2 embryos, one miscarried, the other one lived."

She sighed, "I should have contacted you then, but you'd told me you were accepted to the training center and you were so excited about working toward your dream job in law enforcement. I decided to wait. And I was frightened…of everything."

Tim sat there listening while his mind tried to deal with her news and his heart thumped in anticipation. He felt horrible that Artie went through the miscarriage alone, he should have been there. But then she'd been the one to push him away, to say their goals were too different, they'd never be able to find common ground. And where was this leading? Had she had his child? Did she give him or her up for adoption or had she been keeping him from his own child for 12 years? It was closer to 13 with the pregnancy.

Artie continued, "I didn't tell my parents until after Jason was born. His name is Jason Andrew Galanis; he was born at 3:35 AM, December 3rd, 2003. He'll be 12 in December. His hair is dark, his skin is pale for a Greek but not as pale as yours. He has green eyes that are shaped like yours, his nose is like yours, he even has a bit of a bow to his lower lip, although it's not as pronounced as yours. He's brilliant, shy and a total bookworm."

She stopped for a minute while Tim tried to absorb the news. He had a son, his own flesh and blood. And while he was raising other people's children, his own son was kept from him.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why have you kept me away? He's half grown! Why?" Tears rolled down his face. He stopped to take a breath and felt his anger start to grow. When he realized she wasn't talking, he looked at her, "Why?"

"I…at first I didn't want to burst your bubble. You'd been so excited about being able to achieve your goal, I didn't want you to have to give that up. And you'd already spent your childhood raising Sarah and Rob, I didn't want to burden you with another child just when things were finally going right."

"Artemis…my child, my children, have never been, will never be, a burden. Yes, raising my sister and brother was difficult but I was a child myself with few resources. And to love and raise my own child, I would give anything for that. It should have been my decision, not yours!" He paused, "I want to meet him. Now, today. Does he know who I am?"

"Yes, I've told him about you; he knows your name. He's seen pictures of you."

"What excuse did you give for me not being with him?"

"Work – yours and mine. We've moved several times for my work. And…my parents kept him his first 3 years. I couldn't establish a reputation as an engineer and give him the attention he needed. When he was old enough for pre-school, he came away with me. And yes, you can see him."

Tim growled, "I didn't ask for permission. Where is he?"

"At home with Susannah, my sister." She rose from the bench, "It's two Tube stops."

Tim walked by her side but had nothing he dared say without risking being denied the chance to meet his son. Both remained silent as they boarded the train, on the ride and on the walk from the station to Artemis' flat. Tim thought of his father's concern and mentally castigated himself for momentarily forgetting Artemis' previous actions. He'd loved her and until she announced she was leaving for Japan to live with her parents, he'd believed they had a future together, that she'd loved him just as much. He'd fallen again in Seattle, only to be told their goals were too different, they'd never make it together.

Inside an apartment building, he followed her up the stairs to the second floor, what would be called the second floor in the U.S., to a door in the far corner. His heart was thumping faster now, he was about to meet his son, his own biological son!

Walking in the doorway and through a short hall, they entered into a living room strewn with baby toys and paraphernalia. He smiled at the young woman who entered from the opposite side of the room, carrying a toddler wrapped in a blanket, saying, "Ah, there's Mama."

Susannah's eyes widened when she recognized Tim and she smiled. Before she could say anything, a boy entered behind her. Tim couldn't help it, he gasped at his son, who looked very much like a dark-haired version of his own 11-year-old self.

The boy, Jason, looked at him steadily, blinked twice and then stood in front of him. Tim smiled as the tears once again rolled down his face, "Hello, son. I'm your father."

He hadn't known what to expect but the kid nearly threw himself into his arms. "You're my father! Are you staying?"

"Yes, I'm your dad and I live right outside London, Jason. Now that I know about you, I'm not going anywhere without you."

Buried in his arms, he felt the boy shake his head, whispering, "Andy, please call me Andy."

"Andy it is, then. I'm Dad, Papa, Tim, whatever you want to call me."

"Papa." Andy sighed as his father held him tightly. He whispered again, "You speak Greek! You didn't know about me?"

"I'm sorry, son, I did not and yes, I do speak Greek, your mother taught me when we were at MIT together."

"You're here. You came. I prayed for you to come and you're here."

Tim frowned and looking around, saw a couch. Wrapping his arms even tighter around his son, he got them over to the couch and sat them down. "Is there something especially wrong?"

Andy shifted his eyes around the room but his mother had taken the baby into another room. "I'm really lonely. I don't have any friends around here. Mama sends me to an international school almost an hour away. She's at work all the time and Aunt Susannah takes care of the baby. She does stuff with me, too but I'm…alone."

Tim tucked him as close to him as he could. "You're not alone, son. Your mama, your aunt and baby sister love you, I love you, your brothers, grandfather, aunt and uncles will love you."

"I have brothers? And another pappous, more aunts and uncles?"

"Yes to all of that. You have 2 brothers. Greg is 7 and Kyle is 3. You'll be the oldest child and grandchild in our family."

"Is there a yaya?"

"No, my mother died when I was a baby. My sister, brother and I adopted my former boss as our dad. He's Grandpa to your brothers and will be to you, too. My sister's name is Sarah, she's your aunt Sarah. My brothers are Rob, Tony, Patrick and Geordie and they're all your uncles. The one who lives here in London is Rob. Two of my brothers live in the U.S., Uncle Tony and Uncle Patrick. But Patrick is in a coma so he can't talk to you. My brother, your uncle Geordie is in the U.S. Marine Corps, we don't get to see him very often. Those are my siblings, my brothers and sister. There is one other grandfather, he's called Granducky, I'll explain that later. There are others your brothers call Uncle and Aunt, you'll meet them at Christmas."

Tim had already decided that Andy was coming home with them for Christmas. He wanted full custody of him but until that could be arranged, he'd make sure he spent every possible minute with him.

He looked up as Artemis walked back into the room. "Tomorrow's Saturday, I'd like to spend the day with our son."

"The two of you?"

"Yes. Andy, where would you like to go?"

"Could we go to the British Museum?"

"Of course. Anywhere else? Your mother will need to know where we are."

"Oh. Can we go to the Natural History Museum too? I have a list, can I think about it overnight?"

"Sure! How about I pick you up at 10:00?"

Andy's face lit up. "Great."

"All right. Here's my phone number – and your mother has it, too."

"Okay."

Artemis sat down with them and Tim looked at her, "How about all of you come for lunch on Sunday?"

"All of us?"

"Yes. I'm Andy's father, you're his mother, we both have family, why not meet? You've already met my dad and you know Sarah and Rob."

"I'm not used to him being called Andy."

Tim lightly squeezed Andy's hand. "Sometimes a guy needs to change things up a bit."

She nodded. "All right. Marissa will need to nap while we're there."

"That's all right, Kyle will too. We can set up a crib for her if you like."

Tim stayed until Andy's bedtime and then helped tuck him in, kissing him goodnight. "I love you, Andy; I'll see you at 10:00 tomorrow morning."

"I love you too, Papa!"

Artie had been so obsessed with how to tell Tim, she hadn't thought much about what would happen afterward. Now she felt like Tim was moving too fast. As she walked him downstairs, she said that and nearly jumped at his fury.

"You kept all knowledge of my child from me for 13 years, from the day you discovered you were pregnant and you think I'm moving too fast by spending one evening and two days with him? He's miserable, he told me he feels alone, lonely, has no friends to play with around here. Why are you sending him to a hideously expensive international school miles away from here?"

"Because usually wherever we move for my job, there's an international school. It gives him continuity and a better education."

Tim shook his head, "He needs a social life, too. You're cutting him off from the neighborhood kids. He has no one to play with, the kids bully him because he's different."

"He told you all that?"

"Yes. He said he's been praying I'd come."

"Oh, my poor boy! I had no idea he was so miserable. He's always been so quiet."

"He talked to me the entire time we were on the couch."

"Oh." She sighed and Tim asked the question that had been burning in his brain for hours.

"Is there something else going on, were you looking for me?"

"I wasn't looking for you, no, but I've thought about it. He's getting older, needs a father."

"He's needed a father since he was born. How'd you find me?"

"I didn't, I really wasn't looking for you. I had a meeting at our office this morning and when I left I decided to go to our favorite bookstore, it's Andy's favorite, too. I was on my way when I saw Sarah with a little boy."

"That's how. What else is going on?"

"I told you."

"I've been in law enforcement over a decade. You're avoiding the truth."

"You're going to interrogate me?"

"And now you're trying to deflect. Yes, I am going to question you until I get the truth."

Artie sighed, this was not the Tim McGee she'd known, but people change in 13 years, she certainly had. "All right. My sister's moving to Edinburgh. I need help, Jason's really worrying me, he's growing quieter and quieter. We don't share a lot of interests and it's hard getting him to talk."

"So you need help with child care. I believe that you're worried about our son and I will help with him. In fact, I would like him to live with my family. He'll be much happier."

"What? You can't just come in here and take him away!"

"You can see him whenever you want. He should live where it's best for him and he needs love and attention. I have time for him and I already know we have plenty of shared interests. You don't have either. And you've had him for 12 years without bothering to tell me about him. During the past few hours, I remembered a phone call I made to you after Seattle. To make sure there weren't any consequences from our weekend. Did you lie then too?"

"I haven't lied to you!"

"Really? You omitted telling me about our son. As far as I'm concerned, omission is as much a lie as an outright untruth."

"Will you forgive me?"

"I don't know. I don't understand why you never told me about him. You could have contacted the Porters, I've always kept in touch with them."

"Timothy, I didn't lie to you on that phone call. I'd started bleeding and believed I wasn't pregnant. I didn't know you could bleed and still be pregnant."

"Now that was true, was that so hard?"

"How'd you know?"

"My job. Look, we have a son to raise and I don't want us to tear him apart but the fact is I need an answer as to why you never told me. If you hadn't seen Sarah today, would I have ever known? Artemis, until you tell me the truth, I'll question everything you do and say. I have to; if you can't tell me the truth about leaving me out, then what else is not the truth?"

"I'm not trying to be difficult, I've never known how to tell you and I still don't know how to say the words."

Tim nodded at her sadly and walked out the door. When he reached home, he was still feeling sad and angry, although he was happy about meeting Andy.

The boys were asleep but he sat with each one, watching them sleep. Kyle was growing fast, the only time Tim could see the baby toddler he'd first met was like this, when he was asleep. He snuffled softly, murmuring, "Papa", when Tim swept his hair off his face and kissed him.

Greg opened his eyes a little and held his arms out for a hug. "Daddy, glad you're home."

Tim gathered him in his arms, "Me too, sweetheart. Sleep tight, I love you."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Feeling torn that he wouldn't spend much time with Greg and Kyle the next day, Tim went downstairs to talk with his dad. He detoured to the kitchen for two mugs of the freshly brewed coffee waiting for him.

Dad's door was open and Tim entered, feeling safe here. He always felt safe with Gibbs, first as his boss and now his father. It was one of the reasons he'd worked so hard to be good enough to join his team and then to stay on it. It'd taken him years to work out that he hadn't felt safe since his stepfather, Commander McGee, took his sons away from whoever loved them in Puerto Rico and dumped them in Okinawa with strangers. He'd been 3, Kyle's age. He hadn't felt safe and truthfully had not been safe, since he was 3. He was 23 when he'd met Gibbs and team on a pier in Norfolk and felt that first tug of something he didn't understand for a long time.

Dad took the coffee from him, put the mugs on a table and wrapped his arms around him. "What did she do?"

Rolling his neck and shoulders, Tim told him about Andy and everything else that had happened and been said.

"Wow! Another grandbaby, thank you! Age 12, we can do a lot of stuff. Think he'll like to fish?"

"He'll love anything you do with him. He's starving for attention, Dad. My theory is that things were all right until Artemis got married. Or maybe the problem started when her husband left her, the baby was born and Andy was suddenly not the only child in the house. A screaming baby isn't easy for adults, much less kids and she had help when Andy was an infant. In fact, her parents raised him his first 3 years."

"Her choice or theirs?"

"She says it was hers and now she's doing it again, but I'm not giving him back."

"You want full custody?"

"If I can get it. If not full, as much as possible. She has him going to an international school that he hates, says the kids are elitist and the kids in the neighborhood regard him as a stranger and bully him."

"Ouch! Does he have anything good going?"

"His aunt Susannah is a good soul and he says she spends time with him but it sounds like Artemis is very busy with her work and relies a lot on her sister. And now Susannah is moving to Edinburgh."

"Not good."

"No." Tim sighed, "I'm going to spend the day with him tomorrow. I want him to myself for one day. I'll tell Greg and Kyle in the morning."

"That they have a new brother."

"Yes. And that he needs some special time with me. That's another reason I want him here, I don't want to split our family. I want to add him to us, not have to split my time." He looked at his dad, "I invited all of them to lunch on Sunday. As angry as I am with Artemis, she needs to see where Andy will live and to meet the boys. I've already told her we're going to have to find a way to raise him together without tearing him apart between us."

"You think she's not geared for parenthood?"

"I think she's more into her profession than her children."

"Seems like there are a lot of parents like that."

"Nothing wrong with liking what you do or being good at it. It's just that people have kids and then don't seem to know what to do with them. They expect day cares and schools to raise them." Tim was pacing now.

"Sounds like a rant."

He sat down, "Sorry, pet peeve. I know, financially both parents usually have to work and Artemis certainly has had to. Although if she'd told me, we would have worked something out."

"But she didn't and all the 'if's' won't change anything." Gibbs sat next to him, "Lunch is a great idea. I'll grill something, think we have chicken in the freezer. What room do you have planned for him?"

Tim smiled, "The room next to the hall bathroom upstairs. It's already furnished. The lacy curtains and bedspread need to be changed but otherwise it's fine. Bed, dresser, desk, chair, bookshelves, overhead light, reading lamps and a bay window just like Greg's. A reading nook for him."

"Sounds good. Here's a thought…just a thought. What if Artemis and the baby moved in too? They could have the upstairs suite, Rob never stays in it, or I could move up there and they could have my suite."

Tim's eyebrows hit his forehead. "Here?"

"Be easier to co-parent if you're in the same location."

"Why?"

"Because she sounds scared."

"Of what? Andy's almost 12 years old, is she scared of being a mother? Then why did she have another baby?" He shook his head, "I'm confused."

"Ok, let's approach it like a case. What do we know? What about her parents, have they helped at all? Besides raising Andy until he was 3."

Tim frowned in thought and then shook his head, "I don't think so, she never mentioned them being around after she took him when he was old enough for preschool."

"Are her parents controlling?"

Tim again stopped to think before looking at his dad, "You know, you might have something there. Her mother isn't, but her father is and as I remember, when her mother would tell her what to do, she'd say 'your father wants you to…'"

"What do you imagine his reaction was to his daughter having a child with a non-Greek man, without a ring on her finger?"

Tim nodded. "I think the smartest thing she did was to call her grandmother and get herself out of the line of fire. And then keeping the news of her pregnancy away from her parents until after she had the baby."

"Are you angry about anything she's done besides not telling you about Andy? Granted, that's huge."

Tim was quiet for a moment. "Yes. I'm angry that after the weekend in Seattle, she dismissed me, us, by saying we could never have a future together. That our goals were too different. She never gave us a chance to try."

Gibbs wrapped his arms around him again, "I wonder if she was scared and overwhelmed? Of the depth of her feelings for you, your feelings for her? What she wanted to do with her life, what you wanted to do with yours. I'm not trying to play armchair shrink here, son, but we know from our work how powerful fear can be. It can ruin lives, it can overpower everything. Some people can harness their fear, use it to their own benefit. Most people don't work that way, or not the ones I've seen.

"My own fears - so scared of losing another child I refused to even think about becoming a father again until your need persuaded me. Loved you, Tony, Ziva and Abby for years before I would admit it to myself or even put a name to it. And I'm still too scared to get involved with a woman. Too scared of failing again, of hurting someone else. A few dates, time to move on. It's safer for her.

"You're so scared of other children falling through the cracks, being abandoned, that you became an NCIS agent. And you'll go back to it when your Bedford contract is up. You made damn sure your sister, brothers and friends had what they needed to get off the streets and stay off. And then you turned around and made sure that Nate, Juanita and Big John would never again go hungry. You harnessed your fears.

"Maybe the only control Artemis could exert, after learning she was pregnant, was to let you live your dream. She couldn't live hers, not the way she'd planned, but you could. And maybe that day in Seattle, she was terrified that she'd fail you, that she couldn't live up to the commitment. Or that she'd have to give up her dream. Or have to choose between you and her family. Or all of it. Maybe she's never lost the fear. Telling you when she saw you today might be the bravest thing she's ever done. I'm not saying this is fact, I have no idea. Just think about the alternatives. Why wouldn't she tell you? You could have helped her and your son. There had to be something stopping her."

"But she told me about him today."

"You said she's worried about Andy. Maybe now that fear is greater than the others. If I'm right about the fear, then she's let her fears rule her life and this one, worry about her child, worry for her child, is bigger than anything else, everything else. She doesn't care what it takes to help him. He's her priority."

"Then I need to tread lightly with her. Fear makes more sense than anything else, Dad. Unless she's seriously ill. But then I'd think she'd be doing something about the baby too."

"Do you love her?"

"I…right now, I can't separate my anger from the rest of my emotions. Before, when I saw her in the bookstore this morning, yes, I felt the same thing for her that I felt the first time I met her and the last time I saw her. A rush of love, happiness and desire."

"Then take your time. I'm not saying to forget or bury your anger but use your skills to figure out what's going on with her." Gibbs grinned, "You did a good job with your interrogation skills, now use those observation skills you worked so hard to develop. No rush, this isn't a murder we need to resolve or a terrorist about to strike. You're a good judge of character, you had that going for you before NCIS. And realize, kiddo, that means you already found Artemis to be of good character."

Tim smiled and relaxed, letting his dad cosset him for a few minutes. When he yawned, Dad rousted him, "Come on, you have a big day with my newest grandbaby tomorrow and I need to plan something with our boys. Where are you going?"

"The British Museum and the Natural History Museum."

"His ideas?"

Tim nodded and his dad laughed, "Don't need a DNA test for him, Tim, he's all yours!"

"Oh yeah! Dad, don't know if you noticed at lunch, but we had a protection detail today. I checked with Metro and they confirmed that they, MI-5 and the FBI decided to continue our detail until Hatman's situation is resolved, which could mean his trial or his death. They also confirmed that IPF is paying for it. I hope that means the Bureau has been reimbursed for their expenses."

Gibbs sighed, "I had a long talk with Tobias while they were here, been waiting for the right moment to tell you. You know the 3 individuals who drugged Patrick are dead, he's confirmed they'd been murdered. Not much of a surprise and sadly, neither was the news that they were not killed by the cartel. In fact, when I told him what Hatman said about IPF taking down 2 cartels, Tobias theorized that was more tying up loose ends than the removal of the cartels. Also, Kyle's Mr. Green and his fellow attackers are dead, Tobias said they'd been tortured, their bodies left in the open to be easily found." He again wrapped his arms around Tim, "Thank God they didn't get those photos from you, Tim, they would have killed you. And I pray that Geordie isn't tied up with those monsters."

"And you think Patrick was?" Tim sighed, "Don't answer, Dad, I'm afraid of that, too. I know I'm lucky to be alive. Those 3 would have killed him outright, smothered him with a pillow, if they'd realized the photos had whatever it was they were looking for. And once I started asking questions, I was in danger too. Except I had you and NCIS backing me up. Then, when IPF turned enough people at NCIS to leave me without protection, they started harassing me, I guess hoping to drive me further away. Thank God they didn't mess with the boys any more than they did." He huffed, "And they certainly didn't count on me going to the FBI for help! That must have ensured my safety until their operatives went rogue or whatever really happened."

They talked for a while longer, mostly about Andy, Greg and Kyle. With a smile, Tim finally went off to bed. He fell asleep quickly and slept soundly, waking early. Amazed that he'd slept at all, he padded downstairs to get breakfast started. He was flipping the first pancakes when he heard his sons on the staircase.

Filling their plates, he sat down with them to eat. When the three of them finished, he smiled at them. "I have something exciting to tell you!"

The boys looked at him, their eyes shining with curiosity.

"Yesterday, I discovered that I have a son named Andy and that means you have a new brother! He's 11, his birthday is in early December and then he'll be 12. He lives in London with his mother, aunt and baby sister. Now, because he's almost 12 and I didn't know about him until yesterday, I need to spend some time with him. If it's all right with you two, I thought today would be good for me to spend with him."

Kyle frowned, "Will you be home for dinner and stories?"

"Yes, tonight I will be and I'm sorry I wasn't home in time last night."

Greg was deep in thought. "Is Artie his mother?"

"Yes, son, she is."

"How come she didn't tell you?"

"I'm not sure yet, Greg. That's something Artie and I have to work out."

"Are you mad at her?"

Tim managed not to grimace. If he hadn't invited the new family for lunch tomorrow, he'd say yes but they'd be here and he didn't want his boys, any of them, to feel any stress or that there was a serious problem. They'd been through too much of that already.

"I'm hurt, but we're working on it."

Greg nodded, asking, "Is Andy nice?"

"Yes, he's nice and he looks like me and a bit like Kyle, although he has hair darker than yours, Greg."

"Do we get to meet him?"

"Yes, he, Artie, his aunt and little sister Marissa are coming for lunch tomorrow. Your grandpa will grill something and we'll make some yummy things for all of us."

"We can play in the backyard if it doesn't rain."

"That's a good idea. And you can show him around the house if you want."

"Is he going to live with us, Papa?"

"I don't know yet, Greg, but I hope so. I don't like the school he's going to. If he lives here, he can go to our school."

"It's a good school."

"Yes, it is. And I'd like all of us to get to know him better. I want him to be part of our family."

Kyle smiled, "Me too! Is his sister a baby?"

"She's almost 2, sweetie, younger than you."

"Oh yeah, that's what the lady said yesterday."

Greg frowned, "Is his sister your baby too?"

"No, just Andy."

"Okay. I think it's a good idea for you to spend today with Andy, Papa."

"Thank you, Greg. Your grandpa is planning something special for you, I don't know what."

A voice behind him said, "We'll tell you about it afterward."

"Ok, Dad!" He smiled at the boys, kissing each of them and then his father. "Excuse me, please, I have to take a shower and get dressed to go see your new brother!"

As he left the room, he turned to Greg, "Gregson, will you please do me a favor?"

"Sure!"

"When your aunty Sarah gets up, tell her to read her email?"

"Okay, Daddy. Have fun!"

Tim arrived 15 minutes early in Artie's neighborhood. Rather than going right to the flat, he went into a bakery he'd noticed yesterday. Pleased when they had Greek pastries, he bought the ones he remembered Artie's mother bringing them when she visited. Still too early, he had a cup of coffee and one of the pastries and then it was close enough to time.

On his way back down the block, he saw a florist open and stopped to buy a bouquet for the mother of his child along with another, slightly smaller, bouquet for Artie's sister Susannah, who he was certain had been a big help.

Someone buzzed him in and he bounded up the stairs. When Artie opened the door, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for my son, our son. And here, for all the years you've kept him safe and well." He handed her the bouquet. She smiled, although she had tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Tim. I…thank you."

Stepping in, he saw Susannah scuttle out of the living room, still in her robe. With a grin, he followed her into the kitchen. "Good morning, Susannah. These are for you, for all your help. I know you've been a wonderful aunt to our boy."

When he brandished the small box of pastries, the women swarmed him. Laughing, he held them high, putting the box on the top of the refrigerator. Artie gave him a look, "I forgot how much you like to tease!"

He grinned at her as Andy came into the room, carrying his baby sister. Tim turned his grin at his son, telling him good morning in Greek and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Andy blushed and smiled at the same time, reaching up to hug his father. Although he had the potential to be tall, he hadn't had a growth spurt yet and Tim made a mental note to talk with him about that. Artie was 5 ft., 9 inches and he was 6 ft., 2 inches, odds were Andy would be at least his father's height, probably taller. Tim hadn't started growing until he was nearly 15, his senior year in high school. That last year, he'd gone from 5 ft. 6 inches to 6 ft. He hadn't hit his full height until his third year at MIT. Although he'd attributed his late growth to better nutrition, he'd also advise Andy not to worry.

Before they left, Artie asked about the lunch on Sunday. Tim gave her directions, telling her to text him when they got on the train and he'd order an Uber to pick them up at the station in Brambury. Behind Artie, Susannah was beaming at him and he smiled back. He'd only met her a couple of times when she'd visited with her mother but he'd liked her, a less intense version of Artie. They also had an older brother, Dimitri, who'd followed their father into the Greek Diplomatic Corps and traveled the world with his own family.

He wanted to take Andy's hand but thought that 11-almost-12 might be too old. Instead, he put his hand on his shoulder and that felt good. When they got on the train, Andy slipped his hand into his and Tim smiled at him. "I'm so glad you're my son!"

"Me too! Uh, did you tell Greg and Kyle about me?"

"I did! They can't wait to meet you tomorrow."

Andy's shoulders relaxed a little. "Good, I was a little worried."

"Don't be, please, Andy. I understand meeting new family is a little scary but everyone's excited to meet you."

"What's your house like?"

"It's huge, bigger than any place I've ever lived! It's 2 stories with 6 bedrooms upstairs and two suites downstairs. Those are almost like apartments inside the house. Your grandfather lives in one and your aunt Sarah in the other one. Each has a bedroom, a guest room, a private bathroom and a sitting room, like a small lounge with their own fireplace."

"Wow, that is big!"

"Yes. And there's a basement where my dad has a workbench and his tools. He likes to make things with wood, I guess it's called timber here."

"What kind of things?"

"Last Christmas, he made me nightstands to go with my bed. Some friends, one pair of your honorary uncles and aunts, were having a baby after Christmas and he made them a cradle. My brother Tony has a nice piano but didn't have a chair or bench to go with it, so he made a bench for him, staining it the same color as the piano. Your brothers have a toy train set that goes around the Christmas tree and he made a little village to go with it, plus some people. He's very clever."

"Is that his job?"

"No. He's in law enforcement, like me. Well, I'm not now but I will be again in a couple of years."

"You're police officers?"

"No, we're federal agents. Have you heard of the American FBI?"

Andy nodded and Tim grinned at him. "We're agents with another American agency called NCIS. That stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"What do you do?"

"We investigate crimes against or committed by U.S. Navy or Marines and their families."

"Wow! How come you're not doing that now?"

"Greg and Kyle's mother was killed last year. I had the lead on her case, that is, I decided who did what, how and when in the investigation. We discovered the boys' father was in a coma in a military hospital. When we went to the hospital to make sure he was safe, I recognized him, he was – is – my brother Patrick. When I was 9, Patrick 8, we were in a bad car crash with our father, whose name was Dan McGee. I was thrown out of the car and was unconscious for nearly 3 weeks. When I woke up, I was told that Patrick and our dad were dead. All my life, I've believed that Patrick was dead. And all his life, Patrick believed that Sarah and I were dead.

"Because Patrick's wife, the boys' mother, was dead and Patrick remains in a coma, I became Greg and Kyle's legal guardian. That's almost like an adopted father. And because Patrick, Greg and Kyle are related to me, I could not work on the case anymore. We caught the bad guy but he was mentally ill. Which meant they had to evaluate him for months to see if he was sane enough for a trial. And I couldn't work with my team or anyone at the agency who'd been involved in the case. So I left. I worked at MIT, where your mom and I met each other and then we came over here."

"But you said you're going back in two years."

"Yes, while all that was happening, our boss was out sick, being treated for cancer. When he came back to work, he found out what happened and came all the way over here from the U.S. to talk with me. The bad guy who killed Greg and Kyle's mother got sick and died in jail, so I can go back to work at the agency. But I signed a contract for 2 years with Bedford University, where I teach now. So I'll go back in 2 years, when I'm done with my contract with Bedford."

"Back to America?"

"No, there's an office in London where I'll be working. My dad works there now."

"Good!"

Tim looked at his son as they boarded their train. "Did you know you're half American?"

"I am?"

"Well, I'm your father and I'm American, that makes you half American and half Greek. A Greek-American."

"Cool!"

"We'll have to see about getting you a U.S. passport."

"I have one from Greece."

Tim nodded, "Your mom and I will find out if you can have both."

Andy smiled and sat back in his seat, cuddling up to his father a little bit. Life was already a lot better than it was yesterday!

"Are we going somewhere?"

"When?"

"With the passport."

"Oh! Duh." Andy laughed at his papa, that was funny. "We're not going anywhere right away but I like to have everything ready. And we like to take a trip every month, on the weekends."

"Where have you been?"

Tim told him some of the places they'd been and Andy sighed. "I'd like to see those places, too."

"There are a lot more places on our list and we want to go back to some of the places we've been. The list is on our refrigerator. When you're there tomorrow, add whatever you want to see onto it."

"That's okay?"

"Of course! Now, do you know what you want to see at the British Museum or is it everything?"

Andy grinned, "It's everything but I figured out what we can see today."

"Great! Do you want to save the Natural History Museum for the next time?"

"Sure! Maybe Greg and Kyle could come with us?"

"Greg will want to. Kyle's still pretty little to stay interested for very long. We'll take him to the things they have set up for little kids, he'll love those."

"Is my sister too little?"

"That's a good question, we'll look at the activities they have. Those will show the age ranges."

"Okay."

They hopped off at the stop that got them the closest to the museum and walked to the entrance. Tim stopped at the bottom of the steps, "Let's take a selfie and send it to your mom. Then she'll know we got here safely."

Nodding, Andy walked up a few steps behind his father so he appeared taller than him. After sending the shot to Artie and Dad, the two continued to the entrance doors. Once inside, Andy directed them to the exhibit area he'd selected for their starting point.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They had a wonderful time, stopping for lunch when they were hungry. Once they ate, they got right back to it. When Tim's cell chimed with a call, he and Andy stepped away from the exhibits to take the call.

It was Greg and he and Kyle had a question. "Papa, can Andy spend the night with us tonight? Us kids could get to know each other and it'll be fun. His mama and aunt will be here tomorrow anyway, then he can go home with them."

Andy heard the question and nodded eagerly at his father and Tim replied to all three boys. "We'll call Andy's mom; it's fine with me but it's her decision. They might have plans this evening."

"Ok, Papa. Will you let us know?"

"Yes. Are you on your grandpa's phone?"

"Yes."

"All right, we'll call back with the answer."

Tim and his new son called his mother who, after a few seconds of thought, said she thought it was a great idea and that Andy could pack an overnight bag when they returned from the museum.

Both father and son had big grins on their faces when they called Greg and Kyle back to let them know the answer. Greg spoke directly with Andy, telling him he could share his room or sleep in the room across the hall. Andy was so excited he didn't know what to say and Papa rescued him, telling the boys they could decide that later.

When their phone calls were done, Andy told his father he'd never been on a sleepover before.

Tim nodded. "I only went on one, Andy. When I was 8, there was a sleepover birthday party for a friend in my class at school. My brother Patrick was invited too, we both went. It was a lot of fun!"

"Did you sleep?"

Blinking, Tim shrugged, he didn't remember. "I know we had fun but I don't remember if we slept or not. I don't have many memories of anything before the crash. I do know that you three will need to get some sleep tonight or you'll be too tired to enjoy the fun tomorrow!"

Before they finished seeing everything Andy had on his list for today's museum visit, Tim's watch alarm vibrated to let him know it was time to leave. Walking back to their Tube stop, Tim held his son's hand, still marveling that this bright, curious child was his flesh and blood.

As they walked, Andy loved the feel of Papa's big hand holding his. He felt like everything had changed and he hoped it would keep being wonderful. And for his mama, sister and aunt too. He thought that yesterday and today had been the best days of his life. He didn't feel alone or lonely anymore, he had his parents, his baby sister, two new brothers, his aunt, a new pappous, now he had 2 of them, his yaya and many uncles and aunts he hadn't met yet.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Artie had Andy's bag packed when they reached the flat and she beamed at her son and Tim as they told her what they'd seen and done that day. She couldn't remember the last time her boy, _their_ boy, had been so happy, so animated. As difficult as telling Tim had been, it was worth it now to see her child so happy. And Tim wasn't as angry with her today. She hoped they could work things out, at least enough to co-parent their son. More would be better, but she was afraid she'd ruined that possibility.

Before they left, she pulled Andy aside. "I know you'll mind your father and grandfather, son. And remember your brothers are younger than you. Please don't stay up all night! Now, before you leave, I have a question for you, it's been driving me crazy all day. Why don't you want to be called Jason anymore?"

Andy grinned at her, "Mama, there are 5 other boys and one girl in my classes called Jason. The girl's name is spelled J-a-y-s-e-n but the teachers call her Jason. Andrew is my middle name and there aren't any other Andys, so I asked Mr. Crusoe if I could use it instead. He thanked me!"

She gave him a quick kiss, "That was smart of you! He'll remember that you wanted to stand out in the crowd."

Now that Tim knew the way, the trip home seemed to go very quickly. At some point on their Tube journey, Andy exclaimed and pointed, "This is the stop where Mama goes for work on her project."

Tim smiled, "That's good to know, Andy." It was the same station where he'd seen her that day.

He sent a text from the stop before theirs and smiled as they left their station to find his brother Rob waiting for them in an Uber vehicle. "I came in on the train ahead of you and Sarah told me to wait. Our Uber just arrived, perfect timing. Hello, Andy, I'm happy to meet you! I'm your Uncle Rob, the youngest of your dad's brothers."

They shook hands as they climbed into the vehicle. When they were dropped off at home, Andy couldn't keep his mouth from falling open at the huge house in front of them. "This is where you live?"

"Yes. And we know it's huge, your aunt Sarah found it for us and liked it so much she moved in with us. Uncle Doctor Robbie comes to visit whenever he can. Are you staying over, Rob?"

"Yep. But I'm sleeping in Dad's guest room."

"Chicken!"

"Not too proud to admit it."

Andy smiled when his father and uncle laughed. He loved his mother and aunt but all his life he'd wondered what having a father would be like. Now he thought it was going to be fun!

They walked in the door where Andy's papa was immediately assaulted by two flying bodies. He could see one was mid-size with brown curly hair and the other one was little with blond hair. "Papa, Papa!" They were both babbling about what they'd done that day and then suddenly stopped.

The taller one grinned at Andy, holding out his hand, "Hi Andy, I'm Greg!"

Kyle followed him and Andy shook both their hands and then the three of them hugged. While they were hugging, Greg said, "Don't worry about being new, we were new too. Papa's great and so is Grandpa, Aunty Sarah and Uncle Rob." He giggled as Andy gave him an extra hug, "Thanks, little brother!"

Kyle pulled on his arm, trying to tell him something he said was a secret. Andy bent over, "Ok, Kyle, now I can hear you if you whisper."

"Hi, Andy. We have a secret doorway between our rooms!"

"Ooh, fun! Will you show me tonight?"

"Yes!" Kyle nodded, giggling with excitement.

When the three brothers came up for air, there were two more people waiting to meet Andy. The lady was Aunt Sarah and the man was Andy's new pappous, grandfather in English, who asked to be called Grandpa. That was a new word for him and he said it a few times, practicing. They spoke Greek at home but he knew English pretty well because they spoke it at school. What he didn't think he knew well was American, he'd heard that was different from the English they spoke in school and on TV. His mama taught him some but he had no idea how well she really knew it.

He told his new family that he didn't speak American very well and they all smiled, his brothers promising to help him and maybe he could teach them Greek. His eyes lit up at that and his new pappous, Grandpa, ruffled his hair.

They left his bag downstairs for now as dinner would be here any minute. Tim looked at his sister, "Who's delivering?"

"Dragon King."

"Yum, Chinese food!" Tim turned to Andy, "Do you like Chinese food, Andy?"

"Yes. I've only had it a couple of times but I liked it."

"Good! When your aunt Sarah has her turn to provide dinner, we almost always have takeout. She doesn't like to cook."

Kyle chortled, "She makes salads with yummy, crunchy things in them."

Sarah smiled, "Thank you, Kyle."

When the doorbell rang, Aunt Sarah handed Dad some money, she knew he and Tim were sometimes overprotective but these days she was fine with that. He answered the door while Greg, Kyle and Papa set the table with plates, glasses and forks.

When asked what he wanted to drink, Andy said he'd have the same as his brothers which made the younger ones grin. "We like iced tea. Aunty Sarah makes it without caffeine so we won't be awake all night."

"You don't drink milk at meals?"

"Not with Chinese food."

"Okay."

Andy noticed that Grandpa and Uncle Rob had coffee. Papa looked at it and then shaking his head, poured himself some iced tea. Greg pointed out that Papa didn't have any ice in his iced tea.

"In the summer, he likes ice in his lemonade but he doesn't use ice unless he's hot. He used ice when we were in Greece."

Papa shrugged, "I don't like to be cold."

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob both nodded, "We don't either. Andy, when we were growing up, we were cold at night from October through April, sometimes May. And we were cold all day and all night from November through April. None of us like being cold."

Andy frowned, "It's cold here in the winters."

"We know. We'll have heavy jackets, scarves, hats and gloves. And lots of blankets."

"When were you in Greece? And where? My progiagiá, my Mama's yaya, lives in Varkiza, near Athens."

While he ate, his brothers and the others told him about their Greek vacation. He grinned, "I've been to Aegina, we drive to Athens and take the ferry. Once we got to stay overnight in Aegina town. The beaches are awesome!"

After they talked about Greece some more, everyone settled in to eat. Andy ate slowly, watching his father and grandfather. Uncle Rob ate quickly, as if he was in a hurry. Andy's brothers ate faster than he did but slower than Uncle Rob. When they all finished, everyone but Aunt Sarah helped clear the table and Uncle Rob loaded the dishwasher. He smiled at Andy. "Your dad and grandfather rotate making dinner during the week, and they don't have to help clean up when they cook. Sarah, Greg and Kyle usually clean up but I like to help when I'm here."

He shook his head with a grin when Andy picked up something. "Nah, you're a guest tonight, your first time here."

"Thank you."

Papa took his bag and the two of them walked upstairs with Greg and Kyle. They turned right at the top of the staircase and walked down a hall before stopping.

Looking at Andy, Papa smiled, saying, "Ok, decision time. Andy, the room on your right is yours. However, as this is an unofficial sleepover, you may sleep in Greg's room with him tonight if you'd like. He has a big bed, so you can share if you're comfortable doing that. There is a rule for tonight: You three may not stay awake all night. If you're still awake at 10:00, one of you will be sleeping in Andy's room. You got that, Kyle?"

"We havta go to sleep by 10."

"That's good, sweetie. No giggling, talking, playing, yelling, reading or playing with your toys past 10. Kyle, that includes your trains."

"Phooey!"

"Do you want to have a good time tomorrow, when Andy's mama, aunty and sister are here?"

"Yes."

"Then sleeping tonight is not phooey. Andy, phooey is a word we all use when we're disappointed or might feel something is unfair. It's not a swear or a bad word and we're all allowed to use it, to express our opinions. Swears are not allowed and if one of us grownups swear, we put money in the swear jar."

Greg and Kyle started giggling and when Andy asked them why, Greg told him, "We stayed at Grandpa's house last Christmas. When Papa and Grandpa needed to put the lights on the Christmas tree, Grandpa brought out a big jar that said 'Swear Jar' on it. Before they even started putting the lights on the tree or doing anything, they put money in! Grandpa said he'd never get through putting the lights on without saying a bad word."

Andy chuckled, "Did he swear?"

Papa shook his head, "No. Robbie wasn't there so I was the tallest and put the lights on the top of the tree, then my dad did the next level, then Greg and I put the middle ones on and your brothers did the bottom. Kyle was shorter then and he crawled under the tree with Greg to help. We had a special treat with the money from the jar. I don't remember what it was though."

"Berry pie at Elaine's!" Greg announced while Kyle made yummy noises and rubbed his tummy.

"Good memories, boys! Andy, Elaine's is our favorite restaurant at home."

"Do you miss it?"

His brothers looked at their father, not sure if they were supposed to mention going home at Christmas. Tim smiled at them. "We do miss it but we'll visit."

Andy looked at his father, "Can I go with you?"

"I hope so, but that's something your mother and I will work out. Don't worry too much about it, all right? Your mom and I want the best for you, I promise."

"Okay."

Although he thought he'd sleep in Greg's room tonight, Andy wanted to see his room. He hadn't expected to have a room of his own! They looked inside and Tim smiled. Someone had replaced the lacy curtains and bedspread. Now there were blue curtains with a blue and green bedspread.

Andy grinned, "Wow, that's a great room! It's big and I like the colors!"

Greg looked proud. "Papa said the curtains and bedspread needed to be changed. Kyle and I got to help Aunty Sarah pick out new ones. She said you have green eyes like Papa, so we picked the blue and green things."

"Thanks, Greg, Kyle! I'll thank Aunty Sarah in the morning."

Tim ruffled his hair, "I'm glad you like it, son."

The boys showed Andy the bathroom before finally entering Greg's room. Andy smiled at the bookshelves filled with books and treasures. "Wow, you like books too!"

"I love to read!"

Andy pointed to one of Greg's favorite series, "I love Freddy the Detective! Do you have them all?"

"Yes, I got some for Christmas and more for my birthday. Have you read them?"

"Not all of them. I get them from the library but a couple of times we moved before one of the books came back in."

"You can read mine."

"Thanks!"

Andy left his bag in Greg's room while they went to look at Kyle's room. His eyes lit up at the train track that ran around the room. "Wow, that's so cool!"

Kyle nodded, "Grandpa and Papa built that for me."

"Tomorrow, will you show me how it runs?"

"Sure!"

From Kyle's room, they trooped over to Papa's room so Andy would know where he was if he needed him during the night. Greg pointed out Papa's office. "We're not allowed in there. That's where Papa writes his books. But if you need him when he's in there, you can knock or call him. He'll come right out."

Andy vaguely remembered his mother telling him at breakfast that his father wrote books but he didn't remember what they were about. Tim saw his hesitation and ruffled his hair, "We can talk about those some other day, kiddo."

He nodded as they continued to Papa's room. Andy's eyes widened as wide as they could, this was almost as big as their whole apartment! Greg looked at their papa, "We should show him our first apartment, with the bunk beds."

"Good idea, we'll look at those photos tomorrow. All right, boys, time to get ready for bed. Andy, Kyle takes a bath before bed, Greg takes a shower before or after breakfast. Do you have a routine?"

"Sure. I take a shower before breakfast."

"Ok, I'll let you two figure that out. Kyle, come on, let's get you all squeaky clean and then you three can play for a few hours."

He paused, "Do you want stories tonight?"

All three boys looked surprised, although for different reasons. Greg and Kyle hadn't thought about stories not happening and Andy hadn't had stories since he was Kyle's age. All three nodded, they wanted stories.

"All right, Greg and Andy, how about you pick a few stories while I get Engineer Kyle clean."

They nodded again and went back into Greg's room to look. Papa got Kyle's favorite pajamas together, train engineer jammies he'd found online, and joined his little one in the bathroom where Kyle was carefully selecting his bath toys. He'd miss this when his sweet, funny, little boy no longer needed his help and supervision at bath time. They had some of their best talks while Kyle was in the tub.

Tonight, Kyle chose to serenade his Weebles, or as he called them, his wobblies, as they bobbed through the soap bubbles. They seemed happy to hear his rendition of 'This Little Train' for perhaps the 300th time. As he slapped the water, they seemed to bob in time to the music. The second time through, Papa sang with him, laughing with Kyle as the Weebles danced around the tub.

When the soap bubbles disappeared, it was time for the Weebles and their young master to exit the tub. Wrapped in a big fluffy towel, Kyle rubbed his eyes. Papa whispered to him that if his brothers were too noisy, he could sleep with him later. Kyle yawned as he nodded and then giggled when Papa blew a raspberry kiss on his arm.

When they were all done in the bathroom, Papa led him to Greg's room where the four of them sat on the comfy couch in there for stories. Papa liked to tell a story or two and he did tonight, telling the boys one of the adventures of three kids who lived in a tiny little house by the ocean. It was a story he'd made up when Rob and Sarah were little, changing their tent to a house and moving it to a beach on an island.

Tim wasn't surprised when Rob joined them and added a new adventure that also involved their very good friend Gerry. Sarah arrived next and the siblings told several more tales of the beach kids. At some point Dad slipped into the room, he always enjoyed hearing stories about the beach kids. Sometimes they fought off pirates. One time, a monkey came by and stayed with them for several days, showing them how to climb trees, pick bananas and coconuts to eat.

Kyle tried to stay awake but finally gave in about 30 minutes after the stories started. Grandpa sat in the rocker with him while Papa, Uncle Rob and Aunt Sarah entertained the boys and themselves. Greg chuckled when the beach kids' friends arrived on a raft. He knew those were his Baltimore uncles and Uncle Geo was the beach kid named Gerry.

Finally, the 'big kids' left the younger kids to themselves. Grandpa and Papa put Kyle to bed, the preschooler never stirring. Tim felt bad that he was missing the sleepover and hoped there would be many more opportunities for the three boys to have fun together.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Leaving the two older boys to get better acquainted, the adults retreated to the kitchen. While Sarah sipped at a cup of hot herbal tea, the three men enjoyed their coffee. Tim smiled at his dad, "Thanks for taking the boys today."

"How'd things go with Andy's mother?"

"Much better, thanks to our discussion last night. We were both calmer and I wasn't angry with her. It was nice, actually."

"Are you going to talk with her tomorrow?"

"About your idea? Need to ask my siblings, that's the kind of decision we should make together."

"What?" Sarah couldn't stand the suspense.

"I was very angry with Artemis yesterday, for keeping Andy from me all these years for no reason, none that she could come up with. That made me think everything with her had been a sham. I let her know how angry I was, although I tried not to blow steam when Andy was around. Didn't want to scare him off and force him to defend his mother. Then I missed dinner with the kids and Kyle was already asleep when I finally got in and that upset me too. I told Dad everything and then we talked.

"We kicked a couple things around and then Dad said he thought she was scared, that everything she'd done, leaving me for Japan and again in Seattle, could have been from fear. He reminded me of the power of fear, how much we've seen it in our work, what it does to people. It cripples some people, others it drives to do horrible – or great - things. If a person can't harness it or I guess channel it to gain control over it, it can influence his or her whole life."

Dad nodded, "Tim lived with and in fear from the time he was 3 until he was 23. During those 20 years, he was never safe, neither physically nor emotionally. He found a way to harness it though, using the power of learning, of education to move ahead. His belief was so powerful, he pulled and pushed all of you up and out of the tents. You three, Geordie, Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose. Although I guess Bill had a good handle on things by the time he got out of school. The rest of you followed Tim, harnessed your own fear and got out. We don't think Artemis ever did that. We think she's been surviving, co-existing with her fear for as long as you've known her."

Rob frowned, "Fear of what, or is it specific?"

Tim shrugged, "In her case, it might be fear of letting her father down, fear of failing him, he's controlling and pretty rigid about old traditions. When she felt she needed to get away from them, to make decisions on her own, she had her grandmother ask for her to come home to Greece. She didn't feel she could just say she was going to visit her grandmother.

"Once she found out she was pregnant, she didn't tell her parents. She stayed with her grandmother; didn't tell them about the baby until after he was born. When she realized she couldn't take care of him and work in her chosen profession, she pleased her father by letting them raise her child until he was 3.

"Later, when she and Marissa's father split up, she didn't tell them about the divorce until her parents planned a trip to visit them. I got the impression she told them they'd just split, although the divorce had been final for months by then."

Sarah shook her head, "I always thought she was so together."

"She was, Sari, back at MIT. Maybe as long as he was thousands of miles away and too busy to pay much attention to her. And before life got more complicated."

Tim looked at Sarah, who was frowning and now said, "Was yesterday a coincidence? I mean that she saw me?"

"Yes. She'd been in a meeting nearby, got out early and decided to drop in on her favorite bookstore. And then saw you."

Rob picked up the conversation, "So it was a coincidence even though you and Dad don't believe in them. What's your intent?"

"I want custody of Andy. But removing him from his mother seems more like vengeance, not to mention cruel to him and his little sister. I want Andy to live here with us, attend school in Brambury, make friends here, have a decent life. He goes to an international school that he hates. The kids in his class have wealthy parents and snub him. He doesn't know any of the kids in their neighborhood and they bully him because he's different, not one of them.

"Artemis has been very worried about him. He's been growing quieter and quieter. He told me within 5 minutes of meeting me that he was alone and lonely. He hates his school, is scared to walk through the neighborhood and that flat is small, hard to have any privacy. And with a baby sister, hard to get any time with your only parent. I want to change all that for him. The more Dad and I talked about it, the more I came around to his idea.

"And that is to invite Artemis, Marissa and Susannah to move in here, along with Andy. He has a room upstairs and Marissa could have the room next to his. His mother and aunt can either share the second master upstairs or Dad has offered to move up there and give them his suite. Susannah is moving to Scotland at the end of October so they wouldn't be cramped for too long."

Sarah looked at him, her eyes wide. "Do you…are you thinking of pursuing a romantic relationship with her again?"

"I don't know. I love her, you know that, but until she can tell me why I had to miss 12 years of my son's life, no romance."

"Then what happens when either of you wants to date someone else?"

Tim frowned, "Andy's well-being is my first priority! I'll worry about who dates who or not when it happens."

She shrugged, they were adults and could figure it out themselves. As far as Artie was concerned, Sarah would love to have another woman in the house. "Tim, how old is her baby, 2? What if she has post-partum depression?"

Dad and Tim looked surprised and then thoughtful at her question while Rob nodded, deep in thought. "That would explain a lot. Although as far as her telling Tim about Andy, it sounds like that's a positive thing. She reached out to you, Tim, when she realized whatever she was doing wasn't helping Andy."

"Good points, thanks to both of you. I don't know how to suggest she get help, I guess I could do that as a general condition of moving here. Sounds pretty controlling but this is our home and inviting her in is a huge deal, considering."

Sarah agreed, "I could tell her, Tim. It'll be easier for me, woman to woman, than to come from you when she knows you're upset with her."

"That would be great, Sarah, thank you! Couple more things. As I said, Susannah is leaving for Edinburgh in a few weeks, which leaves Artemis with no child care. While Marissa is old enough, she hasn't yet been to day care. I think that will have to be a condition because we're all working adults, no matter where we work and she needs to be with other children. There will be times we'll have to juggle child minding if either of the little ones has the sniffles and can't go to day care. But we have to do that anyway with Greg and Kyle.

"Another thing is that Artemis' current project will be wrapped up in a few weeks. Her next project will kick off in mid-January. There's more to it but we got interrupted so I don't know what or where it is. I do have a feeling it isn't local, which means we'll be solely responsible for Marissa when her mother's away. We'll have to work out a legal care agreement so that each of us can step in if necessary.

"Last item, I want Andy to come with us when we go home for Christmas. Would anyone object if his mother and sister come with us, if Artie has the money? That would mean she'd be staying at Dad's with us. If she doesn't have the money, she'll be caretaking this house. Oh and she celebrates the Greek Christmas on January 7th. We'll be home by then." Tim twisted his lips in thought. "Thought of another thing. We've been traveling with the kids on weekends and that should continue but I can't see inviting her and Marissa."

Sarah frowned but Tim continued, "Think of it as me having time with the son who was hidden from me for 12 years. I don't mean it as a punishment, I want to spend as much time with him as possible!"

Rob looked at him, "Maybe you could find a different way to say that. Take out the bitter."

"Yeah, ok. Thanks, I'll work on it."

Their father got up, returning with the coffee pot, pouring more into each mug, including Sarah's. She chuckled, "How did you know?"

"You like one cup of tea, then you usually switch."

"Didn't your team used to say you were psychic?"

Tim smiled, "That's Abby and she still believes it. He might also be psychic but I believe it's his observation skills, which are epic."

Dad smiled, raising his mug in appreciation. After swallowing a sip, he sat forward again, "All right, do we have all our cards on the table?"

They looked at each other as Tim repeated their concerns and conditions. "Seems like that's about it, with some finessing. I do have another question…am I rushing us into this? And I mean all of us here as well as Artemis and her family."

They thought about that for awhile. Sarah asked if he planned to have Andy change schools right away. Tim nodded, "Yes, as soon as possible. I'd like it if he stayed now and went to Brambury School next Monday, which starts a new term, be perfect timing. And I think I forgot to tell you that Artemis' father is paying for the International School, which is hellishly expensive and 50 minutes travel from their flat, each way."

He thought about that. "Am I asking her to leave her father's control and come live under mine?"

Rob smiled, "I'm glad to hear you asking that, Bro. You're starting to let your anger go a little bit, thinking about what Artie might need."

"So, am I?"

Rob thought about it before shaking his head, "You're an organized person. Moving four people in with us requires a lot of change – for them and us. You've outlined the changes she'll have to make to fit in with us. You've also thought of some of the ways our lives will be changed. One of those things is that there will be three women in the house instead of one. Sarah will love it and the rest of us, mostly Tim and Dad, will need to make some adjustments. At least you two have your own bathrooms!

"Tim, back to your question, except for custody of Andy, I think it's more reaching out to help rather than controlling. You do like control, how can you not after everything you've been through? However, your control usually benefits us, makes our lives easier."

Sarah chuckled, "Thank you, Robbie. It's taken me my whole life to figure that out!"

They all laughed at that and then Dad reminded them they hadn't answered Tim's question about rushing. "Are we moving too fast?"

Sarah shook her head, "I've been thinking about how she must feel. I remember how excited she was about building things, becoming an engineer. Her whole being was focused on that and Tim. She must have been devastated when she found out she couldn't just charge ahead. And don't forget she's been through a divorce, that can't have been fun, especially with children involved. Hearing that Susannah is moving away must have felt like the end, sounds like she's been relying heavily on her so she could support her family. It might look fast to outsiders but from Artie's perspective, I think it'll be a huge relief. Even with all the changes she'll have to make."

Dad said quietly, "Tim, I'll pay for their airfare at Christmas."

Tim gave him a hug, "Thanks, Dad. I'd offer but I'm afraid it would be too much at this point."

Sarah nodded. "I agree. Dad, that's going to be a lot of extra money, I'd like to chip in."

Tim smiled, "Me too. You make the offer and we'll help pay."

"All right. But, kids, I have plenty of money. More than my Marine and NCIS pensions. An old friend unexpectedly left me a bunch of money a few years ago. I've invested it and done pretty well."

Tim looked at him, "Not Mike, whatever he had went to Leyla and Amira."

"That's right." Dad sighed. "I know you won't let this go so I'll tell you and you can tell Tony. But please don't tell Abby, she'll get all…huggy and weepy."

Tim's eyes nearly fell out of his head, Kate Todd hadn't been an 'old friend' and that left only one person he could think of. "Jenny? Jenny Shepard left you her estate?"

Sarah and Rob looked at each other, wondering how their brother had jumped straight to that conclusion, whoever Jenny Shepard was or had been.

Tim remembered the coverup in southern California and who he and Tony believed died in the fire at the townhouse. As well as who'd fired the shot that killed the Russian woman they weren't supposed to know about and who had started the fire to cover it up.

"Dad?"

"I gave the insurance money for the house and the proceeds from selling the land to charity, every single penny. Kept the rest and as I said, invested it."

Tim sat back, relieved. He should have had faith that Dad-Boss-Gibbs would do the right thing.

Sarah and Rob were looking at them as if they might want more story but Tim moved back to their former topic. "We're agreed then?"

The other three nodded and he sat back. "Nervous about this. Feels right but I'm still nervous."

"Want me to ask her?" That was Sarah and Tim took some time to think about it.

"No, but thank you, Sari. No matter how it's phrased, it's tied up with custody of Andy and that's between his mother and me."

"Okay."

Rob smiled, "I'm going upstairs to check on the boys. I'm glad we can't hear them down here but that also makes me a little suspicious." He looked at Tim, "See, I'm developing good Uncle instincts."

"Thanks, Robbie. You and Sarah are wonderful with the kids, wish we'd had an uncle and aunt like you two! Before you go, let's take a vote on whether to invite them to move in. It's a big deal!"

Dad and Rob looked at each other and then at Tim, "We're in. It'll change everything here but it'll help Andy and maybe even Greg and Kyle."

Sarah nodded, "Me too."

Tim took a deep breath, "Ok, wow. Big changes, thanks for talking this out."

Rob stood, leaning over to kiss the top of his brother's head before disappearing up the stairs, reappearing a few minutes later. "Andy's the only one awake. He's reading, says he and Greg were taking turns reading one of the Freddy books aloud. When it was his turn, he read and then turned to hand the book to Greg and found him sound asleep."

Tim grinned, "I'll go tuck him in, kiss them goodnight."

Running up the stairs, he grinned again when he quietly walked into Greg's room and found Andy just getting into bed. He tucked him in before giving him a kiss, going around to the other side to kiss Greg good night. In Kyle's room, he found his little one curled up wearing his engineer's cap and holding one of his beloved train cars. He left the cap but moved the train car to the bedside table. Straightening the covers, he leaned down to kiss Kyle and smiled when he murmured "Love you" in his sleep. It was one of the things Tim had missed as an orphan, a dad to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight. Whether he, Sarah and Rob slept in the shelter, tent, in their room at Mrs. Ferguson's, later their studio in Norfolk or the apartment in Silver Spring, he'd always kissed them goodnight.

Despite earlier misgivings about the kids being awake and noisy late into the night, the household slept soundly that night. Kyle woke before his brothers and crawled through the 'secret' doorway to Greg's room. Crawling into bed between Greg and Andy, he went back to sleep, still wearing his engineer's cap.

Andy woke a little later when he heard footsteps walking down the hall and decided it was his papa going downstairs for breakfast. He was a little surprised to find Kyle curled between him and Greg but was glad to see his littlest brother. He'd felt bad when the 3-year-old fell asleep so early the previous evening. He moved to get up and felt Kyle roll into the warm spot he'd vacated.

Grabbing the robe and slippers his mama packed for him, he left the room and walked downstairs. He found the kitchen by following his nose. Papa and Grandpa were in there; Papa was making something in a bowl while Grandpa read the paper and drank his coffee. Both men smiled at him as he walked in. As he passed Grandpa, he was pulled in for a hair ruffle and a kiss that left him giggling. Moving to his papa, he smiled happily when he was given another kiss. He didn't know grown men kissed their sons and grandsons, it felt good!

Papa was making pancakes, which he said was their usual Sunday breakfast. "Pancakes and scrambled eggs. Does that sound good to you?"

"Yes! Do we go to church?"

"Sometimes but we didn't plan to go this morning."

"Okay."

"Do you mind not going?"

Andy shook his head, "No, we don't go every week either."

As soon as the smell of eggs cooking wafted upstairs, Greg and Kyle appeared. "Hi Papa, Grandpa and Andy! Hey, Andy, we didn't even hear you this morning!"

Andy grinned at them. "I woke up and Kyle was all curled up between us."

Kyle nodded, "I wanted to see if you were still awake."

"From last night?"

The 3-year-old nodded again, "Yes."

His older brothers laughed, "No, we fell asleep before 10:00."

"When I get big, I can stay awake as long as you guys. Maybe when I'm 4."

Andy hugged him, "That sounds good but you know you're just right the way you are. Did you know I have a sister younger than you?"

"Yes, I'm not the youngest anymore!" Kyle did a little happy dance. Then he and Greg turned to look at their papa. "Will she be our sister too?"

"She could be your chosen sister. Like Uncle Tony is my chosen brother."

"Oh yeah!" Greg turned to Andy, "What's her name?"

"Marissa and she's almost 2-years-old. I call her 'Rissa."

Both younger boys repeated the name, Rissa.

Greg looked at their papa, "Is that all right, Papa?"

"Yes, if Andy's mama says it's all right for Marissa to be your chosen sister."

"Oh, we havta ask. Did you ask Uncle Tony's father if it was all right for him to be your brother?"

"No, because Uncle Tony is all grown up."

He got a drawn out 'oh' from all 3 boys for that one. Greg shook his head, "You sure can do a lot of things when you're a grown up."

"Papa, what time are Mama and Aunt Susannah coming?"

"They're planning to be here about 11, so we can spend the whole afternoon together."

"Good!"

They sat to eat their Sunday breakfast, Rob and Sarah wandering in just as the others took their first bites. Sarah smiled, "I love Sunday breakfast, it's my favorite."

Rob grinned and nodded but didn't say anything as his mouth was full.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By 10:30, the kitchen was clean and Tim had sorted out their lunch offerings. He'd made a soup overnight in the slow cooker and they'd have their choice of sandwiches or salads he'd make to order. He already knew what his dad, sister, brother and the boys would want and he'd probably have whatever Artemis and Susannah wanted.

By 10:45, everyone was dressed and ready. Susannah texted from one of the Tube stops and Tim arranged for an Uber ride for them, sending the information to Susannah.

The women and Marissa arrived at the house shortly after 11. Artemis' eyes were huge as she stood outside looking at the very large house. When Tim joined her, she shook her head. "Who would have ever thought you'd be living in something like this? It's a mansion!"

He laughed, "We're renting, you know, and Bedford pays part of the monthly rent. We needed several bedrooms, a separate suite for Sarah, a garden for the boys and a workshop for my dad. Sari says this is the only place that had everything. It was originally a farmhouse that was renovated to a country house during the 15th century. It's been added onto and renovated several times. The last time was 7 years ago, which makes it modern enough for us. Luckily, the basement survived intact so my dad can have a workshop."

"What does he do there?"

"He builds things: furniture, toys, boats. Last Christmas he made a miniature village to go with my kids' train set, a pair of nightstands for me, a piano bench for one of my brothers and a huge shoe rack for another member of the family. Oh and a cradle for our friends Jimmy and Breena, who were about to have a baby."

"Goodness, he must be talented!"

Susannah nodded her agreement, "And dedicated, all that would take a lot of time!"

"He's a great guy. Come on in and meet him, Greg and Kyle, say hello to Rob and Sarah and see the house."

Artemis had been nervous about this outing today, not sure what to expect. Now she relaxed as she felt welcome. Smiling, she greeted her – their – son, asking about the sleepover.

She was charmed by Tim's boys and appreciated that they already regarded Andy as their brother. Kyle told them solemnly that Andy was now the oldest brother. And then he and Greg fidgeted nervously before asking if Marissa could be their chosen sister.

Marissa had been toddling after her brother but turned with a smile when she heard her name. Artemis wasn't sure exactly what a 'chosen' sibling was but Greg explained it was someone who wasn't born to them or adopted but was chosen to be a sister or an uncle. That was confusing until Artemis looked up and saw Tim trying not to laugh. He explained about 'Uncle Tony' and then she got it. It was more than a courtesy title, less than an adoption. With a kiss for each of the boys, Marissa's mother agreed to the little girl being Greg and Kyle's 'chosen' sister.

Susannah and Artemis both wondered why Tim was showing them every single room in the house. They could understand the boys' rooms, including Andy's, and Tim's but they also toured another unoccupied bedroom, a room that looked like it had once been a schoolroom, a library and a second master at the other end of the hall.

Downstairs, they toured Tim's dad's suite, the kitchen, dining room, library and conservatory, walking out onto the terrace and watching the boys play in the garden. Artemis and Susannah knew Tim well enough to know he wasn't bragging; as he said, they were renting and had help from the university. So they remained a bit baffled as to the 'Grand Tour'.

Lunch was served in the dining room and the women's eyes widened when Tim took orders. When he and Artemis were together at MIT, he'd known very little about cooking, mostly how to heat canned or frozen food. Artie remembered Mrs. Ferguson teaching him how to cook ground beef for spaghetti but that was a long way from the delicious soup he'd made for today and the made-to-order sandwiches.

As they ate, Artie asked questions, "Tim, this is delicious! Do you do all the cooking for your family?"

He shook his head, "No, we take turns. Dad and I cook but when it's Sarah's turn, we have takeout or she heats our favorite frozen dishes. Rob cooks if he's around but he has his own place near the hospital."

That led to questions for Rob and Sarah, which they happily answered. After they finished eating, the boys helped Aunt Sarah and Grandpa clean up while Rob and Susannah chatted. Tim asked Artemis if she'd like to take a walk and smiling, she agreed. Back at MIT, the pair had walked everywhere, even in the dead of winter.

One of Tim's favorite walks here started at the end of their garden. A gate led to a walkway that fed into a path meandering into the countryside with plenty of trees, late summer wildflowers, a few remnants of stone walls built by farmers over the centuries and benches scattered here and there. After they'd walked a couple of miles, naming the trees they recognized, maple, alder, birch, oak and others, Tim steered Artie to a bench overlooking a picturesque hollow.

"This is one of my favorite places to come, it almost seems like it appears when I'm out here and then disappears when I return home. The Tube and train stations are less than 3 miles away."

"It's lovely, peaceful."

"Artie, I'm glad you're here today. We've got a lot to talk about and I hope we can make some decisions."

"About Jas…Andy and how we'll manage?"

"Yes. I have some ideas and I'm sure you do too. And there are some other things and maybe I should say those first. I was pretty upset when I got home Friday night and my dad sat me down to talk when he saw that. He was understandably more objective than I was and had some ideas about…well, things. In our work in law enforcement, we've seen nearly every kind of motive, reason, excuse, emotion and one of the most common ones is fear. That got my attention because I know fear. It's what kept me studying when I was a kid and pushing the kids, Geo and our friends to keep studying, to stay away from the drugs, alcohol, crime. Fear motivated me to get off the streets, so I know something of the power of it. Fear is what brought us here to the UK and that's a long weird story I'll tell you later.

"Dad helped me see that might be what hit you when you found out you were pregnant. Fear of having to give up your dreams, or at least delay them, fear of how to raise a child, fear of changing my dreams, or delaying them, fear of what your father would say and do. Am I anywhere near the truth?"

She nodded, her eyes closed and he took her hand. "I'm so sorry, Artie. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, with you. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that." He paused, "You did good, seems like it was the best thing you could do, going to your grandmother. That gave you time to think and plan, room to breathe without your father's interference. He's pretty controlling, isn't he?"

She nodded again, "Very controlling. I was afraid he'd make me give the baby up for adoption or even just take him and I'd never see him again. When I left Japan, I didn't know what I was going to do yet but I knew I needed to leave so I could make my own decisions. After I was told I was still pregnant, I sat down with my yaya and talked about everything and I realized what a huge life change it would be. That's when I decided not to tell you right away. You've had so much dumped on you in your life, I couldn't do that to you. My plan was to wait until I had the baby and returned to work, then I'd let you know so we could figure things out. Obviously, that didn't happen.

"Tim, Susannah and I talked about this Friday night and again yesterday and I realized I've been afraid all my life, long before I met you. I didn't know how to say this, what it was that kept me from telling you about Andy. Now I have a name for it. Fear of my father, of displeasing him because his anger is awful and doesn't end. He doesn't yell, he doesn't hit, he stops speaking to you, ignores you in the same room. I think it's as bad as physical harm, his withholding love. I don't even know what affect that has had on me, or Susannah, we both have felt the same thing. Mother does what he wants, her whole being is consumed with pleasing him, staying in his good favor. And now our brother is the same as our father.

"When I left MIT, it was because he ordered me to move to Japan with them. Before that, when you and I were together, he ordered me to stop seeing you. It was the only time in my life I stood up to him and the consequences were not good. I never told you because I didn't want you to know how weak I am. In Seattle, it was again fear of standing up to him that caused me to say we had no future together. It wasn't our goals, it was him. You're not Greek, had no parents or other family, grew up on the streets and don't know your background. He would have found a way to keep me under lock and key rather than allow us to marry. That sounds medieval but it's true."

She sighed, "And then when the baby was born, I was even more of a mess. I had a difficult pregnancy and was in labor with him for over 24 hours. When I finally started feeling better physically, I developed postpartum depression. Luckily, my yaya recognized enough of the symptoms to get me to a doctor. With all that, Jason was nearly 6-months old before I went back to work full-time. And then I had to start over, work as an independent contractor, because I'd lost all the momentum I'd built. I was terrified the whole time. Scared something would happen to my son, scared I wouldn't be able to support him, that my dream of building things was dead and then I was scared of your reaction if I told you. So I still didn't, although I promised myself and my yaya that I would.

"Yaya told my mother about the baby after we came home from the hospital. She came for a week but then my father demanded that she return home, that he needed her. That was his way of showing me how much he disapproved. He allowed a week, no more. Eventually, he met Jason and once he saw his dark hair and olive skin, he was more accepting. He looked Greek, that would have to do.

"Then I had a job offer, a strong one, a big project that would take 2 or more years and my parents offered to take Jason. I was terrified I'd never get him back but I felt that I'd lost so much, I needed to find me again. Otherwise, I'd never be able to support my child, I'd always be dependent on my parents. My father would be happy that he won but he would also disapprove because I'd failed."

Tim nodded, he'd read that about other new mothers, that they sometimes felt estranged by staying home with their babies. He could understand that Artie felt hopeless, he'd experienced that more than once during his life on the streets. And as much as he could, he understood paralyzing fear, telling Artemis that it didn't matter if he understood it or not, they were her feelings. She sagged against him in relief.

"I didn't know how to say it to you, how to express it. You've always been so clear in your goals, so organized, I didn't know if you could understand."

"I'm organized and goal driven because of the fear that there'll be one wrong move, one wrong something and I'd lose everything again. And I have, Artie. Last year, through no fault of my own, I was cut off from the job that I loved and even worse, the people I love. Obviously we survived but yes, it's one of the ways I deal with my fears. I get that now. I'm sorry I was so out of tune with you on Friday. I felt abandoned, that you'd abandoned me in 1999 and then by what you said in Seattle and by not telling me about our son. Now I understand more."

"Thank God! Oh, you know, you understand, thank God! I'm sorry I didn't explain myself better. I wanted to protect you, I wasn't thinking much about what the baby would need, I mean, about not having a father, not then. I felt that I couldn't make my dream happen right away but you still had Sarah and Rob and a baby would have set you back even more than it did me – and you would have had no one to help you. No yaya, not even a disapproving papa. Instead of going to your training, you would have had to get a full-time job somewhere and put your law enforcement dream off even longer, maybe forever. I could deal with changing my goals but I couldn't do that to you."

Tim sighed, "Artie, I love you. I've always loved you, been in love with you since we first met. I've tried to move on, have relationships with other women but it's useless. I know I shouldn't be saying this now, we should figure out how we're going to raise Andy together before we do anything about our relationship, but I need to tell you."

"And I love you, Tim. I always have and I've been in love with you since we met that first week of school. I can't get 'over' you either. I dated and then married Marissa's father because he looks like you. But that wasn't enough and he wasn't you. I'm sorry I haven't been strong enough to tell you."

Tim kissed her and she melted into his arms. When they came up for air, she sighed, "We need to be practical, my love."

"And I have ideas about that. Susannah is leaving at the end of October, correct?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning on putting Marissa into day care?"

"Yes but with my job, I can't guarantee I can pick her up before they close. And our son is too old for day care."

"And he's too young to stay on his own. What about your flat? Are you on a lease?"

"No, I have to be on a month to month basis. My projects always seem to be too short or too long for a lease and the landlords won't change the terms."

"Okay. And where and when is your next project?"

"My current one will be finished by the middle of November. I try to take a month or two off in between projects, especially if there is a school holiday. My next one will start in mid-January."

"And where is it? You started to tell me but got interrupted."

"I'd forgotten that. It's in Turkey, in Amzida."

"Is it safe? From outside forces?"

"Yes and I wrote that into the contract. If there is trouble close to or in Amzida, I can break the contract without penalty. I also put in that I will have Fridays and Monday mornings off. I'll fly home Thursday evenings and back to Amzida Monday mornings."

"How long is the flight?"

"About 4 hours."

"That's not too bad."

"No. There is also a 3 hour time difference and that will help me on my Monday flights." She grimaced, "I may have to move the children to Edinburgh with Susannah. I could take them with me but I'd rather not uproot them again, not to a place where I know no one but the project manager - and there is potential danger."

Tim nodded. "The reason I'm asking all these questions is that I – we, that is my family and I, have a suggestion. And that is that you move in with us. You, Susannah, Marissa and Andy. As you saw today, we have plenty of room. Marissa can go to day care in Brambury with Kyle. And Andy can go to the local school, get to know the kids around here, make some friends. And they'll be with family when you're away. Andy already has a room here, you saw earlier what could be Marissa's room and you and Susannah can share until she leaves. Or she can stay in Sarah's guest bedroom. There's the 2nd master suite upstairs or if you'd rather be downstairs, Dad has offered to move upstairs and you can live in that suite."

Artie's mouth had dropped open and she sat there, blinking her eyes. It was several minutes, seeming like hours to Tim, before she finally cleared her throat and nodded. "Yes and thank you! I'll pay rent, utilities and for meals. And I'd like the 2nd master suite upstairs, please. I'd never be able to sleep on the ground floor with the children on another floor." She looked up, "We'll feel safe with you upstairs and your father downstairs to protect us."

He smiled, "It's a deal then! We'll work out the rent and the rest. We split the rent between us, minus what Bedford pays. I pay for the boys and me, Dad and Sarah each pay for themselves. You can pay something for Marissa and you. Andy's on me, you've paid his living expenses all his life, it's my turn now." She was crying now and he wrapped his arms around her as he continued.

"While you're in Turkey, we can do Skype calls with you and the kids during the week. And there's a train from here that'll get you to and from the airport pretty quickly. Also, we try to travel someplace different at least one weekend a month. We've been all over the UK, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, didn't catch the Loch Ness monster though! We spent several days in Cornwall at the beach over the summer, a long weekend in Prague and 10 days on a beach in Greece. Our next trip will probably be back to Wales, there's an aqueduct there that Sarah told us about. I think we'll need to rent a car for that. We'd like you to join us."

She rested in Tim's arms for a few minutes, drying her tears of joy and relief that Tim had a solution for them. Finally, she gave him a watery smile, "That sounds like fun! Although one car doesn't seem big enough for all of us."

"We rent a van, what they call a mini bus here. The size we've rented before holds 9 or more passengers. There are also larger sizes."

"Do you know when you next outing will be?"

"Not sure, haven't done our research yet. We always want places to visit with plenty of interesting things to do and see for the kids and us. We usually leave Friday after school and work and come home Sunday evening. Means having everything ready for school and work on Monday before we leave, but that's easily done."

"Yes, if we can swing it, we'll go."

"That reminds me of something else. We're going to the States for 2 weeks in December, over our schools' Christmas holiday. We'll be staying in Dad's house near Washington, DC. I want to take Andy and would like you, Marissa and Susannah, if possible, to come with us. We'll be home by January 3rd, in plenty of time for your celebration on the 6th and 7th."

"You want us to come with you?"

"Yes, of course. I want Andy, you and Marissa to meet the rest of our family. Greg, Kyle and I will visit Patrick, my brother, their father. Probably Sarah, Rob and Dad, too."

"Isn't he in a coma?"

"Yes. We talk to him every Sunday. Our extended family and friends take turns going to visit him and holding their phones or tablets while Greg and Kyle tell him everything they're doing. I know it sounds morbid but Pat is breathing on his own, for all we know he can hear us and could wake up at any time. The boys draw pictures for him and we have all kinds of photos up in the room."

"How long has he been in the coma?"

"That's a tricky question. The injuries that caused the initial coma happened about 2 ½ years ago, when Kyle was a baby. However, sometime before last September, a year ago, something happened. We don't know what but the people who injured him in the first place started giving him drugs to keep him in the coma. My theory is that he started coming out of the initial coma and the bad guys started drugging him. And I can't tell you any more than that, it's classified and I don't know all of it."

"How have the drugs affected him?"

Tim bowed his head, "I'm afraid they killed him. That he was alive, was starting to emerge from the coma, they started the drugs and that killed his brain."

"Oh Tim, I'm so sorry! I've been remembering all the stories you told me about your little brother, how much you still missed him."

"Thanks, sweetie. Greg remembers when he was awake but Kyle was an infant when Pat was first injured."

"So you keep up the pretense for the boys?"

"And me too. He is breathing on his own, his body is working, if not his mind. I told Greg that as long as he's breathing on his own, I'm not going to give up on him."

"That's sweet; gives you and the boys hope. Tim, does everyone know of the plan for us?"

"Yes, Rob stayed over last night and the four of us talked about it for a couple of hours. Are you including Andy going to our local school?"

"Yes. I realized, after you told me what he said, that there's more to school than math, reading and science. You're right, he needs socialization and that isn't happening, either there or in the neighborhood. And from now on, we make the decisions together, all right? No more asking me, I know you want him here and I agree. What about his surname?"

"I don't have a problem with Galanis. I found out that the dad I knew wasn't my biological father and I have no idea who is or what his name might be. So I'm not tied to McGee."

"Oh, Tim!"

"Luckily, I had Dad Gibbs on my side, so it doesn't hurt as much."

"That's still awful! That man let you down in so many ways."

Tim shrugged and they snuggled for a few minutes and then talked some more before rousting themselves from their bench and turning toward home.

Artie pulled her sister aside to tell her of the offer and her acceptance. Tim was in the kitchen making more iced tea when Susannah ran in, kissed him, thanked him and ran out again.

Once she knew, Tim gathered everyone together in the living room. "Artemis and I have something to tell you. Dad, Sarah, Rob – Artemis has accepted our offer. Andy, you, your mother, your sister and aunt are going to move in here with us. Your aunt will be here for a few weeks before she leaves for Edinburgh but she'll always have a place to return to here, a home. So will your mother when she has to be away for work. We'll enroll you in the school here in Brambury where you can make friends and feel at home. We'll all live together, under one roof."

Andy's mouth had dropped open, "We can stay, forever?"

"As long as we live here, you do too. I can't guarantee forever but my hope is that when we do move, you, your mother and sister will come with us."

Andy kissed and hugged his mother and then flew into his father's arms. Tim heard a muffled "Thank you" and held on as he thought his son was crying.

Greg looked at his papa, "I know where Andy's room is, what about his mother and sister? And aunt?"

"Artemis and Susannah will live in the big bedroom on our floor, Greg, next to the library. Marissa will have the room next to Andy's."

"Good!"

Artie was standing in front of Tim, rubbing Andy's back. "There's more, sweet boy. When you, your brothers and father get out of school for the Christmas holiday, we're all going to the United States for Christmas! We'll stay at your grandpa's house and meet all your other uncles and aunts and whoever Granducky turns out to be."

They laughed and Dad quickly told them about Granducky. After that, Andy looked up, "Is that for all of Christmas?"

"No, we'll be home before our Christmas on the 6th and 7th."

"Two Christmases!"

Andy had other questions but decided to wait, they were mostly about his other grandparents. One question he could ask now, "Mama, when you go to Turkey for your new project, the baby and I will stay here. When you come home on weekends, will you come here?"

"Yes, darling."

"Good!"

While the kids went outside with Grandpa, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob to play, Tim, Artie and Susannah sat down with a calendar to figure out details of the move. Today was the last Sunday of August and the autumn school term would start the Monday of the following week.

Andy would stay over again tonight, they'd launder the clothes he'd worn Saturday and Tim would call the school in the morning for an appointment to enroll him in the secondary school for his year 7.

Artie, Susannah and Marissa would return to the flat tonight but if Tim could get an appointment at the school in the morning, Artie would return to meet the headmaster at Andy's new school and go on to work afterward. If the appointment was later in the day, she'd work first and then join them.

She'd need to give 30 days notice to her landlord but she'd take care of that when she paid her rent on Tuesday. They rented the apartment furnished so there were only clothes, bedding, books, toys, kitchenware, stroller, changing table and Marissa's bed. Artie said that with help loading and unloading, she could get everything into a van. Susannah agreed before excusing herself to join the others outside.

Artie was off Thursday and both she and Susannah were off Friday and they tentatively set Friday as the move day. Tim offered to help with the packing and Artie shook her head, "No, I don't want you to do everything, this is my responsibility! However, I will allow you to carry boxes to the van." She smiled at him as he chuckled. "Ok and I'm volunteering Dad too. Have another question for you."

"What's that?"

"What would you like Greg and Kyle to call you and Marissa to call me?"

"Uh…I hadn't thought of that. If Marissa calls you Papa, that's fine, if it's all right with you?"

"It is and no matter what we think, she'll probably end up doing that anyway."

"The boys…I don't know. Aunt Artie?"

Tim tried not to growl, "I don't want you to be their aunt."

She smiled, "Yes, love, but we agreed it's too soon. All right, either Artie or Mama, take your pick."

"Uh…"

"Yes, now you understand."

Tim pulled her around to him, kissing her deeply. She smiled as they finally pulled apart. "Why don't we see what they come up with?"

Tim agreed, having very little idea what she was talking about. "Sure." He reached for her again only to stop when there was a noise behind them.

"Uh, excuse me. Just came in for a snack." That was Robbie, trying not to grin.

Artie looked at him, "Robbie, what do you think Greg and Kyle should call me?"

"Mom. Or I guess Mum. Although Kyle will probably call you Mama. And Greg will too, if Andy calls you that." He grabbed his snack pack from the refrigerator and hurried out, waiting until he reached the other end of the house before he started laughing.

After the Galanises, sans Andy, left, Tim went upstairs to take another look at the rooms. Andy's was fine, someone had dusted and vacuumed in there, probably when they changed the drapes and bedspread. Marissa's room wasn't too bad, the décor in here would be okay unless Artie wanted something different. It needed dusting and vacuuming too.

Artie and Susannah's room, formerly known as the 2nd master, needed the windows washed, everything needed dusting, the bed and bureaus needed to be polished and of course the carpeting vacuumed. They'd done that before Tony arrived, this was the room he'd stayed in, but now it needed it again. He looked in the closet, which wasn't dirty but smelled a little musty. He left the closet door open to air out and on second thought, left the door to the room open too.

Back down the hallway, he did the same for Marissa's room. He thought about Susannah and realized there was plenty of room to move the bed that was originally in the master, his master, into Artie's room for her. It hadn't been moved from the library where they'd stuck it months ago.

Once the family came inside, Andy changed into his pajamas, robe and slippers so Tim could wash the clothes he'd worn yesterday and today. After he got the washer going, he used baking soda and lemon to make a room freshener and took it upstairs.

Deciding to clean the rooms on Wednesday, he made a list of what else needed doing that week. Kyle would resume preschool attendance next week when Greg and Andy started classes and Tim needed to check his clothes, see if he'd outgrown any of them. Greg's uniforms were new enough to still fit, but they'd have to get new ones for Andy.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is an entire day early in my posting 'routine', but tomorrow is 'move the furniture' day and I doubt I'll have the time or energy to post the usual Wednesday night/Thursday chapter. Not to mention I don't have internet at my new place yet.
> 
> Thanks for the reads, follows, faves and comments, you folks always make my day!
> 
> By the way, someone asked me about Amzida, Turkey, the location of Artemis' future project. The beautiful, ancient city of Amzida is entirely fictional, it exists only in this story.

Chapter 21

Andy slept in his new room that night, loving having a dad to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight. His mama called to say goodnight too, just as he was turning in. He had goodnight kisses from his brothers, grandfather, aunt and uncle. When Tim checked on him a couple of hours later, Andy was still smiling in his sleep.

Tim was awake so early, he had to wait two hours before he could reach anyone at the school. When he did, he explained that his older son had been attending an international school but Tim and the boy's mother wanted to enroll him in the local school. The headmaster was already in his office and planned to be there all day. They set the appointment for 10:00, which would give Artie plenty of time to get to Brambury. Tim let her know, smiled at her response and wore the smile all morning.

Andy and his father walked to the Tube station to meet Artie and from there they walked to the school. Artie had printed out Andy's paperwork from the international school and the schools he'd attended before that, including his grades and reports from his teachers.

The headmaster was gracious, friendly, and professional. He asked his assistant to give the family a tour of the school while he took a look at Andy's records. Andy liked the look of the place, he said it looked 'friendlier' than the International School. When they returned to the headmaster's office, the man smiled at them. "Andy, I'm pleased you'll be joining us. Your marks and reports are ahead of where they should be, well done, young man!"

Within minutes, they had all the forms they'd need to complete and were walking out. Artie had a small suitcase with her and gave it to her son. "Here you go. I didn't know if you'd want to stay over tonight as well. We'll have to get you new uniforms. If you come home today, we can do that tomorrow."

Tim looked at her, "Are you sure? How about this, Andy and I will head into the city tomorrow for his uniforms. Then if he wants to stay at the flat for a couple of days and help pack, he can do that, provided that works for Susannah. Or if he'd like and it's all right with you, we'll pack more of his clothes and things and bring them back with us. I have a folding luggage cart, a small one, we can use."

"Either is fine. You might want to bring an empty suitcase as well, I'm not sure we'll have enough for all of us. Marissa has only lived in this flat with us, we've never had to move her things."

"We have suitcases and we'll do that. Does that sound good, son?"

"Yes, but can we bring Greg and Kyle, too?"

"Hmm, yes. You know what we might do. Let's rent a car and then your brothers can come with us and we can bring more things home."

Artie shook her head, "You should buy Susannah's car!"

"She has a car that she's selling?"

"She does, yes. It's a minibus and it's bigger than the 9 passenger type you mentioned. She used to manage a musical group and bought it to transport all the instruments, took all the seats out. She still has the seats and doesn't drive it often anymore, just enough to keep the tires from going flat. She won't need it in Scotland. She'll be sharing a flat with Ian, her boyfriend, who has a vehicle, and her work, shops and restaurants are less than 5 minutes walk."

"Do you think she'd let us use it this week? To move stuff? I have my UK driver's license."

"She's planning on it! The seats need to go back in, though."

"Ok, we're adding suitcases, tool box and my dad to the list!"

Artie smiled, "We'll pack the suitcases we do have tonight, then tomorrow you can leave the empty ones and take the full ones home."

"Works for me." They'd reached the Tube station and she kissed them both goodbye as she headed for her train to work.

Andy watched her go, "I'm glad we're moving this week."

"You don't have to stay over, son."

"I know I don't, Papa, but I want to. It's nice at your place."

Smiling at him, Tim gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "You're all right, kiddo!"

Tuesday morning, the family, including Grandpa but not Aunt Sarah, rode the Tube into the city to the uniform shop, taking Papa's luggage cart and the suitcases. When Andy had everything he needed, they continued to the flat. Papa smiled when they saw the large minibus parked outside, it didn't look very 'mini' to him. "Wheels!"

His father looked at him, "Have you even talked with Susannah about buying it?"

"Not yet. I thought you'd want to take a look at it first. We'll borrow it today, bring it back tomorrow or Thursday for the next load."

"Huh. Yes, I will take a look at it and borrowing it is a great idea."

They went upstairs where Greg said the flat reminded him of their apartment in Silver Spring. The place here had two bedrooms, 1 bathroom, with a small kitchen and lounge. There weren't any bunk beds but Tim understood what he meant, the flat was cramped for Artie's family.

Susannah was more than happy to loan the van to Tim to help with moving them. She smiled when she handed over the keys, "I don't suppose you want to buy it?"

"I might. First have to see how it feels to drive. Do you have an asking price in mind?"

She told him and he nodded without comment or expression. If the van was in decent shape, that was a great price. If it needed a lot of work, more than Dad could handle, not so much. And since all the adults in the household would likely end up driving it, he wanted their opinions.

Exchanging the almost empty suitcases for the ones Artie and Susannah had packed, it was Andy who remembered to take the bags with his new uniforms out of the suitcases they were leaving at the flat.

When they went back downstairs, Grandpa had one bench seat in, all they'd need for now. Andy was tall enough that the seatbelt fit him so it was just the two younger boys who still needed the safety seats. The rest of the seats were piled in the back, along with the suitcases already packed and away they went. Tim drove as his father hadn't yet driven in London. Both listened to the sound of the engine and watched the indicators for any problems.

Tim said the brakes needed tightening and Dad had a few ideas but waited until they got home to look under the hood. He made a list of repairs, mostly delayed maintenance along with the brakes. Tim told the boys they could watch but not to bother their grandfather. "He's making sure the van is safe. That's something he loves to do."

When Dad finished, he sat down with Tim. "Needs an oil change and a few minor fixes. I can handle it all. Brakes are fine, just needed adjusting and some fluid, tires are in good shape, they should last another 2,000-3,000 miles. Power steering needs fluid and a new hose, I can do both. Everything else is good to go. I'll get the seats in after I get done with everything else."

"Good, thanks, Dad. Keep track of your expenses as I want to take that off what I'm paying for the van."

"Just the stuff I buy, right? She's family, I don't want to charge her for my time. Besides, I like working on cars."

"If you don't mind, I don't. Thanks."

With a mock salute, Dad left, taking Greg and Andy to the store with him to get what he'd need for the van and leaving behind a napping Kyle. They were home 30 minutes, later, carrying a variety of car parts.

Deciding to start that afternoon, they'd have sunlight until close to 8 PM tonight, Gibbs whistled as he got to work. By the time Andy came out to tell him dinner would be ready in 10 minutes, he was nearly done, just had to put the seats in and then take it for a test drive.

After dinner, they all piled into the van and Tim drove it several miles around town. The brakes were good, the power steering wasn't creaking, the steering wheel responded well to turns and the boys reported that the seats were fine. Tim and Dad were pleased, buying the van would significantly help transportation around the UK and cut back on Uber and taxi fees too. The minibus, its designation, was designed to seat more than 16 passengers plus the driver. They were glad they had a long driveway!

Susannah called Wednesday morning to say she'd packed all the suitcases they had. Sarah, Tim and Andy had unpacked the ones they'd brought home, Sarah sorting the women's clothing and putting it in the bureaus in Artie's room, toddler clothes went into Marissa's room, Andy's clothes, well he knew what those were and where they went. Putting the empty suitcases in the van, Tim, Grandpa, Andy and Greg headed back into London after lunch. Kyle didn't want to go, he was tired of 'moving', and Sarah had time available so they stayed home.

Before they did anything else, Tim and Susannah sat down to talk about the van. Within a few minutes, money had exchanged hands and the McGees were the proud owners of a 2006 16 passenger van, almost immediately nicknamed Big Blue. Their business successfully concluded, the empty suitcases were exchanged for full ones and those were carried down to the van. Boxes of kitchenware came with them, although most of those boxes were Susannah's.

By Friday evening, the Galanis family were out of the flat and beginning to settle into their new home. Both families sat back to relax over the weekend. Kyle was especially happy to hear that moving was done as he hadn't liked it much. Too little to be allowed to help or do much, he hadn't cared for trips to the city without anything interesting or fun involved. He was, after all, 3-years-old.

He did enjoy the other side of 'moving', sitting on the floor of Andy's room with both his brothers, looking at all of Andy's books and toys. And he liked Marissa, they understood each other pretty well and she was fun to play with. And now he wasn't the only one who had to take afternoon naps!

By Sunday, the mission had changed from moving to getting the four kids ready for school, preschool and day care. Andy was settled in and happily continuing to enjoy his new family. Over the past few days, Marissa had spent time together with her mama and Tim, enough so that she was comfortable with him **.** She'd visit the day care for a couple of hours on Monday and depending on how that went, would spend most of the day there Tuesday. As Tim's classes didn't start until the end of the month, he'd be available to bring her home if she was unhappy enough to do so. Kyle was excited about resuming preschool, Greg was excited about starting Year 3 in the same school where he'd finished Year 2 and Andy was nervous and excited about starting Year 7 in his new school.

Grandpa insisted on taking photos of the four of them before they left for school Monday morning and Andy liked that; it made him realize they were kind of a family. Marissa and Kyle waited at home while Papa walked Greg and Andy to school.

Tim squeezed Andy's shoulder as he went into his new classroom. "Love you, son. Remember, try to relax a little."

Andy nodded as he took a deep breath and walked toward the open door, remembering that he wouldn't have to leave this school and move when his mother started working on her new project.

Greg was already in class, he'd been greeted outside by a couple of friends and he thought how much he liked coming back to the same place after attending 3 different schools the previous term.

Back home, Tim helped Marissa into her stroller and looked at Kyle. "You ready for school, Doodle Bug?"

Kyle giggled, he always did when Daddy called him that. He was Doodle Bug, Greg was Scooter Bug and he guessed Daddy needed more names for Andy and Marissa.

"I'm ready, Daddy! I don't havta ride in the stroller, do I?"

"Not unless you want to."

Kyle smiled proudly, shaking his head. He liked riding in his stand up pack on Papa's back, that made him really big, but he didn't like riding in the stroller. He couldn't see anything but legs around him and he was 3, not a baby! Today, he'd walk.

The three of them set out for the day care, known here as a nursery, which also housed the preschool. Marissa looked around as they walked, chattering to them, Kyle sometimes answering. When they reached the center, they first escorted Kyle to class. He and Papa kissed before he went into the classroom and then Kyle hugged Marissa. "Have fun, Rissa. I'll be right here." He pointed to the classroom and she nodded.

As they approached the nursery check-in, Tim lifted her out of the stroller and she patted his face, "Papa."

"Yes, honey, I'm your papa."

The teacher took her hand, walking with her to the play center, Marissa chattering the entire way. She spoke both English and Greek but Tim noticed that she favored English; maybe Andy used that when he spoke with her. Tim handed the diaper bag to someone and was invited to sit in the parents' room. He'd be here for the two hours Marissa would stay today and had come prepared with a thermos of coffee and his tablet. As he sat in one of the chairs by the window looking into the center, he relaxed, realizing it was the first time in over a week he'd had time to himself.

Marissa needed him once; when two more children joined her group, she was a little overwhelmed and her lower lip started trembling. Feeling bad for her with all the changes in her life, new house, new family, new papa, Tim went to her. They sat in a big chair, cuddled and had stories for a few minutes. When they finished the second story, he realized they had an audience and he smiled at the other children as he helped Rissa crawl off his lap. She played for a few more minutes, had a snack with the other toddlers and when it was time for morning naps, she left with her new papa. She waved goodbye, she'd be back tomorrow.

Back home, she cuddled with her papa before falling asleep in her toddler bed. Tim relaxed, feeling she'd be fine going back for a longer stay tomorrow. When he went downstairs, he found his father in the kitchen pouring two mugs of coffee.

Tim chuckled, "How do you always know?"

Dad shrugged, "I know you. Everything go all right?"

"Yes. The boys were excited although Andy was a little nervous, too. And Marissa did fine. She got a little overwhelmed once and we had a story together but overall, she did great."

"Good! So, what's next on the agenda?"

Tim laughed, "No idea. My head's still spinning."

"Here's something to think about – telling the rest of the family about you and Andy and the Galanises moving in with us."

His eyes wild, Tim looked at his father, horrified. "Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot all about telling them!"

Gibbs laughed, "Not the end of the world, they're not over there wondering when we're going to tell them!"

When Tim didn't say anything and was quiet for a little too long, his father looked at him, "Having second thoughts?"

"No, just wondering where this will go. And how to tell them."

Gibbs frowned, "Are you worried about this?"

"No and yes. I'm not worried about Andy or Marissa living with us. I'm worried Artie and I will either get too caught up in each other or too caught up in family life to see straight. If that makes sense."

"It does. Do you trust what she told you about her fears?"

Tim tilted his head, "Yes. I talked with Susannah about it later and she told me some more about their father. And because I've met their mother and as I think I said, everything she said was prefaced by 'your father wants…' Right now, I'm not sure I trust either of us."

"Because it's too easy to imagine a future together?"

"Yes."

"What if it does happen? Do you trust your feelings?"

"Yes and I'm beginning to trust hers again. That's what worries me."

"You're worried about taking another chance with her."

Tim had his arms crossed on the table and now he put his head down on them. "Yes, because I lead with my heart. I feel like the perennial patsy."

"You're a patsy? So you stood by and let your stepmother kill your father and brother and then abandon you and Sarah. When you were younger than Andy?"

"Not what I meant."

"Okay, what did you mean?"

"I have a soft heart and let people walk all over me."

"Really? So that's how you survived 9 years on the street?" Jethro relented and rubbed the back of Tim's neck. "There's nothing wrong with your heart, Timson, it's a good, strong heart, not a soft one. You don't let people walk all over you. Not anymore and most of that, if you're thinking of Abby and Tony, was my fault. Think about this, as hard as this is for you now, how would you have felt 12-13 years ago?"

There was quiet and then Gibbs saw his shoulders hunch and a shudder run through him. "Yeah. Pretty damn awful. You would have had to seriously delay all your dreams. There's a chance you would have totally given up your dream of being a federal agent rather than chance leaving your child without a father. You could risk that with Sarah and Rob, they were nearly grown by then. They would have had one year, maybe two in foster care and I'm sure by then you had a legal document naming the Porters as their legal guardians. Plus they had Geordie."

A nod confirmed that.

"Do you regret her telling you now?"

"No and I have no regrets about Andy. My worries are about Artie and me; about jumping in with both feet and my eyes closed."

"You let yourself take a risk. You haven't felt confident enough to do that in the past. Oh, sure, in our work, you built up your confidence level. But not with your life or your heart. Huh, you didn't have to risk your heart because she left first."

"Hadn't thought about that." Tim sighed, "And yes, because I'm always afraid of losing everything again. Until I did – or thought I did – and survived mostly intact, with the people I loved."

"Are you afraid you're wrong about Artemis' feelings for you? Afraid that this isn't going to work out, that it'll turn into a mess?"

Another nod. Gibbs was quiet, thinking. "If that happens, she and Marissa will find somewhere else to live, she'll make other arrangements for her daughter's care and the two of you will continue to share custody of Andy. You're not going to lose him and you'll have to share him with her for the rest of your lives no matter what happens or doesn't happen between the two of you. Like Tobias and Diane sharing Emily. Only I hope with less nastiness. It'd be painful but not the end of the world."

Sitting next to his son, he wrapped his arms around him as best he could. "Promise me something?"

"Dad?"

"Don't marry Artemis because you feel a sense of obligation or that she's your last chance. If and when you trust your feelings and hers, love her with all your heart and believe without a doubt that she trusts you and loves you with all her heart, then that's good. Honesty between you, son. That's something I could never give Diane, Rebecca or Stephanie. How could I when I wasn't being honest with myself? Love, respect, commitment, honesty, desire and a sense of humor, those are the qualities that Shannie and I had in our marriage. The order doesn't really matter, it'll vary anyway. And I know all this because she told me. She was a very wise woman."

He paused, "Will you set up some sort of legal guardianship so you can make decisions about Andy and Marissa when their mother's not available?"

Tim nodded, "I called my family law attorney last week and he sent me a couple names of family law attorneys here. He also outlined what needed to happen, according to the laws of the U.S. Not just Marissa, but for Andy too, because my name isn't on any of his records. I'll file paternity claims here, in Greece where he was born, and in the U.S. We have an appointment Wednesday morning."

"Both of you?"

"Yes, that way I make sure it gets done, that my wishes are heard and we agree on whatever needs to happen."

"Good idea." He hesitated before plunging forward, "You really aren't sure of her?"

"I'm not and we know we need to work on things, need to communicate when we're scared, angry, sad, confused. It works both ways. Maybe if she'd really trusted me, she'd have come to me earlier with the truth or told me she needed help."

Tim relaxed a little as his father's arms tightened around him. They stayed like that for several minutes until Dad's tummy growled. Then they both laughed and resumed their normal activities, including a midmorning snack for Dad.

Marissa woke from her nap, greeting Tim with a smile. After changing her diaper, they walked downstairs, the toddler telling him, this time in Greek, how much she liked day care. He found that if he answered or spoke to her in English, she spoke in English. Very bright for a child who was only 23 ½ months old!

He felt better after talking with his father. He guessed he was making up for lost time, all the years he hadn't had a parent to go to for help.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Deciding to hold off contacting the family with all their news until the weekend, Gibbs, McGees and Galanises spent the week getting used to living with each other and establishing new daily routines. Marissa went to the nursery for a full half day on Tuesday and did just fine. Wednesday, while her mother and Tim went into London to meet with the attorney, she spent nearly the whole day at the nursery, with Aunty Sarah registered at the nursery if there were problems.

The attorney was surprised, although pleased, that Tim's US attorney had briefed him on what needed to be done. The paternity claims for all 3 countries were completed, signed and mailed that day while Artemis and Tim had drafts of the legal agreements between them, one for Jason Andrew Galanis, who might also be known as Jason Andrew McGee, and one for Marissa Athena Galanis, who might also be known as Marissa Athena McGee, in their emails late that afternoon. Tim was relieved that he and Artie agreed on everything that mattered.

Gibbs was called into work early that morning, around 3 AM. He thought if Joel Morris thought he could get away with it, he would have called Tim in, too. It was a complex case involving two of the four NCIS European offices. Tim later told his dad he'd felt 'itchy' all day, as if he was supposed to be doing something, although he didn't know what.

As it turned out, Tim did get pulled into the case Wednesday evening. When his cell phone chimed with a call at 2200, he had a feeling he knew who it was. Surprisingly, it wasn't Joel, but Director Vance.

"Tim, hope I didn't wake you but we need your help. We've got a complex case in the UK and on the continent with both London and Marseilles involved. With all our agents in the field at multiple crime scenes, including Gibbs, we need someone inside to handle inquiries, searches, warrant requests and communications. The Intel analysts have been helping but I need you, your expertise, experience and intuition. I've got several agents on their way over the Atlantic but we need you to practice your electronic wizardry. Please?"

"Are the protocols to sign in here the same as at home?"

"Yes and your ID is active, I had IT double-check. You'll need to change your password." Vance tried not to let his sigh of relief escape.

"Yes, sir, I'm already in. There's a folder marked with today's date, is that it?"

"Yes and thank you, Special Agent McGee. I'm in MTAC, likely to be here all night, if you need anything, have questions, ping me here. When you find what Joel or Roger in Marseille are asking for, contact them directly, I'll send their cell numbers. You have to be anywhere tomorrow?"

"Uh, no. My siblings can cover the kids."

"All right, feels good to have you back, Tim, even if it's temporary. If you'll send me a sitrep before you log off, that'll be fine."

Tim acknowledged that and disconnected, quickly accessing the tasks as outlined in the folder and prioritizing them.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In MTAC, everyone smiled when they heard the director thank McGee, glad to know he was involved.

Over the next two and a half, nearly three days, Tim took time away from his office and work only to eat, drink, kiss the kids goodnight and answer nature's call. Within a few minutes of starting his first search, he swore he felt the old mojo flowing through his veins as he went diving into financial records and security footage to find locations, electronic evidence and facial recognition. At some point he found notices in his email from the British and French governments' versions of the U.S. State Department, authorizing him to do what he was already doing, searching every database he could get into for information. Warrants were requested, arrived and sent electronically to the Team Leads. There were 3 teams in the field, Gibbs' status had been changed to 'active' and given a team to work with.

Thursday, facial recognition, with help from Abby, brought identities to him. When Tim finally found locations for two of their persons of interest, he started to cheer before he remembered to look at the time. It was 0430 Friday morning. Immediately sending warrant requests, with copies to the appropriate government, Interpol and EU offices he'd been working with, he notified Joel Morris, Roger Martinez in Marseilles and Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

The warrants were in his inbox by 0630. In the meantime he'd grabbed a nap on the couch in his office. Sending them to the 3 team leaders, he looked through his task list for anything else that needed doing. Tackling the unfinished requests, he jumped when someone knocked on his office door. It was 0730 and Artie was standing there with his breakfast and a clean mug of coffee. She smiled at him, he looked like hell, his hair sticking up all over and wearing clothes she'd seen on him yesterday, but his eyes were bright and alert and he looked happy. With a grin, he said, "I'd kiss you but my breath would probably knock you out. Thanks for the food!" He started to say something else when his laptop chimed and he immediately turned away. She pulled the door shut and stood there, feeling somehow vindicated. This clearly was what he'd been meant to do and if she'd told him about their son all those years ago, he probably would have had to pass it up.

By 1000 Saturday morning, they had 8 suspects in custody and enough evidence, electronic and physical, to convict and keep them locked up for many years. Tim was online with MTAC as all the field teams reported in and he waved with a grin as Vance introduced him, thanking him for his help. After sending his final sitrep to Vance, he signed off and made a beeline for the shower. By the time he was clean, dressed in clean jammies, slippers and robe, he went downstairs to make breakfast for two as he'd had a text from Dad, who was on his way home. Rob was in the house and when Tim said Dad was on the train, his younger brother grabbed the keys for Big Blue, heading to the station to pick him up.

As Tim lifted the last of the bacon out of the skillet, he noticed the kids were there and tiptoeing around him. "Hi guys, gal! How about a hug?"

He chuckled as the four of them tackled him. "Oomph! Feels good!"

"Did you get all the bad guys, Daddy?"

"Yes, Kyle, they're all in jail."

"Yay!"

"Where's Grandpa?"

"On his way home, your uncle Rob went to pick him up at the station."

"Are you going to sleep all day?"

"I am and I imagine your grandfather will too. But first we'll eat. Would one of you please get the bread, butter and jam out? And put four slices of bread in the toaster?"

Andy grinned, "I'll do that, Papa."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"Can we ask you more questions about the bad guys?"

"You can ask but neither of us are allowed to talk about it."

Kyle looked puzzled, "Is that a rule?"

"Our rule, yes."

Now Greg was worried, "Papa, is it like before?"

"No, son, neither your grandfather or I are related to or know anyone connected to the case. However, it is like before because we can't talk about it with anyone that didn't work on the case."

"But you and Grandpa can talk about it?"

"With each other but not in front of you or anyone else."

"Oh good. I mean, that's okay, as long as you can talk to each other."

"That's right, Scooter bug. What have you got planned for today?"

"Mama and Aunty Sarah are taking us to the zoo. We're leaving soon so you can sleep."

"Ah, thanks, sweeties! We'll catch up tomorrow, how's that?"

"Okay."

"Andy, Greg, do you have homework to do?"

"Yes but we already did it."

"Attaboys!"

They were just gathering sweaters and a new-to-them double stroller Susannah bought from a co-worker when Big Blue pulled into the driveway and Grandpa and Uncle Rob got out. Grandpa smiled tiredly, giving the kids a wave, "Consider yourselves hugged and kissed but I'm smelly, haven't had a shower in a couple of days. Is Tim still awake?"

Artie smiled, "He's cooking breakfast for both of you."

"Thanks! See you tomorrow, kids, I'll probably sleep straight through."

Andy nodded, "That's what Papa told us, too."

Rob handed the keys to Artie; Sarah helped the kids in and then climbed into the front seat, laughing as Artie pulled the seat up and changed the mirrors. "So nice to have someone else who has to do that!"

His arm around his dad's waist, Rob got both of them into the kitchen before hurriedly excusing himself. Gibbs chuckled, "I stink."

Tim grinned as he kissed him. "You earned that stink! Welcome home, Boss, great job!"

"And to you, Special Agent McGee! Great job, couldn't have done it without you."

"Aw, you would have, just might have taken longer."

Gibbs snorted, "Yeah, weeks longer!"

They sat down to eat in silence, managing to get their dishes into the sink before the adrenaline crash started to hit. Tim walked his dad to his suite before nearly crawling upstairs. Once in his room, he wondered briefly if he was too tired to sleep. Until he laid down. He managed to kick his slippers off and then he was out.

He woke at 0253, hoping it was Sunday and not Monday morning, and decided he was starving. Rolling out of bed, he found his slippers before flipping the light on. And then smiled as he spotted a plate full of something on the table next to his big chair. It was a still warm roast beef sandwich, complete with his favorite horseradish, a slice of cheese, lettuce and a tomato slice, with carrot sticks, cookies and an apple piled next to it on the plate. Next to it was a travel mug full of coffee, a bottle of water next to it. He found a note under the plate, "Sandwich made at 0200, R says safe to eat until 0430. Lv S&R"

Tim grinned, his 2 older 'children' were taking care of him. He drank the water, knowing Dr. Rob would prefer he drink that rather than the coffee and tried not to inhale his sandwich. He enjoyed every delicious bite and then ate the carrot sticks. He drank the coffee while he ate his cookies. Satisfied, he brushed his teeth and went back to bed.

Downstairs, his father had much the same experience and the two decided later it was the scent of the roast beef and coffee that woke them. Gibbs too enjoyed his repast before going back to sleep.

By noon on Sunday, both men were awake, dressed and downstairs, catching up on several days of news. Andy had a perfect score on a math quiz, Greg was complimented on his reading skills, Kyle learned how to plant seeds and Marissa played with shapes! Susannah said she'd been busy at work, Rob worked on a surgical team, Artemis was 98% done with her project and Sarah wrote 18,000 words for her next book.

Tim smiled, "Welcome to the McGee-Gibbs household, now the McGee-Gibbs-Galanis household. I'd ask how your first week went, but everyone's here so it must have been okay. Thanks for keeping me and the kids fed, watered and getting them to school and home. Artie, thanks for the food you brought me the other night! Rob and Sarah, thanks for the food early this morning, I woke up just before 3:00 AM, starving and there was a lovely meal, complete with treats and drinks, waiting for me in my room! Dad says he had the same thing, well done!"

The three women and Rob smiled, "You're welcome! Thanks for keeping us safe from the bad guys!"

Susannah looked at Tim and Gibbs, "Is there anything you can share?"

They shook their heads and Rob explained, having heard this many times. "They're not allowed to talk about active cases with anyone that isn't also working the case. Anything that's said could cause the whole case to be thrown out of court and put bad guys back on the street."

Papa and Grandpa nodded without saying anything. Then Tim thought of something, "No one should even mention that I was working on it here at home. If you've already said something, that's okay, I didn't tell you, but don't do it again, please."

"How come, Papa?"

"Because bad guys could hear that and try to find out what I know and that would put all of you in danger."

"Oh, that's bad!"

Tim looked at his father, sister and Artie, "I'll ask our landlord for permission to install one of my alarms."

"Good idea."

Artie frowned, "What if one of us sets it off by accident?"

"We'll probably only use it at night, when we're all away or the kids and one adult are here by themselves. It'll ring to the local police."

Susannah had another question, "One of _your_ alarms?"

Tim blushed and his dad clapped him on the back. "He designed an alarm that's very efficient and easy to use. It's patented and I know he sells it online, not sure how."

"Independently, on Amazon and e-Bay. I depend on word of mouth, customer reviews and it does well on the market. Initially, people don't trust it because I have low expenses. I only do passive marketing online, which means the price is very inexpensive, a little over what each unit costs to make. Then they read the reviews, decide it's cheap enough to try it, they buy it and end up writing their own reviews. It has a 98% 5-star rating that's held for 6 years."

Artie smiled, "A man of many talents."

Dad frowned, thinking of the emails and Skype session that hadn't happened. "Did anyone call?"

Sarah nodded, "Ducky pinged us Thursday, I spoke with him, just general news. He said it took him a week and half to get through his jet lag but that it was totally worth it. And he wanted to know if we knew what dates we'll be there but I told him we hadn't made our reservations yet."

Tim yawned, "Guess we should do that soon."

Andy looked at his father, "Papa, when we go to Virginia, can we see where you used to work?"

Tim hesitated for a split second before nodding, inwardly wondering at his hesitation, hoping no one but his former boss noticed. He added, "We could do that."

Later, he wandered down to the basement where Dad was measuring a length of wood. Remaining quiet until the man finished, he sat on one of the stools. Finally his dad looked up, "Figure it out yet?"

"Nope, decided not to worry about it. I'm gonna send out an email about Andy, then we can Skype so they can meet him. And his mother, sister and aunt."

His father stopped what he was doing and looked at him for a long moment, "You're hesitant about introducing the women."

"Yeah. Don't want to make too much of them living here."

"Because of what we talked about before?"

Tim nodded before saying, "I can't think of any way to introduce Andy and not introduce the others. And he'd likely wonder why they weren't with him or mention it to them."

"Wow, you've got this knotted up pretty good – making too much of it, kiddo. Keep it simple. Introduce Andy and then Artemis, Marissa and Susannah. They're not going to ask any embarrassing questions or say anything embarrassing when the women are on camera with us."

When Tim gave his former boss an incredulous look, he shrugged. "Jimmy might. Or Abby…or Tony. Yeah, ok, I see your point."

Tim shook his head, chuckling. "But you're right, I am making this more complicated than it needs to be. I'll write them, ask them to keep their questions to themselves when we Skype; I'll answer them later – privately."

"See, simple!"

Rolling his eyes at the older man, Tim returned to the main level. The kids were in the backyard, playing ball with Rob, Sarah, Artie and Susannah. Deciding to join them after he wrote the email, he continued up to his office, noticing it really needed airing out after his marathon case work in there. Opening one of the windows, he sat at his laptop.

Forty-five minutes later, he was finally satisfied with what he'd written. The message said he'd recently discovered he had an 11-soon-to-be-12-year old son named Andy Galanis. The boy's mother was his college girlfriend, Artemis Galanis, whom he'd last seen in Seattle before he'd started FLETC. Andy, his mother, baby sister and aunt had been living in London and were now living with them in Brambury. He added what he hoped looked like a humorous note that Tony would have to find a different room next time he visited as 'the ladies' were now living in DiNozzo's 'old' room and that Sarah was thrilled to have other women in the house.

He explained that the women had moved in to avoid a complex, difficult situation and that he and Artemis had not resumed their relationship, their shared focus was on raising their son. He hoped his next point drove the message home, that there were a lot of issues to work out, especially why she'd kept his son from him. He added they'd have a Skype call in the near future but that he wanted to explain first to avoid any questions or comments embarrassing to Andy, Artemis or him during that call. He also mentioned that Andy would come home with them at Christmas and it was possible his mother and sister would join them.

Lastly, he proposed a Skype call for the following Saturday morning for those in the U.S. and afternoon in the UK. He attached the selfie photo he and Andy had taken on the steps of the British Museum two weeks ago as well as the photo Grandpa took of the 4 kids before school last week. He sent it to the extended family, including the Vances, Larry and Cyndi Porter and after much deliberation, Carly. Then he sat back, relieved. It was out there, people could take the news however they wanted.

He hadn't even left the office when his laptop chimed with an incoming Skype call from Ducky. He answered with a smile, "That was fast! Good morning, Ducky!"

"And a good afternoon to you, Tim. How are you?"

"Still a little tired from the marathon case last week but caught up on my sleep. And still somewhat in shock from the previous two weeks."

"I imagine. How did you find out? I thought if you told me, I could tell the others and lessen the risk of them asking indiscreet questions at an inopportune time despite your written plea."

"Thanks, that's been a concern." He told Ducky about Artemis' worry about Andy, Susannah's help with her nephew and niece and her impending move to Scotland.

"That's…well if it were me, I'd have mixed feelings."

"I do, believe me. Although Dad helped me see what her overall reasoning might have been, I'm still feeling ambivalent. What makes it even more difficult is that I love her, am still in love with her."

"Oh. Timothy, perhaps you should think about talking with a professional, at least to help you clarify your feelings."

"I've been thinking about that, too. Do you know anyone here, even someone I could ask for a referral?"

"Unfortunately, I do not. However, you have a physician of record, the doctor you saw when you arrived in the UK. As I remember, he also gave you your physical before starting at Bedford."

"Oh, geez! You're right, I forgot about him! I'm spoiled with my brother the doctor. I'll call him tomorrow, ask for a referral. Thank you!"

"Now, tell me about our boy. He looks like a young Greek version of you."

"He does. If you remember the photo in the kitchen at the shelter, he and I look a lot alike."

"Is he like you in temperament?"

"He's a bookworm and loves math and science, so as far as those aspects, yes and he, Greg and Kyle get along very well. He's also fairly quiet. I wasn't, not before we lost Patrick and Dad McGee. But I can see why he would be, most of his life he's been the only child of a woman who's locked into her work. And he's not quiet with me, during the first 5 minutes we spent together, he told he'd prayed I would come and then told me why."

"That's alarming! And what about his sister? From the photo with all the children, she's quite a bit younger."

"The same difference as between Sarah and me; she's a year and change younger than Kyle. Artemis met a guy in Australia and married him, she says mostly because he looks like me. They were transferred to London, she got pregnant, he apparently freaked out, wanted her to abort the baby and their divorce was final two days after Marissa was born. He does support the baby financially but doesn't want to be a father to her or anyone else."

"But Andy was with them before and after they were married? That's odd."

"I had the same reaction. Andy and I talked about it and then Artemis and I discussed it. There was nothing worrisome about his stepfather's actions toward him. They both said the guy mostly ignored him. Maybe he figured as a stepfather he wouldn't be responsible for Andy. And Andy wasn't a screaming baby either. You know some guys can't handle the idea of screaming kids and changing diapers, all the mess that comes with little ones." Tim took a deep breath, "Marissa is already calling me Papa."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I'm okay with it, after all I've been Timpa and Papa to four other kids who weren't originally mine, what's one more? What I don't know is what my boys are calling Artemis. And I'm a little worried about Andy taking heat because his mother is living with me and we're not married. As close to London as we are, Brambury is a small town and we're already oddities, being Yanks. Now here comes a boy who belongs to the strange Americans even if he doesn't look or talk like them."

Ducky made a noise, "Your life continues to be complicated, whether you seek it out or not! Don't forget it's a university town, has been for 500 years. And you're connected to the university, which gives you much more…I'll call it social leeway, than if you were employed elsewhere."

Liking that idea, Tim decided to stop worrying about it. With the Autumn term at the university beginning in 2 weeks, Tim's days were busy preparing for his classes and meeting with his Department Master and fellow professors.

The paternity claims Tim filed, with Artemis also signing them, meant that his name had been added to his son's birth certificate as Andy's father. They used the updated birth certificate and related documents to apply for a U.S. passport for the boy. He also applied for a Social Security card for Andy. Then, consulting with the family, he made reservations for the trip home in December, relieved when 9 of them traveling together meant a group discount.

He and Artemis spent Saturday with the children and each other, taking all four of them on a hike, complete with a picnic lunch. They planned the length and pace of the hike according to Kyle's abilities, knowing he'd want to walk all the way and they'd take the Daddy pack along for Marissa.

Determined to keep up with her brothers, the little girl did well but didn't fuss when Mama picked her up and put her on Papa's back. She rode until they found a sunny spot for lunch and spread out their blanket. After they ate, she fell asleep on the blanket, a daisy she'd picked still in her hand. The boys were allowed to roam, as long as they could still be seen and heard from the blanket. Kyle returned with a pocket full of pretty rocks, leaves and acorns for his papa and then sat down with them, eventually leaning into Tim as he too fell asleep.

Greg and Andy had a great time exploring on their own, imagining they were in Sherwood Forest and part of Robin Hood's Merry Men. Greg climbed a low branch of a tree and then jumped down to show Andy how to climb. Papa had taught him on a tree at their Cambridge house and now he and his new brother had a good time scrambling up and around the tree, an old oak with low, sturdy branches.

Artemis tried not to show her worry. but Tim took her hand. "Artie, they're kids and climbing trees is a wonderful thing to be able to do. That's a sturdy tree, those limbs aren't flimsy or rotten and the boys are well coordinated, they're not going to do anything stupid." He laughed, "You're such a city girl! Not every child has access to trees he or she can climb. Right now, I bet they're playing Robin Hood or pirates or something equally creative. It's so good for them, helps develop their coordination and muscles as well as their imaginations."

"Did you climb trees?"

"Oh yeah! In Japan, we lived off base and there were trees in our yard. I don't remember what they were but we climbed up them every chance we got – and we were only Kyle and Rissa's ages when we moved there. When we moved to San Diego, where Sarah was born, we had two trees, both in the backyard. Pat and I spent as much time up there as we could. It was our place to be free from our stepmother, get away from the baby when she wouldn't stop crying, tell each other stories, imagine we were sailing the ocean, escaping pirates, living on an island or hiding from the Sheriff of Nottingham. What did you do for fun when you were little?"

"Took things apart and put them back together again which infuriated my father and frustrated my mother. She used to make my sister and I dress up and have little tea parties with our dolls but neither of us liked dolls, dress up or tea. Well, almost; Susannah liked her dolls because they could be sick patients she'd take care of. She had a blue towel that she draped around her shoulders, like a nurse's cape. When we were older, we had to go to functions for the Diplomatic Corps and those were so boring. All dressed up, smiling politely and not laughing when you realized the old man in front of you was the one my father spent most of his time criticizing. My brother loved those, he'd chat up everyone, I'd be looking for something to deconstruct and Susannah would hide or stalk anyone with a cough or the sniffles."

Tim laughed so hard he woke both Rissa and Kyle. While they roamed around a bit, Artie took photos of the two little ones, hand in hand, looking at flowers, leaves and bugs. She nearly screamed when Kyle brought a cool bug back to show them, "Look, he rolls up into a ball!"

Rissa came running, saying she'd seen a butterfly. When Kyle ran back to her spot with her, their parents suddenly saw what looked like a little cloud of butterflies fluttering around the little ones. They watched their children who were mesmerized, turning in circles looking at the butterflies, Tim and Artie not even aware they were holding hands. At some point Artie reached over and pulled Tim's phone from his other hand, taking photos of their little ones surrounded by beautiful Red Admirals, Large White and Clouded Yellow butterflies. Tim whispered, "They should be migrating, this is very late for them."

Artie whispered back, "Lucky us!" The older boys saw the cloud of something moving around their siblings and came running back, slowing down when they got close. The butterflies had nearly all left by then, but there were enough that for a brief second, each of the children had a winged beauty perched on a finger.

After the butterflies were gone, the family packed up, stuffed the blanket back in the pack Artemis wore on her back and started off home. Tim thought later it was a turning point in their relationship, the first outing with just the four kids and the two of them, watching their kids bond and feeling the old ties between them reasserting themselves.

When it was time for the Skype call, Tim was feeling pretty mellow and hoped it would show. Andy was excited, Artie had been nervous but now she felt calmer, ready to meet the rest of Tim's family and friends. Taking pity on her, Sarah drew her a chart so she could see how everyone was attached, some through their lives at the camp and shelter, some through NCIS and of course the Porters through MIT. Although she'd never met the 'guys' as Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose had been known since the McGees first met them, she remembered some of Tim's stories and looked forward to meeting them. She was grateful the Porters would be there, 2 people she knew and liked and who knew and liked her. She knew who Lu was and of course Nate and Juanita although those two would not be on the Skype call.

She'd seen photos of everyone else, all the NCIS'ers and the friend of Jethro's from the FBI. And apparently his daughter. She was a little unclear if Jethro's boss, the head of the agency, would be on with them but decided not to worry about it. Although it was nice, and she thought unusual, that he and his family were considered extended family.

Tim hooked his laptop up to the big screen TV so they could see better. The first one on was Ducky and he smiled at all of them. "That's a lovely image. Hello children! Andy, Marissa, I'm your Granducky. My nickname is Ducky and so instead of grandfather, I'm Granducky. Greg, Kyle, Rob, Sarah, Timothy, my dears, you look wonderful! And of course you too, old friend." Gibbs grinned at him, glad for his friend's gift of gab. He could see now that this would be an easy call. Tim was more relaxed than he'd seen him since Greece and Artemis seemed mellower too.

Tim introduced Ducky to Artemis and Susannah and he graciously greeted them. While they chatted, two more windows popped open and they stopped to greet the Porters, Lu and all four of the guys. Tony, Abby, Ellie and the Palmers with baby Victoria all arrived at Ducky's at once and it took some time to get them straightened out and introduced. The Porters had met Lu and the guys at Sarah and Rob's graduations, Tony and Tobias after the attack last spring and now were introduced to the others. After everyone seemed to be there, Tim introduced Andy, Artemis, Susannah and Marissa. Andy was happy, he already liked everyone he'd met, they were funny and nice. Susannah was also happy, pleased to know that she was leaving her sister and family in good company. Not that she had any doubts about Tim or the others, but it was good to know that the circle of family and friends was a strong one even as it expanded.

In the U.S., Tony, Ellie and Jimmy - and the Porters - couldn't stop looking at Artemis and then back at Abby. Abby didn't notice, she was busy talking butterflies with the kids as they talked about their hike and picnic lunch earlier that day. Breena finally leaned over, told Jimmy to knock it off and to tell the others.

In the UK, Susannah noticed similarities between the dark-haired woman with the goth attire and her sister and also noticed the seeming fascination with Artie that Tim's friends were exhibiting, including the people from MIT. She smiled when one of the women, the one with the baby, leaned over and said something to her husband. Whatever she said, he passed it along and the others stopped gawking as did the two on their own screen.

Then more people entered the screen at Ducky's, the Fornells, and they were introduced. The girl, who was a teenager, smiled at the kids. "Hi, we're not related but then none of us on this side of the picture are. Except for the Palmers, the baby is theirs! However, we consider ourselves family and that means I'm your older cousin."

Kyle remembered her from Christmas and cheered when Emily said she'd be there again. Marissa was happy if Andy and the others were happy and cheered along with Kyle. They were all talking again when three more people walked in and waved hello, the Vances.

Emily laughed, "I forgot to tell you, you have 3 older cousins!" Kayla and Jared grinned, waving and the boys and Marissa waved back. Vance was introduced as the director of the agency and chuckled when Gibbs added, "We like him anyway. He's really a pretty good boss, just don't let him know I said so!"

They all laughed at that and he said something to each of the new people. Then there was movement in the shelter window, Tim hadn't realized that's where Lu and the guys were, in her office at the shelter, and suddenly Nate appeared. In unison, Tim, Sarah and Rob yelled, "Nate!"

He grinned, "Howdy, Timmo, Sari, Robbie, Jethro, glad to see you. And I see you've gathered more family, congratulations! Hello to you, my name is Nathaniel Eastman and I run the camp where the McGees and this bunch," he turned to include the guys, "grew up, along with Geordie, who we're missing today. I'm thankful the boys could make this happen at Ms. Lu's shelter so I could see you all."

He peered at the screen, "Ms. Artemis, are you the same Artie from MIT?"

"Yes, I am, Nate, and I'm happy to finally meet you!"

"Likewise! And you and my Timmo have a boy together, no, don't tell me, I know exactly who he is. Has your coloring and his daddy's features. Hello, Andy. I met Greg and Kyle last year, now I'm glad to meet you. And is that your little sister?"

"Yes sir, her name is Marissa."

"Oh, that's a pretty name. I'll have to tell my sister Juanita, she collects pretty girl names. Now I don't want to monopolize the conversation, just had to say hello! One more quick thing, are all of you coming to see us?"

Gibbs nodded, "We'll be there, Nate, as many as we can fit in the car. Let us know what might need fixing before we get there, I know the guys take care of things but you know, let us do something to help while we're home."

"Be happy to do that, Jethro, thanks."

Vance was beaming at them and Tim smiled back, it felt so good to see all of them and for this to be a happy occasion rather than the stress of last year and earlier this year. Forgetting they were still on screen, he turned, sending a look to Artie that made her blush.

In the UK, the kids smiled, they liked that their parents were happy with each other. Gibbs relaxed some more, pleased that Tim was so happy. Sarah and Rob were also pleased, Rob that his brother was so happy and Sarah also hoping this meant she'd finally have a sister.

In the US, Tim's family were thrilled to see him so happy after the events of the past. While Tony had a passing thought that he hoped Tim wasn't jumping in too soon, he dismissed it, Dad Gibbs would be watching and set him straight. Ellie was glad and a bit envious at her friend's obvious happiness. Jimmy and Breena were happy for Tim and also happy at the prospect of eventually having another married couple in the family. And with children, even better! Ducky wanted to wrap his arms around all of them and contented himself with a reminder of how many days it would be until they were home for Christmas.

As happy as the guys were to see their friends and meet the new family, they were also happy because one of their own had found love. While Jose and his girlfriend were still dating and slowly getting more serious, none of them had yet made any lasting romantic commitments, with the hopeful exception of Tim. They just wished Geordie was there.

When Bill said that, Tim nodded. "I know, it's been so long and he's missing so much of our lives. But he's doing what he always wanted to do, just like the rest of us."

They nodded, none of them noticing the look Vance sent Gibbs. He couldn't do an eyebrow rub because he was sure Sarah, Rob and maybe Greg knew about that little code. Gibbs gave him a half smile and turned to see Ducky raise an eyebrow. He just smiled, glad Tony hadn't seen the exchange. DiNozzo was trying to memorize his family's faces and voices, he missed them more than ever now, after spending two weeks with them. He blinked, realizing he was near tears. Tim caught that and sent him a series of gestures and movements that told him he was also loved and missed and would be hugged without mercy when they got home. That made DiNozzo laugh and those who'd understood any part of the gestures, smiled.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Eventually, the Skype call came to a close. They all said goodbye and that they'd see each other, except for Susannah, in approximately 88 days.

At the shelter, Lu looked at Nate, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled, "Yes 'm, looks like the first of our chicks has found his mate. About time!" He turned to the others, "Any of you know what Tim was doing with his eyebrows, face and hands?"

Barry nodded, "He was telling Tony something. He'd looked kind of upset and whatever Tim said made him cheer up."

"Good for him, then. Reminded me of a coach at a baseball game, giving signals."

The others nodded as Bill explained about the nonverbal language Tim had learned on Gibbs' team. "Gibbs doesn't like to talk much or listen to anyone else talk – not at work anyway, so they learned to get messages across to each other – and him – with their facial and hand gestures. It's fun to watch and try to figure out. The two of them did a whole conversation for us once and then told us what they'd said."

Barry said, "Theirs is pretty elaborate but it's not uncommon among law enforcement, fire fighters and I suppose anyone who works as part of a team and has to get information to the others fast and without other people necessarily knowing."

"You're right, that is pretty handy."

At Ducky's, the group chatted amongst themselves once they were off. They were having lunch here so no one was in a hurry to leave. Ducky cornered Tony, "Are you all right? I understood some of the gestures Tim was making."

"I miss him, I miss Gibbs, I miss us, Ducky. It's weird but spending those 2 weeks with them made me miss them even more when we got back. I was feeling down for a minute and Tim caught on, that's all."

Ducky nodded, giving his shoulder a pat. "I miss them too, personally, and what we were together, the team. But your team is doing splendidly, you should be proud."

"I am, just sad and proud." DiNozzo was distracted now, watching Abby walk up the stairs, probably to the bathroom. He looked around, spotting Ellie and Jimmy, "Wow, that was an eye-opener, wasn't it?" The other two nodded and Breena joined them. "It was but geez you guys, I felt sorry for Artemis, you guys were gawking!"

Kayla giggled, "So were the people from MIT."

Tony shook his head, "You don't understand, this changes _everything_."

Behind him, Vance muttered, "Keep your voice down, DiNozzo."

Tony nodded, nearly whispering, "We've thought, all this time, that McGee fell for Abby's voice and then the rest of her and he's been pining for her since they broke up." The others nodded and Tony continued, "But it wasn't her he was pining for or that he was drawn to in the first place, it was Artemis! Had to be! Think of it, they'd just seen each other in Seattle the year before and then he hears a voice like hers. No wonder he was so rabid about Abby. And we thought he was hopeless, all these years, but it was the Greek girl in his heart."

He stopped abruptly, asking Breena a question about Victoria. She replied quickly, realizing Abby must be returning. She did think it was odd, although a great compliment, that Tony turned to her, counting on her to figure it out and follow the change of topic without question. You'd think he would have gone to Ellie or Ducky.

Ducky headed into the kitchen, Kayla and Emily behind him chatting about Tim's family and how cute the kids were. He chuckled at the teen girls, admiring the youngsters, especially the two little ones. He turned to them, "You both have wonderful goals to achieve, I'm sure your fathers would tell you, no babies until you're absolutely ready." He considered for a second before continuing. "When Artemis found she was pregnant, she was devastated and had to change her entire life plan. And then plan around her child so that she could support him."

"Why didn't she tell Tim?"

Hearing the question repeated, Ducky looked up to see Tony, Ellie, Jared, Abby and Vance crowded outside the kitchen doorway. He sighed, "Remember they met when he was still a teenager, he was 18 and she was 16, a child prodigy as he was. He, Sarah and Rob had just left the camp and were renting a room at Mrs. Ferguson's, the first place they lived, the first roof over their heads, that they could come home to every night, in 9 years, most of Sarah and Rob's lives. The two of them were 12 and 11, I believe, and would be in Tim's care for several more years. But he eventually figured it out. He'd be at MIT long enough to earn his Masters and his Doctorate. By that time, the kids would be in high school and more self reliant. He'd apply to FLETC and if accepted, he'd leave them with Mrs. Ferguson or the Porters for the weeks he'd be gone. When he was hired, they'd find a studio apartment and live quite happily until the kids turned 18 or left for college.

"Artemis knew all this, she and Tim talked about their dreams, goals and aspirations frequently. She knew Sarah and Rob quite well, as well as Mrs. Ferguson and of course the Porters when they became friends and mentors to Tim. She knew it all. She knew all the horrible things that had happened to Tim, knew the lives they'd had to lead. Years later, when she found she was pregnant, she decided that it was bad enough she had to change her dreams, she did not want to do that to Tim, not after everything he'd been through. Think of it, he would have had to give up his dream of being a federal agent to help other families. He would probably have gotten a job in the tech industry, married Artemis and raised Andy. Yes, he undoubtedly would have made more money, but the tech world was not his dream. She wasn't willing to let him pay the cost, she felt it was too much. And she was afraid, deeply afraid on several levels and that fear has never left her.

"And yes, I believe this. I've known about Artie for years, Tim never stopped loving her, never fell out of love with her, no matter how he tried. Everything he's ever told me about her, all the stories, all agree with her motives for not telling Tim. Much of it was motivated by fear. Fear of what it would do to Tim and many other consequences and because Artemis has a very controlling, traditional father who, from what Tim says Susannah has told him, is difficult and controlling on his good days.

"That belief and the fear has been with her until recently when she realized she needed help with Andy. She was greatly concerned about him, he'd become silent and withdrawn, not angry but sliding into depression and changed enough that she became frightened and decided it was bigger than she could handle by herself. And I suppose she considered Tim something of an expert as raising his sister was in no way easy. And that will not be repeated to anyone!"

Breena blinked in surprise, remembering the conversation last Christmas and wondering if she'd been wrong about Sarah not being understood because she was the only girl.

Ducky looked around, "Does that help?"

"Why didn't he tell us that?"

"Have you forgotten how private Timothy is?"

There were slow nods as his former team remembered how much it'd taken to reveal his past to them. Ellie smiled, "They were making eyes at each other toward the end."

Ducky smiled, "Yes, I saw that too. He was quite angry at first. Not with Andy, of course, but with his mother. As he's come to terms with her fears and her decisions, they seem to be reconnecting quite well."

There was a loud humph and Abby shook her head. "No, she's not his type."

When she was met with dead silence, Abby looked around, "You think she is?"

Breena sighed and handing Victoria to Jimmy, took Abby's hand. "Let's talk about that."

Abby frowned but allowed Breena to lead her to Ducky's library. Kayla shook her head, "That's not fair, Breena shouldn't have to do that!"

Ellie made a face, "She's the only one of us Abby will listen to about something this serious. Besides Gibbs and Ducky."

Ducky nodded, "And that is decidedly not something I'm willing to step into, Kayla."

Tony shook his head, "Wish I'd known. Wouldn't have given him such a bad time."

"All of which you've settled between you, Anthony. If he'd felt the need, he would have told you." Listening, Vance was glad to hear that the two had worked out their problems together. He knew their relationship had changed for the better over the years but he'd never known how it had happened, nor had he asked.

"You're right. Okay, Ducky, what can I do to help?"

Vance smiled as he joined his agents, Tobias, the kids and MEs to get their lunch ready. Tony and Fornell had collaborated on an Italian dish that was in the oven. Emily and Jared got the garlic bread going and slid that into the warming oven while Leon, Ellie and Kayla set the table. They set a place for Abby although Ellie quietly warned them that she might not stay, this would be a big and probably painful revelation for her. It had been difficult enough for her to break her habit of using Tim as an escort to concerts and clubs. To find out his attraction hadn't initially been to her but to his lost love would be a nasty blow to her pride. Vance found himself wishing Tim had told her and then thought about telling someone they were second best and winced.

Ducky and most of the others were in the kitchen or dining room when his phone rang. Answering it, he listened and then said, "I quite understand. Perhaps you'd join me for lunch after church tomorrow?"

He smiled at the response and then quietly shut the door from the kitchen to the living room. Breena came in a few minutes later, as they heard the front door shutting. Tony took Victoria as Jimmy gave his wife a long hug. "From all of us, thank you."

"She didn't believe there was a resemblance at all, until I showed her the photos on my phone. Tim sent us one this morning, their morning, from their hike and picnic. Artemis had her hair pulled up into a knot, like Abby wears her sometimes. That was enough." She exhaled, "I sent Tim a text."

"Good, thank you." Knowing he was allowed, he considered this woman his daughter-in-law, Ducky gently kissed her forehead. "Now, everyone, take a seat and let's remember we're here to celebrate our friend's new family and might I add, their safety. They'll be home in 88 days and before you know it, we'll have just one year left of the contract."

Vance smiled, "And then I'll start working on the once and future Agent McGee to consider moving home."

Tony stopped, he'd been dishing salad onto his plate and now he smiled happily at his boss. "That's wonderful! But how…"

"Not quite sure yet but the good news is I have 20 months to figure it out!"

They laughed at that, the adults in the crowd knowing how fast that time would go, the younger ones thinking that was forever.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In the UK, the family was putting dinner together. Susannah copied some of her favorite recipes for Tim and tonight's dinner was his first attempt. He'd set it up this morning, before their hike, in the slow cooker he'd found in the kitchen equipment. He just hoped it tasted as good as it smelled! Artemis and Sarah were making a salad and Rob was doing something with crescent rolls. Dessert was already waiting for them in the refrigerator.

When he got Breena's text, he had to sit down. Artie came to him and he handed her his phone. She nodded as she read it, "Is that the goth woman?"

"Yes. I never…my God, all these years, how could I have been so blind? And stupid."

"How was your relationship with her?"

"Fun at first. She was so eccentric. We dated off and on for several months, broke up about the time I transferred onto the team. After that, we were kind of friends, although I would classify myself more as an unwilling servant. Do you mind if we don't talk about this now? I don't want to spoil our happy buzz."

She laughed, "That's fine with me!" She added, "I did notice how much she resembles me. Although not in her style."

She kissed him when he turned a woebegone face to her and that cheered him immensely.

The weekend after that, Rob, Susannah, Artie and Sarah's boyfriend James managed to take time off, Susannah's boyfriend Ian joining them from Edinburgh, and the entire group traveled in Big Blue to Wrexham, Wales, where they'd take a boat trip on the Llangollen Canal, which is carried across the River Dee by the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Having read online reviews and tips, Sarah booked their boat trip across the aqueduct ahead of time, pleased to be given a group rate, but then there were 12 of them!

In Wrexham, they stayed in a hotel with family suites. Kyle and Greg stayed with Grandpa while Andy stayed with Papa and Uncle Rob, Marissa with Artemis and the two couples had their own rooms. On Saturday, they gathered their jackets and most comfortable walking shoes, Tim grabbed his ginger root and sea bands and off they went. The canal boats were very narrow and Tim was glad he'd worked on his fear of heights over the years. He'd keep his eyes straight ahead or behind and not look down. He just hoped none of the kids would be scared.

Artie was thrilled to be anywhere near the aqueduct, an engineering marvel built between 1795 and 1805. Originally built to carry goods across the River Dee and the wide valley, it was now used solely for leisure boating. That didn't diminish the astonishing engineering one bit. On the trip across, she was busy examining everything she could see while Andy and Greg were cautiously looking at the wonderful views, including the narrow walkway on one side, where donkeys had first towed the boats. On the other side of the aqueduct there was an iron railing and below that, nothing for 125 feet.

The kids loved it and the adults were fascinated. From what they heard, they were lucky there wasn't much boat traffic. Sarah and Tim had read that could slow things down considerably. They did move slowly enough to chat with the people walking along the towpath and Artie, Greg, Dad, James and Sarah got out and walked at various times. Andy wasn't interested and there was no way Tim would allow Kyle or Marissa on the towpath, they were too little for the hand rails to offer much protection from falling. Susannah didn't move the whole time and Tim noticed Ian had to occasionally switch the hand that was holding hers. When they reached the other side, they enjoyed the museum, the sweet shop built in a narrow boat and just walking around. Tim, Susannah, Ian and Andy again all sat on the towpath side going back and Ian's hands didn't seem quite so sore when they finally disembarked. When Tim said something, Ian smiled and showed him a tiny bottle of wine, empty.

Dad later told him how proud he was of him, knowing his fear of heights and his problems with boats. Andy said he hadn't known he had a fear of heights, that he'd been on the London Eye a few times and it hadn't bothered him. Tim hadn't had problems with it either and told Andy that he thought the London Eye provided a sense of security with the slowness of the ride and the enclosed cars as well as there being little noise. The aqueduct, on the other hand, was wide open to the elements.

Marissa and Kyle fell asleep on the drive back to Wrexham and Grandpa volunteered to stay with them if the others wanted to explore. Robbie stayed to nap and the two couples went shopping while Tim and Artie took Andy and Greg to a place called Techniquest, which had all kinds of fun and interactive science exhibits. The four of them had a great time, spending close to 4 hours in the place. They finally left when they got hungry. The littles were up and also hungry, they'd been to a wading pool with Grandpa and now were waiting for Uncle Rob who really needed to eat. Ian found a family friendly restaurant and the group reconvened there, enjoying their dinner after a fun and interesting day.

Sarah, James, Susannah and Ian took the kids for a hike the next day. Dad wanted to walk into town and Rob went with him. Tim and Artemis decided to see more of the countryside and ended up in Chester, a lovely town of half-timbered buildings. Tim and the family had been here over the summer, on their trip to York. Now he enjoyed showing Artie what he remembered and they had a great morning and early afternoon. Then it was back to Wrexham where they met for lunch before packing up the van and heading home. Once they got to Brambury, they said goodbye to Ian, taking him to the train station where he'd catch his train to Edinburgh. Tim liked him, almost as much as he liked James.

Tim's classes started shortly after their trip to Wales and once they did, Tim had little time to think of anyone or anything outside of his immediate family. October brought Marissa's second birthday and the toddler enjoyed her birthday parties, one at nursery with all her new friends, Mama, Grandpa, Kyle and her aunties. Papa even came in for a few minutes between his classes! Her family party was also fun as the whole family gathered. There were fun things to do, yummy cupcakes and lots of presents!

The rest of the month flew by. The boys had their half-term holiday, having fun with day trips around the area as Papa was working. Grandpa and Uncle Rob took all four of the kids and the double stroller on a day trip via train to Colchester, the ancient Roman capital of Britain, and had a wonderful time touring the castle, which had interactive activities such as trying on a toga. Other days, they visited the Natural History Museum, with special activities for the littles and the London History Museum Big Bus Tour. One day, Grandpa took them to the University to visit Papa's office and have lunch with him in the cafeteria.

Between their trips, they played in the backyard and Grandpa taught them to play softball. First they learned to catch the ball, straight throws, up in the air, however it was thrown they learned to catch it. Even Marissa got into it, chasing after the ball as it rolled to the back gate. Greg loved cracking the ball into the air while Andy loved catching it and getting it to Grandpa, Aunt Sarah or Mama to tag his brother out. Kyle was the speedster of the group, running from base to base when Grandpa told him to. When Papa got home from school, he played too, showing them some of the fielding tricks he'd learned. On Saturday, he, Grandpa, Uncle Rob and Aunt Sarah, both of whom had played softball during high school physical education, played together and the boys watched in awe. Tim thought that was funny; outside of MMORPGS, no one had ever watched him play anything in awe.

At the end of the month, they said a sad goodbye to Susannah, who promised to return to visit, just as they planned to visit her and Ian. Although they all missed her, it hit Marissa and Andy the hardest. She'd been their aunt, mother, cook, housekeeper, everything before they moved here. Andy understood that she had a right to live her own life and he really liked Ian but he still missed her. Artemis also missed her sister but had experienced living apart from her before and knew they'd remain close. Finished with her work, she relaxed for a few days before starting to take a more active role in the family and around the house.

Gibbs came up from his basement late one morning, planning to vacuum the main level and heard the vacuum buzzing away in the living room. He smiled as he saw it was Artie. That was good, the adults in this house each needed to pull their weight and although she was wonderful with the children, he didn't think she'd done much else. Of course, he had seen her with laundry more than once and she'd gotten into the habit of working with Sarah to clean up after meals. He huffed at himself, for all he knew, she'd been doing all the cleaning upstairs.

While he liked her, he was still a little wary of her. And he thought she knew of his wariness and respected it. He guessed she understood he was looking out for Tim and might be happy that he finally had someone to do that. By the time his son finally got around to putting a ring on her finger, and Gibbs hoped that would happen, he and Artie would be fine with each other. He thought about rings, wishing he had the jewelry his father willed him, here with him. If they waited until Christmas, he could get the box of family treasures from his safe deposit box.

He sighed as he thought again about Abby. From what Ducky and Tony said, she'd been a little depressed since she'd met Artemis and the kids on Skype. Tim showed him Breena's message, telling him he'd never consciously realized why he was so attracted to Abby. Gibbs could understand that, most young men wouldn't stop to analyze why they felt a certain way about a pretty girl. And as the years went on, Abby was the woman Tim saw nearly every day, not Artie. Geez, even their names!

He knew Tim wrote her a note, telling her he hadn't realized. He hadn't known if he should apologize because he hadn't done anything consciously to hurt her. In the deepest recesses of his mind, Gibbs thought the revelation had somewhat evened the score between the two, considering Abby's poor treatment of Tim, although he would never say that to anyone!

In any event, Gibbs reached out to her, making plans to spend time together during Christmas vacation. He thought he'd pick her up and they'd go do something father-daughter-ish. When he realized he had no idea what fathers and grown daughters might do, he asked Fornell who asked Emily who wasn't quite grown but understood the question.

She passed along some suggestions and Gibbs was thinking about them. They ranged from bourbon, beer or wine tasting, car show/racing, a meal out at a nice restaurant – Emily added it should be somewhere besides the diner – skiing, fishing, sailing, going to a concert together or volunteering at a shelter/soup kitchen. Bourbon or beer tasting would be fun as long as neither of them were driving. Gibbs thought brunch out would be a good idea, although he might hold onto that for all of his adult kids and include Ellie if she was around at Christmas.

He'd worked with Abby on several Habitat for Humanity projects and volunteering for that or a shelter/soup kitchen sounded good. It was too cold for fishing and he couldn't see them ice fishing, but he'd keep that in mind if/when they came home in the spring or summer. And she could help him distribute the toys he was making, yeah, she'd like that. He'd be finished by Tim's birthday and planned to ship half of them to his place, the other half would go to a children's hospital in London. He had Kyle's preschool teacher to thank for the information on that. And he'd have to remember to warn DiNozzo about the toys arriving in Alexandria.

He sent a note to Abby listing the things he thought sounded like fun: brunch out, bourbon and/or beer tasting, a car show, a Christmas music sing-along, volunteering at a shelter and a few other ideas he'd had. He asked her to pick her 3 favorites. He figured out how to ask Google for car shows around DC during December and was happy to find one that ran from December 19th through the 30th. The schedule would be tight but doable. He printed out the information and tucked it away.

While he was doing that, his mind would occasionally return to his thoughts about Artemis and he realized they didn't know each other very well. One Friday when Tim and the kids were at school or the nursery and Sarah was busy, he asked Artie if she'd like to have lunch out with him. Smiling, she agreed and they walked to a local pub that had pretty good food.

He had a good time getting to know her better although when he thought about it later, he'd done most of the talking. Strange for him but then it made sense, considering her father, that she was experienced in deflecting attention. While they drank their beer, he asked her about her projects and smiled to himself as her face lit up when she talked about her work. He knew she and Tim talked about their work but he hadn't given much thought to asking her himself. Now he was glad he had.

Eventually she turned the tables on him, telling him she didn't know much about him. She knew he'd lost his mother as a young teen and his father fairly recently, he was a Marine, a highly respected criminal investigator, he'd lost his first family, he'd been Tim's boss for many years and that until the last few years it hadn't been an easy relationship. He chuckled when she said that. "He left out a few facts. I've been married four times. After Shannon and Kelly died, I married three women, in succession, each of whom reminded me of Shannon in some way. After my 3rd divorce, I decided that was enough! Now I date casually, but I won't let myself get serious again, I'm not hurting another innocent woman.

"And yeah, when Tim first joined my team, I was a hard-ass. Not much for socializing, impatient with a short fuse. He's tech, I'm old-school and hated electronics but liked the results he could get me, faster and more thorough than the old way. His work was great, but I had nothing good to say about how he got it done. Over time, he learned more about being a field agent, on his own time he worked hard to improve his shooting and observational skills and that meant something to me, reminded me why I'd brought him on the team. He gained confidence and I learned to listen. I'd say things started to change several years ago when we lost a former teammate.

"She'd been working for an agency in another country after she left us. We were told she'd died on a ship that sank in a storm in a remote area of the world. When Abby got the details, you know she's our forensic scientist?" Artemis nodded and he continued. "She and McGee worked together on their computers to recreate the storm and the ship sinking. And discovered that there'd been no storm anywhere near the coordinates we were given, not in several days on either side of the day we were told and that even if the storm had been real, it would not have sunk the ship the way we'd been told.

"We did some careful digging and found she'd really been after a terrorist cell in a hostile country and had ended up by herself, her team having fallen off along the way. We'd been a family, she'd worked with us for several years, and Tim, Tony, Ducky, Jimmy, Abby and I were grieving hard. The boys, that's Tony and Tim – Tony was my second in command – worked with Abby and came up with a way to find the terrorist cell.

"Then they decided to take it on, our friend's last mission. We were all involved, along with some specialized folks. The boys found the cell and then discovered our girl there, still alive after being held by the terrorists for four months. We all got out but Tim was hurt worse than the medics thought. We almost lost him but he's too stubborn and tough to give up. From my perspective, that started to change things. I saw more of what he was made of, beyond what we'd taught him. He was with us in the field more after that and that also gave me more insight into his character. But you know, I never read his file until last year! Knew about his education, that he was a Navy brat and we'd met Sarah on a case. Had no idea he'd raised her by himself or took in another baby and raised him, that he had a Marine brother, that they all grew up on the street or about…you know about his back?"

She nodded and he continued, "Or about that. Or Lu, the guys and Nate, none of that. Not until Greg and Kyle's mother went missing and Lu called to tell Tim about her and also told us their father was in a coma at a local military hospital. I was there, Artie, when Tim first saw Patrick and recognized him." Briefly he told her about Tim's reaction and the consequences.

"A few months before that, McGee and I went on a mission to retrieve one of our guys from a unfriendly country. Things got dicey and we each saved the other's life before Tony got us out. There were some scary moments and I remember thinking I wanted him to get home, wanted him to be safe, to go on. And then he says the same thing to me! That's when we first verbalized things. Then we met the Harts, Greg and Kyle's real surname, and he was devastated to find Patrick alive but not alive and the sister-in-law he never met murdered – and he was the logical choice to take the kids.

"He and the kids moved in with me but then things went bad and they had to move out and we weren't allowed to communicate. He finally wrote me a letter telling me about the job at MIT and gave me the Porters' address and phone number. I called them, explained who I was and that I wanted to surprise him at Thanksgiving, in November."

Gibbs shook his head, "Hard to believe that isn't even a year ago. After Tim and the boys left for Cambridge, I asked the Porters if they would give me Rob's number, I'd read the file by then, and they did, after asking his permission. Rob and I talked a few times, exchanging news of Tim and ultimately he joined me to surprise Tim at Thanksgiving."

He chuckled, "He called to ask what my flight number was, he had unexpected time off work and hoped we could travel on the same flight. I told him I'd decided to drive and asked him to join me. That was the first time we'd met in person, when I picked him up at his apartment for the drive to Massachusetts. I'd seen him a few weeks before, at Kathy Hart's funeral, but only from a distance as Tim and the boys were surrounded by Sarah, Rob, Lu and the guys that day. And then they left before the reception and Sarah and Rob didn't speak to anyone from NCIS or the Navy. Lu, Mrs. Hoover and the guys handled everything."

He stopped at her frown and she asked, "Who is Mrs. Hoover?"

"The school secretary who helped Tim and the kids."

"Ah, of course! I don't think I've ever heard her full name. Tim and the kids, that is Sarah and Rob, always referred to her as Mrs. H."

Gibbs looked at her, "Artie, Rob, Tim, even the guys have made a few comments about Sarah's behavior when she was growing up. Was it really that bad?"

She tilted her head, "Yes. I was there for parts of it and the rest Tim and Rob told me in confidence. I helped when I could as did the Porters and I think Lu also helped when they were in Baltimore. I will just say that from the moment Sarah became Tim's charge, she was a hellion, putting her brother through hell for all of her childhood. The only way she didn't defy him was to stay in school and Tim credits Geordie with that."

"She seems so calm now, although I know she has a temper. It's hard to imagine." He told her about Sarah's outburst at Director Vance over the summer.

He nodded at the look on Artie's face. After hesitating a moment, she said, "There was an incident that apparently shocked or frightened her enough to change her attitude and grow up. That occurred in 1999, shortly before my father ordered me to move to Japan with them. When I saw Tim in Seattle a few years later, he said Sarah was better and about to enter college. That surprised me as I didn't think her grades would have been that good. She's smart but never applied herself in school, at least when I'd known her. He's never said anything about this, but I know that Sarah won a full-ride scholarship from a sponsor whose identity is a bit unclear, it's called "Pay It Forward". I've often wondered if the scholarship was set up by Gemcity as by then he'd already written 2 bestsellers in addition to the Zubin Cai books. Scholarships from that sponsor have been awarded to other students."

Gibbs beamed, "That sounds just like our Tim."

"Jethro, I'm glad we're talking like this. Although the core of Tim is the same, he has changed significantly since I last saw him. Of course, neither of us is the naïve, dreamer we once were, that's to be expected. He's much more confident," she smiled, "did you know he interrogated me that first day?"

"Yes and I was proud of him for that."

"I was actually encouraged. I knew I was standing…walking? on ice? Is that right?"

"Walking on thin ice."

"Thank you, that makes sense. I knew that but I was so anxious for Jason, I hadn't even thought much about the consequences of Susannah moving away. I just knew he needed Tim." She took a breath, "I told Tim this the other day, but I was so frightened for Ja…Andy that I would not have fought Tim having full custody if it would help him. I had faith that Marissa and I would be allowed to see him. Then he invited us to lunch and the next day he brought me flowers and Greek pastries! I didn't know what to think."

Gibbs nodded, asking about her parents. She sighed, "I've written them a letter, although I haven't mailed it yet, telling them what happened and that we were moving in with him and his family, emphasizing the large house and separate rooms. That will not appease my father, I've warned Tim he'll likely be quite belligerent."

Gibbs tilted his head, "Haven't met the man but I have some issues with him. However, from a father's perspective, I can understand his being upset. First, his underage daughter goes off to college and takes up with a homeless American boy with 2 kids and not a drop of Greek blood, in fact he has no idea what his background is, who his people are or were. Tim says your family tree goes back more than seven hundred years. Finally, your father is successful in removing you from the relationship by ordering you to move to Japan. A few years later you present him with a half American grandson with no husband – or father in sight. And it's the same homeless guy. No matter how much you reassure him that Tim is no longer homeless, has an apartment and a job that fully supports him, he's always going to be that homeless guy.

"And then, sorry to say this but from his perspective, you finally marry someone to provide a home and more importantly, a name for your illegitimate son. Seeing the guy's photo and his resemblance to Tim must have made your father's teeth grind! But the new son-in-law isn't interested in being a papa to his stepson or in sharing his name with him. Even worse, he takes off and you're pregnant, again without a husband or father for either child. I'm sure that sounds hopelessly old-fashioned to you and I guess it is, but to me, it's a dad thing."

She tilted her head, giving him that.

Gibbs continued, "So I could understand his being upset, but I do not agree with how he's handled things. I'd say it's none of my business but you're the mother of my oldest grandson and for all intents and purposes my daughter-in-law so I'm giving myself a little business in this. First, the order to move to Japan. Now that's control, you were of legal age by that time and could have said no. I'm guessing he was pleased when you obeyed him. Second was your need to leave your parents after your miscarriage and before you figured out you were still pregnant. That was a smart move.

"Artie, I feel badly that you couldn't even tell your mother about the miscarriage, and I can't imagine the pain of going through that alone. We, Shannon and I, had a miscarriage 11 weeks into our first trimester, almost 2 years after we had Kelly. It knocked us both on our butts.

"Now, I'm not the best parent in the world. Little rusty at it and getting back into shape and Tim hasn't been a son to anyone since he was younger than Andy so between the two of us, we're muddling through. But I will try to be a more understanding father to you, even if it is father-in-law, than you've had before. And who knows, maybe your father will figure it out and start treasuring you instead of his rigid beliefs."

Artie smiled and gave him a little cheek kiss, thanking him. By this time, they'd eaten their lunches and strolled home, still talking. Jethro had an idea he'd run past Tim, something that might help his standing with his father-in-law.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When the kids were asleep that night, Tim sat down next to his dad on the living room couch. "Ok, what's up?"

Dad chuckled, "You're as bad as I am."

"Thank you. So?"

"Artie and I had lunch out together today, got to know each other a little better. And I had an idea, but first let me ask you a question." Gibbs looked around and Tim smiled, "Artie's upstairs, taking a bubble bath. And Sarah's got her headset on, writing."

"All right, I guess this is nosy but there's a reason. Do you have an idea when you're going to pop the question?"

Tim grinned, "Just a matter of what minute of which day. Tell you the truth, she showed me the letter she wrote her parents, the one she hasn't mailed yet and I think we'd better be engaged before her father shows up."

Dad returned the grin, "I was thinking that, too. The other thing and I know we both said we didn't need this, but I think it would give you some status in his eyes – and like it or not, you're going to be stuck with him."

"Dad?"

"Let me legally adopt you. All of you, if Sarah and Rob also want in. That will give you a father and a family. You'll be a Gibbs. And I really like the idea."

Tim opened his mouth, closed it and then smiled although his eyes were full of tears. "Thank you, yes."

"Don't thank me! You, Tony, Abby and Ziva are the ones who helped pull my head out of my ass. You went the distance first and I couldn't love you more if you were my biological son."

Tim snuffled as he and his dad embraced. "I know Sarah and Rob will want in."

"Good! I'll ask each of them. The other thing you might consider is having your DNA tested, not through the labs again, but those companies that do them now. It would give you some sense of who your family is or was. I'm not saying you have to contact anyone. You could do like Ducky did and build a family tree. Sarah says there are ways of keeping your information private."

Tim tilted his head, "Yeah, it's a good idea for a lot of reasons and will be interesting to do. Andy and Greg might even want to help with the family tree. I'll think about it. As for Artie, I'd like to wait until my birthday to propose, hoping the two of us can have dinner out and then I'll ask her. But I haven't found _the_ ring yet."

Dad snorted, "I remember looking in jewelry stores everywhere I went to find the ring for Shannon. My dad even offered my mother's but at the time I thought that was creepy. I have our family rings now, but they're in my safety deposit box at the bank in Alexandria."

Tim grinned at him, "I have my school ring, from MIT, here with me! That'll do until we find one she likes. And maybe antique stores, not jewelry stores! It'll be a heritage ring even if it's not our heritage." He leaned over and kissed his father, "Thank you!" He jumped up and then leaned over to say, "That letter, when's it finally mailed, will have the news of our betrothal and the date of our wedding, whether her parents choose to attend or not. I'm hoping we can have it at Ducky's over Christmas, he's still an internet ordained minister, you know. And then maybe another one here so Susannah and Ian can come. And as soon as possible, I'm going to write the ex-husband and ask to adopt Marissa. That'll relieve him of financial support and eliminate the possibility of him changing his mind and showing up wanting his daughter."

Gibbs shook his head in amusement, at the plan he was sure Tim had been working on since the day he'd seen Artie in the bookstore. "Go to it, Elf Lord!"

Tim ran up the stairs and disappeared into his office. Sending a text to Artie, he received a quick response, "Yes, I'm still awake."

"Join me in the library?"

"Need 5 minutes."

Grabbing his MIT ring, he stuffed it in his pocket and then flew into his room, to the bathroom, brushing his teeth, combing his hair and straightening his shirt. Then he hurried down the hall to the library, smiling as he opened the door. She was in her robe and slippers and her hair was in a pony tail, secured by one of Marissa's hair scrunchies. He walked up to her and then got down on one knee, "Artemis Helene Christina Galanis, will you marry me? Be my wife, my partner, my lover, the mother of my children for the rest of our lives?"

She smiled, "Timothy Sean Farragut McGee, yes, I will marry you and do all that!"

He pulled out his MIT ring. "Will this do until we find a ring you like?"

"Yes, my love!" She put it on her thumb and they both laughed.

They sealed their engagement with a deep kiss, only parting when they needed air. Tim grinned, "I want to wake everyone up and tell them!"

"Oh, I think it will be more fun to make them wait. That gives us more time to ourselves."

"Smart woman!" Tim kissed her again and then willingly followed as she pulled him toward the door, turning toward her room.

Saturday morning, Dad was up early, having a feeling they wouldn't see 'Papa and Mama' quite as early as usual. Hearing the boys, he went upstairs to help them and found Marissa awake too. He chuckled to himself when he noticed the door to Tim's bedroom open and the light on, likely on all night. He changed Rissa and they followed the boys downstairs. He made pancakes and eggs for breakfast and when he served them, Andy frowned, "Where are Mama and Papa?"

"Having some time to themselves this morning, son. I thought we could get dressed and go for a walk, see if the butterflies are still around."

Everyone liked that idea and when Sarah appeared, she said she needed a break and would come with them. Grandpa packed a lunch and juice boxes, stuffing a blanket in the pack and then retrieved the Daddy pack for Rissa. She smiled at him and thanked him, per Kyle. Grandpa hadn't yet caught on to Rissa's toddler speak. They took notepads and colored pencils to draw flowers or butterflies, Sarah brought her camera and they had bags for flowers and leaves. Leaving a note for Tim and Artie, off they went.

When the newly engaged couple finally emerged from their love nest, it was to a silent house. They were starving, otherwise they might have turned back into the bedroom. They found the note in the kitchen, with pancake batter in the refrigerator. Tim made breakfast while Artemis made coffee and poured orange juice for both of them. She smiled, "We need iron, to keep up our strength."

Tim agreed, kissing her. By the time the family returned, they'd showered and dressed, managing to keep their hands off each other for two hours. Well, an hour really, because there was a kiss and then…well, almost an hour.

When the kids came in, they headed for their parents. Andy stopped just as he reached them, "Something's different."

Papa smiled, "Yes, son, something is different. Kids, Sarah, Dad, Artemis and I are getting married." He held up Artie's hand with the enormous MIT ring and Sarah laughed, "Need to do some shopping?"

Artie grinned at her, "Eventually, but this will do for now."

Dad kissed them both, "Congratulations! Set the date yet?" Artemis gave him a look and he laughed. "I had an hunch this might happen."

Tim said, "We've decided to be married over Christmas, we hope at Ducky's because his library is big enough to hold everyone. And then another ceremony here so Susannah and Ian can come. And whoever else we invite."

Andy had a funny look on his face, "What about Yaya and our other pappous?"

"We'll let them know the dates of both ceremonies and they can pick which one to come to."

"Ok. Mama, is he going to be nice to Papa?"

Tim smiled and ruffled his hair, "Don't worry, Andyson. I'll have a talk with him and it'll be fine."

Andy looked at him with big eyes and then smiled, "You're the papa!"

Before Tim and Artemis announced their engagement and upcoming wedding to the extended family, the McGee siblings and Gibbs completed the paperwork for their adoptions, had it notarized and sent to the state of Virginia. Because they were adults, there was no court appearance necessary and the adoptions would be finalized as soon as the papers were registered in Alexandria.

Tim and Artie sent an email to Ducky telling him of their engagement and hope that their wedding could be held at his house after Christmas, further requesting that he officiate at their civil ceremony. He replied, agreeing and they once again contacted the family, including Susannah and Ian but not yet Artemis' parents.

The group was happy with the news that they were engaged and would be married at Ducky's house the day after Christmas, repeating their vows at a second ceremony when they returned home to Brambury. They hoped Susannah and Ian would join them for their second wedding and the Greek celebration of Christmas.

Abby was present for the engagement announcement, sitting with Freddie and the rest of the guys at Bill's place. Tim's horrified note, followed by a call to her denying he'd been consciously thinking of Artie during the time they'd dated had helped considerably as had Freddie's affection and attentions. Ashamed of themselves for the leaps to incorrect conclusions that hurt both their friends, Tony, Jimmy, Breena, Ellie and the others had apologized to both Abby and Tim, promising they would never stick their noses in someone's business like that again. The Porters, hearing about the situation from Sarah, were very glad they hadn't been involved.

Watching on Skype, Gibbs smiled at Abby, proud of her for being there. They'd spent some time talking, he'd been able to give her additional support. He'd wanted to chew out the boys, Ellie and Breena but Abby asked him not to. When he asked Tim, his son just shook his head. "If Abby's all right, I'm all right, Dad. She's the one who was hurt, not me."

Although he'd been honest with Abby, he felt bad, sending her a bouquet of her favorite black roses with a sweet note telling her how much their friendship meant to him, would always mean to him, and that she needed to come visit!

One evening after the kids were upstairs, the adults sat around the kitchen table, talking about plans for the wedding and life in general. They'd just received notice that their adoptions were final and had a celebratory dinner. Sarah asked Artie if her parents would be at either ceremony and she shrugged, shaking her head no at the same time.

Sarah said, "Rob and I talked about getting DNA kits for us, so we'd know more about our family. We thought that might make a difference, but I guess not. And Tim doesn't want to contact any blood relatives we might have anyway."

Tim frowned, "They left us out there on the streets, Sari. Unless…" he looked at their father, "Dad, does Tobias know what Natalie did? I mean beyond killing Dad McGee. Did she falsify records too?"

"I don't know, son. Although most of the case is classified, as her victims and the dependents of Dan McGee, you certainly have the right to know whatever isn't classified."

"Ok. I'll look at the FOIA site first, I'm not sure of the date the case was closed. If the information is still not available, we'll put in a formal inquiry. Sarah, it's a form we'll fill out asking for information. If we ask specific questions, we have more chance of getting the information and not being denied because the case is still classified."

Artemis looked confused and Tim smiled, "Sorry, sweetie. FOIA is the Freedom Of Information Act, which allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the U.S. government. Classified information and documents or parts of them that are no longer classified."

"You're not allowed to know what happened in a case that involved you and Sarah?"

"We might be allowed to know what information is not classified. That's what I'll be looking for. If all of it is classified, then we'll send an inquiry with our specific questions. The answers to those probably aren't classified."

"Then why wouldn't they be on the Freedom site?"

Tim shook his head, "No idea."

She stared at him, "Have you worked on cases that involved national security, the security of the United States?"

"I can't answer that."

Sarah looked at her sister-in-law, "You'll have to get used to it. Neither of them, or any of the others, are allowed to even say if they've been involved or not."

"I had no idea. I thought you caught murderers, traffickers, kidnappers, embezzlers, drug dealers, like that."

"We do and we have. Any of those could involve national security."

Gibbs smiled at his daughter-in-law. "We were the top team in the agency for several years, we were involved in many things we can't or won't talk about."

"Won't?"

Tim rolled his shoulders and Rob decided it was his turn. "The 'won't', from what I can tell, is personal preference. Tim won't talk about any case, and this is supposition on our part, where he's had to fire a gun or use one of his weapons or when anyone died by his hand."

Artie shook her head, "How do you…what is the word, how to get past it?"

Sarah offered, "Decompress?" and Artie nodded, "Yes, thank you."

Gibbs answered, "We talk it out as a team and the agency has psychologists to help us through. If we fire a weapon, there's a process we have to go through and that includes a mandatory psychological evaluation."

Rob looked at his brother and father, "What about other weapons – MMA or knives?"

Gibbs shook his head, "Depends on the outcome and that's enough, we really can't talk about this any further."

Tim held his hand up, "Hang on, Dad. Artie, I'm no longer a field agent. When I brought Greg and Kyle home with me, that was the end of my field career. I would not risk leaving them without any parent. Not when they'd just lost their mother and their father was, and still is, probably will always be, unable to care for them."

Artie's eyes widened and she made a face, "I apologize, Tim, Jethro, Sarah, Rob! You've told me that but in my concern about your case, I forgot."

Tim chuckled, "So did I! Let's talk about it in a year and a half when my contract with Bedford runs out. I'm still buzzing with our engagement, Andy, Marissa and our adoption, being someone's son, a live someone, after all these years."

They chuckled at that and Dad wrapped his arms around all of them, as far as he could reach. "My kids!"

As they pulled apart, Rob said, "Have we decided about the name change?"

Sarah made a face, "I did some research. It takes longer than you'd think and we'd have to appear in court, in the U.S. I think it's better to wait until you move back to the States. And I could go over for several weeks, do some book tours."

Rob yawned, "That sounds good, Sari. Now if you'll excuse me…" He picked up his bag and, saying goodnight to everyone, headed to Dad's suite. Dad's guest room now belonged to him.

Rob's departure broke up the gathering and Tim and Artemis said goodnight to Sarah and Dad.

They sent an email to family and friends about the adoptions and were overwhelmed at the responses, calls, emails, e-cards and letters all congratulating them. Tim laughed the day a local toy store delivered 3 large teddy bears. Each had a sash across the chest with a name and the year on it. Tim's said Timmy, Sarah's said Sari and Rob's said Robbie. They were from Tony, Abby, Ellie, Tobias, Ducky and the Palmers.

The next day, Dad received a t-shirt from the same group that said, "I'm a new dad! Ask me about my 3 new kids!" He liked that and wore it proudly, telling everyone about his adopted sons and daughter.

What made them all laugh again was another teddy bear delivered after Tim's, this one for Andy. He, his father and grandfather laughed themselves silly at Dad and son having identical bears delivered to them.

Several days later, they celebrated Thanksgiving. Artie vaguely remembered Thanksgivings in Cambridge during her MIT days while the concept was new to Andy. Remembering their Thanksgiving last year with the Porters and how Grandpa and Uncle Rob surprised them, Greg and Kyle excitedly told Andy and Marissa all about the turkey, the stuffing and the pies.

There wouldn't be any surprise guests this year; their NCIS family and the Fornells would be gathering at Ducky's house. However, they were surprised to be invited to a Thanksgiving brunch at Joel Morris' home. Rob opted to stay home, he'd worked a double shift and just wanted to relax. That helped the cooks as the turkey needed to go in the oven while they were gone. It wasn't a big bird but it would need hours to roast to perfection. Everything else they'd have was prepped and would be cooked at some point that afternoon. Except for the pies, they were having apple and pumpkin. Instead of baking whole pies, Tim bought a set of 25 tart pans and made 25 'single serving' pies, enough for 2 each, with extra for Dad and Rob. They were in his cooler, locked in his office. He wasn't worried about the kids so much as his father and Rob. While Dad didn't have much of a sweet tooth, he did love pie and Rob would eat it every meal if he could.

Artie was nervous about meeting Jethro's and possibly Tim's future boss but Joel and his wife Carol immediately put her at ease, welcoming her to their home. Sarah and James were with them as well as all four of the children. Aside from Joel's staff, there were a few other expats there and some of them brought dates who had no clue about Thanksgiving. That helped! Tim's kids helped too, Greg telling the story about the first Thanksgiving. Feeling a bit shy, Kyle sat on Artie's lap for a few minutes, before he spotted a large painting of a train and asking her in a whisper if he could go look at it. She nodded solemnly and he smiled, patting her face in thanks. She helped him slide down and watched as he toddled over to the painting. Their host was nearby and patiently answered his questions about the train, listening to Kyle's stories of their train rides to and from the beach, from Cambridge to 'Alesandra' and of his personal train.

One of the women Artie had been introduced to, she thought her name was Laurel, leaned over to say how cute Kyle was and how much he looked like her. Astonished, as Kyle's appearance was quintessentially English-Irish, Artemis replied that he was Tim's son, her children were the two darker haired children, the oldest and the youngest here. Seemingly ignoring her, the woman chattered on about Kyle until Tim, seeing Artie looking frustrated, came to her rescue. She shook her head as they walked away from the woman, "My English is not so bad that I misunderstood her, she's, uh, scatterbrained I think is the word."

Tim chuckled, "Maybe one too many mimosas." He paused, "Or not enough." Artie laughed at that and they paused to look at another painting. Another American woman, Lydia, joined them and they spoke of the painting. "I have one from the same artist, I found it in Athens."

Tim loved the painting and asked Lydia if she knew of any galleries in London that carried more of the artist's work. She thought about it but didn't know. However, she did have one of the artist's cards in her purse and gave it to Tim. He laughed as he slid it into his wallet, "I was in Athens last summer, wish I'd known about her work then!"

"Were you working or vacationing?"

"Vacationing. Some of our extended family came over and we rented a big house on an island for several days. It was great, there was a ferry into Athens so we could sightsee as well as beachcomb."

Lydia smiled at the couple, "I love it over there, I've vacationed there three times. I've seen other parts of Europe and of course the UK, but I can't seem to get Greece out of my mind."

Artie laughed, "That's good, I'm glad to hear that! It is a wonderful place but then I'm biased as I was born there."

"Were you raised there as well?"

"Off and on but mostly not. My father is in the Greek Diplomatic Corps and we moved from country to country, came home for holidays when we could and always for vacations."

"Oh, but you've seen the world, that's exciting!"

"It was and I have wonderful memories."

"Did you and Tim meet here or somewhere else?"

He laughed, "We met at MIT in Massachusetts, as teenagers."

"Great!" Before she could say more, Mrs. Morris, Carol, called them to the table. Tim gathered the boys while Artemis carried Marissa. With a smile, Jethro took the little girl, putting her into a booster seat, Kyle in his booster seat next to her. To make things easier, the two little ones sat between Tim and Artie while Greg and Andy sat between Grandpa, Aunty Sarah and James. From the smiles on the boys' faces, Tim thought they were happy where they were sitting, safe with Grandpa and Aunty.

Back home, they checked the turkey and leaving Rob to continue his sleep, put heavier jackets, hats and gloves on and went for a walk, taking the double stroller so the littles could ride part way. Although it was cold, the fresh air felt good and they walked off their breakfast, which had been tailored for people planning to eat a big dinner.

After they finished with their feast late that afternoon, Artie whispered to Sarah, "Thanks for telling me about the sweat pants, the elastic waist helps!"

Sarah laughed, "And we ate light! A big salad, the gravy didn't have a lot of fat in it and we had stuffing with mashed sweet potatoes in it instead of stuffing _and_ mashed potatoes. And Tim made individual little pies, tarts I guess you could call them. Much easier than big huge slices of pie, which is what we normally have."

When Artie puffed her cheeks out, the others laughed. She looked around, "Sarah says we ate light! How do you eat more?"

After some thought, Jethro said, "We don't eat it all at once. Thanksgiving leftovers are sometimes even better than Thanksgiving. Turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce are delicious! And pie is always good."

Tim nodded, "When Ducky first started hosting Thanksgiving for the team, we had turkey and gravy that someone bought prepared at the grocery store. I think Abby brought the mashed potatoes, which she'd purchased already made and…oh, Ziva made stuffing from a recipe somebody at work gave her. Dad…" he started laughing and his father rolled his eyes, "it wasn't that bad."

"I guess it wasn't, considering." Tim explained, "We had a case that week and closed it on Thanksgiving Day. Abby and the MEs had been finished with their parts so they were at Ducky's house waiting for us. I think Tony was supposed to bring drinks and he had four bottles of wine and I'd brought two of sparkling cider with me. And I brought…oh, green beans, only I never had time to do anything with them so I opened the can and threw them in a saucepan to heat up. Anyway, Tony, Ziva and I finally made it to Ducky's and we weren't too sure Boss was coming. For one thing, other than going out for drinks after work, he'd never socialized with us, the whole group, before. For another, he was stuck talking to someone about the case. Someone higher up the chain of command. Ducky finally called to remind him and to bring the rolls. He did show up and then dumped a bag full of crackers and chips from the vending machine onto the table."

Dad shrugged, chuckling, "Best I could do, nothing on the way to Ducky's that was open and if I had to go out of my way to look for rolls, I was going home instead. We were tired, Tim; you left out the part where we'd worked straight through from Sunday."

"Oh yeah, we were at the office for 4 ½ days. So we were pretty tired but happy to have busted the case so we could have our 4 days, well, 3 ½ days off."

"Which turned into 7 ½ because Legal and HR complained about our cumulative time in the office and Vance had to ban us from the Navy Yard."

Tim nodded, "Over the year following, Ziva taught me more about cooking properly, with fresh ingredients. That 2nd Thanksgiving, she and I made everything, the turkey, the stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. Tony brought pies. I think Abby brought a salad that she'd made, Boss here brought drinks and everyone chipped in for the turkey and the rest. Now that was a much better dinner."

"I don't know, the first one was kinda fun because it was our first one."

"Did you have Christmas together too?"

"Not after that first Thanksgiving. I think we worked that Christmas." Dad nodded, saying "We started the next Christmas, when Jack joined us."

Tim smiled, "Jackson Gibbs was Gibbs' dad and he lived about 5 hours drive north of us. He joined us that Christmas and every other one until last year's. We lost him several months before." He looked around the table, "I'm so glad I got to know him as well as I did. He would have loved all of you."

Gibbs smiled sadly, "That he would, Timson, and he'd be thrilled to know he's a great-grandfather." He perked up, "My godfather, LJ Moore, will be with us this Christmas! He's a great guy and he'll tell you plenty of Jack stories. They were best friends when I was growing up, the two of them bought a store they ran together for years."

Rob smiled, "And you're named for him, Leroy Jethro."

"Yes I am, proud of it, too."

"Be good to talk with all of them, I hope they didn't get a call out!"

Dad tilted his head, "They're on call. O'Brien's team is aboard the Yard, but he's got a 3-month probie, a 6-month junior and a TAD for SFA. Piro's out on paternity leave."

Tim nodded, "Yeah, Tony told me he wouldn't be surprised if they get called in to assist or take a 2nd case." He looked around and shook his head, laughing, "Dad, we're talking about work again!"

Artemis was trying to work through Jethro's terminology and quickly gave up. "I know you don't mean that man has 3-month and 6-month-old babies on the team? And what is a TAD and an SAF?"

Sarah held up her hand, "I got this, for once I know something! Ok, the probie is a probationary agent, in his or her very first year as a field agent. They're on probation their entire first year. Think newborn to first birthday, a baby in the job. The 6-month junior is an agent who finished his or her probationary year 6 months ago and has now been a 'real' field agent for just 6 months. Think toddler. The SAF is the SFA, that is senior field agent, he or she is in charge of the lower ranked agents in the field while the Team Lead oversees the crime scenes and liaises with other law enforcement. TAD means they're temporary. So, O'Brien's Senior Field Agent is someone they brought in to temporarily take the place of the guy who has a new child at home."

Tim and Dad applauded while Artemis thanked her. Then Dad held up his hand, "Wouldn't want you to think junior agents necessarily remain at that rank or are always seen as inexperienced. They are highly valued and Tim left as a senior agent, I promoted him in early 2014 after he'd served 9 years as a increasingly experienced and valued junior agent. He'd more than earned it. Tony was still senior in the field and I still outranked both of them."

Artie smiled, "If he goes back in a year and a half, he'll still be a senior agent?"

Tim smiled at her as his father nodded. She continued, "And Mr. Morris, Joel, will be his boss?"

"Yes, unless he gets promoted somewhere."

She nodded, changing the subject back to Christmas. They would fly out on the 13th, taking 3 days of schoolwork for Andy and Greg to do. The boys' teachers agreed to their absences as both were earning excellent marks. By leaving before the expected Christmas crowd of travelers, they were saving over $1,000 in airfare. Dad arranged to rent a 14 passenger van while they were in the States as there were 9 of them plus luggage.

Not wanting to risk losing their wedding attire, Tim and Artemis planned to ship it all to Breena's work address as someone was there every day. Nobody told Artie that Breena worked in a mortuary.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I do my final edit on this, there are firecrackers and other fireworks going off outside. Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans and Happy 242nd Birthday to the USA!

Chapter 23

When most of them were gathered, the clan at Ducky's pinged the McGees' Skype account. While the UK group had finished their feast, those gathered at Ducky's were still in preparation mode. When the UK group was asked about their feast. Andy looked at all of them, "I'd never heard of Thanksgiving before but Greg told us the story of the first Thanksgiving and then we ate a lot of food. Aunt Sarah says we ate light and Papa says you'll have more than we did!"

Ducky smiled, he remembered his first Thanksgiving and his incredulity at the amount of food consumed. "What did you have, Andy?"

"Turkey, salad, something called stuffing, uh sauce for the meat and rolls. And Papa made little pies for us, two kinds, apple and uh…" he looked at Greg who whispered in his ear and he nodded, "thanks, Greg. Apple and pumpkin."

"Did you like everything?"

"Yes, especially the stuffing, it has sweet potatoes in it, and the pies! Oh and Grandpa says we'll have sandwiches with everything on them tomorrow."

Tony frowned, "Little pies?"

Tim grinned, "I bought little tart pans and made a bunch of little pies, 2 for each of us plus a few extra. It was fun!"

It was Ellie's turn to frown, "No mashed potatoes?"

"Nope. Added mashed sweet potatoes to the stuffing, turned out really well."

Abby laughed, "Tim, you're a rebel!"

"That's right! Trying new things."

While they were talking, they could hear the doorbell ringing at Ducky's house and more people came into the kitchen. Tobias and Emily came in, carrying a dish of something. Emily waved to everyone. "Happy Thanksgiving! Uncle Gibbs, Tim, Sarah, Rob, congratulations and Tim and Artemis, congratulations on your engagement!"

They waved back and then Tim, Rob and Sarah's faces broke into huge grins when Barry, Bill, Lu, Freddie and Jose walked in. "Guys, Lu! Happy Thanksgiving!"

They all waved back. Artie was welcomed to the family and she and Tim were again congratulated. She smiled, "You're all coming to our wedding, yes?"

They all nodded. Tony said Vance had already approved his team having the weekend off, Barry had scheduled the time, the Fornells said they'd be there, Lu and the rest of the guys said they'd be there. Emily looked like she had something she wanted to say but her father distracted her and the moment passed. Tim was glad, he'd been afraid she'd ask if Diane could come and there was no way he wanted her at his wedding or anywhere near his father, the day should be special for him, too. When Artemis asked him later what he'd been worried about, he told her and then told her about Diane.

Her eyes widened, "I'm glad Emily didn't ask, I don't want our day to be spoiled because she thinks she's clever. And Jethro will want to be with Ms. Lu anyway." She smiled at him, "It's our day, my love. If we don't want her there, she won't be there."

"Speaking of people who might be difficult, how much longer do you have before you have to mail the letter to your parents?"

She looked at him, puzzled and then understood. "Do you mean how much time do I have before they realize they haven't heard from us in too long?"

"Yes!"

She laughed, "Susannah and I figured out the time limits years ago and we have been using them judiciously since you met Andy. I wrote them a letter that I mailed the day we moved in here, without telling them anything that had happened. That bought us a few weeks. Then I wrote them a thank-you note for Marissa's birthday present, which bought us a few more weeks. Susannah has also written, saying nothing of the changes. All of which means that I have approximately 7 more days and that doesn't count Sunday when there is no mail delivery."

"The International School didn't refund Andy's school fee to your father? Even when classes had just started?"

She shook her head. "They will but not until the end of the term in December. I've rewritten the letter for the final time and it will go in the mail for the last post on Friday. It will be delivered to the embassy in Stockholm either Wednesday or Thursday and presented to my father, depending on the news in the diplomatic pouch."

"Good, then I'll mail my letter to them on Monday."

"Your letter?"

"Yes, sorry, I thought I'd mentioned it before. You can read it if you'd like. Your father may never think much of me but that doesn't mean I don't want to show respect for your parents. I've written to tell them what our plans are for our lives, how we'll raise our children, what I've been doing with my life, about my father, sister and brothers. I'm planning to include 2 photos, one with Dad, Sarah, Rob and I and the second one with the boys, Marissa, you and me, from our hike. I thought of sending him a photo of the 2 of us, then and now but thought that might be rubbing salt in the wound. You know, he and I have never met face to face. Has he met Ian?"

"No and they don't know that Susannah is living with him. That was something I could do for her after your offer for us to move in here."

"Deflect their attention for a few months?"

"Yes. And she gave them her work address, not her home address. Our hope is that by the time Papa learns they are living together, they'll be engaged."

"Wow, you two are as stealthy as we are on undercover operations. Only yours has lasted your entire lives! Will we be continuing it?"

"At least to help Susannah and possibly if there's something big we don't want Papa to know for a certain amount of time." She sighed, "We know it's immature and unhealthy but it has made our lives easier, given both of us some independence. And we've worked hard not to act that way with anyone else. Susannah and I learned early on that we need to be open and honest with each other and I promise I am doing that with you, too."

"That helps me understand more of what you've been up against and I won't do anything to compromise that with your parents. And I promise that when you're ready to stand up to him, I'll be strong with you."

She shuddered, "I dread that day but I know it's coming."

Tim smiled as he pulled her into a warm embrace and they happily lost themselves in each other.

Friday afternoon, the two of them walked hand in hand to the Post Office where Artie's letter was mailed to the Greek Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. At Tim's request, she'd enclosed invitations to both their weddings, the first one at Ducky's and the second one here at the house when they returned, although that would be a renewal of their vows and a party.

She'd read his letter and asked him to tweak a couple of things she felt gave her parents more information than she wanted at the moment. He understood now that some things had to be 'eased into'. Before he mailed his letter on Monday, he had one more addition to make as Saturday's mail brought a response from Oskar in Australia.

He'd signed the form relinquishing his paternity of Marissa, which meant that Tim could legally adopt her! He'd also sent a note for Artie, which Tim handed over without reading. She laughed as he actually had his eyes closed. Later he did read it, at her insistence. Her former husband basically wished her the best of luck and, at Tim's request, enclosed a current photo of himself for Marissa. They'd keep it for her so that if she ever asked, she could see her biological father. Tim was adamant that they tell her when she was old enough, he didn't want her to have to experience what he had when he'd had his and Pat's DNA run.

When it was mailed, Tim's letter to his in-laws had a handwritten postscript that he'd received permission from Marissa's biological father to adopt her.

Unbeknownst to either Tim or Artemis, Jethro had also written a letter, introducing himself and telling them how proud he was of their daughter for the wonderful job she was doing parenting Andy and Marissa and how thankful he was that his son was finally able to marry the woman he'd always loved and that he believed Artemis felt the same way about his son. He mentioned their time in Greece over the summer and that he knew the couple was planning to take the children to meet Andy and Marissa's great-grandmother (he asked Andy for help in spelling the Greek word for it) during the next school half-term. Then he waited until Tuesday evening to mail it, observing Tim mailing his letter on Monday.

Once the letters were in the mail, the couple resumed finalizing their wedding plans, having resolved not to worry about the senior Galanis until Thursday. Arrangements for the weddings were pretty well set. The ceremony would be held in Ducky's library, the only room large enough to hold the extended family and friends. Artie was thankful the Porters would be there and she'd also invited one of her MIT professors, a Greek-American, and two of her MIT roommates.

They would have two attendants, one each. Sarah would be Artie's maid of honor while Dad would be Tim's best man. That would change a bit for their second ceremony in Brambury when Susannah, Ian and friends of Artie's would attend. They hadn't thought to have chairs, as the ceremony would be short, but as their plans evolved, they decided chairs would be a good idea.

While the civil ceremony would last about 5 minutes, the couple decided they'd like a few prayers and poetry read and asked Jimmy to sing a solo. They also asked other friends to read prayers or poetry, which the couple would select.

Not wanting to burden Ducky or anyone else with being their onsite wedding gofer, the couple hired Breena's cousin Sheila, a professional wedding planner. After several Skype sessions, Artie and Tim were confident their wedding would be a mixture of what they wanted most, romance and family.

When Ducky purchased the townhouse, it was almost all wood, which he decided was too dark and a little overbearing. He'd hired a decorator who'd lightened up the living room, kitchen, library and other parts of the house. The library was a study in soft white tones with white beams across the ceiling and a fireplace faced with fieldstone.

When Sheila, the wedding planner, saw the room, she knew just how she wanted it decorated. White netting across the ceiling would hold dozens of soft white lights with additional LED tea lights and pillar candles also scattered around the room. Tall vases filled with a mixture of Greece's national flower, Acanthus Mollis, and the national flower of the US, Roses, would create a defined space between the two large windows where the bride, groom, officiant and the two attendants, Gibbs and Sarah, would stand. For this event, the roses would be long stemmed unscented roses as the groom and two of his sons were allergic to the scented varieties. Fir trees, decorated with more soft white lights, would grace each corner of the room. Using white chairs, she'd create a central aisle through which the wedding party would enter and depart. In late December, sunset would occur shortly before 5:00 PM and the wedding would start after the end of twilight, at 5:30.

With the Christmas-wintry theme in the library, the wedding planner asked Tim and Artie, who asked Ducky, if she could decorate the rest of the common areas of the house to blend with the library. Ducky was most happy to be relieved of decorating his house for Christmas and so the foyer, living and dining rooms, while not quite bathed in 'fairy lights' as the kids called them, took on the same look, of a winter wonderland with evergreen boughs and a lovely fir tree.

The reception would be catered. After the ceremony, drinks and light appetizers in the living room would be followed with a sit-down dinner in the library, with 8 round tables placed around the room. The bridal couple was tasked with making a seating chart which was fairly easy as 60 people, including the bridal couple and the family, would be in attendance.

Tim was having a light gray full dress suit, that is, a tuxedo with a tailcoat, made in keeping with the romantic tone of the event. Dad would be in a darker gray tux while Rob and Tony would be in dark gray suits. The boys would wear off the rack gray suits, already being altered to fit them and Artie and Sarah found a beautiful princess-y dress for Marissa. Sarah and Susannah found dresses cut in the same style although in different colors, perfect for the 2 maids of honor/sisters of the bride and groom.

Susannah and Sarah were with Artemis when she found her wedding dress and loved it as much as she did. Designed for a winter wedding, it was a full-length, simply cut, long sleeved, winter white gown with the body of the dress made from a light wool. The A-line design with a sweeping train emphasized Artie's beautiful curves while allowing her to easily move around. Slightly off the shoulder, the sleeves and the line along the top of the bodice were lace with a boat neck silhouette. Her headdress would be lace and netting in a veil that draped over her hair, leaving her face uncovered. The netting and lace would match that of her dress along with a little red woven into the lace, a Greek tradition.

While Artie was trying on the dress, her sister and Sarah found a hooded cape, the cape and hood a beautiful blue, the bride's favorite color. Both cape and hood were trimmed in faux fur. When the bride-to-be saw it, she tried it on over the dress and sighed in happiness, it looked stunning and she felt like a queen, her dark hair and eyes framed by the hood, the dress beautiful under the cape. In the end, she purchased just the dress, leaving the cape behind as it was too expensive for her budget.

Sarah was back in the shop the next day, purchasing the cape which would be given to Artie when she had her final fitting, a gift from her sisters.

After Artie mailed her letter, she focused on planning Andy's birthday celebration. He'd be 12 that Thursday, the perfect excuse for her parents to call or heaven forbid, show up, although it wasn't his name day, usually what her parents celebrated. Although when she thought about it, it might be a good thing if her parents showed up. Her father would behave in front of his grandchildren and Greg and Kyle. In any event, they'd celebrate Andy's big day at breakfast and dinner on Thursday.

On Saturday, Andy and 2 of his new friends were going into London with Tim for a sleepover at the British Museum! Andy had hoped Greg could go with them but the minimum age was 8. He felt better when Papa told him he would arrange for Greg to go for his 8th birthday celebration next summer.

Looking ahead to Kyle and Marissa reaching their 8th birthdays, Tim wondered where their family would be. Probably in the States and he really hoped the Smithsonian had something similar. Of course, the littles might not be museum geeks like their father and older brothers!

Artie and Sarah went shopping for birthday decorations on Tuesday, buying a Happy Birthday banner and rolls of crepe paper to be used as streamers. Tim would bake Andy's cake Wednesday night after the boys were asleep and the women found decorations for the top of the cake.

A large box, full of wrapped presents from the U.S. family had arrived and was squirreled away in Grandpa's closet. Andy decided he would open one present at breakfast Thursday and open the rest that night after school.

Tim woke Wednesday morning to find his fiancée sitting up in bed, holding her phone in her hand and staring at it. He shook his head, "Honey, they won't get it until later today, maybe not until tomorrow."

"They'll call tomorrow anyway, for Andy's birthday."

"Are we worried they'll have read the letter first or that they won't have seen it?"

"Yes."

Knowing this was a real worry for her, he suppressed his chuckle and instead distracted her.

Stockholm was an hour ahead of London; Artemis thought if there was a call, it wouldn't be until dinner time. She couldn't decide whether she'd rather get it over with tonight or hope for another day's reprieve. Then Tim pointed out that she was stressing out and getting this over with today might be better. She gave him an incredulous look for that. "You think the phone call will be the end?"

He smiled, "Sweetie, I've dealt with the dregs of humanity for over a decade, actually I guess I could say since I was 9. He doesn't scare me." He chuckled, "When I first started working for Gibbs, I was terrified of him. Took some time to build up my confidence levels. And then Sarah got caught up in a murder case and I stood up to him. Not for the first time but I had no fear that day, my only concern was my little sister. And that broke the habit."

"She wasn't harmed?"

"No, no, she was fine but it was a mess to straighten out. She was the intended victim but not an intended murder victim. And I'm sorry I brought this up."

"Is it classified?"

"No, just something awful that almost happened to Sarah."

"All right, I'll let it go then. Your point was confidence."

Tim nodded and then jumped when Artie's phone rang. It was Dad saying breakfast was ready and Artemis laughed at Mr. 'I'm not worried'. As far as Tim was concerned, her laughter made it a win.

The rest of the day passed peacefully and the only call that evening came from Rob to tell them he was on his way to their place and he'd be staying over, it was supposed to snow tonight and he didn't want to risk not being there for Andy's birthday. Tim picked him up a few minutes later, Big Blue's heater blasting. It was nice having him there, he helped Tim with the cake, made from scratch, and then put up the banners, streamers and other decorations the women purchased.

Once the cake was cool, Rob put the icing on and then watched Tim as he wrote "Happy 12th Birthday, Andy!" in the middle of the cake. Then they put the cake toppers around that. It looked good and Tim took a few photos. He thought about sending one to Ziva because she'd taught him so much about cooking and baking but she'd never responded to any other email he'd sent since she left them. Shrugging, he sent it anyway.

Thursday dawned, although it was hard to tell as it was indeed snowing and from the look of the backyard, had been snowing heavily most of the night. Andy was thrilled, deciding it was just for his birthday. He was even happier when they received calls that the schools and nursery were closed for the day.

Tim tried not to sulk as he dug out his snow pants and boots he'd worn last winter in Massachusetts and Virginia. He knew where his parka, knit cap, gloves and scarf were, he'd been wearing them regularly for the past month. Finally suited up, he was standing at the front window, holding his backpack, staring out, willing himself to open the door and make his way to the university when his phone chimed with a call. He smiled as he answered the call from his Department Master. "Good morning, this is McGee."

"Good Morning, Timothy, no classes today. We've instructed the student body to look online for assignments. If you want to conduct classes online, feel free but you'll probably be the only one doing so and I doubt you'll have many students. Snow this far south and this heavy is a rare thing these days!"

"Thanks, Dr. B! Today is my oldest son's birthday and I think we'll have him open his presents now, there might be something he can use in the backyard today!"

The man laughed, "Sounds like fun! Too cold for me. If this keeps up, we'll probably remain closed tomorrow too."

"In that case, I will post assignments and maybe hold office hours online."

They disconnected and Tim turned around with a whoop, "I don't have to go to school either, yippee!" Before he did anything else, he logged on to the university website, left four assignments and scheduled online office hours for the next day, if the campus was still closed.

While they had hot beverages, Andy opened his presents. The first one was a new bicycle from his parents and looking chagrined, they said, "Sorry, son! We knew it would be chilly riding now but we didn't think about snow!"

He grinned, the snow wouldn't last forever and then he could ride his new bike! He'd never had one of his own before, his mother worried about him riding in cities, it being stolen and the awkwardness of moving it. He'd learned how to ride from a friend when they lived in Thailand.

The next thing he unwrapped was softball equipment from his grandfather and he grinned at the glove, bat and ball. "Thanks, Grandpa! This will be fun when it warms up."

Finally, Rob and Sarah brought in their present to him, a snow saucer decorated like a pizza. He cheered, kissed them in thanks, looked out the kitchen window and back at his parents with puppy dog eyes so similar to his father's that Grandpa had a sudden coughing attack and left the room. He didn't go far enough though as they could still hear him laughing.

Tim shook his head, "Not until the snow stops or at least lightens up. Don't want to lose you in the backyard!"

Kyle grinned as Greg said, "We have a sled, it's in the basement. And snowshoes too, because last year Kyle was too little and kept sinking into the snow."

Tim nodded, "That was very wet snow. This is more like the snow we played in on the mountain after Christmas."

"Good!"

"Yes, but it's still coming down too hard for us to go out. Kyle, we'll try you in the snow later. If you don't need the snowshoes, would you mind if Marissa tries them? That is, if she wants to play in the snow."

"Ok, Daddy! I'm lots bigger now."

"That you are, Doodle bug, bigger and a whole year older." Tim scooped his little boy, now 3 ½, into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Kyle, I remember wanting to be bigger too. But you know what? You're perfect just the way you are now. And you'll be perfect when you're as big as your brothers are. They're perfect too."

"Then were you perfect, Daddy?"

"Yes, I was! When we're little, we want to be big. The problem is, then we don't enjoy being little and it's one of the best times of our lives! Want to know a secret?"

Kyle nodded eagerly, he loved secrets and was very good at keeping them. Tim whispered in his ear, "I'm big now and I wish I was little again!" He kissed Kyle before he set him back down again. Kyle hugged his legs and looking up, whispered, "You can pretend!" Tim nodded his agreement.

By 2:00, the snow had let up enough to play outside and the adults were busy helping the kids suit up. Tim went out first and stood in the powdery snow, looking down, he'd made a hole almost as deep as his knees. Grandpa joined him and they walked side by side along the sides of the yard, making a snow path the kids could walk in, although for Marissa and Kyle it was almost a snow canyon.

They'd had a little obstacle course out back, made of various size tires and pool noodles and the snow had turned it into a perfectly sized small hill for the kids. Tim wasn't the least bit surprised when little Marissa played right along with her brothers, although they watched her closely. After they'd 'worn' the hill down with the sled and saucer, Papa helped the kids make a snowman. That was so much fun they made one in the front yard too, taking photos of both of them.

While they did that, Dad and Sarah went looking for suitable sledding hills outside the back gate. Rob helped the kids work on snowman #2 for a little while but he hated being cold and there was no way to be out in the snow today without feeling the cold. Still, he lasted nearly 30 minutes before he went in, Tim thanking him for his help.

Artemis watched her brother-in-law run shivering into the house. "The cold is difficult for him, isn't it?"

Tim nodded, "The doctors say it's a consequence of the mistreatment he suffered from the time he was born until he joined us at age 2. The cold affects him more than it does most of us."

"I remember his mother deserted you. Has he ever heard from her?"

Tim shook his head, "No, we don't know if she's alive and he's not interested in finding out."

Artemis nodded and then with a laugh, helped Tim and the boys lift the snowman's head onto his body. It was heavy!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Out on the trail, Grandpa and Sarah found a perfect sledding hill and were marking it with a tree branch when a phone chimed with a call. Sarah pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, frowning as she didn't recognize the number. Mentally shrugging, she accepted the call. "Hello?"

A man on the other end said several words she didn't understand but she did understand the name Artemis. "Excuse me, I don't understand whatever language you're speaking. Are you looking for Artemis?" She looked at her phone, "Oh, I have her phone! I'm so sorry, I must have grabbed it…well it doesn't matter. It will take me about 5 minutes to get to her, we're out on a snow trail looking for sledding hills. May I have her call you back?"

The man said he would call back in 5 minutes and disconnected. Sarah looked at her dad, "Rude. Hope that wasn't her father."

Dad nodded, "I bet it is. Come on, let's get the phone to her!"

They hurried as fast as they could through the snow, finding Artie in the allotted time. Sarah quickly explained what happened and Artie pulled what she'd thought was her phone from her pocket, handing it to Sarah. They all went inside as the wind was blowing now and the temperature felt like it had dropped another 10 degrees. Tim said it was the wind chill factor while Artie had a whimsical if cynical thought that it was more likely her father's influence.

Grandpa and Sarah took the boys and Marissa upstairs to get warmed up and changed while Artie took a deep breath, grabbed Tim's hand and dialed her father's cell number. When he answered, she spoke evenly, knowing the phone mix-up had been a simple mistake, no one's fault. "Hello, Papa! I hear you met Sarah, my new sister. She and Jethro, Timothy's father, were out looking for hills we could safely allow the children to sled on. How are you and Mama?"

Her father seemed taken aback, he'd been expecting apologies for his having to call back. "We are as well as can be expected, Artemis, after receiving your letter."

"Oh, you must be joyful with all my news! We're excited about our weddings and hope you and Mama will come to one of them."

"Joyful isn't the word I'd use." He started to say something else but his daughter interrupted, knowing from the tone of his voice in what direction he was headed.

"Oh, that's too bad, are you feeling ill – or perhaps just tired with all your hard work, Papa? You mustn't let Mr. Caras give you all the work, he has other diplomats who should be doing their share! As you know, today is Andy's birthday and because of the heavy snow, the schools are closed, including Tim's university. Andy opened some gifts at breakfast this morning and we've been playing games and having fun all day. The snow finally let up enough so the children could play outside and we all went out, even the baby. It took us forever to get ready as we have snow pants, socks and boots, the children have snowsuits and boots and we all have warm hats, gloves and scarves. We took several photos, I'll send them to Mama. I hope you'll come to our wedding, we're having so much fun planning them.

"And of course I'm leaving for Turkey in January, after our Greek Christmas and 2nd wedding here at home. Tim will go with me for the first weekend and then after that, I'll come home every weekend. Although if this cold weather keeps up, Tim may bring the children and meet me in Athens. We're planning a trip to see Yaya, we may just go sooner than planned." Artie took a breath, "Is Mama there? I would love to say hello."

She waited, imagining her father holding the receiver out and staring at it as he did when he was too angry or frustrated to say anything. Finally, she heard her mother's voice saying coolly, "Hello, Artemis. What have you got to say for yourself?"

"I'm the happiest I've ever been, Mama, and looking forward to spending the rest of my life with the man I've loved since I was a teenager. We have a wonderful family with our children, Tim's father, their pappous, and his sister, who is a bestselling novelist. His younger brother, do you remember him? He's 6'5" and a pediatrician! And they're both wonderful with the kids. Andy loves having his father near; it was a serious mistake to keep Tim away because I feared Papa's disapproval. From now on, my husband and children, _my_ family, are my first priorities. While we would love to see you at one of our weddings, I don't expect Papa will be there and I know you will do whatever he wishes. When you can visit with joy in your hearts, then you will be welcome. Now, it's my oldest child's birthday and I'd much rather spend time with him than listen to Papa pontificate, so I'll say goodbye."

With shaking hands, Artie disconnected the call and let out a deep breath. When she heard applause, she turned to her fiancé next to her. "So proud of you, sweetheart! I know that wasn't easy."

She smiled, "Actually, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I wrote it out ahead of time so I knew what I wanted to say and I spoke over Papa before he could express his opinions. I meant what I said, you and the children, our family, are my priorities and my parents will have to deal with that." She grinned, "Today, I am a free woman!"

Tim nodded, "You controlled the conversation. Excellent!" He paused, "Do they send gifts for Andy and Rissa?"

"On their name days, not their birthdays."

"Oh. Those are the saints they're named after?"

"Yes. For Andy, it's St. Andrew and his day is November 30th. That's one of the reasons I chose Andrew, it was so close to our son's birthday. The other is that it was my pappouli's name. He was alive when Andy was born but died months later. Marissa is a derivative of Mary, her name day is the 21st of November. Her middle name is Athena, a name from our ancient mythology and my yaya's name. Those with names from our mythology, including my own, celebrate their name days on the Feast of All Saints, November 1st. My middle name, Helene, has a name day of the 21st of May. While my parents celebrate name days, my children's birthdays are easier for me to remember. However, name day celebrations are more popular in many countries."

He changed the subject. "I'm going to start dinner, want to help?"

"Certainly, what are we having?"

"Andy's request, oven baked macaroni and cheese, with 4 kinds of cheese, and peas." Tim thought about that, "One kind of pea. I'll make a vegetable salad and for dessert we have the cake Rob and I made last night."

"Oh, that sounds quite gooey and delicious and I love birthday cake! There are still presents left in your father's room, I peeked."

Tim laughed, "I know you and I got carried away, the bike would have been more than enough."

"Yes, but it seems like such a special birthday for him. Not just being 12, that's lofty enough, but the first one with all of us."

Tim grinned as he kissed her, "And I couldn't resist the Legos. Truthfully, I have 11 years of presents to make up for, guess I'm doing most of that today." He snorted, "And it's too late for his name day!"

She laughed, "I found that book written for his age group about Science and Engineering, I thought it would help him understand what it is I do and maybe get him a little interested."

"That was excellent, you had no choice but to buy it for him!"

"And the Lego Architecture and Moving Machines will give him something else to be interested in, to see how mathematics and science are used there."

"Yes. And of course, the packages the family sent him from the U.S."

"That is so kind of them to do that when they've never met him in person."

Tim smiled, agreeing and then tilting his head, said, "Family is family."

He laughed at his father, sister, brother and the kids when they came in for dinner, they were all in their jammies, slippers and robes. He and Artie were the only ones still wearing street clothes. Dad grinned, "Hey, we're warm and comfortable, not going outside again tonight!"

"You're right about that but I feel like I'm in a time warp, should be serving breakfast again."

They just grinned at him and then exclaimed when the big gooey casserole dish of oven baked mac 'n cheese with shredded chicken and peas, was placed on the table along with a bowl of sautéed green vegetables, in lieu of the veggie salad, and Andy's favorite dinner rolls, hot from the oven. Except for some pleased noises, there was silence as the family dug into their dinner.

When everyone finished, Papa and Mama disappeared, reappearing with more presents for the birthday boy. His eyes wide, he started opening them, carefully examining each one. That led to his grandfather making a comment about the acorn not falling far from the tree, which made Papa laugh.

There was a game of "Clue" from Aunt Abby, a book called "Knights of the Round Table Puzzle Quest" from Granducky, an Air Disc Frisbee from Aunt Ellie, fishing gear from the Fornells, which made Greg and Kyle smile, a tackle box from Aunt Lu, a Rubik's Cube from the Palmers, a Solar Balloon and a boogie board for swimming from Uncle Tony and a hand tool set from the Baltimore Uncles, as Greg and Kyle called Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose. Andy grinned at his grandfather when he opened that one. "Will you teach me how to use these?"

"Be proud to! Hold on a moment, got one more thing…"

Grandpa left the table, returning with an envelope for Andy. When he opened it, there was a card from Uncle Geordie wishing him a Happy Birthday, a Happy First Birthday as a McGee and sending him much love. Andy smiled and then frowned when he saw his father, aunt and uncle in tears. "Why are you crying? Is something wrong?"

Papa shook his head, finally saying, "We haven't heard from him since I wrote him about you, your mama and sister, Andy. And…Dad, he sent this to you?"

Dad smiled, "I wrote him a letter when we got here last spring, wanted to let him know you really were all right and we've been corresponding." He shrugged, "Couldn't figure any other way for us to get to know each other."

He smiled at his children who were beaming at him. When Andy was done with the presents, they had cake and ice cream. The boys thought it was funny to have ice cream when they'd been so cold from the snow, but they enjoyed every spoonful of it. Rob put his bowl in the microwave for a few seconds. When Tim and Dad raised eyebrows at him, he shrugged, "I'm still cold from outside."

Dad frowned, "You sleep with me tonight, not good for you to still be so cold."

"I know, Dad and yes I will, that's a good idea."

While Sarah, Rob, Greg and Kyle cleaned up the kitchen, Dad beckoned Tim to follow him. "Want to move the King mattress sideways at the foot of my bed. That way, Robbie can stretch out. We'll double up the blankets and he can wear socks, too."

"Good thinking." After they finished, Tim ran upstairs, returning with chemical hand and foot warmers for his brother. "Here, Rob, use these tonight, they'll help."

"Thanks; I usually have these but I used my last ones the other night, haven't been to the store for more."

"Should have told me, kiddo, I always keep some around for you." When they were living in the tent, Rob and Tim always shared a sleeping bag during the cold months, with a second one spread underneath them so Robbie could stay warm. Sarah was fine with extra blankets and her sleeping bag.

The snow started again that night and it was Sunday before they could drive into London so Rob could get to work. The trains were running but neither Timpa nor Dad wanted Robbie to have to deal with the cold of the stations or trains.

Monday, Dad drove the kids and Tim to school, day care and the university, both men thinking how glad they were to have Big Blue. They were leaving for home next Sunday and couldn't afford to get bogged down now without transportation. All the Christmas gifts had either been ordered and sent directly to the U.S or packed in an even bigger box than Andy's birthday gifts had been in and shipped to Ducky's.

Artemis was thrilled when she went in for her final fitting and found the cape waiting for her, along with a card from Susannah and Sarah. She decided not to tell Tim about it, he'd see it for the first time after their wedding. All the wedding attire had been shipped as planned, including the cape, dresses, tuxes, suits, shirts and shoes. It was already there, along with the huge box of Christmas gifts, they'd had word from Ducky.

While the adults thought they had everything under control, they still scrambled to finalize the details of Christmas, the wedding and reception along with other activities they had planned. On their wedding night, Tim and Artie would stay in the honeymoon suite of a 5 star hotel close to Ducky's. The day after, they were hosting a brunch for their out of town guests at the same hotel. Once their guests dispersed, the newlyweds would move to a hotel on the Chesapeake for a couple of days. Their lodgings there had an in-room spa they were especially looking forward to. Only Dad, their FBI protection detail and Lu would know exactly where they were.

As for Christmas, the list was now at 32 people and by email vote, they'd agreed to 'pull' names for gift exchanges with a set dollar limit. Sarah took that on, afraid her brother's head would explode if he added one more task. Everyone agreed to having the McGee children pull names and to sending Sarah a list of a couple of items they'd like. Once the names were pulled, each person would receive an email with his or her giftee's name, interests and whatever that giftee said he or she wanted.

Tim was in his campus office late Thursday afternoon when his phone chimed with a call from FBI Agent McCaughey, who'd led the McGees' protection detail in Massachusetts. When Tim answered, the man said, "Professor, do you have a few minutes? We have a potential situation and thought we'd give you an update. And congratulations on your engagement and upcoming wedding!"

"Thank you and yes, I have a few minutes. What's up?"

"The State Department notified us that Kosmos and Sophia Galanis are flying into Dulles on Dec. 24th, returning to Stockholm on December 31st. I understand these are your in-laws?"

"Yes and this is news to me and my fiancée."

"Don't know whether it was supposed to be a surprise, sorry."

"Don't be. I'd rather know."

"Ok. Our problem is the Hatman situation. He's still awaiting trial in the UK and Greece is one of the 6 other countries waiting to conduct their own trials."

"And you're thinking that's why Galanis is coming, to bring this to media attention, stir this up again?"

"Yes. He's been involved in this kind of passive-stealth media, stir the pot type of situation, before. Making an off the cuff remark, something like, "I'm here for my daughter's wedding. Isn't it a shame that Hatman's trial hasn't yet happened? I know the Hellenic Republic would see justice done much quicker, perhaps we should be allowed to extradite him."

"I'll go a step further, Agent McCaughey, it was probably his idea. To slip in, do some serious media damage, start a new media shit storm about Hatman and IPF, attend the wedding and kick up who knows what kind of shit there, possibly a confrontation, and then leave. He's angry with his daughter and has never liked me. I've never met the man but I've heard enough about him – and known others like him – that I can see him planning this as retaliation against his daughter for standing up to him recently. And against me for existing."

"All right. We'll proceed with our vetting."

Tim didn't know what to think about that, "You're vetting a senior member of the Greek Diplomatic Corps?"

"Yes, we are, at State's request."

Tim sighed, "Look, I'm determined not to let Hatman affect my life or my family's life any more than he already has. I want to be excited and happy about going home for Christmas, the rest of the family meeting my loves and best of all, getting married. I don't want to think or even know about this. Do what you need to do and if the decision is to bar them from the U.S., my fiancée and I are absolutely fine with that but please don't let us know. In fact, don't let us, or anyone else in my family, know either way. Except…if they can't get in here, they'll go for the UK."

"Who will do the same thing we are, we've already discussed it. Consider it handled, don't worry about it. Congratulations again and have a wonderful time!"

"Thank you and thank you for all your hard work protecting my family. Your folks, Metro PD London and MI-5 have been wonderful. And yes, I know, it's your job but you all go above and beyond."

After disconnecting, Tim tried to resume his work but gave it up after several minutes. Changing into his snow boots, he walked home. As he approached the house, he sent a text to his father: "Basement." He went around back to enter the house through what he thought of as the mud room, shucked off his pack to retrieve his shoes, swapped his snow boots for the shoes, removed his jacket, cap and gloves and headed for the door to the basement. Dad was there, waiting. "What happened?"

Tim paced as he told him and his father shook his head, "If something like that is being planned, he's even nastier than I thought. Guess we shouldn't plan on going to Greece anytime soon. If he's barred from entering the US or the UK, he'll have you barred from entering Greece. Have you received Andy's U.S. passport yet?"

"Yes, Monday."

"Good! And Marissa's passport?"

"It's Australian. I haven't started the paperwork on her adoption yet, so her passport is still good. As soon as we get back, I'll get the adoption going and a U.S. passport for her. That leaves only Artemis with a Greek passport and her work visa for the UK, both are vulnerable. She can't apply for a 'married to an American working in the UK' visa until we're actually married."

"Which the Greeks could revoke and then she'd be in the U.S. illegally. She'd be deported to Greece."

"So barring the Galanises will likely bring us more trouble. But it's also going to create a lot of negative publicity and Greece has always been our ally. I'm thinking State won't bar him unless they find hard evidence he's planning some sort of media thing. Which he could do from anywhere. If they have proof, then his superiors will probably disavow his plans or something. But it's not up to me, I'm not the government of the United States! And we could all be barking up the wrong tree. Maybe his wife convinced him to go to the wedding and play nice."

Dad chuckled, "I like that! And none of this is up to you. I'm glad you told McCaughey you didn't want to know. I wasn't going to tell you until later, but I wrote a letter to the Galanises too. Mailed it the day after you mailed yours. By now, they've received all 3 letters."

Tim nodded; he was pacing again. "Thank you for doing that but I don't know if it will do any good at this point. I'm going to leave this here in the basement, not going to mention this to Artemis or anyone else."

"Then you walk up those stairs with a smile on your face and in your heart."

Tim hugged him, "I'm finally marrying the love of my life in 16 days! But first I get to see everyone we've missed for so long and watch my kids open Christmas presents!"

"Reminds me, I know Tony found another train for the tree, but I put the tunnel, village, trees, cars, truck and people in with the Christmas gifts."

"Good! I didn't even think of that."

Dad smiled, ruffling his hair, "You might have a few other things on your mind." He pulled him in for a hug and kiss. "Gonna be crazy when we get there so in case we get too caught up in everything, I just wanted to tell you how proud I am that you are my son, how proud I am of you and how happy you make me. And to thank you for insisting on me being your dad."

They spent a few emotional moments together before the door opened and a disembodied voice sounding like Sarah called down, "Hello, is there a cook down there? The kids are getting hungry!"

The men snorted, sure, the 'kids'! It was Tim's turn to cook so he ran upstairs, teasing his sister as he walked by her. "Are the kids even here?"

"No but they will be, they went to the store with Artie. We're out of milk."

"No we're not, we bought quart boxes of milk that won't spoil if they're not opened."

"Oops, guess we forgot."

Tim chuckled, "What did you really want?"

"Pie for dessert. With whipped cream."

"At least that'll be gone before we leave. What sounds good for dinner?"

"Mmm, Cottage pie!"

"You've got pie on the brain! That does sound good, though, and we've got everything." He handed potatoes to her, "Here, wash and peel these for me please." While she did that, he retrieved his 'Potato Express' pockets and had her pop the potatoes in when she was done peeling them. "Into the microwave for 10 minutes." The oven was on, preheating.

The potatoes steamed in the microwave while Tim cooked the ground beef, adding chopped onion and a little garlic. When those were softened, he added some thyme, ketchup and flour, then a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. While the mixture cooked for a few minutes, he made the mashed potatoes. Then he moved the meat and vegetable mixture into a baking dish, spooning the potatoes over the top, making peaks and valleys with a fork. After it baked for a few minutes, he would add shreds of cheddar cheese to one end, leaving most of the dish cheese-less. Sarah, Greg and Marissa liked cheese on top while the rest of them did not.

The kids arrived home with Artie, who'd remembered they had boxed milk and brought only a berry pie and whipped topping for dessert. And a few snacks for the plane, although they'd likely be long gone by the time the family boarded the plane.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imagine my surprise when Alix33 informed me that Shepherd's pie is made with lamb, the dish I described as Shepherd's pie is really Cottage pie! My entire life (and I'm old), I thought it was Shepherd's pie, although lamb vs. ground beef certainly makes sense! In the U.S., at least everywhere I've lived   
> (CA and CT), the dish is called Shepherd's pie.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! With everything going on, I totally forgot to post Sunday night, didn't realize until a few minutes ago. Hope you enjoy, there's something in here that several of you have wondered about and another something that...well, you'll see as the story continues.

Chapter 24

Leaving the house in the capable hands of James, who would stay there, the family of 9 left for Gatwick airport Sunday evening. Their flight would be overnight which they hoped would be easier on the children. Because they'd made the reservations more than 90 days in advance, traveling before the Christmas crush got started, and applied for group rates, they had heavily discounted prices on one of the least expensive and the safest airline. It meant an additional stop; however, the first leg would only take 2 hours and they didn't have to change planes. They'd be on the ground only long enough for people to disembark or to board the aircraft for the trip across the Atlantic.

Once they boarded, Kyle and Marissa, up hours past their usual bedtimes, were asleep before the jet took off. Greg and Rob both fell asleep during takeoff and most of the others soon followed. The flight wasn't full which meant it was quieter.

Gibbs was awake through the first leg of the flight, watching his family sleep, trying not to feel smug about them and hoping nothing would come of Tim's worries about Artie's father. He was beginning to drift off when they began their descent into Oslo. He watched out the window but of course all he could see were lights, too bad they were flying at night. Still, it was something to be flying through Norway and he made a mental note to make sure it was on their 'must see' list.

With the exception of the littles, the family roused when the jet landed and watched as a few travelers left and more came aboard. The boarding was handled efficiently and everyone was quickly in and seated, the doors were locked and they taxied out to the runway. Within minutes of takeoff, Gibbs was asleep.

The flight attendants brought around carts with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk and juice a few hours before they were due to land. The beverages were followed by hot breakfasts. After the dishes and trash were collected, the family took turns walking around the plane. There were 3 other children near Marissa and Kyle's ages and, with the consent of the flight attendants, the 5 of them were allowed to run up and down the aisle for several minutes, followed by their older siblings and adults. After moving around enough to suit Dr. Rob, the kids settled in to watch an animated movie while the adults continued their walking, rotating so that one adult was always with the children.

Finally they landed, happy that the weather was chilly but considerably warmer than London, with no snow on the ground. Once off the plane, they split into two groups. Grandpa, Tim, Sarah, and Rob took Andy, Greg, and Kyle through U.S. Customs and then to Baggage Claim while Artemis and Marissa claimed their luggage and waited in line to go through Customs for those without a U.S. passport.

While they waited for Artie and Rissa, Dad went to get their rental van and the others found a luggage cart. Gibbs was just reaching the airport loading and unloading zone when the group inside spotted Artie and Marissa approaching, pushing another luggage cart. Tim hurried to help and having spotted Dad in the van, they put their jackets on and made their way outside. In just a few minutes they were on their way and Tim sighed in relief. "Yay, we're here! No delays, traffic is light, no snow or rain. All good omens."

Artie's eyes widened as her father-in-law increased his speed to 15 miles per hour on the road. "This is light traffic?"

"Oh yeah. On a normal day, we'd be sitting. We haven't stopped yet!"

"I see."

Artie and the children watched out the windows although they really couldn't see much. Rob grinned as they pulled onto E. Laurel. "Ducky's here, see – there's the Morgan!" Tim thought he saw a pickup truck that looked like Bill's going around the corner but as it was a fairly common model and color, he mentally shrugged. It might be Bill or it could just be a lookalike truck.

They all cheered when they heard Ducky was there. As Gibbs pulled into the driveway, he said, "Let's get everyone inside first, say hi to Granducky and then we'll get the luggage."

Tim grinned at him, "Can't wait to see him! I was hoping Tony would still be home, but looks like he's left for work already."

"Yeah, me too. C'mon!"

Greg and Kyle climbed out of their car seats while Marissa was helped out. Used to riding in a big van, she'd dozed off on the way from the airport. The 3 boys walked in together, their parents right behind them. Ducky was waiting inside and greeted each of them with hugs and kisses, not waiting to be formally introduced to Andy, Marissa and Artemis. "Oh, I know who you are! Welcome, I'm so happy to finally meet you in person!"

When everyone was in, he beamed, "I'm glad you're all here, at last! I know it's only been 4 months since I've seen Greg, Kyle, Jethro, Rob, Sarah and Timothy, but oh my, Gregory, Kyle you two have certainly grown!"

Kyle puffed his chest out, "I'm 3 ½ now, Granducky, and I'm not the youngest anymore!"

Marissa giggled as Ducky reached for her. "And this is Miss Rissa. Oh, you are a charmer!"

Tim and Gibbs were poking around the living room and kitchen to see if there was anything new or different. Dad exclaimed at the modern refrigerator in the kitchen.

Ducky smiled, "Anthony moved his clothing and bedding to my house last night. He said if he waited until tonight, they'd be sure to land a case today." He pointed to a bookcase full of DVD cases. "He did leave most of his movie collection."

Tim nodded, knowing Tony had moved all of his adult films to Ducky's. He plucked the cap off of Andy's head. "Come on, let's have something hot to drink, then we'll tackle the luggage."

"The heater's been on for a couple of hours but I'm told it takes about three hours to adequately heat the house."

Gibbs nodded, "Didn't matter so much when it was just me and last Christmas we had fires in the fireplace and kept the place cozy. Once it warms up, it'll stay comfortable. You warm enough, Rob?"

"Yeah, Dad, thanks. I put my thermals on under my clothes before we landed."

"Smart!"

Ducky put water on, Gibbs got the coffeemaker going and then he, Tim, Artie, Sarah and Andy went outside to bring the luggage in. Tim handed out bags, his head in the back of the van. He held a suitcase out behind him, "Anyone still there for this one? We only have two more!"

"I'll take it, Timmo."

"Ok, Ge…" and with that he froze. He turned slowly, his mouth open, trying to express something, his eyes moist with tears. It may have been more than 3 years since he'd last heard his brother's voice, but he'd know it no matter how long it had been, no matter where he was. He dropped whatever he was holding and swept his older brother into his arms. "Geordie, thank God!"

They held onto each other, tears rolling down their faces, and then Tim pulled back, still holding onto him. "You're awfully thin for a Marine. What…" he looked at him, shook his head and changed his question, "how bad?"

"Bad enough, but I'm here, Tim. I've been trying to get out of Special Forces for nearly 3 years, since I promised you I would. But strange things kept happening. Either the transfer would be denied or the papers would get lost or there would be some other excuse. I was afraid to mention it in my letters, afraid to mention anything was wrong. There are some scary people out there.

"Then I got hurt and when I woke up in the hospital, there were orders from the Secretary of the Navy to transfer me stateside. Weird thing was, the orders were dated before I got hurt. I should have already been home, or at least on my way, not on that mission."

Tim looked at him, "Thank God you're alive, you're home. We'll open an inquiry. SecNav owes us, our family. There's more but let's get out of the cold first. And just you, me and Dad. Tony, if he's around. But the others can't be involved."

"I think an inquiry is already open, tell you about that later. So whatever she owes you for is classified?"

Tim nodded, "Bit of a powder keg."

Giving his brother another hug, Tim took both bags and they went into the house. As Tim opened the door, he called, "Look who I found wanting to help with the luggage!"

Thinking it was Tony, Sarah and Rob turned with smiles which turned to shock and like Tim, immediate tears as they yelled "Geordie!" and then embraced their long absent brother. The children, Artie and Ducky watched from the kitchen while Jethro positioned himself close to his kids. He wanted in on the hug as soon as he found a spot. Tim noticed and moving his arm, brought his father in.

When the siblings and their father calmed enough to talk, Geordie was introduced to Gibbs, Ducky and the kids. He'd met Artemis once, many years ago and now he joyfully welcomed her to their family.

When Rob finally got a good look at his brother, he frowned and pointed to an unoccupied chair. "Sit, Geordie! And you're leaning to one side. Guys - he needs a footrest. How long have you been out of the hospital?"

"Two days. I was in a hospital near where I was injured for several weeks and then moved to Landstuhl in Germany and last week I was transported to Bethesda. I was there for a few days before I was discharged. I knew you weren't home yet and was about to call Bill, see if I could sack out on his couch until you got home. Then this guy walks into my hospital room and introduces himself as Leon Vance, with NCIS, and that he'll be happy to take me to Baltimore or wherever I want to go and that if I don't want to stay with Lu or one of the guys…and he said 'the guys'…that I could stay with his family until my family got home. Then I remembered the name, he's not just 'with NCIS', he's the director of NCIS!"

"Long story short, he drove me, actually his driver drove and Vance rode with me in a big SUV, to Bill's place in Baltimore. I'd forgotten he moved but the director knew the address, gave it to his driver. On the way he asked me about my orders and I told him what had happened. Tim, he's already looking into it. I stayed with Bill and saw everyone. Ms. Lu and Barry came over both days, but Freddie and Jose were running around on emergency jobs. There was a big freeze last weekend and a lot of pipes burst. They ran in yesterday afternoon, hugged me hello and then took off again."

"I wanted to surprise you all and didn't want to let the NCIS family in on it. I know you've told me how everyone knows everyone else now but I hadn't thought too much about it, until Vance knew who Lu and the guys are and Bill's new address! Anyway, I wanted to be here at the house when you got home but no key and I figured Gibbs probably has one of Tim's alarms. But when I said that to Bill, he grins, pulls out his phone and calls Tony, telling him he has something at his place that he needs to drop off here before you guys get home. Tony tells him he'll leave the spare key with Security at NCIS.

"So we drive from Baltimore to the Navy Yard. Bill says Special Agent DiNozzo is expecting him, our IDs are checked and boom, we're in. And we're back out in less than 5 minutes with the spare key to the house. When Bill sees some car parked near the house, he tells me it's Dr. Mallard's and did I want to go in or wait in the truck, he says there's an alley behind the houses where we can park.

"I'm telling you, it's really weird that everyone knows everyone else! We were driving around the corner when you arrived. Eventually, we heard you guys come for the luggage. I was in the backyard by then, waited until Tim was by himself, waved Bill off and walked out front. So that's how that happened."

Tim smiled as Sarah put a footstool down on the floor and Geordie put his legs up. "Thanks, that feels great. I can stand for longer every day but it still feels really good to sit and put them up." Geordie looked at Gibbs, "Why do I think you and Vance had something to do with me being here?"

Gibbs smiled at him, "I've been trying to get you home for the past year, Captain. Couldn't get anywhere until Vance came back from his sick leave and added his requests to mine. Then Secretary Porter did something she wished she hadn't and asked what she could do to help make amends. Leon and I both told her to bring you home. And she did, although it sounds like even her orders were ignored for as long as possible."

"Guess we can talk about all that later."

Tim and Gibbs nodded while Sarah looked thoughtful but didn't say anything. With all the luggage inside, the group split to take it to the bedrooms. Geordie looked around, "Are you full up? I can…"

"Nope, you and Rob share the downstairs bedroom."

Tim shot his father a glance, saying, "There's room for another bed in there, Dad. Isn't there a twin in the basement?"

"Forgot about that. Let's count beds before we move it up here." Tim nodded and taking the boys and carrying Rissa, walked upstairs, taking some of their luggage with them. Artie smiled as she watched them, "Marissa will forget how to walk with how much she's carried!"

Gibbs chuckled, "Aw, a little spoiling won't hurt her!"

Upstairs, Tim looked in the boys' room and smiled in surprise, "Look, kids! Andy, your uncle Bill built another bunk bed. You can sleep up top and Rissa can sleep below, like Greg and Kyle."

Andy grinned, "Cool! There are pillows and everything!" He climbed up the ladder, "Rissa, I'm going to sleep up here and you sleep in your bed down below. Greg and Kyle will be across from us!"

Tim smiled as Kyle showed the bed to his little sister and she chattered something to him. He could understand his new little daughter most of the time now but he had to be listening intently.

The master bedroom had a Cal King and the room across from the kids was set up with a queen bed for Sarah. She'd hoped her boyfriend James would join them but his plans had fallen through. Too many of his IT co-workers had applied for the same days off and as the newest employee, he had no seniority.

Back downstairs, they peeked into the bedroom there, saw another Cal King mattress and plenty of room for a twin. Tim squinted at two boxes in the far corner. When he looked closely at them, he laughed, calling out, "Hey Dad, I ordered too many beds, there's an extra one in here, along with the bedding. You, Geo, and Rob should be very comfortable."

When Tony heard that Andy, Marissa, and Artemis would be coming to the US with the rest of the family, he'd reminded Tim and Dad of the number of beds at Dad's house and they realized they'd need more. Tim looked into buying the mattresses they needed, ultimately deciding to purchase inflatables. They'd be comfortable to sleep on while visiting and could be easily stored when they weren't needed. He was especially happy to find that they were sold in the California King size. Because the inflatables were made for use when camping, traveling or at home, those he purchased were high enough at 20 inches that they didn't need a base, although they would put padding under each one to provide more insulation. They'd also ordered bedding, sheets, pillows, and plenty of blankets. Now, Tim was happy he'd gotten carried away with the bed order, nobody would be sleeping on the couch!

While the bags were delivered to the right rooms, Ducky got busy in the kitchen. When Sarah offered to help, she chuckled at the look she got. "I can make toast, pour juice, set the table."

Artemis appeared beside her. "I'll cook, Ducky, you've done so much already!"

"Thank you, Artemis. I'll show you where everything is, how's that?"

They pulled eggs, bacon, and butter from the refrigerator and Artie got busy. By the time everyone had inspected the rooms and was back downstairs, Sarah had the table set. She smiled, "Ducky, did Dad make this table?"

"He did, yes, last year, after Tim wrote to say they were moving to Cambridge. Your father was feeling particularly low and decided he needed to do something positive toward your brother and the boys returning home. He drafted Tobias, Tony, and Abby to help him and they built the table with several removable leaves so it could grow with the family. There were too many of us at Christmas dinner but we did sit at it for our Christmas Eve party."

"It's beautiful, they did a wonderful job."

"It is rather splendid, isn't it?"

Geordie joined them and Ducky pointed to a place at the end of the table. "I believe that spot will be best for you today, Captain. Less chance of being jostled. How much rest should you be getting?"

Geo worked not to roll his eyes, he was through feeling like an invalid after Lu and Bill fussing over him. But then, he was still tired and he had been badly injured, narrowly escaping with his life and his legs. He forced a smile as he answered Dr. Mallard, "I'm allowed to be out of bed for 7 hours a day. Supposed to rest every 2 hours. And please call me Geordie or Geo."

"Thank you, Geordie, and I am Ducky. I suggest you try out your new bed after we eat. I imagine the rest of the family will be napping off and on for the next few days. It took Tobias, Anthony, and me several days to get through our jet lag when we visited London and Athens last summer. And it took me 10 days to get through it when we returned home."

Geordie smiled at him and then watched as Greg and Kyle bounced down the stairs, Andy following behind them holding his sister's hand. Walking into the dining area, Greg looked at Geordie. "Is it okay if we call you Uncle Geo?"

"Sure, Greg, I'd like that!"

"Yay!" The four kids cheered as they sat around the table, Kyle climbing into his booster seat while Rissa accepted help from her aunty. Tim appeared, carrying drinks for them. "Hello, did you have fun playing in your room?"

Andy grinned, "Yes! And I've got a reading light, just like Greg's!"

"That's super, kiddo, someone was very thoughtful to do that. And we'll remember to thank Uncle Bill for building another set of bunk beds."

Greg looked at him, "As long as we don't all have to sleep at the old apartment, right, Daddy?"

"Right, son. We don't have to worry about that anymore. But you know, if we had to, we'd be all right."

Dad entered, just finishing a phone call. "That was Tony. Their case turned out to be MP business so he, Ellie, and Abby will come for an early dinner this afternoon. He says there's ground beef in the freezer."

Tim smiled, happy with the news, went back to the kitchen, rummaging around in the freezer before putting several items in the refrigerator. When he returned, he was still smiling, "Enough meat for all of us! That's a nice setup. Big freezer on the bottom, decent amount of space in the refrigerator section."

Ducky chuckled, "He's nervous about that, Jethro. He bought it at an estate sale. Your old unit is in the garage."

"Huh. Wonder if I could buy it from him? Now that I have a family, need a bigger refrigerator and freezer."

Tim tilted his head, "And the newer ones are more energy efficient, use less electricity."

While they ate, they talked a little bit about their plans. Nothing but unpacking, sleeping, eating and exercise was planned for the rest of this day. If it wasn't too cold, the kids could play in the backyard and they'd all go for a walk or two although Rob thought he and Geo would stay home.

Ducky excused himself after their brunch as he was expected aboard the Navy Yard. "I hope we won't have a case but Dr. Palmer and I have plenty of paperwork to do."

Tim chuckled, "That's one thing I don't miss! Are you joining us for dinner tonight, Ducky?"

"No, I'm sorry to say. My Pilates class is having a Christmas potluck tonight. Seems rather odd but it should be festive. The Palmers will join you, though."

Andy was quizzical, he didn't know that word, "What's a 'potluck'?"

With a smile, his newest pappous explained that each person brought food to share and Andy nodded. "That sounds like fun! You don't know what other people are bringing?"

"No. I have a chicken dish cooking in my slow cooker and will take the whole thing with me. I hope I'm not the only one bringing an entrée!"

Sarah smiled, "I bet you'll still have tasty things to eat!"

"What would you bring, my dear?"

"A fresh veggie plate, spinach dip and hummus. Or brownie bites from the bakery."

Ducky laughed when Greg, Andy, Kyle, and their father smacked their lips. He left while the others cleaned up the dishes, Gibbs beaming at his dishwasher, he'd forgotten about it. Chuckling, he said to Tim, "I'm so used to a dishwasher now, it'd be a real pain to have to wash everything by hand!"

Greg and Andy helped Kyle and Marissa unpack a few toys and then unpacked their own before the four of them went on a tour of the house, Greg and Kyle acting as tour guides.

Tim and Artemis were surprised to find garment bags with their wedding clothes hanging in the closet of the master bedroom. Two boxes marked as wedding shoes were on the floor. Wondering, Tim looked into the nearly empty closet a little further, saying to Artie, "I think I see a big box, must be the Christmas gifts."

"Shh, don't say that too loudly or the children will be in here!"

He grinned, "You're right, don't want any spoilers!"

Once they'd hung up a few things, they too went on a tour of the house. The kids were just walking up from the basement with Grandpa, who was saying they were not allowed on the basement stairs without an adult. "They're too steep for Marissa and she doesn't like to be left out."

Andy nodded, glad Greg had stopped to tell their pappous before they opened the basement door. Grandpa took them down, holding Marissa's hand while Andy held Kyle's hand.

As Geordie was resting in bed and Rob said he needed quiet, the others decided to go for a walk before the need for sleep hit them. Bundling up and putting Marissa in the Daddy Pack, the group took off, leaving Rob in charge of the recovering Geordie.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Later, most of them were waking from naps when Tony, Ellie, and Abby arrived. Andy, Kyle, and Marissa were downstairs with their dad and Aunt Sarah when Kyle ran to the front window. "There's a car parking in front! Ooh, I see Uncle Tony! Daddy, can we go meet him?"

Tim smiled, "By the time you put your shoes and jacket on, he'll be inside, sweetie. Do you see anyone with him?"

Kyle grinned, "I spy with my little eye…Aunt Abby and Aunt Ellie!" He'd just learned to play the game "I Spy".

"Yay! All right, you stay here with Aunt Sarah. Sarah, Aunt Ellie is Ellie Bishop, the 'new' girl. I'm gonna go get Greg."

Sarah chuckled while Kyle answered, "Ok, Daddy!"

Tim ran up the stairs, poking his head into the kids' room. Greg was sitting on his bed, reading. "Hey, Scooter Bug, Uncle Tony and your aunts Abby and Ellie are here!"

"Ok. I'll be down in a while."

Tim nodded to himself, he'd thought something was off with Greg but hoped he was just tired. Now he tapped his son's foot. "Gregson, are you upset about something?"

Greg rolled his lips in, trying not to cry. When Papa held his arms out, he crawled into them and was lifted off his bed. Closing the door, Tim sat on the floor, his son in his arms. "Let it out, sweetheart."

He cried for several minutes before hiccuping to a stop. Tim rubbed his back. "Take your time, catch your breath."

When Greg rubbed his face on Tim's shirt, his papa knew he was ready to talk. "I miss my mama."

Tim swallowed past the lump in his throat and held on tight. "I know you do, son. And we've had a lot of changes going on in the last few months, haven't we?"

Greg nodded into Tim's chest and Papa continued, "We'll go visit her grave this week, son, and we can go again after Christmas." He had a sudden thought and frowned, "Sweetie, are you worried about Artie and me getting married?"

When his son nodded, Tim wrapped his arms tight. "You'll always be mine, Greg. Even if your dad wakes up, even when you're as old as Uncle Rob, even if you have a little one of your own, you'll still be mine. Nothing's going to change that. We added Andy and Marissa and now Artie and I are getting married but that doesn't change anything between you and me, or me and Kyle. I'm yours, you are mine." When he felt his little boy relax, he exhaled slowly, knowing there was more. "Sweetie, are you worried that you have to give up your mama because of Andy's mama?"

A nod and he kissed the top of the boy's head. "Your mother will always be yours, she'll always be in your heart, that won't change. Do you like Artie?"

"Yes, I like her a lot. But she's not my mom."

"No, she's not, sweetheart. She's your Artie."

"Is she my stepmother?"

"Mm, not really and you don't sound like you like that idea. What would you think of this – how about if she's your chosen Artie? Like Marissa is your chosen sister."

"Could she be my chosen mother and I still call her Artie?"

"That's fine with me and I'm sure it'll be fine with her but you two will need to talk about it."

"Okay." He hesitated and then said, "Kyle called her mama this morning, when we were getting off the plane."

Damn, that lump in his throat was getting bigger. "And that hurt you?"

"Yes, he's forgetting our mama."

"Son, tell me something about your mama, what do you remember the most?"

"She stayed with us while we said our prayers, told us stories, kissed us goodnight, like you do. Sometimes she put little marshmallows in our hot chocolate. On Saturdays when we had breakfast, we got to choose the shape of our toast. We had a Mickey Mouse, a Pooh Bear and a Donald Duck. And we fed the ducks at the pond with the scraps."

"Wow, she was a very special mom, Greg. What would you think of adding her to the Beach Kids? Then we can talk about all the great things she did and Kyle will have memories of your memories."

"Oh! That's good, Papa, it'll be like she's with us still!"

Tim looked at his son, "She is, Greg, she'll always be with you and Kyle."

"Papa, will it hurt Artie's feelings if I don't call her Mama?"

"No, sweetie. She knows you love your mother very much and miss her every day. She'll understand."

"What about Andy?"

"If you tell Andy that you really miss your mom and aren't ready to call Artie Mama, he'll understand. And we'll talk to him about it. I'm sorry you've been worried, Greg."

"I…I was okay but now we're here and everything's going to happen."

"This week and up until Christmas, we have a lot of fun things planned for all of us. And we'll visit your mom's grave and see your dad. We'll have a big lunch on Christmas Eve and the whole family for dinner Christmas Day. Then there will be one day with lots of people, but you know nearly everyone, and things happening. After that, Artie and I are going away for two days while you stay with Grandpa, then we'll come back, have New Year's and fly home."

"And then have another wedding."

"Yes, but that will be a little different. We'll be home, for one thing and there won't be very many people. It won't be as crazy."

"Is Andy's grandfather coming?"

"I don't know. Are you worried about that?"

"No, but he is. He says his pappous is mean to his mother and he's worried he'll be mean to you, too."

Tim smiled, "Don't forget I'm not just your papa, I'm also used to dealing with bad guys and they say and do all kinds of mean, nasty stuff to cops. I'm not afraid of Andy's other grandfather and I bet he'll behave himself if he does show up. Otherwise, he's going to look pretty silly!"

"Will you tell Andy that?"

"Yes, Scooter bug, I will."

After cuddling for a few more minutes, they washed their faces and then walked downstairs, hand in hand. While they'd been upstairs, the Palmers arrived and were chatting with Artie while Rissa and Kyle were thrilled to have a baby, 11-month-old Victoria, in their midst.

Greg jumped down the last 2 steps and ran to Uncle Tony. Tim greeted Abby, Ellie, Breena, and Jimmy with warm hugs, realizing he hadn't seen them in person since Easter! They'd already met Artie, Andy, Rissa and Geo, who was, of course, a big surprise. Geo laughed when Breena said that, replying, "I think I'm the last surprise, for this year anyway!"

When Greg moved from Uncle Tony to the aunts and Uncle Jimmy, Tim smirked at his brother. "You ready?"

Tony looked puzzled and then a little alarmed, "Remember the…oomph!" Tim had wrapped his arms around him and held on, although he wasn't hugging hard. Abby laughed, "Come on, Tim, you promised to hug him without mercy!"

Tim looked up, "Not letting go but I do want him to breathe!"

Eventually, Tony called uncle and Tim let go. Rob laughed, "You're lucky he didn't tickle you!"

Tony shuddered, "He's not that cruel."

Greg was standing with his grandfather and looked up at him when a tummy growled. "Grandpa, are you cooking dinner?"

"I don't know, who cooked last night?"

Sarah chuckled as her father and brothers looked at each other. "I did dinner last night! We had Chinese. I almost ordered Italian but you said no because we'd have Tony and Tobias cooking Italian for us here."

"Oh yeah."

The boys laughed and Tim grinned. Artie shook her head, "Then it's my turn. If someone will show me where everything is, I'll get going."

Tim opened his mouth and moved forward but Dad, Rob, and Sarah protested loudly. "NO, we're hungry, we want to eat. The children need sustenance!"

Sarah shook her head, "It'll take you two 4 hours to 'cook' while you get up to heaven knows what in the kitchen!"

Tony watched, grinning as Artie and Tim made eyes at each other and then Tim shrugged. "All right. Someone else can help Artie. Or I'll cook."

"What are we having?"

"Something with ground beef. I took it out of the freezer this morning."

Tony smiled, "Then I'm cooking! Now shoo, all of you big people and the babies. Boys, want to help me?"

Andy and Greg nodded while Kyle looked dubious. "Do we get to pick vegetables out of the garden?"

"No, they're too cold."

"Oh. Can I pick off stems, wash the leaves and put dishes in the washer?"

"Sure."

"Ok!"

The four of them disappeared into the kitchen while Tim picked Rissa up and twirled her around. "Not quite ready for the kitchen, Pookie bug. You can help at home, how's that?"

Rissa nodded, "Ok, Daddy." Although she'd called him Papa almost since the day they met, this was Tim's first 'daddy' from her. He kissed her as he smiled proudly.

In less than an hour, the table was set and the family was sitting down to eat one of Tony's yummy meals. As they ate, Dad reminded the adults of the brunch they were having on Sunday, his treat. The children, except for Victoria, would be at Ducky's house, having their own special treat. Baby Victoria would be with her Slater grandparents.

When they finished, Tim, Rob, Abby, Ellie, and Jimmy cleared and cleaned. Kyle watched intently as the dishes were put into the dishwasher and was very happy to put in a few plates himself. Tim watched him, wondering what fascinated him so much. Was it the machine itself or the dishes having a bath, as Kyle explained it? When he asked Artie's opinion later, she smiled, "I haven't noticed him taking things apart and putting them back together, or have I missed it?"

"No, he doesn't take things apart but he almost always wants to know how things work and why."

"Interesting! Curious but not as intent as I was to learn how to put things back together, to build."

Tim looked at her, "There's no easy segue into this but Greg's having a hard time adjusting to all the changes. He misses his mama and doesn't want to call you that, he'd like to continue calling you Artie. We talked about you being his 'chosen' mother rather than his stepmother. I don't think you're their stepmother anyway, but that's up to you."

Artie nodded, "I'll talk with him about it, I can't even imagine the strength he's needed to get through the past couple of years, when he's still so young. His mother must have been an incredibly strong person and then when he lost her, you were there and I know you were equally strong for him, with him." She thought for a moment, "Perhaps he'd feel more comfortable with one of the Greek words for mother, it might not seem so final or disrespectful to his mother. Mitera is mother, Mana is Mom and Mommy is Mahnoola."

While his little brother was having his bath before bed, Greg and Artie spent some time together, just talking and both felt better afterward. Greg liked the Greek words Artie told him about, he practiced saying them with her. Shyly, he asked her if he could call her Mahnoola, or Mommy. That was different enough that he wouldn't feel bad when he said it. With a kiss and hug, she told him that would be lovely.

As Kyle bathed, Tim talked to him about his mother, the wedding and Artie. Kyle listened and then thought for a moment. "I miss my mama. Artie's my second mama. She's Andy and Rissa's mama, so she's ours too, right?"

"She can be yours if you'd like. Greg isn't quite ready to call her Mama though, Kyle. And that's okay."

"How come he doesn't want to?"

"Because he misses your mama very much. He likes Artie a lot; he's decided she's his 'chosen' mother, like Rissa is your chosen sister."

Kyle wrinkled his forehead, he wasn't quite sure what all that meant. Tim backtracked, "Doodle bug, I just want to make sure you're happy with calling Artie Mama. And with Andy and Rissa being your brother and sister."

That brought a happy grin. "I love them, Daddy! Greggy does too." He leaned forward, "Andy says we get to eat cake at our wedding."

"That's right, you do."

"Mm, cake!" His face brightened even more, "Is there cake at our other wedding too?"

"Yes, more cake!"

"Oh boy!"

He sang his favorite train song as his wobblies bobbed around, but the song changed tonight, with the word cake replacing some of the train words.

Before bedtime, Andy also spent some time with his parents and nodded with understanding when they told him of Greg's feelings. "That's all right. He told me how much he misses his mother. I kind of know what that feels like. You weren't dead, Papa, but I missed you, before we met." He turned to his mother, "I know that was because of pappous, Mama, not you."

Greg and Andy tried to read after the littles were asleep but Papa and Mama came in a few minutes later, moved their books, tucked their blankets around them, kissed them goodnight and turned off their reading lights before heading to bed themselves. By 8:00 PM, Geordie was the only one awake. He sat in Jack's recliner for an hour, happy to be home, even though he'd never been in this house before today, and even happier to be with his family.

He wouldn't leave them now. He'd do his duty until he had his 20 years in, but with the damage from his injuries, he wouldn't be deployed to any kind of war zone. He thought about his future. His siblings, Gibbs and his new sister-in-law had asked him today if he would come home with them, if he had plans for the future. He had enough medical and personal leave to go to the UK with them and stay for nearly a year before he'd have to report in for assignment. He woke a few minutes later, turned the light off and headed to bed.

Everyone but Geordie woke before dawn on Tuesday, as hungry as if they hadn't eaten in three days. Rob had timed his snacks overnight but now it was time for a meal. Although the door to the downstairs bedroom was closed, the group tiptoed around while Artie made a hearty breakfast. As they ate, they decided they would wait until Friday to get their Christmas tree, hoping to be over the worst of their jet lag by then.

In the meantime, there were plenty of other things to do. Andy and Artie wanted to visit NCIS, Grandpa said he'd arrange that for tomorrow or Thursday. He and Tim were driving the van to Baltimore this morning and would bring the Challenger back from Freddie and Jose's garage. They'd need 2 cars while they were here, 3 would be even better. When Artie asked if he was going to the shelter or camp while he was there, he nodded. "I have toys to deliver to Lu and Nate. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes, I've never met either of them, nor have I seen the shelter or camp."

Andy looked at his parents and grandfather, "I'd like to go, too."

"All right, Tim's going with me to drive the van back so the four of us will go. Sarah, Rob, is one of you available to hang out with Greg, Kyle, Rissa and Geordie?"

Both nodded and Greg tried not to look too relieved. When Papa winked at him, he smiled in return.

Tim looked around, "If you bundle up, you kids can play in the backyard while we're gone. And then how about we go ice skating tomorrow? There's an indoor rink here in Alexandria that has public skating from 11:15 to 1:15. We can buy our tickets online, there's a family rate. If we get up a little later tomorrow morning, say 5:30 instead of 4:00, then I'm sure we'll need a nap by 8:30 or 9:00. We can go after naps."

Rissa and Kyle giggled, it was funny their adults were taking naps! Everyone thought it sounded like fun and Rob said as long as they only went for 2 hours, Geordie could go if he wanted, although he wouldn't be able to skate. Dad frowned at that, "If he doesn't want to go, I'll stay home with him, Rob. Give us a chance to get know each other."

Andy looked worriedly at his mother, who smiled and patted his arm. "Andy hasn't been ice skating since he was Kyle's age. He might need some lessons." His father smiled at him, "They have lessons there if you'd like or we can teach you. I taught your mom."

Sarah chuckled, "I remember that! You taught us when you were at Johns Hopkins and we had a little money to rent skates, but we didn't have our own skates until we moved to Cambridge. Rob and I helped you teach Artie, that was fun! I think it was the first time Rob and I ever got to teach anyone something."

Rob nodded, "It was fun, I remember learning some fancy steps just by watching someone."

Greg looked across the table at him, "I did that in New York, Uncle Rob. When we went with Uncle Tony."

Kyle chortled, "Daddy and Uncle Tony were all wobbly, like my wobblies! But they didn't fall and then they did better."

Tim laughed, "And I'm sure I'll be wobbly again tomorrow, Doodle bug!" He turned to Andy and Rissa, "So, Flootle bug, Pookie bug, does that sound like fun?"

Andy's face lit up at his new nickname. He'd been patiently waiting for what seemed like forever. Rissa waited until he nodded and then she nodded. If Andy wanted to go to this skating thing, so did she.

Dad nodded, "All right, then how about we go to NCIS Thursday morning? Then we can do something fun afterward."

Greg caught his father's eye and Papa nodded. "Greg, Kyle, and I have a couple of things to do, Dad. We want to visit their mom's grave and then see their dad. Maybe we'll do that tomorrow afternoon."

Andy didn't say anything but it was really strange to hear Papa refer to someone else as 'dad' for his brothers. Sometimes he forgot that his brothers' mother was dead. He knew she'd been murdered, Greg told him. Feeling sad for his brothers, he took Kyle's hand. Greg was across the table, sitting next to Papa, who pulled him onto his lap. "Does that sound all right with you, sweetie?"

Greg nodded, hiding his head in Papa's arms for a couple of minutes. Rissa, sitting between Papa and Mama, reached up and patted his back, saying, "Your mama's in heaven with the angels."

Looking at his little sister, Greg leaned over from Papa's arms and hugged her. "Thank you, Rissa. She was good so she must be in heaven with the angels."

Sarah glanced around the table, "We could say a prayer for your mother, Greg, Kyle." Then she looked at her father, her eyes big, she couldn't think of a single prayer!

Dad nodded, he'd lead. Speaking softly, he recited a prayer that Tim realized he probably said to pray for Kelly and her mother. He held onto Greg. He whispered to him, "We can pray for your mama anytime, son."

Greg nodded, still huddled in his arms. Artie leaned over and whispered to them both. When she heard Jethro's sweet prayer, she remembered he'd lost his first wife and little girl. Now she told them how much she loved the two of them and that she too would pray for their loved ones.

Kyle wasn't supposed to wear his engineer's cap when they were eating but this morning he had it with him. He pulled it out of his pocket and put it on, "Daddy, can we go to the train museum?"

Tim smiled, "That's a great idea, sweetie! Let's figure out when to go."

Nothing they wanted to do would be open for at least 3 more hours, including the shelter. And it wasn't light yet, nobody wanted to go for a walk or play in the yard when it was still dark. Grandpa said it was fun in the summer when it was almost dark because of the fireflies. That got the grandkids' attention because the four of them shared a love of two wonderful books about an owl named Sam and a firefly called Gus.

After cleaning the kitchen, the group broke up, Tim, Artie, Sarah and the kids heading upstairs while Rob decided on a nap and Gibbs headed down to the basement. He could always find something to do down there.

On the way up the stairs, Sarah reminded Tim that they'd never made a clear decision about trying to find lost relatives, something she'd been campaigning to do for months now and the two of them detoured into Sarah's room to talk about it. Artie joined the kids in their room.

Sarah looked at her brother, "I was going to look for them while you and Artie are away but then there wouldn't be any time for you to see them when you got back."

He looked at her, shaking his head. "How do you not get it? I've been angry with whoever it was that didn't look for us for most of my life. And even now, as happy as I am in my life, I can't get over that, I can't just let it go, I don't even want to. And frankly, with everything going on in my life right now, I don't have the emotional strength to deal with all this. I'm not sure you realize, Sarah, what all that did to me, is still doing to me. Being fully responsible for you at age 9, fighting every minute of every day to keep you alive. I had to kill a man when I was 10 years old, to save you and Robbie. Think about that, 3 years older than Greg, two years younger than Andy. And you were not easy to raise, you were horrible, fought me every step of the way. I have physical, emotional and whatever else kind of scars a person can have. I can't just 'let it go'."

His sister tried one more time, "I think someday we'll find the only ones we should be angry with are Natalie, and possibly Dad McGee."

"And that will change nothing! You can't rewrite history, this isn't fiction. You may have somehow painted a rose tint over it but I can't do that. It's always going to be with me. I'm in a good place now with my love, our children, Dad, you, Rob, thankful Geo's alive and home. I'm not giving that up! I've worked too hard for what I've got, what _we've_ got. Do what you want to do, you never listen to me anyway. But I want no part of this. You find them, you contact them, you deal with them and don't even mention them to me, Artie or my kids."

She took his hand, "I'm sorry, Tim, I haven't been in sync with your thinking at all. And now I realize you've been telling me that all along. You're right, I don't listen to you, I'll do better at that, I promise. You've been so happy, I thought now would be a good time to find and contact them but I don't want to ruin anything. Not now, not ever. I know I was horrible, I know what I did, I know it's left scars with you, physical, psychological and emotional. We've talked about it, while I was in detention and foster care, while I was seeing Dr. Jamison and after. I can't change history any more than you can. You mean more to me than the people that let us down so badly, Tim. I'm sorry."

He nodded, "I accept your apology, Sarah. Maybe someday I'll be more forgiving toward them but not now. And I owe you an apology for throwing your past in your face, we worked hard on all that and agreed to put it in the past. I'm sorry too."

"I accept your apology. Can we hug now?"

With a noise that might almost have been a chuckle, Tim held his arms out. When they parted, Tim raised his hand to wipe his face and his sister looked at his bare hand. Sarah gave a rusty chuckle when she noticed, "That reminds me of something else," She raised her hand in mock surrender when Tim frowned, "A good something. More of a reminder, I hope. Are you… do you have plans to give Artie a real engagement ring before the wedding? Do you have her wedding ring yet?"

Tim stared at her and then shook his head, rolling his eyes, "And I thought I was doing fine, everything organized and done. Geesh! Yes and no. Dad has a box of jewelry from his parents and grandparents and we want to look through there first, see if there's a family ring that Artie likes. If not, we'll go shopping."

"Tim! You're getting married in less than 2 weeks! You don't have her wedding band either?"

"No, hoping we'll find a set."

"Hoping…" Sarah shook her head at him, smiling at the same time, "I don't believe you!" She whipped out her phone and called their father. When he answered, she said, "Dad, Tim and I are in my room and he's suddenly remembered the Gibbs' family jewelry. Were you going to get it today?"

She pushed the speaker button as their father started laughing. "We're a pair, your brother and I! I got the box yesterday, took a nap when I got back, the rest of you were already asleep and then I forgot to tell him! It's, uh…oh it's down here, I'll bring it up. Is Artie awake?"

"Yes, she's playing with the kids in their room."

"Then I'll bring the box up there. Be a few minutes, gotta finish something first."

Tim chuckled, "Can't wait!" He turned to his sister, "I forgot to tell you, Artie has all her photos online, even the old ones from Cambridge. She downloaded several to me, want to see?"

Sarah nodded, relieved that her brother wasn't angry with her anymore. She'd really stuck her foot in it…again. She grinned when she saw photos Tim pulled up. Tim, Rob and her right after he'd met Artie. He was 18, Artie 16, Sarah was 12 and Rob 11. Sarah looked at Tim when he showed her the photos. "The photos in the shelter kitchen! I have them in an album, it's not just you and Dad, Timpa, I'm just as much a space cadet, too!"

"Got a lot going on, Sari!"

She pulled them up and they both shuddered. Then she had another idea, "We should take a new photo with the four of us, make sure it's posted right after the first one."

"Good idea, I hate seeing that first one Lu took of us at the shelter."


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it again! Sorry...enjoy the chapter.

 

Chapter 25

When they went downstairs, their brothers were in the kitchen, Geordie having breakfast while Rob noshed on one of his cheese, nuts and fruit snack packs.

Geordie looked at them, glad to see they really were a family and Gibbs was Dad. The two of them had been corresponding for a few months when he received letters from his siblings reporting the adoptions. Tim was ecstatic while Rob and Sarah were happy but felt odd after being Tim's children nearly all their lives. They'd also written about Andy, Artie and Marissa. Tim hadn't mailed his letter about Andy right away and added another page telling Geo about Artie, her sister and the baby moving in with them before he'd finally mailed it.

As Geo told them about the batch of mail with the dizzying number of changes, and amount of information, they smiled and Tim said, "We won't have to do that anymore. You're home now."

Sarah narrowed her eyes, "You're coming to Brambury with us."

He grinned, "Like you guys would let me stay here!"

Tim shook his head, "Nope, we wouldn't! The Corps has had you for nearly 18 years, it's our turn now."

"What am I going to do there? Once I'm all healed."

"What you've always planned to do, go back to school, get your credential and your Masters." Sarah gave him one of her sassy looks, "They have colleges and universities in the UK, you know. You might even have heard of a few!"

He laughed at that, "Ok, ok, I get your point! How long are each of you planning to be over there?"

Tim leaned over to kiss the top of his head, "Still can't believe you're really here! I'll be there for at least another 18 months. After my contract with Bedford is up, Vance has something new he wants me to do, something not in the field. He's also said I can work in the London office, seems to think that's the best place to test out whatever this new job is. But I don't know, we're also talking about moving home after Bedford. Dad might want to move home. And 4 years away from home might be too long, might just do 2. We'd like Andy to have a chance to live in the US before he's through high school. Two years would mean the kids will have good memories of Brambury and that's important. And with any luck, the case that has London Metro, MI-5 and the FBI still protecting all of us will be settled by then, at least in the UK." He stopped, "Sorry, got carried away!"

Geordie patted his arm, "That's okay, I asked. So move home in anywhere from 18 months to 4 years?"

"Yes."

"Rob?"

"I'm in my 3rd year of residency and committed to one more. After that, there's a program here, I mean there, that I'm interested in. I can officially finish my residency, start my life as a pediatric physician and continue to study a specific specialty. That would be another year. After that, I'm coming home. I love London, Brambury, being with the family and all the travel we've done and our home but my goal has always been to help kids in the U.S., specifically in Baltimore and that hasn't changed. I want to open a sliding scale clinic in our old neighborhood, work with the free clinic to make sure anyone there can get help, especially the children."

"Sarah?"

"I'm staying in the UK for the foreseeable future, Geo. James isn't ready to jump the pond."

"I remember he works for NCIS but I've forgotten what he does. Sorry guys, the explosion hurt more than bones and ligaments." He made a noise as his siblings each gently hugged and kissed him.

Finally, Sarah replied, "He's in IT, working on software to improve life for the agents who have to do so much paperwork. He was telling me how many databases they, sorry, I should include Tim, Dad and Tony, how many different places you have to go for information to put in your reports. How they're all formatted differently."

Tim was having trouble hiding a grin. "He's working on new software?"

"Sort of. It's a program someone else wrote, he doesn't know who, so a specific form can be started, and, for example, put the case number in. The new software will automatically go and get the information it needs, translate it into the correct formats for the report form and prefill. He says they estimate it'll save millions of dollars and resources for the field agents and that it's 20 years overdue."

Rob frowned, "If someone else wrote it, what's James doing?"

"They're testing each piece and getting it ready for production, for all the offices."

"Wow! When will that be happening?"

"Uh, I think he said April."

Tim sat back in his chair while Geo narrowed his eyes at him and then decided to keep his mouth shut for now. He could ask him later. Might be something not everyone needed to know. Instead, he changed the subject, "So, you want to do a new picture of the four of us?"

"Yes! Won't be exactly the same, Rob and I won't be clinging to Tim's legs. And he won't be wearing clunky black walking cast boots on his legs."

"Ok, let's do this here then. Robbie, you have the longest arms, you can…"

Dad walked into the kitchen, holding a jewelry box. "Hello!"

"Hi, Dad. We've decided to put some photos on that family tree Sarah started. She has the photo from the shelter, the first one, so we thought we'd take a current one."

"And Artie has some photos of us when we first met her, so we'll include those too."

Dad nodded, "Good idea. I'd like copies of those. Want me to take a shot of you four now?"

"Sure!"

He took Sarah's phone and took several photos. Handing the phone back to his daughter and the box to Tim, he refilled coffee mugs before pouring some for himself. "So, that's got us to 0640, what's next?"

They chuckled before realizing he was right. They'd eaten and everyone but Geordie had showered and dressed. Geordie looked at Gibbs, "Rob says you're going to Baltimore today. Mind if I tag along? With the doctor's permission, of course."

They looked at Rob, who nodded. "You walk, you sit. Nap in the van or the car. Wear full cold weather gear, you know how cold it gets at the camp."

"Great! Andy, Artie and Tim are going too, plenty of room for one more. We'll drive the van to the shelter and camp. I have toys for Christmas for the kids and a few other things. Then we'll go to Freddie and Jose's to get my car."

Geordie just looked at him, "Your car is at Freddie and Jose's apartment?"

"No, no, my car and pickup are stored in their garage at their office. They don't share the same apartment anymore."

Geordie shook his head, "So weird. Of all the changes in the family, that one's the hardest to get through my head. That Tim's NCIS family knows our Baltimore family so well. Or at all."

Tim titled his head, "Finally told the team about Baltimore, the shelter and camp when Greg and Kyle's mother went missing. Lu called me to report her missing, Greg was with Mrs. H and Kyle with Linda Mac and they heard all that."

"Did they drive you nuts? Uh, sorry Gibbs."

He shook his head and with a look at Tim, received permission to answer the question, "No, made them wait until we had the killer in custody. And by then they'd had several big clues. And I knew already, Tim told me the basics on the way to the shelter that first day, learned more after the visit to Bethesda to check on Commander Hart who turned out to be Patrick McGee and then I read the rest of your brother's file."

Tim picked up after that. "Gibbs met Lu that night at the shelter, met Barry at the city morgue, same night. The boys and I were staying here but while I was visiting Pat the next afternoon, Legal came down on Gibbs, said I could not remain in contact with them. So I had to move us out and into the Silver Spring apartment. Rob and the guys helped me move the next day, that's when Freddie and Jose met Gibbs. And Bill…oh he was building the bunk beds for the boys, and he built another one for Andy and Rissa. Don't know how that came about, Tony must have talked with him."

Geordie nodded, "I know that one! Bill told me that, said Tony called and asked if he had time to build another set of bunk beds for Andy and Rissa. Paid him, too."

Tim nodded, "Thank you, mystery solved! Bill didn't mention how much, did he?"

Geo shook his head with a laugh and Tim continued. "Rob and Dad drove up to Cambridge for Thanksgiving last year. I already had the offer to stay at MIT through May and the offer from Bedford. And I was fed up with the crap NCIS was pulling on me. So the boys and I rode home with Dad the day after Thanksgiving. Oh, Dad, that's when they found out the details."

"Right, I'd forgotten that. While Tim, Greg and Kyle were here, we invited the team and the Baltimore folks to dinner. That's when we all met, Geo. Tim, Rob, Lu and the guys explained life at the shelter and camp to our team. When Tim and the kids came home at Christmas, we had everyone for Christmas dinner. Then when we left for the UK a month early, Tony and Bill offered to get Rob and Tim's cars sold for them. I didn't want to sell the Challenger or my truck so Freddie and Jose put them in long term storage in their garage."

"And?"

Gibbs looked at Tim and then nodded, "Forgot about that. Jose wanted Tim's apartment so we moved Tim's stuff out and his stuff in."

"Wow, you've done a lot together."

"Yes. Last month, they joined the others for Thanksgiving at Ducky's."

Geordie laughed at his lingering shock and Rob looked at him, "Turns out we're all just people. Not so different and with one major thing in common: Tim."

"Cool!"

They heard footsteps on the stairs and Artie joined them. "Good morning, Geordie. Hello again, everyone!"

"Have fun with the kids?"

"Yes, we played a few games and Andy and Greg read aloud to us. Then we remembered they had schoolwork to do, so they're doing that. Kyle and Marissa were playing something together and they both fell asleep." She smiled at the mug of coffee Jethro put in front of her, "Thank you, Jethro. It's a good thing we engineers like our coffee as strong as Marines, doctors, writers and criminal investigators do!"

"You're welcome. I brought the box of family jewelry home yesterday while you were all asleep."

"Oh, wonderful! Then we can pick our rings!" She looked at Tim, "Shall we do that now, my love?"

"Yes, I've kept you waiting long enough!"

She opened her mouth to say she had no complaints but instead just smiled serenely. Jethro put the box in front of them, she was sitting next to Tim, and opened it up, saying, "I don't know how my dad left this, if it's organized or notes as to what belonged to who."

Inside the box was a piece of paper sitting on something flat that covered the interior. The paper had writing on it that Dad said was Jack's.

Tim read the note aloud, _"Whoever's reading this, I sure hope it's Leroy. Son, I hope you''ll share what's in here with your team, your family. As I write this, I've only met them once and I can tell already they're good kids who love you. Even if you are a grump like your old man. Don't know yet about your girls, but Tim and Tony both need a dad and seems like they'll follow you anywhere. Be good to them! Love, Dad."_

Tim grinned, "Nailed that!"

"Who were your girls?" That was Geordie.

"Abby and Ziva David, a former Mossad operative who worked with us for nearly a decade."

"What happened to her?"

"Her father died. They'd had bad blood between them for years and he was just starting to make an effort to reach out to her when he was killed. We found his killer but Ziva never recovered emotionally. Later that same year, the team had to break up for a while, politics; she went home to Israel and never returned."

"Sad."

Tim looked at his brother as he worked on the box, "It was, it was tough for all of us." He grimaced at the wood covering. "Shoot, this thing is not coming out and my rule 9 is locked away upstairs."

With a grin, his father handed him his knife. "Here you go."

Artie frowned, "Rule 9? Is that a secret code for a knife? And why do you have one at all?"

Three voices answered her, Tim, Jethro and Geordie, "They don't run out of ammunition."

"Oh! I never thought of that. I do remember in Cambridge you used to throw that homemade thing at a target, you said you might have to use it in your law enforcement career."

"And I did. Not my shiv, but a knife." Working around the sides, Tim gently but firmly cut through the wood. "Think he used super glue on this."

Dad huffed, "Sounds like Jack!"

The wood gave to the knife and was quickly lifted out. Tim handed the knife back and they all looked at what lay beneath. Piles of small white envelopes with writing on the front of them.

"Cool, it's all labeled."

Artie grinned, "This will be fun!"

Her father-in-law made a face, "Might not be anything you like in there."

She smiled at him, "I'm not worried!" Removing 3 envelopes, she put them on the table. "We'll have to be careful that we don't mix up the jewelry, put it into the wrong envelope!"

Looking at the first one, she read, "Sarah Mildred Cahill Gibbs, mother of Jackson Gibbs, grandmother of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Her engagement and wedding bands. The center stone in her engagement ring is her birthstone, peridot, for August." Opening the envelope, she shook out the two rings and looked at them. "They're lovely, but that style and color won't go well with my skin tone." She smiled, "Perfect for an Irishwoman, not so much for a Greek woman!"

Dad had tape out and after the rings were back in the envelope, he carefully taped it shut.

Neither of the other two envelopes had jewelry in them that suited Artie. Putting them aside, she removed 3 more, noticing Sarah taking notes, interesting. The fifth envelope had a ring with a beautifully set amethyst as the center stone, with diamonds surrounding it. Tim smiled as soon as he saw it. "That's you, honey!"

She nodded, putting it on. "It fits perfectly, I love it! Who did it originally belong to?"

Tim looked at the envelope, "Charlotte Baxter. Dad's maternal grandmother."

"Beautiful! And I love the wedding band, too, Timothy."

Rob was looking through the box for Mr. Baxter's rings. While this was interesting, he could see his brother and Artie were on the verge of getting even mushier than usual. He pulled out the envelope as Tim was leaning closer and closer to Artie. "Here's Mr. Baxter's ring, Tim. Maybe it'll work for you."

Watching his youngest brother's frantic search through the box, Geordie didn't even try to hide his laughter as Rob nearly threw the envelope on the table between Tim and Artemis. Tim opened the envelope and put the ring on, "Fits fine."

Artie shook her head, "No, that's the wrong metal for your skin tone. You need warm gold for your pale skin."

As she spoke, Rob went back to the box, removing all the envelopes with male names on them. Tim opened each of them but none of them suited. Finally, Dad rolled his shoulders. "Wish I knew where my dad's ring is, that was gold. Tim, do you know if he was buried with it? I was kind of in a fog at the funeral, don't remember a lot of details."

Tim shook his head, "It wasn't buried with him. Tony and I worried about that, thinking you might want it and asked Breena how to find out. Instead of answering us, she asked the mortuary guy about the ring, who said no, it wasn't buried with him."

Dad chuckled, "That's our Breena! I'll ask LJ if he knows anything about Dad's ring." He turned to Geo, "LJ, Leroy Jethro Moore, was my parents' best friend, is my godfather, namesake and was co-owner of the market he and Dad bought in a town owned by the local mining company. He and my dad had a falling-out when my mom died, I was about 14, and LJ left town. Lost track of him until about 3 years ago. I found him when he was on the sidelines of one of our cases. He and Dad patched things up and they were still strong when Jack died last year."

Geordie smiled, "Will he be here for the wedding? I'd like to meet him!"

"He'll be at the wedding but he's coming for Christmas too. You'll have a better chance of talking to him then!"

Tim grinned, "He has many young Jethro stories!"

Dad pointed at him, a wicked gleam in his eye, "And payback will be had if I ever meet your mother's family."

"Oh, man! Sarah, off the table forever!"

She smiled, "All right, Tim, that's not a problem."

Rob looked at his watch, "Hey, we killed another hour, it's almost 8:00!"

Tim looked at his dad, "Leave in thirty, if that's enough time for you, Geordie?"

"Thirty minutes is good, moving kind of slow and Rob will have to redo some stuff after my shower."

"Take as long as you need, son, no rush."

"Need to make sure Andy's ready. We can load up the van, take the kids' seats out."

Andy was just finishing his schoolwork and changed into warmer clothes. Artie grabbed Tim's warmest jacket and cap, remembering his tales of the wind blowing through the camp. Kyle woke up long enough to look at them, smile sleepily and fall back to sleep. His new mama pulled another blanket over him, making sure Greg and Marissa were warm enough too, kissing all three.

The kids' seats were piled in the back of the van, along with the large box of toys made by Dad with help from everyone in the Brambury household. Even Susannah painted a toy truck before she left.

Dad was in the driver's seat for the trek to Baltimore, then Tim would drive the van home, planning on detouring to show Andy and Artie where the old apartment was and they thought they'd stop in at Elaine's diner for lunch on the way.

When they'd planned the trek to Baltimore, they figured 15 minutes max at the shelter, say hello, show Artie and Andy around, stash the box of toys in Lu's office and then walk over to the camp, another maybe 20 minutes to include the walk to and from. But then they'd brought warm things and some treats for Nate, Juanita and Big John, so now they'd drive over there. They couldn't stay long as Jose would be waiting for them at his office, with the keys to the garage and the Challenger. And it would take some time to put the car back together.

What the men hadn't taken into consideration was Lu. She hadn't seen them in too long and was meeting Artemis and Andy for the first time. She'd made coffee and hot chocolate and baked cookies for Tim's loves. She greeted each of them, fussed a little over Geordie, who knew it was because she cared, hugged Artemis and almost cried when she met Andy. "Oh, you look so much like your father! I'm so happy to meet you and your mother!"

Andy beamed the whole time, Papa hadn't mentioned Aunty Lu would be like a yaya to him! He and Artie were shown the shelter, which was closed for cleaning, while Geordie sat at one of the long tables, sipping coffee, laced with hot chocolate to keep Rob happy. After his brother and Gibbs finished unloading the toys and a few other goodies, they joined him.

Geordie already knew about Lu and Gibbs' brief dating history and looking at the two of them, believed he saw regret. He thought about saying something, even though it wasn't any of his business by a mile, and decided Lu would be the one to tackle rather than Gibbs. But not now, not today. Maybe he'd call her…huh. He wasn't allowed to do stairs, no basement and no privacy in the room he was sharing with his little brother and probable future father. Ok, he'd send her an email.

The drive to Nate's was very short but as cold as it was outside, all of them were glad to be inside for another couple of minutes. That reminded Tim and Geordie of the cold they'd endured as kids and the two looked at each other, glad they'd brought all the extra blankets and warm clothing that Tony, his team, the Palmers, Ducky and Abby had gathered. Ducky told them they'd had a winter blanket and clothing drive aboard the Yard and today their bundle was comprised of the items that had arrived after the official deadline. The bulk of the items from the drive were delivered around Thanksgiving. Nate greeted his boys with hugs and shook hands with Dad, giving him a slap on the shoulder. "Good to see you, Jethro!" He smiled again as he shook hands with Artie and Andy. "Glad to meet you in person! And I was right, Andy, you look like both parents, perfect!" He turned back to Geo, frowning at him. "You all right, Geordie boy?"

"Getting there, Nate. Got hurt pretty bad."

"You going back?"

"Not for several months and not to the same thing. Couldn't, even if I wanted to."

"You did good, Geo. Served your country well and lived to come back to your family."

"Thanks, Nate. I'm just grateful to be here."

Tim and Big John unloaded the van while Dad put more wood into the oil drum fires. The drums were in a circle and the tents had been moved closer. They had enough wood to keep the worst of the chill off at night and to burn occasionally during the day but if the temperatures dropped too far, the camp residents would be sent to the shelter. Until then, the blankets and extra clothing would be very welcome. Nate smiled at the packages of food. "Thanks! You all are too good to us!"

Tim and Geordie looked at each other and then back at Nate, "You took care of us, it's our turn."

"Aw. We got ourselves some good men here, Jethro."

Dad smiled proudly, "Yes, we do, Nate, men and women! Proud of all of them!"

"Tony's been down here, too, you know. He and a pretty blond gal brought a truck load of blankets, shoes, socks and clothes for us. 'Round about Thanksgiving. He's been here several times, sometimes with one of my boys, sometimes by himself or with that friend of yours, Jethro…name starts with an 'F'."

"Fornell?"

"Yeah, that's it. They came during the summer, brought hot dogs, ice cream and lemonade for everyone one day. They were back after they went to see you, showed us pictures of your trip to that beach, sure looked like fun!"

Andy and Artie had a very quick tour of the camp which gave them more of an idea how Tim, Sarah, Rob and Geordie had lived during their childhood.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Back in the van, Andy had a few questions that his father and uncle answered. When they reached Freddie and Jose's business office, Geordie understood why he'd been so confused. His friends hadn't had an office the last time he'd been to Baltimore, several years ago. They'd operated out of their apartment and van; they'd been thrilled when they bought that van. Now they had an office with what looked like a warehouse converted to a big garage and storage.

Pulling the rental van in front of the office, Gibbs let the engine idle while Tim went into the office to get the keys to the garage and the Challenger. They figured that with two of them working, it would take about half an hour to get the car drivable. While Geordie wouldn't be allowed to physically help, he'd provide instructions to Tim so Gibbs could work uninterrupted. Artie and Andy would wait in the nice warm office, both had reading material with them.

Tim emerged from the office, beckoning them in. Inside, Jose gave Geordie another welcome home hug and then shook hands with Artie and Andy as they were introduced. Andy looked curiously at him and Jose laughed, "Andy, I'm like you, a product of two different cultures. My father was Swiss and my mother Peruvian, I have her features and my father's coloring. Now, why don't you all stay here and I'll get the car. It's ready for you, Gibbs."

Gibbs' eyebrows flew up, he certainly hadn't expected that! Jose grinned, "One of our plumbers is staying in the bunkhouse for a few days, waiting for his new place to be ready, and he got bored the other night. He remembered Freddie saying the Challenger would be picked up today and called me, asked if it was all right to put it back together. He works on cars in his spare time so I wasn't worried about him messing up. I took it for a test drive yesterday and it's fine."

"Wow, that's great! I'd like to leave him something."

"If you'd like but It's not necessary, you're already paying for storage. And he did it for fun."

"I understand but I'd still like to leave him something."

With a smile, Jose went behind the front counter, coming back with a plain envelope. Stopping to write the plumber's name on it, he handed it to Gibbs. "Here you go."

Geordie wanted to see how the building was set up, so he, Gibbs and Joe walked across to the large building while Tim, Andy and Artemis stayed in the office. Geordie was impressed with the garage and the basic living quarters, what Jose called 'the bunkhouse'. It was big enough for four people with 2 sets of bunk beds that he bet Bill made, hooks and a few shelves on the wall for clothing, full bathroom with a shower, and a kitchen area with a microwave, small refrigerator, sink, a bistro table with chairs, a couch and small TV.

Geo thought that their circle of friends, survivors of a childhood on the streets, would always be sure to have extra room and board for anyone who might need it. He was also sure that not everyone who'd stayed here had been an employee of Joe and Freddie's. At least not to start with. From what Tim and Barry had written him over the years, their plumber friends had taken in more than one young person from the streets, made sure he or she earned a General Equivalency Diploma to prove their high school level knowledge and then arranged for them to be apprenticed to the same plumbing company where the guys apprenticed.

The garage had four bays and Geo smiled at the look on Gibbs' face when he saw both the Challenger and his truck. He knew about Jack building the Challenger and then waiting years to give it to his son. And he knew the old pickup truck had links to Gibbs' first wife and little girl. Then he realized both vehicles had all their tires on and looked freshly washed. "He did both?"

Joe laughed, "Yeah, I kept that for a surprise. Wasn't sure if you'd want them both but here they are."

Geo grinned, "Gibbs, I can drive. It's a standard transmission, right?"

"Yes. Geordie, are you sure?"

"Yeah, my right leg is stronger than my left, and there's nothing wrong with my eyesight or reflexes. We could have 3 vehicles while we're here. You know that'll come in handy, for one thing, we won't have to keep moving the kids' safety seats in and out. You or Tim can follow me all the way home."

Gibbs gave him a long look and then smiled, "All right, Geo, but you take it slow and easy. I'm not worried about the truck, don't want you to get hurt again."

"Thanks, Gunny, I'll be all right. And we're headed home now, right? Beat the afternoon commute?"

"As early as we are, thought we might stop into the Navy Yard, get that little tour over with. It'll give Tim less time to think about it and I know Greg, Kyle, Sarah and Rob aren't interested. Then maybe grab some lunch somewhere."

Geo smiled, "At your diner? I've been looking forward to that."

Gibbs chuckled, "I'm always ready for the diner." Pulling both vehicles out of the garage, they idled while Gibbs called Tim.

"Hey, the kid did the pickup truck too and Geordie says he'll be fine driving it. Thought as long as we're out and it's early, we could stop by the Navy Yard, get that over and done with and then head to Elaine's for lunch."

"Sounds great to us, Artie and Andy are nodding yes - and I know Greg and Kyle don't want to go into the agency."

"Yeah, I know you really don't either but we won't take long. I should call Tony first."

"How about I do that? He's more likely to answer me straight if they're swamped."

"Ok. Guess we should let Vance know too."

Tim huffed, "I'll let you make that call!"

Both made their phone calls. Tony said they were catching up on paperwork and would welcome a break. Vance told Gibbs basically the same thing, things had been quiet and everyone would be happy to see them and meet Tim's new family including his Marine brother.

The 3 vehicles caravanned to the Navy Yard, Tim parking in a visitor's space while Geo and Gibbs drove into the parking garage as the Navy Yard tags on Gibbs' vehicles were still valid. Tim, Andy,uuu and Artie hurried from the van into the building where Tim was happily greeted by the security force.

Andy watched in surprise as his father unfastened something from around his calf, placing a knife-shaped sheath on the security table, then taking a small but wicked looking knife from his belt and put it with the other one. When one of the guards raised an eyebrow at him, he shook his head, "No longer a field agent and I don't have a license to carry, concealed or otherwise. Haven't carried a firearm in over a year."

The guard shook his head mournfully, "That's a shame, Agent McGee; you're one of the best!"

Andy's dad smiled cheerfully, "I don't regret it, Henry, I have four wonderful children, marrying the love of my life, I'd trade the field for them any day!" He gestured to Andy and Artie, who'd already been through the scanner. "This is our oldest, our son Andy. And this is Artemis Galanis, my fiancée."

Henry beamed, shaking hands with both of them. Moving on from Security, they took the elevator up to the 3rd floor where Grandpa and Papa used to work. Andy knew Uncle Tony now led Grandpa's old team and sat at his desk.

When they reached the 3rd floor, Geordie and Gibbs were just getting off the other elevator. Tony and Ellie were there in seconds, "Welcome home!" Andy and his mother both smiled, glad to see familiar faces. They were given a tour of the bullpen and showed the desk where Papa sat for all the years he'd been here.

Tony shook his head when Andy's papa said that. "That's not right. You were my senior when Gibbs was in Mexico, you sat at my old desk."

Tim nodded, he'd forgotten about those strange few months when Gibbs disappeared after being injured. He'd quit so Tony was made Team Leader with Tim his Senior Field Agent, Ziva as the junior and Michelle Lee as the team probie.

On Tony's current team, his SFA had recently moved to Rick Carter's team as his SFA while Rick's SFA, Evan Fuller, had moved to DiNozzo's team. While Tony hadn't introduced them yet, he'd told his former boss last night that he and his former SFA, Maggie Barnes, had become friendly and wanted to take their friendship further. Knowing it was inappropriate to date a subordinate, he'd cooked up the deal with Maggie, Carter and Fuller. Gibbs smiled when he told him, glad to hear Tony's common sense solution. As Tim and Fuller greeted each other, Evan looked up with a smile, "Uh oh, word's out that you're here!"

Tim's face lit up as he was greeted with affection by Rick, Jim O'Brien, Natalie and other former co-workers. Several of them would be at the wedding and Artemis was happy and relieved to be introduced to them, now they wouldn't be strangers! Andy beamed the whole time, loving his introduction as 'our son Andy', either Papa or Grandpa's hand on his shoulder, grounding him. Geordie was also warmly welcomed and thanked for his service.

When Jimmy arrived, he pulled a chair over and pointed Geordie to it. "Everyone, easy on Captain Perry. He's only 4 days out of the hospital." Geordie wanted to say he was fine but he saw the same look in Jimmy's eyes he'd seen in Rob's and Ducky's. He sat and then grinned as he said to Jimmy, "Good thing we met last night, I don't follow orders from just anyone!"

When another voice was heard, the crowd shuffled around and Leon Vance approached the bullpen. Tim was nervous and Artie tried not to wince as he held her hand a little too tightly. As Vance came toward them, Tim stood straight and taking a deep breath, gave Artie a quick kiss, whispering an apology for her hand. She noticed Jethro had moved closer and Andy instinctively moved toward his parents.

Vance saw the nervousness and the movements of Gibbs and the young boy and sighed, he hoped to dispel all that as soon as possible. Looking at him, Tim remembered Leon had been unaware of everything that happened while he was battling for his life. He relaxed and returned the warm smile. Keeping his hand on Tim's arm, as if afraid he'd disappear, Vance welcomed Artie and Andy. Once that particular bit of ice was broken, Tim enjoyed the visit. They took the elevator down to the lab and surprised Abby, who'd had her headset on all morning and wasn't aware of their surprise visit. She grinned as Gibbs kissed her cheek and then gave gentle hugs to the others, especially Geordie. "I'm glad Dr. Rob let you out today, Geordie!"

"Me too! And I got to drive Gibbs' truck back from Baltimore, that was fun!"

Abby's grin widened, "Freddie told me about Jace putting the Challenger and the truck together. Pretty cool, huh?" Artemis was interested in her various machines and tools and while Andy listened to her, he had questions about what she could do.

His father had told him that Aunt Abby solved many cases with her amazing skills. "She can figure out what kind of car someone was driving with the tiniest bit of information, things even well trained people wouldn't think of looking for. She once figured out that two maples leaves found on the ground weren't from the same tree - through their DNA! She's solved thousands of cases through her forensic skills and willingness to think outside of the box. Do you know what that means?"

When Andy nodded, his papa told him of several more instances where the team had been stumped and she'd unearthed a tiny clue that helped them find the criminals. Now, as Abby finished explaining, Andy said he had questions and at Abby's nod, started asking all the questions he'd been saving. Abby happily demonstrated a few things, even letting him touch a sample of something harmless.

They'd already seen Ducky and Jimmy and neither Artie nor Andy was interested in viewing the Autopsy suite, neither had security clearance to see MTAC and thus their tour was complete. Back in their trio of vehicles, Artie now riding with Geo, they met again at Elaine's diner. Geordie admitted he was tired and had already had a text from Dr. Rob that whatever he was doing, he needed to rest.

When the group walked into the diner, Jethro leading the way, Elaine was so excited, she almost dropped her coffee pot. When she'd calmed a bit, she warmly welcomed Tim and was introduced to Andy, Artemis and Geordie. Beaming, she led them to the large booth at the back, while Gibbs said hello to a few regulars.

Tobias slipped into the diner while Geo, Artie and Andy were looking at menus, and slid in next to Gibbs. With a grin, Jethro introduced him to the three newcomers and Tobias smiled, "Glad to finally meet you in person – and to see you at home for a bit! Captain Perry, I bet you had fun surprising the family, or did they know?"

Geordie shook his head, telling his story again and was again surprised when Gibbs' friend knew who Lu and Bill were. When Fornell caught on and told him he'd been at Ducky's for Thanksgiving, although he'd met everyone the year before, Geordie laughed. "I don't know why I'm so surprised, this is what Tim does! Makes a friend and before the new friend knows it, he or she is part of the family!" Tim just grinned, he guessed that was true.

After enjoying every morsel of the wonderful meals that Jacob, Elaine's husband and their head chef, prepared for them, the group departed, taking several takeout containers with them.

Back at the house, Geo handed the truck keys to Gibbs, waving hello to Sarah, Rob and the kids as he headed for his bed, exhausted. Rob followed him into the room, smiling when he returned several minutes later. "He's tired but the fresh air and feeling like part of the world have done a lot of good. We might see him later this afternoon. If not, I'll wake him for dinner, otherwise he'll be up at 2 AM!"

After they'd all had a nap, Tim and Artie took the kids for a ride in the van, dropping off Artie's engagement and wedding rings to be cleaned and surprising the kids with a trip to see Santa Claus. They hadn't been sure Greg still believed but he was visibly excited and that was enough of an answer. Andy silently wondered if he could also get in line but noticed there were no kids his age in line. Greg and a few kids that looked like they were Greg's age were the oldest.

Andy had never experienced the American Santa Claus. Orthodox Christians celebrate their version of Santa Claus, called "Ayios Vassileios" on January 1st, the day St. Basil (Vassileios) died. Since his death in the 4th century, people expect him to come on New Year's Eve, bringing gifts and leaving them under the Christmas tree. When Andy thought about it now, he decided he didn't mind giving and receiving presents on the American Christmas. After all, he was American as well as Greek!

While the setup wasn't as fun as their visit to Santa in Cambridge last year, with the interactive elves' workshop, there was a petting zoo that all the children enjoyed. There was a photographer, and again Tim paid for the photos. It would give them a benchmark for the next few years, of the growth of the 3 younger children, although Tim thought this was probably the last year that Greg would believe in Santa.

Tim knew when he was 8 but kept quiet for another year so Patrick wouldn't catch on. Their last Christmas together, with Tim recently turned 9, Pat knew but neither said anything to their baby sister, who wasn't quite 3. After Tim and Sarah landed in Baltimore, he never mentioned Santa Claus. That first year, he didn't believe in much of anything. The kids were excited enough about their 'Toys 4 Tots' gifts from the Marines.

Now, with the line to see Santa as long as it was, Artie and Tim decided to 'divide and conquer'. She'd stay with the kids, picking up the photos afterward, while Tim and Andy did some shopping.

Andy's eyes widened as he and his father walked from the "North Pole" further into the mall, looking everywhere. He didn't think he'd ever been in a mall. Mama didn't like to shop, usually buying their clothes and shoes at bargain stores or online and he'd always worn uniforms to school. He looked at Papa, "What are we shopping for?"

"New shoes for you. I saw some online and they're holding a pair in your size in the store here."

"My shoes fit okay."

"Not your school shoes, Flootle bug, for play. Sneakers and if they have them, a pair of hiking boots."

"Wow, cool! Are these Christmas presents?"

"They are not. We just happen to be in a mall where the shoe store is."

Entering the shoe store, the sales clerk quickly brought the shoes Tim requested be sent to the store. The sneakers fit fine and Andy loved them. His dad had done a little sleuthing to find out what was currently popular for 12-year-old boys in London and the color seemed to be the thing this year, so this pair was spot-on.

Some of Andy's Christmas gifts would reflect other popular items but shoes were a necessity and Andy's sneakers looked to be about in the same shape as Tim's had been in when he was 12 and living on the street. They could certainly do better!

The hiking boots were too tight; however, the store had a pair a half size larger and those fit fine. Andy had fun picking the color while Tim found a pair of casual shoes he thought Geordie would like. They had the shoes in Geo's size and preferred color and Tim decided to buy them. If they didn't fit or Geo didn't like them, they'd return them. On the way to the checkout, Tim stopped for several pairs of warm socks, for all the boys and men in his family. Then they headed back to Santa's lair for the rest of the family.

Greg and the littles were very excited and had candy canes for Andy and Papa. On their way home, Papa reminded them they still needed to write Santa with what they wanted. Greg and Kyle both remembered doing that last year, especially because, as Kyle said, "We're at Grandpa's again, not in our house!"

Back home, they handed out more candy canes. Greg, Kyle and Rissa sat down to write their letters to Santa, Papa and Mama there to help them. Grandpa had something in the basement with which he needed help and Andy headed down the stairs with him, asking if he was allowed to write to Santa, too. With a smile, Grandpa found a piece of paper and a pencil for him and Andy wrote his letter. Sarah and Rob took the pickup truck to do their own shopping and Geordie was still asleep.

While Andy was writing, Grandpa sent a text to his father who was mortified that they'd left Andy out. When he came upstairs, he found an envelope on the table for him and his parents apologized. When they were done and addressed their envelopes to 'Santa Claus, North Pole' and putting each child's name and Grandpa's house address as the return address, the 3 boys, Rissa and their parents bundled up again to walk the block to the mailbox to mail their letters. The kids were so wound up, their parents let all but Marissa loose, still heavily wrapped in their warm winter clothes, in the backyard to play. While their little sister napped, the three boys played with their parents for close to an hour, and then they all needed naps.

Sarah and Rob brought dinner home that night, Mexican food, from one of their favorite restaurants. They were all proud of themselves, most only had a couple of naps that day. Geordie, who'd woken in time for dinner, laughed at them, "At least I have an excuse!"

Artie tilted her head, "Flying nearly 3700 miles through 6 time zones should count for something!"

"Yeah, ok, I guess I'll concede that. And it is only your second day. Figure one or two more days to get that jet lag out of your system."

Greg shook his head, "Uncle Geo, when we moved to London, my school wouldn't let me start until we'd been there a whole week. They didn't want me to fall asleep in class!"

Geo looked surprised, "It's that bad? Sorry, I guess I was on the move so much I was pretty much my own time zone!"

They laughed at that and his siblings teased him about being part of the planet. They started to play a game after dinner but then Kyle started yawning and it quickly spread to all the travelers. Geordie just shook his head at them, picking up the book he'd been reading. "Get some sleep!"

Baths, stories, and cuddles went a little faster than usual tonight and within an hour, Geo had the house to himself. His roommates were up a couple of times, Rob to eat and Gibbs to the basement to check to see if something, he wouldn't say what, had dried.

They did well, no one appeared in the kitchen until 5:30 the next morning. That was Tim, who was amazed he was up before his dad. He got the coffee going and then looked in the refrigerator and freezer. With this many people, food went fast, but they were well stocked. Whoever had supplied the kitchen before their arrival, he thought it was Abby, bought 3 gallons of milk, 3 dozen eggs, 4 loaves of bread, peanut butter, a jar of jelly, pancake mix, a large brick of cheese, 2 dozen chicken thighs, several pounds of ground meat, jars of pasta sauce, bags and boxes of pasta and a crisper drawer full of fresh veggies. A large bowl of fresh fruit sat on the counter.

It was pretty cold this morning, looking out of the window he saw icy sidewalks and streets, no one would be going anywhere early. He planned to take Greg and Kyle to see their father and visit their mother's grave this morning while Marissa was doing something with her mother and Sarah, and Grandpa was taking Andy sightseeing. Rob would probably stay home with Geordie. Good thing they had the 3 vehicles. They'd all be back for lunch and then go ice skating!

Deciding to make pancakes and bacon, he looked in the cupboard for flour before he realized he was in Alexandria, not Brambury and reached for the pancake mix instead. Then he decided to wait, as he was still the only one awake.

Dad showed up about 15 minutes later, pouring a mug of coffee for himself, topping off Tim's and quickly making another pot. He sat at the table, "Wish we had a morning paper!"

Tim, who was reading the news on his phone, looked at his dad, "Want to read the news on my tablet? I'll show you how."

"Yeah, ok. It's too icy to drive anywhere for a paper."

Retrieving his tablet, Tim set it up in a larger font and then found the news site Dad favored. He handed it to his father, saying, "When you're ready to 'turn the page', use the pad of your finger to move on to the next page." He demonstrated with a finger swipe.

"Looks easy enough."

He read the news on the first screen and then moved his finger as Tim showed him. The screen moved in a dizzying display of images and words, flashing around until it finally stopped. He looked at what was on the screen, bewildered, "What happened? This is…I don't even know what this is!"

Tim took a look and went back to the first screen, then forward one. His dad watched him, frowning as Tim set him up again, "Ok, try this. Think maybe you swiped your finger too fast or too hard." He looked at his father's face. "Or I'll get my laptop, it uses a mouse, like at work."

He was back in moments and quickly set the laptop up so Dad could read the news and click on next or page down. "See if this works better." While he'd been waiting, Gibbs calculated how long it would take for the city to de-ice the streets so he could get a newspaper. Now he nodded his thanks and read quietly, clicking ahead just fine. He commented on a news item that Tim had also read and they talked about the possible consequences.

By the time he'd finished and Tim put the laptop away, Artie, Sarah, Rissa and the boys joined them. Tim made the pancakes on a flat grill while Artie cooked the bacon and eggs. Sarah and the kids grinned when the uncles showed up. Sarah was almost always the last one up and now teased her brothers. The table set, the family gathered for their hearty, hot breakfast.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

By the time everyone was dressed, the streets were clear. While Greg and Kyle waited in the house, Tim took Marissa's seat out of the van and installed it in the Challenger. Then he and the boys piled into the van, on their way to visit Patrick. The boys had manila envelopes full of photos, drawings and paintings for their father's room. Before they left Brambury, they'd made paper flowers for their mother's grave and Tim brought small clear plastic bags and small stakes to protect and anchor the flowers. Greg had worried that his mother didn't have flowers on her grave and now she would, all the time.

When they reached Restful Haven, the three of them entered the room together. Telling their father who was there, the boys told him everything they'd saved up since the previous Sunday. Tim took the current items off the corkboard and laid the new artwork across the foot of the bed, in the order the boys chose. He put most of it up, leaving some for the boys to do themselves. At Bethesda, Kyle had been too little to reach the corkboard, now there was a sturdy little stool he could stand on to work with Greg. In another year, he wouldn't need the stool.

When the boys were done telling their father all their news, they swapped places with Papa and put up the rest of the artwork while Tim spoke with his little brother. It was good to know that they would be back at least once, probably twice more before they returned to Brambury. The last thing they did was put up the tiny Christmas tree they'd brought last year. Kissing him goodbye and telling him they'd be back in a few days, the boys and Tim left. There'd been no change in his condition, none whatsoever in the 16 months since Tim first walked into the room and recognized his long-dead brother.

As they walked from the cemetery parking area to Kathy Hart's grave, Tim smiled at the flowers he saw in front of it. He motioned to the boys, "Your mom has flowers, boys."

Greg sighed in relief, he'd been concerned about that for months. He'd remembered that his father would bring his mother flowers whenever he came home from a trip. Now he looked at the flowers, red and white with a candy cane stick standing amidst them. "Someone brought her Christmas flowers and there's a note!" He pulled the note up and read it, _"Kathy, it's Christmas time and we miss you. Your boys are doing so well with Tim, I know you'd be pleased. I miss you, dear friend. Love from Lu."_

Greg stood there for a minute before putting the note back. "That's supposed to be for Mom."

"It is, son, thanks for putting it back. These are nice flowers, aren't they?"

"Yes, Papa." Greg touched them again after he'd returned the note, "They're not real!"

"The love is real though, Greg. And these will last for a long time, as will your flowers."

"That's good, huh, Papa?" Kyle looked at him a little anxiously.

"Yes, sweetie, that's very good. Come on, let's put your flowers out and then we'll say a prayer."

They put their flowers in the plastic bags, smoothing them out before they closed the bags and then Papa used the stakes to anchor them in the ground. When they were done, they held hands and said a few prayers, both boys crying. Tim held them close, comforting them while he wondered where his own mother was buried. He would like to know. He wondered if he'd ever had memories of his mother and forgotten them as he aged or if he'd been too young, younger than Kyle was, to have any memories.

They'd come back here, too. Tim wondered if taking a photo of Kathy's grave would be helpful for the boys to have while they lived so far away. He asked them if they'd like a picture with all the flowers and they nodded yes. Arranging Greg and Kyle so everything was in the shot, Tim took several just to make sure.

Walking back to the car, hand in hand, Kyle said, "Daddy, can Aunty Lu be our grandmother?"

Tim looked at him in surprise while Greg fidgeted, finally saying, "She's like a mom to you. She always kisses you when you see her and you always kiss her goodbye. She fusses over you, Aunty Sarah and the uncles, just like a mom."

He smiled, "You're right, she is like a mom to me. Yes, sweeties, this is a wonderful idea. Why don't you ask her?"

"Okay! Can we call her?"

"Sure." Tim looked at his watch, "This is a good time, she'll be in her office having a cup of coffee while the cleaning crew is working."

Sitting in the nice, warm van, Greg took Papa's phone, found Lu's number and pressed the call icon. When she answered, she sounded surprised, "Timothy, is everything all right?"

"Hi, Aunty Lu, it's Greg and Kyle and everything is all right. We're with Papa at Mama's grave and saw the flowers. Thank you, they're pretty and red was her favorite color."

"You are welcome, Gregory. I know she'd be happy you two are doing so well."

Kyle leaned over, "Hi, Aunty Lu. Will you please be our grandma? You're like Daddy's mama and we think you should be our grandma, me, Greg, Andy and Rissa."

"Oh! Thank you, yes, I'd love to be your grandma. Does your papa know?"

"I do, Lu and it's a wonderful idea. I'm glad you've said yes!"

"Oh, you three, now you've made me cry."

"We didn't mean to make you sad, Grandma."

"I'm not sad, sweetheart, I'm very happy, thrilled to be your grandmother!"

After talking for a few more minutes, they disconnected, the boys, Tim, and Lu on the other end, very happy and excited. As soon as the cleaning crew was done, Lu was off duty until Friday morning and loved the idea of going ice skating. The boys decided to make it a surprise for Grandpa which Tim agreed was an excellent idea.

Back home, Tim started prepping for a hot lunch before their ice skating adventure. Once he'd done the prep, he and the boys decided to take a nap. The kids cuddled with him in his and Artie's bed, the three of them quickly falling asleep.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ice skating was a blast! They all went, Geo said he didn't want to sit around at home. He couldn't skate but he could watch and he was sure there would be plenty of hot chocolate to keep him warm. While Andy needed a few tips, he was fine once he got going. His parents were wobblier than he was but eventually got it together, skating beautifully together, their children occasionally joining them. Dad was thrilled when Lu walked in and when she told him about the boys' call, he kissed all of them. Andy and Rissa greeted her as Grandma and asked if they could also call her 'yaya', which she loved. Now she had two grandma names!

Dad and Lu skated together nearly the whole time, with and without the children. Marissa took a class geared for toddlers and was soon skating gracefully around the rink, her nervous parents, grandfather, new grandmother, aunt and uncles keeping eyes on her. Greg and Kyle took about a minute to get back into the groove and had a great time, having even more fun when Andy joined them. Geo called encouragement and teases as each of his family members skated by him.

The public skating hours were an hour longer in the afternoon than the morning and the family skated for most of the 3 hours before breaking for hot chocolate and deciding they'd had enough for one day. On the way home, Geo asked if there were areas for skating in Brambury and Sarah said yes, the local fitness center had a rink that was open to members and their families, as long as the member accompanied the non-members. Tim remembered his resolution last summer to join the center so they could swim year round. As soon as they reached the house, he and Artie talked about it, deciding to look into a family membership. When the kids were asleep that night, they went online and made the purchase, effective the first of the year. Once they got home, they could swim and skate all they wanted. Although the ice skating rink probably wasn't kept up in the summer.

When they told the kids the next morning, they were so excited they jumped up and down. Swimming, all the time, wow! Dad, Sarah, Rob and Geo were pretty happy too as the membership included them. Geordie was a little relieved, once he was more stable on his feet, he could swim and generally get back in shape. While he knew he'd never again be in the shape in which his work had kept him, he still wanted to be in the best shape possible.

Thursday morning had another surprise for the children, snow! The adults knew it was forecast but decided to keep it a secret from the kids. And if there was enough of the white stuff, today would be the day they'd drive up to what Greg and Kyle called 'their' mountain for some snowy fun! Sledding, maybe some snowball 'fights' and making snow people. After the fun of building snowmen in the gardens in Brambury, Artie had suggested that they build a snow family the next time it snowed.

Artie made the announcement about going to 'their' mountain when the kids finished eating breakfast. After the boys calmed down, they got busy putting their snow clothes on, Aunty Sarah helping Rissa while the rest of the adults cleaned up the breakfast dishes and got themselves ready. Once again, Geordie wanted to go. He'd take the walker and cane with him just in case and his boots had survived plenty of time in snow country, they'd be fine. Dad had an extra heavy jacket that worked well for Geo along with thick socks for those boots, gloves, scarf and wool cap. Dad also had a type of charger that plugged into the cigarette lighter in the Challenger or van to heat water, so they brought thermoses of hot water, numerous packets of hot chocolate and hot cider mix, enough hot cups for everyone and packed a lunch along with plenty of snacks. If the water had cooled too much by the time they were ready to make their drinks, they could heat it up again!

They'd also take enough warm blankets for everyone and a thick foam pad for Geordie or Rob if either needed to rest or get out of the cold. Along with a first aid kit and his medical bag, Rob also tucked in a book, a folding beach chair and a battery operated light as he figured he'd likely be the first one to use the van to warm up. They were just finishing loading when Lu arrived, decked out in her snowy best and excited about their excursion.

They had a wonderful time in the snow, using 2 sleds and, along with Kelly's old saucer, 2 more they borrowed from the Walshes, Dad's across-the-street-neighbors. Rissa wore Kyle's snowshoes and had a wonderful time stomping around in the snow. She and Kyle went down a 'bunny' slope with Papa and then Grandpa, yelling their little lungs out the whole way.

While Artie was nervous about the toddler going any higher, she watched Kyle climb nearly halfway up the mountain with Tim and then shout with glee all the way down. Never one to be left behind, Rissa started climbing the hill by herself before her mama could say yes or no. Tim caught up with her and the two of them sledded down from the same spot he'd just left with Kyle. Like her brother, she shouted and squealed with glee the whole way down.

Andy and Greg were allowed to go farther up the hill, once Papa and Grandpa had tested it. Both rode down with one of their adults, including Rob, the first few times. Andy had seen snow and played in it but had never ridden a sled down a snow covered hill. While the kids were sledding, Sarah and Geo got busy making the bases for several snow people of various sizes, Rob eventually joining them.

After an hour on the slopes, Papa declared a break and the kids took a closer look at what their aunty and uncles had been up to. After hot chocolate, they decided to work on the snow people which Uncle Geo declared a snow family. The adults brought enough rocks, carrots, old scarves and hats for each snow person. Everyone got busy making the rest of the snow people, finishing Grandpa and Marissa's snow doppelgangers first. Grandpa's snowman had a fishing hat while Marissa's snow girl had a length of yarn tied around her head with some curls hanging down. Grandpa had a saw, hammer and the words 'Boss' written and drawn with a stick on his snow person, Grandma had a roof and two stick figures being hugged drawn on hers, Uncle Tony had a badge and a reel of film, Uncle Geo a helmet and boot, Artie had Engineer written with a drawing of a bridge underneath while Aunt Sarah and Papa each had a drawing of a book with a pen, Papa also had a badge, and Uncle Rob a medical bag with the initials 'MD'. Andy and Greg both had open books, Kyle also had the word Engineer with a drawing of a train car and Rissa had a teddy bear drawn on hers. All lined up, from Grandpa to Marissa they looked impressive and they laughed when they realized Papa and Mama's snow people were 'holding hands' and each had drawn a heart pointing to the other. With the last of the sticks they'd found, Artie wrote in the snow in front of the snow family, "We Are Family!" When she'd finished, Kyle and Rissa enlarged the letters with their feet. Then they took photos, lots of photos. A lady from a group sledding nearby came over and took photos with the family standing behind their individual snow people.

After a snowball fight, safely away from their snow doppelgangers, they had lunch and then returned to the hill for more sledding. Another hour and a half of that and it was time to go home. The temperature was dropping, clouds had gathered and Grandpa said he didn't want to drive home in a blizzard or on icy roads. Taking one last photo of their snow family, the littles saying goodbye to them, they climbed into the van and headed home, beating the new storm by just a few minutes. They were nearly home when the snow started and when it started it was like someone had popped a big balloon full of snow! Papa and Sarah said Lu should stay overnight because the roads were quickly becoming too slick to drive safely and she agreed. The kids cheered when they heard, that was a great ending to their perfect day together.

By the time they went to bed that night, Greg, Andy and Kyle were getting a little anxious about the snow as they were supposed to get their tree tomorrow and Grandpa was spending most of the day after that, Saturday, with Aunt Abby. They hoped they could still go tomorrow. While the Galanises had had Christmas trees, Andy had never been to a tree farm where you could cut down the one you wanted, ride in a horse drawn sleigh with cookies, hot drinks and Christmas elves! He and Greg had a giggle over Elves in general as one of Andy's favorite books was "The Hobbit" and Greg was reading it now.

All three boys were up early the next morning, being very careful not to wake Rissa. In their robes and slippers, they tiptoed down the stairs, finding Papa, Grandpa and Grandma in the kitchen. Grandma had shared Sarah's room last night and said she was used to being up early and couldn't go back to sleep.

Grandpa cooked, it was his turn for breakfast although Tim thought he might also want to show off a little. Their street would be plowed by 8, the roads to the Christmas tree farm by 10; their trek was on! Within a few minutes everyone was up and they had a hot, hearty breakfast. As Lu had already called off work, she said Handley owed her anyway, she'd go with them to the tree farm, like most of them, she'd never been to one. All the snow clothes from yesterday had been washed and dried, their boots dried in front of the fire last night. They were set to go, as soon as the roads were also ready.

While they waited, beds were made, clothes, shoes, toys and books picked up and several boxes of Christmas decorations brought down from the attic. When Grandpa opened a box with the tunnel, village and people for the train, the boys cheered! They found the white sheet for their fake snow in the linen closet and the boxes with the lights came up from the basement. With a laugh, Papa got out the swear jar and the boys laughed, even Andy, who remembered the story about last Christmas. With a smile, Artie brought down Christmas stockings, one for each of them, including Lu, Tony and Abby. She, Susannah and Rissa had decorated them.

When even Rissa, normally the most patient of the children, got ancy to leave, Papa, Artie, and Grandpa had a quiet conversation, making a quick decision. They opened a few of the boxes with decorations Papa and Grandpa knew weren't for the tree and the kids started decorating the living room with elves, Santas from different places and the Manger.

Rissa got to pick where that would go, on top of a short bookcase, and Greg put the shepherd out while Andy hung the angel on the front of the stable and Kyle and Rissa placed Mary and Joseph. Greg put most of the sheep and cows out and then the boys grinned when Uncle Rob added a giraffe, Aunt Sarah added a donkey, Uncle Geo an elephant, Papa a bear, Mama a kangaroo complete with two joeys in her pouch, Grandma a tiger and Grandpa a lion! With a chuckle, Uncle Geo suggested they move the predators to one side of the manger to give the prey a chance to run if the lion, bear and tiger got hungry.

Grandpa said he'd looked up what animals were in Israel during biblical times and all of the new animals had lived there along with ostriches, crocodiles and coyotes! Uncle Geo attached the star on its wire 'stem' to the back of the manger and they were done. They'd scatter some of the greenery brought back from the tree farm around later. Greg said they'd better feed the lion, tiger and bear first while Kyle said he hoped the camels and the kangaroo would help the others.

The plow was just starting on their street, the kids watched from the window, counting houses, they were the 4th house down from the cross street. The plow driver waved to them as he pushed past their house. Tim and Grandpa were already in the driveway, moving snow off the van, the truck and some of the driveway. They'd take the van today, the tree would fit nicely on the roof. Gibbs threw extra lengths of rope in the back while some of the blankets from yesterday made their way back into the cargo space. Papa checked, and the roads they'd drive to the tree farm were already plowed. Finally they were on the road! Grandpa drove, as he had more experience with snowy roads, particularly these snowy roads.

There were smiles all around when they reached the tree farm and Andy spotted the horse and sleigh right away. Grandpa parked close to the little store, easier to do this year as there were only 2 other cars there.

Out they went, Tim taking the Daddy pack for Rissa or Kyle if either got too tired. Geo walked as far as the sleigh. They all climbed in, covering up with blankets and singing Christmas carols as the horse pulled them around and up the hill. The others got out while Geordie was given a ride back to the store. There he was given a comfortable chair to sit by the window so he could watch his family. What he could see of them, they were up on the hill when Rob turned, waved and pointed over and down at something. Geo remembered Greg telling him they'd hiked into a little valley last year, maybe Gibbs, he was starting to think of him as 'Dad', had spotted another perfect tree. Looking around, Geordie saw some cute stuff that would be fun gifts. He quickly purchased several items and was back in his chair when, several minutes later, Tim, Rissa in the Daddy pack, Rob, and Artie appeared, hiking down to the store. They greeted Geo happily, they had indeed found 'the tree' in the same little hollow and had come down with the tag to pay for it. Rissa and Rob stayed with Geo while the others walked back up with the lumberjacks. The little girl and her uncle stood by the electric fireplace for a few minutes, warming up and then Rob also started noticing the merchandise. In the meantime, the store elves brought hot cider around for each of them and asked if they would each like a cookie. Rob nodded, Artie and Tim let the kids have cookies now and then. The men smiled as they bit into the warm-from-the-oven treats. Rissa ate it in little bites, having her face cleaned after she finished. She giggled as Uncle Rob washed her face, the cookie was wonderful. She sat on Uncle Geo's lap while Uncle Rob did a bit of shopping, the elves cleverly warning him off when he was too interested in something his brother had already purchased.

Finally, Rissa squealed, "There they are!" Tim, Artie, Greg, Kyle, Andy, Gibbs and Sarah marched down the hill behind the two lumberjacks carrying the tree. The watchers could see Kyle was flagging and then Tim stopped, Artie picked the little guy up and maneuvered him into the Daddy pack. He did not look happy but someone must have said something because a smile appeared and he spread his arms. Geo smiled, "Look, Kyle is King of the World!"

Rissa giggled, saying, "I was big on Papa's back! Now Kyle's big."

When they arrived home with the tree, Artie and Rob helped them straighten it in the tree stand and then she,Tim, and Rob put the lights on, with the kids helping with the lower branches as they had last year. The brothers put them on the very top of the tree, then Dad and Artie had the next part, then Andy and Aunty Sarah did the middle while Kyle, Rissa and Greg did the bottom. Geo was the director, telling them where additional or fewer lights needed to go. The 'Swear Jar' was empty. They did the same thing with the ornaments and that was more fun for Geo as he controlled not only where but what colors should go next to each other.

Greg was lifted to put the star on the tree, just as Grandpa and Papa promised last year. Next year it would be Kyle's turn, then Andy, then Rissa and then they'd start over. All four of the kids helped with the train set up. Greg and Andy put the tracks around the tree and Tim remembered that had been a challenge last year. Then Kyle and Rissa scooted under with the other two, placing the train on the tracks, testing it to make sure it worked and then putting the tunnel and everything else out. The kids ooh'd and ahh'd when Grandpa produced several more wooden people, one representing each one of them, including Aunty Susannah, and each one of their family and friends here. There was also a new building, a train station for Brambury-Alexandria, with doors that opened and closed! They all cheered when a miniature of their blue van appeared. They looked carefully at it before Papa put it with the other cars and exclaimed when they counted heads, all the kids, parents, grandpa, grandma, aunties and uncles were in it.

When Lu asked later how he'd done it, Jethro laughed, saying, "It's just four blocks of wood. I carved the heads and glued a few arms in and that was it. I had to do a little more for you, Rob, Tim, Artie, her sister Susannah, Sarah, Tony, and me because we're taller than the kids but I drew it out first. Once I had them all carved and painted, I installed the wood blocks in the van, like putting a row of seats in, then I glued the top on and gave it a little trim so you can't see the seam. Already had the windows done with Tim's arm out and waving."

"Did you sign it?"

"Yes, I wasn't going to but I showed Geordie and he talked me into it so I did. I wrote a little story on the bottom, where Big Blue lives and all of our names, ages and the date."

"Oh, Jethro! And that will ultimately be for Kyle?"

"He's our train guy, yes."

"That's wonderful, I imagine it will remain a treasure for the rest of his life."

That got her a kiss on the cheek and they smiled at each other. Jethro wasn't sure why and he'd decided not to think about it, but somehow Lu being 'grandma' to his grandchildren made things easier for the two of them to resume their fledgling relationship. And then it might have been Tim and Artie's relationship that encouraged them. Or that their families had somehow merged.

Lu thought Geo was the last piece of the family puzzle. He, Tim, Sarah, and Rob had been a family unit with strong links to her and the guys, another family unit in which Geo had roots. Tim's sibling unit had merged with Tim's NCIS family, eventually pulling Lu, Bill, Barry, Freddie, and Jose with them. But they'd still been short a link and now with Geo home, that link was in place.

In the meantime, new links had been forged with Artie, Andy and Marissa and who knew who, where or with what those links would connect with next.

Lu left in the late afternoon. She was working tonight.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday was Gibbs' day with Abby and they had a fun itinerary planned. He picked her up in the truck at 10:00 and they headed to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the annual car show. With over 600 new models from 35 manufacturers, with every kind of engineering imaginable, they had a great time looking and asking questions. Abby's favorite thing was a special area set aside for live painting of 'art' cars. Gibbs had to admit it was interesting to watch.

From there, they went to lunch at a café Abby had suggested. The food was good and they spent nearly an hour just talking. Gibbs was curious about her relationship with Freddie and she told him how much easier it was with him than it had ever been with anyone else. She also admitted that scared her but she was determined not to 'run' or break it off because of her fear, not this time.

Gibbs huffed when she said, almost word to word, what he'd said to Tim last year about seeing Lu; Abby was afraid that if she screwed this up, it could damage the family ties they'd built between the Baltimore family and the NCIS family. He smiled proudly when she said they were taking things very slowly, that Freddie was just as scared as she was. Then she laughed, explaining fear of a serious relationship was one of the things they had in common.

She asked him questions about living outside the U.S. and in particular, living in the UK and he told her more about their travels, how they could get around without driving, the ease of taking the Tube or train, even buses. He told her about Warwick Castle and the life-sized knight mounted on his steed.

With a shake of his head, he said that sometimes it felt surreal when they visited someplace he'd always wanted to see, like the Changing of the Guard, Stonehenge, or Salisbury Cathedral. He leaned forward in his chair, "I've been to the Czech Republic, Abby! Americans weren't even allowed to go there, it was a Communist country when I was growing up, even into adulthood. That's…it just blows my mind sometimes. And Greece, another wow, places I never thought I'd see – or stay. A villa on a private beach? Not even in my wildest dreams! On the way back from Edinburgh, we stopped in Liverpool to see where the Beatles got started! Me, a kid from Stillwater, got to walk in the steps of the Fab Four. You need to come over, visit. There's so much to see and do, so much we've heard about all our lives but never thought we'd experience." He grinned, "There's a lot here to see and do, too, but somehow we don't get to it. Maybe that's the impetus over there, we know we have a limited time and there's so much."

She was laughing, she'd rarely heard him so excited or speak so much. She did say she was planning to visit in the new year though. "Maybe while Artie's in Turkey, it would be fun to visit her there."

Gibbs nodded, "We're all excited about that."

From the café, they headed into the District to the Kennedy Center for a 'sing-a-long' music celebration of Handel's _Messiah_ , featuring the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. When Gibbs had suggested going to a holiday 'sing-a-long', he'd been thinking Christmas carols. When Abby wanted to sing the _Messiah_ , he had to think about it. He and Shannon had been part of a Community chorus before Kelly was born and they'd sung the _Messiah_ at a couple of Christmas events. Tim helped him find the lyrics online and recordings on YouTube. He'd listened several times before he sang along with the YouTube recording, practicing several times before they left for home. He was prepared, he hoped.

When Abby admitted she'd had to look up the lyrics and practice with YouTube, he laughed, telling her he'd done the same thing. Both feeling better, they smiled as they walked into the Kennedy Center.

Their practice paid off as the two of them sang confidently, listening for their individual parts. They enjoyed it so much they decided their friends and family should join them next year. Tony, Ducky, and Jimmy all had good voices and liked to sing and Gibbs thought the rest of the family might enjoy it, too. Abby pulled up a calendar for 2016 on her phone and made a note in November to talk to the others about joining in.

Not quite ready to end their day, they stopped at a shop called "Pie Sisters" in Georgetown. They each ordered a 'cup pie', smaller than a whole slice. That way, they could each order 2 without feeling too guilty. Abby ordered Bourbon Chocolate Pecan and Apple Caramel Crunch while Gibbs ordered Key Lime and Jumble Berry, a mix of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Once their order arrived, they split each cup pie with the other so that each of them had bites of four pies to enjoy. Gibbs noticed Abby had hot tea to go with her pie and she nodded, "I'm trying not to drink Caf!Pows outside of work, Ducky says it's time to cut back. I get too wired and I guess I can't handle it the way I used to."

Gibbs nodded, "That's good, Abs, I'm glad to hear you're taking care of yourself. I worry about that."

"Me taking care of myself? Gibbs, you're the king of 'I'm fine, leave me alone'!"

"Yeah, I know but I'm changing too. Have more to live for with all of you. I want to be around as long as possible."

"Aww, that's sweet and kind of scary. Not you being around but thinking about all of us growing older. I still feel like I'm 15!" She twisted her lips and rolled her eyes, "Maybe 30."

He laughed, "That's not bad. No deflecting, Abby, you do need to take of yourself. Maybe let Leon hire an assistant for you. You know if you vetted the applicants, maybe even supplied the interview questions, you could find someone you want to work with, not someone forced on you."

"Who ends up framing Tony for murder or murdering a Marine Officer!"

"Yes."

She nodded, "I think that's a good idea. I'm not 15 – or 30 – anymore. And there are competent people out there. I just don't know if I'd be a good boss." She grinned, "I have my own way of doing things and I'd have to make sure this person would understand Major Mass Spec and my other babies."

Gibbs nodded, "Which means you write another version of "Abby's Lab for Dummies". An assistant's manual. Make sure they read it, go over it with them. Maybe ask for a probationary period."

"Oh! Gibbs, that's brilliant! I could do that. A year's probationary period!"

He chuckled, "You might need to talk with Vance and HR about a year. Ducky can help you with HR, remember Jimmy is his 4th Assistant."

"I forgot about the others. Not Gerald, but that was different."

"Yes."

While they were still talking, Gibbs ordered 2 pies to go, a Key lime and one of the Apple Caramel Crunch. When they noticed people waiting for tables, they gathered their coats, gloves, hats and scarves, Gibbs making sure he had the 2 pies before he paid the bill.

He walked Abby to her apartment, checking it before he left, first listening to the door locks being engaged . After their experience with Mikel Mawher, he'd insisted on that routine with whoever drove her home. She now had one of Tim's alarms and the best locks, electronic and manual, on the market. He'd also persuaded her to have a 'duress' word to use if she was in trouble, being threatened. All that after he'd read her the riot act for disobeying the orders of her protection detail. She'd never forget that!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Gibbs walked into the house, he took the pies into the kitchen, tucking them into a cabinet and returned to the living room, smiling, and saying, "House looks great, very festive!"

Artie and Sarah smiled, "Thank you! Did you have fun? Don't forget to look at the table, the boys set it for us."

Gibbs looked, "Looks great! Yeah, we had a good time. And I meant to ask if we're using the china this year."

"That's a good question. The china has settings for 12 and Christmas Eve there will be 15 of us."

Tim looked at Artie, Sarah, Geo, and Rob, who all nodded. "Dad, we have an early Christmas present for you. This is from all of us, Tony…oh, here he is!"

Tony nearly ran in the door. "I'm here!"

Gibbs frowned, "Thought you had a hot date?"

"I do but it's not for two hours, she lives over this way and I didn't want to miss this. I brought my stuff, okay if I take a shower and get ready here?"

"Of course."

Tony looked at the others and smiled. "All right. This is from all of us here. When Tim and Artie were looking at dishes, they discovered something and hatched a plan. Sarah, Rob?"

Sarah had disappeared into the kitchen and now she and Rob rolled out a two tiered cart holding several wrapped boxes. "The cart is for the house but not part of the present."

Perplexed, Gibbs sat down and took one of the boxes from the cart. Opening it, he looked at it and then his mouth dropped open. "Is this…it looks like Shannon's china!"

"Yes. We found it on various online sites."

"All this? We could never find any more. They said the pattern was discontinued."

Tim nodded, "It was and still is. However, other people had also purchased it and sometimes they sell it online. I've had it on a 'wish list' on eBay since last Christmas and was notified when someone posted some for sale. We bought the 3 sets they had, 12 place settings. Then James' mother spotted several sets on a British site and let Sarah know, so that brought us to 7 sets, enough for 28 place settings and then Artie saw a set listed on a swap site, sort of like an online garage sale, so now you have 32 place settings."

"Wow, this is…unbelievable!" He laughed, "I need to stop making fun of the internet. First you teach me to read the news online and now we finally have enough china!"

Rob snorted, "Don't want to destroy your reputation as a Luddite!" They chuckled at that.

Sarah tilted her head, "How about we use the good china for Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner?"

"Works for me! Let's leave everything on the cart and stash it in the laundry room for now. Great cart, by the way."

Tony smiled, "I found that at a home goods store and remembered us having to schlep dishes to and from the table last year, thought it would be handy."

Dad kissed each of them and then Tony grabbed his belongings, hurrying up the stairs to the master bath. He didn't want to tie up the downstairs or kids' bathrooms. Dad looked puzzled as his eldest nearly ran up the stairs, "I thought he had two hours?"

Tim smiled, "He did and he does. Takes awhile to get ready for a date with a very special person."

Sarah gave a half smile, fiercely missing James. She'd talked with him yesterday but that made her miss him even more. "What does everyone feel like doing this evening?"

Artie smiled at her, understanding her feelings, "Granducky is coming for dinner!"

"Yay! Can we watch movies after dinner?"

"Good idea!" Tim thought about what movies they had, some of the kids' classics. They could watch a short one geared for toddlers and preschoolers first, then after the littles were in bed, watch a movie geared toward Greg's age. He'd ask Andy but didn't think he'd mind.

"Kids, how about I put them all out and each of you chose one you want to see, then we'll have Grandpa randomly pick one."

"With his eyes closed, Daddy?"

"You remember that, Kyle? Ok, with his eyes closed."

Ducky was amused, when he walked into the house, to find his old friend, a frilly scarf tied around his eyes, picking out children's movies to watch **.** Tim had apparently placed the younger children's movies in a specific spot because Jethro's hands went straight there. When he heard two young voices cheering, he stopped and picked up the DVD box. Taking the blindfold off, he chuckled, "Ah, a Thomas movie, great!"

It was a relaxing family evening, one they'd repeat during the countdown to Christmas and the wedding.

Sunday morning was overcast, although no snow was forecast. To Gibbs' relief, the roads weren't icy. Tim and Artie were taking the two older boys to church this morning, to Saint Sophia's Cathedral in the District. Gibbs and Sarah were going with them, neither of them had ever been to an Orthodox service. They'd take the van and meet Geordie and Rob at Ducky's home in Georgetown afterward. Ducky was hosting a 'make-your-own-pizza' party for the children, with help from Tobias, Emily, Kayla and Jared Vance. The only child missing would be Victoria Palmer, who was spending the day with her Slater grandparents.

After dropping off the boys and picking up Rob and Geordie, the van would head off to Café DuPont for the brunch with Gibbs' grown kids.

To everyone's relief, the service was the length of time they'd estimated and they said goodbye to the children and hello to Geo and Rob just as planned. Traffic wasn't bad and everyone was on time. With 11 of them, they were happy to have a large round table.

They had a wonderful time and the food was great too, Gibbs had picked the restaurant because they served steak and eggs. Between Geordie and Tony, some of them were sore from laughing by the time they left. Ellie, Jimmy, and Breena had fun getting to know the brothers, Sarah, and Artie better. While Ellie knew the NCIS family, she didn't know Rob very well and as with everyone but the core McGees and the gang in Baltimore, she'd only met Geordie last week. Abby knew more about the brothers through all the stories she'd heard from Freddie although she'd known Sarah for a few years. Breena knew the NCIS family, had met Sarah and Rob a few times now, but like Ellie, Geordie was new to her. And seeing them all together with Gibbs the proud papa, was really something else.

Rob sat next to Ellie and they talked quite a bit, much to Tim's delight as shy Rob sometimes had problems with groups like this. But he was relaxed with Gibbs, his siblings and Artie, giving him enough confidence to join in the fun and to speak with Ellie. They were surprised to find they were the same age and that gave them even more to talk about. Before the group dispersed, Ellie and Rob had decided to be each other's date for the wedding. It was half joke, half neither wanted to be in a happy crowd without someone else with whom to hang out.

When they finally left the restaurant, Dad took off with Tony as they had plans for the afternoon. The Virginia Cavaliers were playing the Savannah State Tigers and they had courtside tickets.

Stopping at Ducky's for the kids, the van full of McGees, Galanises and the lone Perry went home. They spent a mostly quiet afternoon, the children playing in their room or watching movies, Tim set up the portable DVD player, adults reading, watching TV, wrapping gifts or in Geordie's case, ordering them.

His pay from the Corps had finally shown up, after mysteriously coming to a halt when he was in the hospital overseas. When he'd told Director Vance about his orders having been delayed, he also mentioned the lack of pay. Last night when he'd checked, he'd found several deposits into his account. Now he was shopping! With his current mobility problems, physically shopping at brick and mortar stores was an impossibility. Tim helped him out, having him use his account, with free shipping on many items, on one of his favorite online shopping sites. Geordie had a great time filling the shopping cart, planning to winnow his selections down to what he really wanted before purchasing. Like Tim the year before, he was happy to find many items could be gift wrapped before they were shipped. It was worth the extra money!

While Geordie shopped, Rob decided they needed some exercise. Gathering the kids first, he asked if they'd rather go for a walk or play in the backyard. The backyard won and once they'd sufficiently bundled up, the kids had a great time. Geordie kept an eye on them while the rest of the adults went for a walk. The fresh air and movement felt good, especially after their brunch.

Dad was back from the game in time for dinner and with some help, persuaded Tony to join them. He enjoyed being with them, thinking this was really the first time all week he'd spent time with just his family, not that he begrudged anyone else spending time with them! He stayed until Kyle's bedtime before saying his own goodnight and promising to come for dinner whenever he could. He'd really enjoyed his afternoon with his chosen father, enjoying the game and his company. He hoped he'd be able to have dinner with his family at least once this week, before Christmas Eve.

When Artemis asked Tim about his 'old' team, how it was different from the team he'd left last year, he told her more about Ziva and their ongoing half-belief, half-tease that she was a ninja warrior. How tough it had been for her to break through her years of training to become an investigator rather than a covert operative. Tim said, shaking his head, "She told me once that when she came here, she had to learn to trust, that she hadn't trusted anyone since she lost her sister and mother. And then her brother went rogue and was killed."

He went on to describe Ellie's eccentricities when she'd first worked with them, sitting on top of her desk or on the floor, eating almost constantly. "When she formally joined the team, she dropped her eccentricities, except she still has food with her all the time."

After they'd changed the subject, Tim's mind kept returning to Ziva and her trust issues. After their return from Somalia, when Ziva was preparing to return to work, subject to approval from Gibbs and Vance, she'd told Tim that in the weeks before Rivkin's shooting she'd been under more pressure from her father than usual. She said during that time she'd begun to distrust everyone around her, that eventually she'd forgotten who she could trust, that her NCIS colleagues were allies, not the enemy.

The more Tim thought about it, the more it bothered him and he finally realized he'd done nearly the same thing with NCIS last year. He'd immediately blamed Vance when the Legal Department said he couldn't be in contact with his team or anyone associated with the Hart case.

He'd forgotten who he could trust. Trust that had been hard to come by in the first place. Vance hadn't earned anyone's trust when he first took office, not after he split up the best team in the agency without telling them why. It took him some time to earn their trust after that but since then, Tim couldn't think of a single instance where the director had treated him distrustfully.

Now he saw that he'd reacted emotionally to the Legal Department's orders, further exacerbated by the 'leave of absence' situation. Luckily, he'd had the boys to care for and that forced him to deal with the situation sensibly rather than continuing to foster the negative emotions. Now he felt he owed Vance an apology, at least an explanation.

Sunday evening, he sent a text to the man, asking if he had time for a brief meeting during the week. Vance replied with a date and time, Tuesday, at 0930. That worked well, the rest of the family would be gone for most of the day on Monday; he and Artie were looking forward to having time alone together. He and the boys were going for haircuts first thing in the morning and then Rob, Sarah, and Dad were taking all four of the children to Six Flags theme park in Maryland for their "Holiday in the Park" event. Geo would ride with them to the park where Bill and Barry would meet him. Their friends had something planned, Geo wasn't sure what.

That night after the kids were in bed, the adults gathered around the dining room table, playing cards and relaxing, talking about their plans for the days running up to Christmas Eve. When there was a lull in the conversation, Dad smiled at Tim and Artie, sliding a small box across the table to them. "I made a call the other day and then Tony and I took a side trip on the way home from the game."

Puzzled, Artie saw that Tim understood. She opened the ring box and smiled at the gold wedding band inside. She saw a small diamond chip and held the ring out for Tim to try on. He blinked back tears as she slid it onto his ring finger, it fit perfectly. He looked at his father, "Jack's?"

"Yeah. I called LJ to see if he knew where it went and he said he had it, that Jack asked him to hold onto it until I came looking for it, for you or Tony."

Nodding, Tim kissed Artie and then standing, moved to his father's chair, squatting down and wrapping his arms around him, whispering, "Thank you. This is the one I hoped we'd find."

After a long embrace, he returned to his fiancée and they put the ring back in the box. Artie knew who Jack was, they all did. "Jethro, it doesn't even need cleaning!"

Dad nodded, "LJ said he had it cleaned after Jack gave it to him."

Artie took it upstairs to put with their wedding items and returning, found the conversation had returned to their plans for the week.

When Tim said he was meeting with Vance Tuesday morning, he got eyebrows from his father and older brother. Having already discussed it with Artie, he smiled, saying, "He and I need to talk about our plans. And his, I'm dying of curiosity."

That got smiles from everyone. He did have a chat with his father later, telling him what he'd realized about his behavior around his ouster from NCIS.

His father put his hands on his shoulders and squeezed, "You thought you were losing everything a second time, all of us, your job, your life here, when once again, you'd done nothing wrong, nothing to cause such forceful actions. Sent you to your knees for a few weeks but you didn't let it defeat you, son. Don't ever think that. You did what you needed to do and…and this was a big thing for you…you let your friends help you. And you know, those offers from Donovan at MIT and from Bedford didn't happen in a vacuum. Somehow, word was out there that you were available and they snapped you up.

"Yes, you lost your job, or thought you had. And yes, for a few weeks you lost us and we lost you. But you found a way around the rules or I should say bulldozed through them. So were you emotional? Yes. Would anyone else have reacted the same way you did? Yes, everyone I know, including me. If you, Tony, and Ziva hadn't quit during the Parsons fiasco, I would have been cut off from you. And I would not have done well, Timothy. Sometimes, son, I wish you would cut yourself some slack and just let yourself be Tim, without worrying so much. I understand why you do but I wish you could find a way to not worry."

Tim shook his head, "Pretty sure I was born this way."

Dad huffed, pulling him into his arms. "And I'm very certain it was your stepfather who was responsible for pushing you too much when you were younger than Rissa. But we're not gonna solve the mystery, not in this life, anyway." He pulled back to look at his son, "You're thinking of coming home after Bedford."

"Yes. We didn't move to the UK to experience the world outside of the U.S., although that's been the result. We moved there to be safe from Hatman and his goons. For the most part, we've been safe and will be here at home. This is my home, your home, our friends and family are here. We have a good life over there, the job, the people, the town, the travel, have all been great, fun and exciting. And Artie and I reconnected, I found my son, all wonderful. But it's not home. I'm afraid that, as time goes on, Artie's going to have an increasingly difficult time working outside the UK and then coming back, when neither of us is a citizen of the country.

"I also promised Greg and Kyle before we left Cambridge that when I was done at Bedford, we'd find our 'forever' home. I want Andy and Rissa to experience life in the U.S. Andy will have another year of middle school if we move in 18 months; it'll be easier to begin high school knowing other kids. Kyle will be in kindergarten where everyone will be new to each other. Greg's leaving his shyness behind and discovering more and more interests, just like Andy. They'll be ready, Artie and I will be ready and I'm sure you and Rob will be!"

"Rob wants to do another 2 years."

"That's only 6 months beyond our leave point. We can handle that. The worst part will be leaving Sarah."

"And James. Still, she'll have family there, Susannah and Ian. Maybe she'll have book tours over here. And considering James' mother's tip about the china, I'm betting our daughter will be close to her mother-in-law."

Tim grinned at that, loving that Dad sometimes referred to Sarah or Rob as "our" daughter or son, acknowledging Timpa. Although Sarah was still keeping quiet about her future plans, the family was very sure she'd be wearing an engagement ring soon. Artie wasn't the only one who noticed Sarah taking notes while she and Tim were looking at the family rings.

With that happy thought, father and son said goodnight to each other and Tim went off to bed.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very long chapter, due to me discovering at the last minute that a big chunk of the story had not been sent to be beta read. As I was too tired to mess with it (and possibly make a worse mess), I put everything in this chapter. It covers the days before Christmas, Christmas and The Wedding. With some surprises, of course :). I decided to post it a day earlier than usual. Enjoy!

 

Chapter 27

Monday went as planned. Tim had instructions to only have his hair 'tidied up' and not to lose any of the length or shape. He'd had it cut two weeks before they left Brambury and Artemis said it would be at its peak, looking the best, by week's end. He had instructions for the boys too, much to the amusement of Dad's barber.

The excited children, their grandfather, aunt and uncles left for the amusement park mid-morning. Tim and Artie made the most of their time alone in the house, eventually having lunch out. After they left the restaurant, they headed for the Smithsonian. Artie had always wanted to go and, like her son at the British Museum, knew exactly what she wanted to see during her first visit.

On the way home, they stopped to purchase the two 20-pound fresh turkeys Tony ordered for their Christmas dinner. With 27 people, that seemed a sensible solution and Tim had some great sounding marinade recipes. By the time they got home, most of the family was there, only Tony was missing. Dad reported that the team had been called out to a crime scene two hours' drive away. Rob frowned, "Hope he can come tomorrow or Wednesday."

Tim nodded, hoping they'd be done by Christmas Eve! He and Dad carried the turkeys next door to neighbor Hank's house. The family was away for the holidays and in exchange for the Gibbses watching the house, they had free use of the kitchen. They'd store the birds in the refrigerator here, marinate them Christmas morning here, roasting at least one of them in Hank's roasting pan and oven.

Tomorrow they'd round up a card table and folding chairs from here, more folding chairs from the Walshes across the street, the Batistas and the Michels down the street. Tony bought a set of 8 folding chairs at the same estate sale that netted him the refrigerator; with the borrowed chairs, everyone would have a seat at the table. They'd open presents first and then move the table so it was long ways into the living room, adding every single leaf and a card table at each end. Dad had already made risers so the card tables would be the same height as the main table. Ducky would supply a 3rd card table for the food.

Tuesday morning, Tim dressed in a button down, casual slacks and a favorite jacket for his meeting with Vance. Remembering to bring his agency ID, he stuck his badge in his pocket too. He hadn't thought about that before, that he hadn't been asked or required to surrender his badge. Shrugging his way into his overcoat, he grabbed a knit cap, scarf and gloves from the top of the bureau. At least it wasn't icy this morning!

Taking the pickup, traffic was light and checking in at the security gate only took a minute. The guards nodded, "Welcome back, Agent McGee. Did you trade the Prius to Agent Gibbs for his pickup truck?"

Tim grinned, "Something like that, yes." He grinned again as he drove the pickup into the underground garage. Once parked, he took the elevator to the mezzanine. Smiling down into the squad room at Natalie, Rick, and Tony's girlfriend Maggie Barnes as they each waved, he walked into the reception area of the Director's Suite at 0925, 5 minutes early.

Pam Cook gave him a little hug and motioned him into Vance's office. The director was standing in front of his desk. When Tim put his hand out for a shake, he was pulled in for a one-armed hug. "McGee, it's great to see you in person again!" Making a little show of inspecting him, Vance said he looked relaxed, happy and healthy. Tim chuckled at that. "Happy and healthy. Nice that I look relaxed, I'll have to tell Dr. Rob that next time he tells me to take a deep breath."

"Yeah, well four kids. I can't imagine!"

"The gap in their ages helps – and they're good kids."

"I'm sure they are. Have a seat, want some coffee? I made it almost Gibbs-strength."

"In that case, yes, thanks, black is fine."

"Here you go. Now, what's on your mind?"

"Couple of things. First, I hope you'll accept my apology for my behavior over the whole mess with my brother. Artie asked me a few questions about Ziva and I remembered something she said after Somalia, that she'd forgotten who she could trust and I realized I did the same thing, sir. I should have known you wouldn't pull something like that, booting me out of the agency, not without talking with me."

"But it was a logical conclusion to make, Tim. I am the director, you'd seen me in the office only hours earlier, there was no reason to think I wasn't involved. I'm thankful you trust me now but I don't think you should beat yourself up for distrusting me over the past year. After you and Gibbs left my office that Friday afternoon, I had a call from my doctor and I flew out of here without a thought to anything but not leaving my kids orphans. I called SecNav and then Craig from home while I waited to hear when I could have surgery, begin treatment and where. We were on a flight out of here the next day and I had surgery the following week with treatment starting almost immediately afterward. You didn't know what was happening because no one but Secretary Porter knew and she'd given her word. Craig didn't even know what was really going on."

Tim opened his mouth to argue his point, shook his head and smiled, "Thank you, Director. I am glad you're back!"

"Me too! Now, I hope you had other reasons for coming in?"

Tim nodded, "Curiosity!"

"Good, that's what I was hoping! Now, what I'm about to tell you will be a pilot program for the first year and then depending on the stats, Secretary Porter is confident we can make it permanent. While you were still on the MCRT, I did a fair amount of plotting and planning to come up with a way to utilize all of your skills to the max. Part of my plan was to have individual agents with electronic skills and field experience working with the teams to provide them with all the electronic data you routinely found for your team.

"In my original plan, this was a separate team of former field agents, or agents who had at least done a rotation in the field. Before I go any further, you need to know the pilot program is a new job class, equal to field agents, probationary, junior and senior, possibly eventually team leads, and the position is titled 'Investigatory Agent'."

Tim smiled, "Good name, descriptive. Will an investigatory agent be placed within a team or in a separate team as you said was first planned?"

"Not sure yet, would love to hear your thoughts."

Tim took a minute to organize his thoughts before speaking. "This new type of agent will have worked in the field. He or she is used to working in a team who is in and out of the office frequently, being around people, working within very tight deadlines, subject to constant change. That's very different from Cybercrimes where the techs are generally happier working by themselves and away from the field teams. Speaking for myself, Director, I'd rather be part of the field team, otherwise I'm quickly going to lose any sense of belonging, of still being part of a criminal investigative team. And from what you've said, that sounds like a key factor."

"Thank you, that's just what I wanted, your candid thoughts and opinions. All right, next step, setting the qualifications for these agents. Obviously they need field experience. How much and for how long?"

"No probies. They should have made it through their probie year to a junior agent. It may be asking a lot but I'd say a minimum 3 years in the field."

"Including their probationary year?"

Tim twisted his lips. "I'm reluctant to include the probie year. The problem I have with is that as an agency, we have no standardized training post-FLETC. From what I understand, many team leaders delegate training to their SFAs who may or may not know how to train. If the material in which they should be trained was standardized, that would be half the battle. As it is, some probies end up with little useful training and those who don't wash out or leave on their own have to learn on the run when they make junior. In my opinion, that's inefficient and dangerous although some on-the-job training is inevitable and necessary. If we had standardized training, then I'd be all right with including the probationary year as part of the necessary experience."

"Huh, hadn't considered that. What do you think it would take to come up with a standardized training program?"

Tim thought again, "You'd need input from a good sample of field agents, from team leads through current probationary agents. My own training plan would be to start with a call-out, what to do when your team gets a case, what to take with you, what to expect to do on the way to the crime scene. What to do at the crime scene, outline the various tasks and detail them as well as tips from the experienced. A dead body, for instance. The ME always has jurisdiction and you do what he or she says. You never ever move a body unless it's in danger of being lost or further damaged – water, on a cliff, falling out of a tree, etc. Things like that.

"There's a lot to do at a crime scene and learning your way around is tough, you need to get everything done in a very short time period, otherwise you lose precious time in solving the crime. Everyone's working, not a lot of time for questions, sometimes there's other law enforcement there, witnesses don't always want to stick around, looky-loos, the whole 9 yards.

"While the crime scene is being handled, agents need to begin working to identifying your victim, if not already known. Before smart phones, we sometimes had to wait until returning to the office. Then came cell phone cameras to send photos to the forensics lab to run facial recognition. Then came the fingerprint scanner. Made it faster but it still has to happen. Looking at the photos from the crime scene and the physical evidence, does anything jump out? A footprint, a scarf, drops of blood leading in any particular direction.

"Once you've identified the victim, then what? What steps do you take next? Structured training. You could use the agency statistics to develop training for the crimes most frequently handled. Murder vs. embezzling. Two challenges that come to mind are how to speak to Navy or Marine officers and how to speak with persons of interest without tipping your hand. That last one is particularly important."

Vance laughed at that. "A whole training session for how to deal with officers?"

"It wouldn't need to be isolated, maybe part of a session dealing with witnesses, persons of interest, actual suspects, etc. I had the advantage of being a Navy brat for 9 years. Taking someone fresh out of FLETC, probably fresh out of college and sending them to speak to a Navy or Marine officer who thinks their bodily waste doesn't stink is not a great idea. Once that officer forms an opinion, you've lost him or her. On the flip side, being obsequious gets you the same place plus you lose your self-respect."

Vance was still laughing, "I want stories!"

"Not from me, I was a Navy brat, remember?"

"But you've heard some."

"Oh yeah, Cassie Yates has a treasure trove of them. I think most of them came from her trainer, Agent Chris Pacci. And I'm sure my dad has a bunch too." He suddenly laughed, telling Vance about the first time he'd met Gibbs, at Norfolk, warning him about Captain Veach and then the story Gibbs told him recently about how he persuaded Veach to allow Agent Caitlyn Todd to accompany Gibbs onto a nuclear powered submarine, where no women were allowed, that they suspected was in danger.

Still laughing, Vance made a gesture, "All right, I cede your point there. And yes, you're right, we have been in need of standardized training for years but have never had the resources. Time, funding, and personnel. Morrow even did a trial run with an outside contractor but that ended when one of them fainted at a crime scene, right onto a particularly bloodied and dismembered corpse."

Tim's eyes widened and he grimaced, "Was Ducky the ME?"

"Yes and that poor contractor's ears are probably still burning. They'd had an extensive lecture about crime scene behavior." Vance took a breath, "In your opinion, until there is standardized training in place for at least two years, an investigatory agent must have 3 years of field experience, not including the probie year."

"Yes."

"All right, that is clearly defined, I'm liking this." He smirked, "If I didn't want to launch this pilot in 18 months, I'd task you with writing the standardized training."

Tim took a deep breath, "And I wish I could somehow fit it in but Artie's next project starts in January and she'll only be home on weekends. As far the training goes, shouldn't that be developed by a team? And wouldn't you want input from your current field agents, including juniors recently through their probationary years? I suppose you could develop a survey and put it online, ask for everyone's input, what they'd like to see for standardized training. You'd have to make it structured, what you see as the top 15-20 topics and give them real choices, leave room for them to add topics. Make a list of topics and have them prioritize each item or be able to say no on any of them. Maybe include a comments section on why they feel the way they do about something."

"Good ideas. Got anyone in mind to do that?"

"Is there anyone out on medical leave? Someone who might be bored and willing to do something different?"

"I'm sure we could find someone like that."

"Or…agents who've retired recently, might not have gotten into the retirement groove yet?"

"Your father, for example?"

Tim nodded, "You never know, he might be interested. Not sure he's going to have any more time than I would, though. He's my primary child care grandpa when I'm not there."

"And your wife will be gone. How long is her project?"

"Six months, a short one for her. She'll be in Turkey and hasn't yet had any input to the project."

"Turkey? Where?"

"Amzida. I'm going with her for the first few days, her housing was contracted by her employer and I want to make sure it's secure, a safe area for her and close to the project."

"Good. Uh…I know some people, let me get their names and numbers together for her. You might even be able to meet with them when you go over."

"Great, thanks! I was planning to ask one of our MI-5 guys for any contacts."

"One more thing, thinking about that. You have your weapon?"

"No, I handed it in to Gibbs last year. I don't have a permit to carry anyway, it expired in March."

"All right, I'll get that in motion and put you in touch with another contact of mine, in Interpol. Does your fiancée know how to shoot?"

"Bows and arrows, we took an archery class at MIT years ago. Firearms, I don't know, I'll ask. Aside from her living in a safe place, I'm not worried about her being personally attacked or anything like that, everything I've heard is that the Turkish people are very friendly and warm. I am worried about what we hear radicals are doing in parts of the country."

"Good point. Let me see what I can do between now and whenever she's leaving, won't hurt to have local contacts if she needs help with anything."

Tim gave him the date Artie and he were leaving for Amzida and Vance wrote it down. When he finished, Tim said, "One last thing. We've changed our minds about our return date. We've decided to move back here when my contract is up in 18 months."

Vance smiled at him, "Wonderful! Your contract is up in June of 2017?"

"Yes."

"Will you be returning right away?"

"No, the summer term for the boys isn't over until the end of July."

"All right. What I'll do is officially transfer you, now, to the London office, on special assignment. Then if you have time to consult, great, if not, don't worry about it. You did great on that case you worked and Joel says you had some input on another one. I will expect you to report to the SAIC when you're done with Bedford. Having you officially assigned means all the paperwork is in place and the British government will acknowledge that you belong to us. That might also help with your wife's potential visa situation. When we file papers to notify a foreign government that one of our agents is posted there, we include family information, we'll include Artemis and the fact that she's a Greek citizen. What about your son and the little girl?"

Tim explained and Vance took some notes. "Ok. When you're ready to leave the UK, I'll transfer you to the Navy Yard, which means you'll get the transfer package and your move is paid for. It's only right since NCIS personnel were the ones at fault in that mess." At the look on Tim's face, Vance shook his head, "Right, IPF, but it was Craig, our Legal and Human Resources department that did their dirty deeds. We will pay for your move and 45 days temporary housing, that's been bumped up from 30 with the crazy housing market around here. Now, you won't be a field agent but as an Investigatory Agent you'll still need to live within an hour's drive of the Navy Yard."

Tim had no problems with that. They probably wouldn't be able to purchase a house in the DC Metro Area, but they could rent again. Although maybe with Gemcity's help they could find an affordable fixer upper. A big one. With 4 kids, they'd need at least 4 bedrooms, 5 would be better and a playroom would be almost as essential. Close to Dad with a yard big enough for the kids to play in and to have a garden. He thought about their future house on the way out of the Navy Yard.

Partway home, his phone buzzed with a text. His family was at Elaine's for brunch, he was to let them know what he wanted and they'd order his to go. He put his headset on and called Artie. "Have you eaten yet? I'm about 10 minutes from the diner. Would you please order 2 scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado, bacon and blueberry pancakes?" He finished with, "Thanks, sweetie, love you!" An amused voice said, "You're welcome, Timothy. Be careful driving."

It was Elaine, Artie must have put him on speaker or handed her the phone while he was ordering. He entered the diner about 2 minutes before their food was delivered and his siblings teased him about his sure knowledge of his ETA. He retorted, "This has been Gibbs' go-to place for as long as I've known him. We've had many team meetings here. If we needed him and he didn't answer, we'd call here first."

Artemis eyed her fiancé, almost husband. He was happy, almost gleefully happy. Smiling, she leaned over to kiss him. After enjoying their meal, they trooped out to the van. Tim caught Artie's hand, saying softly, "Ride home with me in the truck, got lots of good stuff to tell you."

He started talking as soon as the doors were shut. "Vance has a new position for me, a new job class, so it will be official. I'll be working cases but won't leave the office. I'm thinking pretty much like I worked that case with Dad, but I'll be in the office, not at home. Huh, that's something I'll need to check on, I want to work from home if we run all night. The other thing is he's changing my status to 'active agent' now and assigning me to the London office but on special assignment. Which means no change for Bedford, still working there.

"Couple things with the London assignment, Vance says when they file the paperwork assigning me to London, they include our family information too and he made a note to include your citizenship information. He believes that will help you with your visa problems, going in and out of the UK.

"The other thing is by assigning me to London, when we're ready to move, he'll transfer me to the Navy Yard. That means they'll pay for all our stuff to be moved and they'll pay for our airfare. And 45 days of temporary housing while we look for a place to live."

Artemis had to think about this for a moment. She was familiar with employers paying for their employees' moves, she'd experienced that a couple of times and it certainly made things less expensive and easier. "When will we need to move?"

"Not until the kids are out of school in July."

"When do schools start here?"

"In this area, mid-August, so they won't have much of a break. Maybe we'll take them out of school in the UK a week or so early and have one last UK or European vacation before we move."

"That sounds good. If they're paying us temporary housing, does that mean we will not stay with your father?"

"No, we can stay there. We'll pay him rent to cover utilities, cost of food, etc."

"Do you have any idea where to look for houses? How much are rents here?"

"Expensive but don't forget Greg and Kyle get a housing allowance from the Navy, that'll help. What would you think of buying a house, one that needs to be fixed up and then maybe we can stay with Dad until our house is ready?"

She laughed, "As long as you're not expecting him to do all the work!"

"No, no, I'll work on it too. And maybe we hire people. Depends on our finances."

"It sounds wonderful! Five bedrooms, six would be better, at least three bathrooms, two offices, I'll need one too, a large kitchen with room for a big table. A garden for the children and a garage for all our stuff!"

"And our cars, we'll need two."

She laughed, "We have your bed, Rissa's toddler bed, the bunk beds from your father's house and Rob's bed. And your library desk. We'll need a lot of furniture."

"Yes, there will be a lot of details to work out!"

Wednesday was a scramble and Tim put together a slow cooker meal that morning, figuring the day would be crazy and it was. While the kids worked on finishing last minute hand-crafted gifts, the adults took turns wrapping gifts in the downstairs bedroom where the inflatable beds were standing on end to make room for a card table and chairs for the wrappers. Geo's gifts showed up via a steady stream of various delivery services. He was smug about the first few items, all pre-wrapped but by mid-afternoon he was groaning about wrapping with the rest of them.

Sarah and Rob made a run to one of the big box stores when they universally ran out of wrapping paper, tape and bows. They returned two hours later, Sarah shaking her head and saying "I'll never volunteer to do that again! There were no parking spaces in the parking lot or within a mile of Wal Mart. Luckily, Rob remembered Tim and Greg going to a craft store for paper last year and I knew which store he meant. There was decent parking and we found everything we needed but halfway through shopping, I sent Rob to stand in line with what we already had, otherwise we would have been there until the store closes tonight! I bet half the shoppers were refugees from Wal Mart!"

They stopped wrapping and crafting long enough to take a long walk, get some fresh air, in Geordie's case a rest stretched out on a bed, and then got right back to it. By dinnertime, the kids were done and the adults were close. That's when one of them remembered they weren't exchanging any gifts tomorrow, Christmas Eve.

The family gifts would be exchanged Christmas morning, as soon as Tony arrived. The rest would be exchanged that afternoon, once everyone had gathered.

Lunch on Christmas Eve would be the core NCIS family and the Gibbs-Mallard clan. Significant others, that is Maggie and Freddie, were also invited. However, Rick's team, including Maggie, was working today and they were without their junior, visiting his family in Guam for the holidays. Unless her team picked up a case today, Maggie would miss the Christmas Eve party and join Tony and the family for Christmas dinner.

Although Freddie felt weird about joining the family on Christmas Eve without the rest of the guys, he'd agreed when Abby asked him. Unfortunately, the plumbing at one of the most popular holiday restaurants in Baltimore chose Wednesday afternoon to throw a fit and would need both Freddie's and Jose's expert care to fix or replace it in time for Christmas Day.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Christmas Eve day was overcast and cold. Tim got up early to prepare the chicken enchiladas. The recipe served 8; with 18 guests, Tim would make 3 times the recipe and freeze any leftovers for Tony, if they didn't eat them before they flew home. Artie, who loved to bake, would make sopapillas shortly before they ate and Sarah would make one of her salads with crunchy things that the kids loved. They'd have vanilla ice cream with berries for dessert.

When he finished putting everything together, he covered the pans and slid them into the refrigerator, pulling out eggs, cheese, milk, bacon, orange and apple juice for breakfast. While the bacon was cooking, he made a pot of coffee and got the dishwasher going with his prep tools and last night's dishes.

Within a few minutes, the smell of bacon and/or coffee brought everyone to the kitchen. Andy and Greg set the table with help from their younger siblings. Dad appeared in time for the mug of coffee being poured for him, but took it to Geo instead. Geordie was immensely grateful to be allowed coffee again, caffeine withdrawal on top of his injuries hadn't been much fun although he'd been unconscious for much of it.

When Artie came downstairs with the children, she shooed Tim out of the kitchen, he was only supposed to do the enchiladas, she was on breakfast today. She finished cooking breakfast, Rob handling the toast and delivering meals with Sarah. The family sat down together, enjoying their breakfast. Geo was a little puzzled at the big breakfast when they were also having a big lunch. Then he looked at the kitchen clock and chuckled, it was only 0635 and lunch was at noon, plenty of time to work off the big breakfast!

When they were done, the cleanup crew, the kids and Dad, rinsed the dishes and left them stacked as the dishwasher was still running. The kids ran upstairs to make their beds, pick up their clothes, toys and books and brush their teeth. When they finished that, Andy and Greg took turns in the shower and got dressed. Once the children were done with showers, the adults had their turns, with time in between for the hot water heater to catch up.

By 0830, they were all clean and dressed. Rob worked with Geo on his physical therapy exercises while Tim checked through the piles of gifts to make sure he had everything. As the dry cleaners was closed tomorrow and Saturday, the day of the wedding, everyone checked to ensure his or her wedding clothes were in the house and not waiting to be picked up after a clean or press.

They chuckled when two delivery trucks pulled up around 1030 with more of Geordie's gifts and two of Sarah's. These were the last three of Geo's and he'd been a little worried they wouldn't arrive in time while Sarah had forgotten she'd ordered the items. After their packages arrived, Geo noticed delivery trucks from every company driving down the street about every 5 minutes. Dad wrapped the gifts for him, not wanting their wounded warrior to tire himself out before their celebration even started.

Tony arrived at 1100, happy to see his family and bringing a crock of tasty black beans he'd made in one of Gibbs' slow cookers. Halfway to Tuesday's crime scene, dispatch texted him that the coroner called back saying the dog tags were fake. When Tony contacted her, she sent a photo and he agreed, he saw the flaw immediately. The van, sedan and ME van crossed over the highway at the next exit, re-entering the roadway, beginning their trip back to the Navy Yard. They treated themselves to breakfast first.

Now, he smiled as he was greeted with hugs. "Yay for phony dog tags!" Tim looked at him, "Let me guess, the paperwork for the case that wasn't yours took all day yesterday."

"Pretty much. By the time our probie and Bishop finished their reports, got them to Fuller and he got them to me, it was late afternoon."

Sarah grinned, "You have a new probie? Who is he or she?"

Tony smiled, "Only one probie that's ever been mine and he's standing right here. However, our _team_ does have a new probationary agent. He almost, _almost_ , beat Tim's FLETC scores. I'd let Alex Quinn, one of the instructors, know we were looking for a baby agent and she recommended him. And get this, the Athens office wanted him but he accepted our offer. His name is Matt Watson. Nice guy and sharp as a tack. His father is retired Navy which is handy and he rates pretty well in weapons handling, always a good thing for a new agent."

Gibbs shook his head, "You're braver than I was, Tony, bringing in a baby agent. Our probie had a year under his belt and spent half that year working with us."

Tony nodded, "I know, but I see this as a chance to train him the way Tim wishes he'd been."

Geo looked at their older brother, "So he's a redemption probie, not a rebound probie?"

They laughed while Andy and Greg tried to figure out what that meant.

Tony's arrival coincided with Tim's watch alarm telling him it was time to put the enchiladas in the oven. With 3 large pans, he had to be a little creative getting them all in but he was good with angles and got it done. Artie made the sopapilla dough last night, she'd wait until everyone was here before cooking them so they'd be hot when served. While they usually ate them with cinnamon and/or honey, today they'd have them with butter. Tim loved that Artie learned to make them while working on a project in southern Chile. When Artie realized she'd be traveling a lot for her work, she decided to learn how to make at least one local dish in each country.

The greens for Sarah's salad were already cleaned and chopped, she was following Bill's footsteps, making chopped salad. Pulling the bowl out of the refrigerator, she ran the greens through the salad spinner again to remove moisture and then added her crunchies. The dressing would go on before serving.

LJ was next to arrive. He again congratulated Jethro and his new kids on the adoptions, welcomed Artie, Andy and Marissa to the Gibbs family, gently shook Geo's hand when introduced to him and thanked him for his service. Geo smiled, "Thank you for yours! Without you and Jethro's dad, we might not be here."

LJ sighed, "Seems like almost every generation there's a war or a conflict."

Artie lightly touched his hand, "As humans, we haven't yet learned to behave with each other, to share."

Greg looked at her, "You mean to follow the Golden Rule, do to others as you would have them do to you?"

"Yes, Greg."

"It's a good rule, how come people don't follow it?"

LJ chuckled, "That's a question for the ages, Greg. I guess we have to keep teaching and practicing it."

Ellie Bishop and Lu were the next to arrive and greeted everyone happily. Abby, Jimmy, Breena and Victoria walked in together, followed in quick order by Ducky and Tobias. Emily was with her mother today and would join them tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Fornell said she was excited about the wedding; she and Kayla had shopped together for their wedding outfits. Artie smiled, glad to hear people were excited about the wedding, she and Tim certainly were!

Ducky said Sheila the wedding planner spent yesterday and this morning decorating the library, foyer, living and dining room. He chuckled, "Even the landscaping in the front yard and what can be seen of the backyard from the library windows will be lit up! It's lovely, I may ask her to do it again next year!"

Once everyone was there and relaxed for a few minutes, Artie and Sarah excused themselves, slipping into the kitchen to start frying the sopapillas and put the final touches on the salad. While she waited for the oil to heat, Artemis sprinkled shredded cheese on top of the enchiladas, closed the oven door and dipped her first sopapillas into the pan of oil on the stovetop.

She and Jethro, who'd come out to help her, were nearly done with the sopapillas when Sarah returned with Tim. Counting the stacks of sopapillas, Sarah knew they were less than 5 minutes from serving. Letting everyone know to be seated, she sprinkled the dressing on her salad, summoning Rob and the children to help put the plates of sopapillas on the table and Tony to take the black beans. Once the sopapillas were out, Tim pulled the enchilada pans from the oven, grabbed large serving spoons and handing a pan to Abby, another one to Ellie, took the third one in himself. The pans weren't especially heavy but were very hot and required oven mitts to carry them, making it awkward.

Tobias finished pouring beverages just as the enchiladas arrived and sat down with a grin. "Oh boy, enchiladas!"

The children led them in saying grace, the group holding hands. Grace ended with 'Happy Christmas' from the young ones, a wish that reverberated around the table. Then they dug in and for several minutes the only words spoken were requests for something to be passed. Abby got up to refill the water glasses. The enchiladas had just a touch of spice, the black beans a little more heat but most of the heat was from the oven. A few minutes after Abby poured water, it was Rob's turn and they chuckled.

After they finished, just about everyone pitched in to clean off the table. With the weather already as warm as it was going to get today, several of them bundled up for a walk, the exceptions being LJ and Geordie. As much as he hated the cold, Rob needed fresh air and movement and led the way out of the house. Rissa started out walking and returned riding on Uncle Rob's back in her Daddy pack. Rob said she could do that anytime, she kept him warmer! Tim told his father that was probably the most practical gift anyone had ever given him.

They walked to a park where the kids ran around, playing tag with their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Fifty minutes of play and then back home to warm up with hot beverages. They hadn't really planned anything for the afternoon but within a few minutes, a game of Tripoly, a combination of poker and Michigan rummy, started up while other card and board games started on the long table. Kyle, Marissa, Uncles Tony & Rob played with Kyle's trains for quite a while and Jethro made a mental note to buy Tony and Rob their own train sets for their birthdays or Christmas.

LJ's ride came for him at 4:30 and the group slowly dispersed after that. While LJ wouldn't be with them tomorrow, he'd be at the wedding on Saturday which made saying goodbye easier.

When all those not staying at the house were gone, the group sat at the table with beverages and a few snacks. The enchiladas were well received, there was about a third of one pan left. Reheating it, Dad used a spoon to divide it up, giving Kyle and Rissa smaller portions. The sopapillas were next, then the black beans and the bits of salad that were left. Because so many people had been too full for dessert, there was plenty of ice cream and berries left too. For the second time that day, the family feasted, albeit with smaller portions.

After the littles went up to bed, the older boys and the adults watched a movie. Tim could not have said which one it was, he lasted about 5 minutes before falling asleep. By the end of the movie, Geordie was the only one awake and had to make some pretty loud noises to rouse his family. Sarah, Tim, Artie, Andy and Greg walked upstairs together.

Jethro was the last one to turn in. After his family went to bed, he checked all the lights, stove, left the dishwasher humming to itself on the 3rd load of the day and lastly, stood in front of the tree for a few minutes, smiling with love as he considered this large family of his.

It wasn't quite the end of the year but that didn't matter as he counted his blessings. That Greg and Kyle hadn't been subjected to whatever IPF had in mind for them, that Tim wasn't badly injured in the attack against him, that Geordie had survived the attack against him, and Jethro strongly suspected it was personal, that he and Tony were becoming closer, that Rob, Sarah, and now Geordie were willing to let him be their dad, that Abby was thriving in her relationship with Freddie and also more willing to take an active part in the family, that the Palmers were doing so well, he hadn't said anything but he'd noticed Breena seemed to be glowing since they'd arrived and wondered if she was pregnant again. That Ducky was in great shape for his age, despite or maybe because of his heart attack 3 years ago. He thought of two more developing relationships, both making him smile.

He missed his father but was glad he was well represented here by the presence of his godfather LJ. Lastly, he smiled happily, thinking of Tim and Artie. He hadn't trusted her at first but she'd proved herself and he was proud of his son and daughter-in-law for the way they'd worked through things. In less than 48 hours, they'd say their vows to each other. He looked around the house, thinking how proud and happy Shannon would be with his new family and how much she'd want him to be happy. He'd allowed his grief to control his life for too long, now he believed he could finally let go. Leaving the tree lights on, he started moving his Christmas gifts under the tree. It took 5 trips to the basement and back but then he was done. Turning the tree lights off, he quietly headed to bed.

Upstairs, Tim nodded to Artie, "He's done, I heard him go into the bedroom." Treading lightly, the couple took the first load of gifts downstairs. While they'd been waiting for Dad to finish, they sorted what could wait for the afternoon family to arrive and then stuffed as many items as they could into pillowcases and their carry-on bags. Once downstairs, they turned the tree lights back on and resolutely did not peek at Dad's packages while they put their own out. It only took them two trips using the pillowcases and carry-ons. They tiptoed back upstairs, giggling when Sarah opened her door, rolling her eyes at them and whispering, "My turn! How'd you get done so fast?"

They held up their empty pillow cases and carry-ons and she smiled. Continuing to their room, they snickered as Sarah tiptoed down the stairs. Rob woke just before midnight, needing to eat, and realized he and Geordie forgot to put their presents out. They'd pooled their gifts, putting everything in two extra large plastic bags, thinking they were so smart; however, in a sleeping household, plastic bags make an incredible amount of noise. Rob decided to wait until Dad was in the kitchen making coffee in the morning. In the meantime, he grabbed one of his protein drinks, quickly drinking it and then dropping back to sleep.

Geordie was awake about 0400 when he heard more young voices whispering outside the bedroom door and realized it was Greg and Andy. At least Kyle and Rissa were asleep! Wondering if they were peeking, he heard rustling and decided they were doing the same thing everyone but he and Rob had done, putting their presents under the tree. He had vague memories of Santa Claus visiting and presents under the tree when he was 4 or 5, before his mother died. He had also experienced gifts under the tree at the shelter before his father died but he'd known that those came from the Marines and their Toys 4 Tots program. Once he became a Marine, he'd never been home for the Christmas holidays. He'd make some new memories today. Smiling, he turned over and went back to sleep.

Jethro finally gave in and went to the kitchen for coffee about 0530. He'd spotted the garbage bags in the bedroom last night and figured Rob would need a few minutes to get his and Geo's gifts under the tree. He made just enough noise as he left the room to disturb Rob's sleep. Pulling the bedroom door almost closed, he turned the tree lights on and laughed to himself at the piles of festively wrapped packages. It was already a mess! Hurrying into the kitchen, he took his time putting the coffee on. Finally he heard the sounds of rustling plastic and knew Rob was up. He took 6 clean coffee cups out of the dishwasher, then took three more from the cabinet along with a sippy cup for Rissa. She normally drank from a glass but they'd have hot chocolate this morning and he didn't want to risk her spilling any hot liquid on herself.

She was a cutie, that one! Independent and fiercely determined to keep up with her brothers. They were good with her, although Kyle sometimes forgot she was more than a year younger than he was. Rissa was 26 months old and Kyle was 43 months old. At their respective ages, 17 months difference was huge. He smiled, realizing that was almost the same gap as between Tim and Patrick.

When Rob was done, he joined Dad in the kitchen. After they wished each other a Merry Christmas, he tucked one of his snack packs in the pocket of the robe Tim gave him last Christmas and took a mug of coffee to their room for Geordie. He was awake and thanked Rob when he helped him sit up. Dad wandered back in and the three sat on their beds drinking their coffee and laughing quietly at all the 'Santa' visits over the past 10 hours. Rissa and Kyle were the only ones who hadn't been downstairs. Dad called Tony and told him to get over to the house, Santa had been and the children were awake.

Tim was awake and fidgeting, finally waking Artie, who squinted at him, "Is something wrong? Do you have to go to the bathroom? Why are you so restless?"

"It's Christmas morning! I can't believe the kids aren't awake yet."

Greg, standing outside their door with his hand raised to knock, turned and motioned to Rissa and his brothers. Grinning, he twisted the door knob and poked his head inside his parents' room. "Papa, Mahnoola, can we come in? We're all awake and ready to see what Santa left!"

Tim laughed at them, "How long have you been standing out there?"

Greg giggled, "Andy and I took turns, 5 minutes each."

Artie held her arms open and the kids hopped onto the bed. "What time is it?"

"5:50. We waited as long as we could stand it."

She looked at Tim, "This is why you were so restless? You wanted to get up and open your presents?"

He nodded, "Yes! And watch everyone else open what we gave them."

"Oh, that will be fun! Is anyone up downstairs?"

The older boys nodded, Andy saying, "Grandpa and the uncles are awake and drinking coffee. Aunt Sarah's still asleep."

A disembodied voice floated down the hall, "No, I'm not!"

Tim giggled, "This is fun. But we have to wait for Tony! I'll go ask Dad if he called him yet. Be right back!" He put his slippers and robe on before disappearing. He was back in a minute, "Tony's on his way! Kids, it'll be about 10 more minutes."

His timing was off, Tony arrived 5 minutes later. When Tim heard the front door, he looked at the children, "Ok, you guys stay up here until we tell you it's all right to come down. I want to take pictures of the tree before we get busy."

Greg nodded, "I remember last year. You took pictures of the tree and then some of Kyle and me before we could start opening."

"Yes! Anticipation makes it more fun, right?"

Kyle giggled at his dad, "Daddy, you're being silly!"

"Yes I am, Doodle bug. Now, robes and slippers, everyone. And hold Rissa's hand when you come downstairs, no running!"

Pulling Artie up with him, they grabbed their robes, slippers and Tim's camera as the kids ran back to their room. As the couple descended the stairs, Tim called out, "We're on our way, I sure hope Santa visited us last night!"

Dad's voice replied, "He sure did! Got your camera ready?"

"Yes!"

"Good, I want photos of my big kids before we start."

Tim laughed so hard when he saw the tree that Artie took the camera from him and started snapping pictures. When he finally stopped, she asked him what was so funny. He said, "It looks like Santa stood on the roof and threw the presents down the chimney! What a mess!" Then he held his finger in front of his lips, afraid Kyle and Rissa would hear. He continued, "He must have been in a real hurry last night. I'll finish the photos if you'll get coffee, please?"

Laughing, she handed him the camera and turning toward the kitchen, saw 4 sweet faces anxiously waiting on the stairs. She winked at them as she hurried toward the coffee. As she exited the kitchen with 2 mugs of hot coffee, she called out, "Sarah, Santa's been here! Hurry up, come down with the children."

Tim took the last shot of the tree and quickly moved so he could record the kids and Sarah rushing down the stairs. Greg had Rissa's hand but she was pulling him along, just as Kyle did with him last year.

Grandpa took pictures of his big kids first, he'd do more when Abby arrived and then quickly took shots of the kids who were clearly excited, restless and tired of waiting. Finally, Papa said, "Ok, be careful, don't step on any of the packages. Ready, set, go!"

Remembering where he'd put Rissa's little dollhouse, Grandpa helped her unwrap it, grinning at her happy squeals. Kyle had already discovered his newest train cars, a caboose and a water tanker, while Greg and Andy found some of the goodies Papa bought for them at the British Museum. The kids carefully looked at every package and Greg started handing some out to their adults. "Here, you have presents, too!"

Once Andy understood the process, he also passed out packages. This was his first December Christmas celebration.

Thirty minutes later, they took a break for breakfast as the littles were a bit overwhelmed and more than one tummy was rumbling.

After they ate and opened up the rest of the gifts, they cleaned up the wrappings and bows, making sure no gift cards or drawings were in the garbage. The kids played with their new toys and the train while most of the adults relaxed. Tim and Tony went next door to put the turkey stored there into its marinade while Dad and Rob handled the turkey at home.

The adults eventually showered and dressed, after Tony complained he was the only one dressed and threatened to get his sweats out of his go bag. About 11:15, Dad said he had an errand to run, that he'd be back by 1:00. Sarah and Artie were upstairs, Geordie and Rob both napping. Tim and Tony waited until Dad left before exchanging looks. Tim grinned and using ASL, told his brother his suspicion.

Counting tables and chairs, Tony thought they had one extra chair but that was fine! They'd planned to wait to move the table until after everyone was here but then realized their visitors would have no place to go while the table was being moved. They did the best they could, creating a seating area at the far end of the living room, before moving the table in. Adding all the leaves, they put the risers down and balanced the card table legs on top of them. Gibbs-made, they fit perfectly and the height of all three tables was uniform.

Tables in place, they got busy setting the table, they'd put the cloths, decorations and silverware on now, leave the dishes and glassware until they were ready to eat. Lu arrived about 12:30, kissing each of them. She'd worked last night so she'd be off early today and all weekend. This was the first Christmas since she'd worked at the shelter that she wouldn't be there for the Toys-4-Tots gift presentations. She smiled, saying she'd rather be here. She'd made 4 pans of apple crisp, which Rob, Tim and Tony quickly brought in from her car.

The Porters arrived soon after. They'd driven down yesterday afternoon and had been invited to come early. Sarah was downstairs now and greeted them with hugs and kisses. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Her back to the door, she didn't notice when Dad appeared on the front porch with the reason for his errand. She was talking animatedly with Cyndi when the room fell silent. She looked around, everyone was grinning like loons, especially Artie, Tim, Rob, and the kids. Turning further, her mouth opened and she stood there, speechless, as James quickly crossed the room, taking her in his arms. They heard a surprised "Oh!" and then he was kissing her. Dad tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, we have little kids here!"

That made everyone laugh while the kids giggled. Tony looked at Tim, "That's why there's an extra chair." Tim nodded. His theory about what Dad was up to was wrong but that was fine.

Chapter 27(Chapter 57)

Christmas was a lot of fun and even more chaotic with so many people! After James' arrival, Sarah took him for a brisk walk and then he had something to eat on their return. While they were gone, more of the group arrived, put their food offerings in the kitchen or on the table and gifts under the tree.

When everyone was there, people found a place to sit and the gifts were distributed. With so many people celebrating together, each individual, couple, or family had been given a name for a gift exchange, agreed to by all, with the names pulled by the 3 McGee adult siblings shortly after Thanksgiving. They'd also set a low dollar amount and sent out ideas. That helped immensely and now they had fun watching the gifts being unwrapped.

When they'd finished with the gifts, and watched the train chug around the tree, they carefully cleaned out the large mass of torn wrapping paper, ribbons and bows. Once everyone was at the table, they toasted their hosts and then prepared to feast. And feast they did, enjoying every bite or sip of the delicious food prepared for them. The children, Sarah and Rob were on point for cleaning off the table, helped by nearly everyone. No one stayed too late, they'd all see each other at the wedding tomorrow and knew the family needed to rest.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The family carefully planned their day so there would be time for everyone to rest, nap or at least relax during the afternoon. Napping became even more important with James' unexpected arrival Christmas Day, surprising everyone but Dad.

All the wedding preparations were done. Their wedding attire had been inspected and taken to a cleaners to remove travel wrinkles. Artie, Sarah and Marissa's dresses were hanging in the 'bride's room' at Ducky's. Tim and Dad's tuxes and the boys' suits were hanging in the master bedroom closet at Dad's. Geordie's dress blues had been altered, pressed and were hanging in the closet downstairs with Rob's suit. All their shoes had been polished to a 'Marine' shine and were in the master bedroom closet, safe from a certain little someone who wanted to see his face reflected in his new shoes one more time.

Sheila, the wedding planner, picked up the flowers that morning, they were at Ducky's. The caterers had the cake. All the drinks were there, they'd decided to serve beer and wine with assorted non-alcoholic beverages. It was great having a wedding planner, she was taking care of everything, all they had to do was show up, get married and enjoy their party! Ducky reported that his home was beautifully decorated, he was nearly as excited as the bride and groom.

Artie, Sarah and Marissa left for Ducky's about 2:30, after Rissa's nap. Breena and Lu would be on hand to help them get ready. Tony arrived at Dad's shortly afterward, finding the house quiet, his family either napping, resting or in the case of Andy and Greg, quietly reading. That was fine with Tony, he'd been going stir crazy at home but it really was too early to start getting ready. He locked the front door and hung his garment bag before curling up in Jack's recliner for his own nap.

He woke to the smell of coffee brewing and the front door opening. Opening one eye, he saw Dad greeting Jimmy. Getting out of the recliner, he looked at his watch, 3:15, and they needed to be at Ducky's by 4:45! Grabbing his garment bag from the coat tree, he scrambled upstairs, knocking on doors up there. "Wake up, time to get ready!" Stopping to open the door to the kids' room, he found Kyle sound asleep. He gave his leg a little shake, "Come on, Train Engineer, time to get ready for the wedding!" He waited until Kyle was awake and roused the older boys, who'd been sitting on Rissa's bed reading before falling asleep. Kissing all 3 of them on the head, he went across the hall.

Knocking on the door of Sarah's room, he opened it and with a little effort, woke James up. "Come on, James, time to get ready for the wedding."

James sat up, eyes wide open, "Oh my God, did I miss it?"

"No, but you do need to get up and dressed. Where's your suit?"

"Uh…oh! Gibbs borrowed a steamer sort of thing from a neighbor and we steamed all the wrinkles out. It should be in the closet."

"Ok, the boys already showered. If you want one, use the hall bathroom." He looked around, "There are towels for you on the bureau."

"Thanks, Tony. I'll be quick."

As he approached Tim's door, he heard his brother calling, "Come on in, Paul Revere!" Tim was fresh from the shower, his hair sticking up, wearing only briefs, dress socks and an undershirt. Tony shook the garment bag at him, "We haven't got that much time, holiday weekend, there will be a lot of traffic between here and Georgetown! What the heck is that?" As Tim turned, Tony saw a familiar logo on his hip.

"Superman. These are my Underoos™ briefs, a Christmas present from Artie. We picked them out together, I picked Wonder Woman for her and she picked Superman for me. Obviously I can't wear the undershirt today but the briefs won't show."

Tony looked at him, finally shaking his head while Tim laughed at him.

When he'd stopped laughing, Tim grinned, "And geez, man, I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one! Only happy thoughts today. I promise Artemis is not getting married without me. Now, I'm going to help Kyle before I get dressed."

"What about your hair?"

"It'll be fine, stop worrying!"

Kyle giggled when his papa walked into the kids' room carrying their new wedding shoes. "Daddy, we're getting married pretty soon, you can't go in your Underoos!"

"I know, kiddo, thought I'd help you three first, then I'll get dressed." Reaching out, he corralled all three of his boys into his arms for hugs and kisses. "Big day today! Want all three of you and your sister to relax and have fun. Behave yourselves; during the ceremony, please use your church manners. After that, use your indoor voices, be careful not to run into anyone or anything but have fun. You'll know just about everyone who will be there. Your mama has two friends and a professor from college and his wife that you haven't met. Granducky has a room set up for you four to play or relax in when you want. You can each take 2 toys and a book with you. I hope you'll stay and say hello to everyone but if it feels too grownup, the room is for you. And maybe your uncle Rob." He smiled at them, "Your mama and I love you so much and we're so proud of you!"

By this time, Kyle was almost dressed, pulling his dressy shirt on. Papa helped him with the buttons, the tie that matched his and tying his new shoes. Greg and Andy only needed help with their ties, all 3 of them matching Papa's and Grandpa's. As they finished, Grandpa appeared in the doorway. "Timothy, you are not getting married in your skivvies, even if they are Superman!"

Kyle chuckled, "That's what I told him, Grandpa!"

"Good for you, kiddo. Scoot, son!"

The boys giggled as Papa made a face at his father and retreated to his room. Tony was just finishing his hair and offered to help. Tim laughed, "Thanks, haven't needed help getting dressed since I was Kyle's age!"

"I meant your hair."

Tim shook his head and quickly did his hair before DiNozzo could get his hands on it. Slipping pants, shirt and shoes on, he slid the tie under his collar and smiled when Dad walked in. With a smile at the two of them, Tony grabbed his suit jacket and left the room. Dad stood, smiling proudly at his boy. "You look great! Want me to do your tie for you?"

Smiling, Tim nodded. Dad approached but instead of reaching for the tie, he gently pulled Tim into an embrace. "So proud of you, love you so much! You've given me a family, even before the kids. I'll always be thankful for my 'Three Musketeers', all my 'Gibblets'. You've already claimed your family; your future is already in play. Have wonderful lives together, remember she's your lover and friend as well as mother to the kids and Chief Engineer. Take time for yourselves, make sure you laugh and enjoy yourselves. Plan ahead, I know you always do, but also live for today. Now, I'm done with the clichés and platitudes, except I mean them."

Tim chuckled, blinking away tears. "For my part, I can't put in words how much it means to have you as my father, in all the ways we've been father and son – chosen and adopted. You've given me so much, love, pride, confidence and I think every kind of support imaginable."

After a long moment, they parted and Dad straightened his son's shirt before he did up his tie for him. He stayed to watch Tim slip on the vest and then his tail coat, a jacket cut at the waist in front, the angled corners of the vest appearing below and elegant long tails in the back. With a smile, he held out his hand, curled into a fist. When he opened it, Tim's eyes widened at the pocket watch that lay gleaming there. "It's my great-grandfather's pocket watch, given to him when he retired from the railroad."

"Dad! I uh…wow, thank you. I even have a pocket for it in the jacket."

"Just remember to take it out before we take it to the dry cleaners again."

"I will…Dad, this means so much. Was he one of Jack's grandfathers?" At his father's nod, Tim carefully wrapped his arms around him, whispering, "Jack's with us today. I have the letter that he wrote me, from the photo album, in my trouser pocket. And the ring, although Artie or Sarah has it right now." The two had a few emotional moments before they pulled apart, Dad reaching out and straightening Tim's collar and tie. He shook his head as he looked at the jacket.

"It looks great but unless you can figure out a way to stand up in the truck or van, it'll get wrinkled between here and Duck's."

Tim nodded, "Ok, back on the hanger for the road trip then." Carefully removing the jacket, he moved the pocket watch to a small pocket in his trousers and hung the tailcoat back in the garment bag.

"Think I'll do that with my jacket, too. Your hair looks good."

Tim grinned at him, "Tony tell you to say that?"

"Nah, heard you two talking about it."

Bringing the garment bag, the two walked downstairs together, finding the rest of the men and boys in the living room with the photographer. He took several shots of them together and then the boys with their uncles, then had them put their jackets on for more shots. After Jimmy left, a few more photos were taken and finally the man smiled, "Ok, we have enough from here, see you at the other house!"

As he backed out of the driveway, the Gibbs' men and James climbed into the van. Dr. Rob had mandated Geordie use his cane today, for support and to alert people to the fact that he'd need to sit more than stand. Geo was thankful it was just the cane, he'd overheard his brother and Ducky discussing bringing the walker.

Traffic wasn't quite as bad as Tony feared and with Dad driving the van, they made good time. Parking in Ducky's driveway next to the Challenger, they hurried in out of the cold.

The groom and his entourage had also been assigned a bedroom and they filed into that, peeling off their parkas, scarves and gloves. Granducky showed the boys to their playroom. Leaving their packs in there, the kids rejoined their father, grandfathers, uncles and Mr. James.

Ducky slipped out of the room when the doorbell rang, Tony, Rob and James following him. The four of them would greet arriving guests, taking turns ushering them to the library. Cyndi and Larry Porter were the first arrivals, needing no introductions. They were followed by Rick and Denise Carter, Jim and Anne O'Brien and then Artie's former Professor, Dr. Biros and his wife. James ushered the Porters to the library and returned to the foyer, passing Tony who was escorting the two NCIS couples. In the living room, away from the chilly foyer, Rob was introducing himself to Dr. Biros and his wife. The professor smiled, "You're Timothy's little brother? Good grief, you grew up well!"

"Thank you! I'm surprised you know me, I remember hiding a lot."

Dr. Santos, the professor's wife, chuckled, "I made oatmeal raisin cookies that you especially liked."

Rob's smile widened, "Mm, I can still taste those. It's wonderful to see you both. Dr. Santos, don't know if you know this, but I'm a pediatrician. You were a big inspiration for me."

The woman beamed, "Both Artie and Tim mentioned it. Congratulations, Dr. McGee, glad I could help!"

Still chatting, they walked toward the library. Within about 20 minutes, almost all of the guests had arrived and were sitting comfortably in the transformed library, enjoying Jimmy's pre-ceremony solo.

As ready as they could be, Tim and his entourage left their room and were hanging out in the living room, waiting for Lu to tell them the bridal party was ready. Geordie was sitting while the rest of them stood and the boys were in the playroom.

Dad was the closest when the doorbell rang and he answered the door. He smiled politely at the couple on the doorstep and then realized who they must be. He greeted them warmly in the Greek Artie taught him and the woman smiled while the man managed to look a little less uncomfortable. Once they were in the house, James took their overcoats while Tim turned to see who the newcomers were.

When he saw Artie's mother, he allowed what he hoped was a welcoming look to appear on his face and crossed the room, welcoming them in their own language, telling them how happy Artemis would be they'd been able to make the trip. He didn't fuss nor did he allow more than a small smile, knowing Mr. Galanis distrusted overly effusive people. Watching, Geordie was impressed, feeling he was watching his brother conducting an undercover operation and a kind of interrogation. When he said that to Gibbs, the older man nodded, "Yes, he studied the man, knew what would go over well and what wouldn't and acted accordingly. You saw Tim the federal agent, the criminal investigator, at work. Reading people, criminals and persons of interest, figuring out what makes them tick is a big part of our job. He wanted today to be perfect for Artemis and letting her difficult father know he is as much on trial as we are is a big part of that."

As his wayward daughter's betrothed husband welcomed them, Kosmos Galanis grudgingly admitted the man was at least respectful and fluent in the Greek language. He was surprised at his appearance, he'd expected this to be a very casual wedding, thinking the best he could hope for was not to see any jeans. But the room they were in was elegantly decorated, festive without being fussy. The men in the room with them were well dressed too. He remembered photos of a long-haired, scruffy looking, baby faced teenager. The man in front of him looked and acted quite civilized and with maturity and although he recognized him, he no longer had a baby face. Best of all, he wasn't grinning and smiling like a fool as so many people did nowadays. Or God help him, hugging perfect strangers.

Now they were being introduced to Timothy's father and Kosmos looked into the father's eyes, his name was something English, ah yes, Gibbs, and saw he was being measured as much as he was measuring the others. Not accustomed to that outside of diplomatic circles, he had to regroup. When he next looked at Timothy's eyes, he saw the same thing and wondered if he'd met his match.

Backing off, he nodded to the others in the room, their host and the others who were Gibbs' sons, Timothy's brothers. As a Marine sitting in a chair started to rise, he shook his head and raised his hand to stop him. He'd never known any military man to voluntarily sit when a woman or superior was in the room and rightly guessed this one was injured or disabled.

Rob brought the boys and Andy, remembering that to his grandparents he'd still be Jason, approached his grandparents formally, "Pappous, Yiayia, it's good to see you. I'm glad you were able to come." He shook his grandfather's hand and kissed his grandmother's cheek.

Kosmos displayed approval of his grandson's manners by adding a little squeeze with the hand shake and giving the boy a nod while Sophia wished she could have a hug.

When they were introduced to the younger boys, the one closer to Jason's age squared his shoulders, standing straight as he welcomed them in Greek. His pronunciation needed a little work but overall Kosmos found it satisfactory and nodded, great praise from him although Greg didn't know that. The small one looked almost defiant as he said, "Welcome" in Greek and then told them his name in English. Kosmos shook hands with both brothers.

Rob retreated to the interior of the house, knocking on the door of the bride's room, telling Lu he needed to speak with her. She walked into the hall, closing the door behind her. "Robbie, is everything all right? We're almost ready."

He whispered, "Her parents are here."

Lu made a face, "That's a surprise and I'm not sure it's a welcome one. How about you bring the mother in? From what we've heard, she seems nicer than the father. But only for a couple of minutes!"

Rob nodded and returning to the living room, looked at Mrs. Galanis, "Ma'am, if you'd like to see Artemis before the ceremony, I'll take you to her. You'll only have two minutes as we're ready to start."

"Thank you, I do wish to see her."

He delivered her to Lu and then fled. He was in the kitchen when he saw Tony walk toward the library. A minute later he heard the piano as Tony played something classical. That wasn't in the plans, Tony was only supposed to play when Jimmy sang his solo.

On his way back to the living room, he noticed Dad in the hallway speaking with Lu. Rob continued, looking at Tim who was starting to pace. Not a good sign. Dad returned and gave them the sign, "All right, we're all ready. Is that Tony playing?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, he volunteered. Let's wait until he's almost done." His father and brothers looked at him and he rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll let you know when he's almost done! Boys, are you ready?"

They nodded and Kyle said, "We walk in with the uncles and Aunty Sarah and 'Rissa. Then…I forget."

"That's okay as long as you know your part. Mr. and Mrs. Galanis will walk with your grandparents and then your mama and me."

"Oh yeah. Can we go soon, Papa? My tummy might rumble."

"Nice try, Doodle bug. I know Uncle Rob gave you one of his snack packs."

Kyle grinned at his uncle. The boys stood with Uncles Rob and Geordie and Tim kissed each of them. They walked to the doors to the library, waiting for Tony to finish. As he slipped out to join them, the bride and her entourage appeared. When everyone was in place, the family walked into the library, Rob, Geordie and Tony leading the way, followed by the Galanises, Dad and Lu and then the children. Kyle wanted to point out the lights on the ceiling and all the Christmas trees to his little sister but remembered not to talk. He took her hand and they smiled at each other. Their parents walked in behind them, a beautiful couple. Tim's elegant tailcoat looked wonderful with the romantic lace and cut of Artemis' dress and veil.

Their family was around them, Geordie sitting, Rissa and the boys standing with Grandpa and Grandma. After welcoming everyone, Ducky said that the Porters, Timothy and Artemis' friends, would read a poem. Alternating stanzas, Larry and Cyndi read the poem, one read during their own wedding. Next came the vows and while the rings were exchanged, Jimmy sang his solo while Tony accompanied him on the piano. As the last chords of the song died away, Dr. Biros came to the front to read a traditional Greek prayer.

This was a surprise for Artie and she blinked back tears. They hadn't had time for a Greek wedding, which would have required several pre-wedding counseling sessions and an examination of Tim's baptismal records, which he didn't have. After being denied help from a few sources, Tim did the only other thing he could think of, asking Artie's former professor for help.

After Dr. Biros finished, Ducky pronounced the couple husband and wife, watching them kiss before adding a few words of his own, formally welcoming Artemis, Jason Andrew and Marissa Athena to the McGee-Gibbs-Mallard clan. That raised a chuckle and a standing ovation as the couple again kissed each other and then their children. They glided, hand in hand, to the back of the room where they disappeared into the bride's room. They'd have a few photos taken in the library once their guests had adjourned to the living room. Then they'd party while the library was transformed into a dining hall fit for royalty.

Kosmos knew this would likely be his only chance to speak with his daughter. Knocking on the door, he nodded to his son-in-law when he answered and was allowed in. He was not overly surprised when Timothy did not leave the room. He spoke in their native language with his daughter, telling her how proud he was of her marriage and family. Words of praise came hard to him and he stumbled a few times. When Timothy's father knocked on the door to let them know the photographer was ready, he kissed his daughter's cheek and shook hands with the new husband. He was impressed in spite of himself and wasn't sure how he felt about that.

The photos seemed to take forever but finally the photographer was satisfied and the family headed for the living room. Jose snickered to Geordie, "A civil ceremony, 5 minutes, HA!"

Geordie shook his head, "It was 14 minutes, Joe. If they hadn't had the poem, the music and the prayer, it would have been about 3 and that's no fun!" He looked at him, "Planning ahead?"

Jose grinned, "Kind of. Chels really likes Artie's dress and all the lights, candles and trees. And having it in someone's home. Except there's no room to dance and we want dancing!"

"Yeah, I Googled Greek weddings and they look a little wild with crazy dancing! I watched this one video of a wedding on a Greek island, the reception was on the terrace of a hotel and even the staff got into the dancing. It looked like a lot of fun! But you know, Andy's 12 years old and once Tim and Artie worked things out, Tim felt they should marry as soon as possible. And they wanted to do it here, now, with all of us. They were not expecting Artie's parents, that was a surprise."

"A good one?"

"Don't know yet. Haven't seen any tears so I guess it's okay. Except Andy looks like he needs some Uncle Geordie time." Geordie, his bad leg and recovering body needed a rest. He tapped Andy on the shoulder, "Want to hang out with me in the playroom? I need a rest."

His nephew smiled as his newest uncle gave him a hug and asked him, "Are you having a good time?"

"Sure, there's lots of food and I know everyone! Did you see Rissa and Kyle? They were upset because they couldn't see anything so Grandpa is carrying her around and Uncle Rob has Kyle."

Geordie chuckled, guessing it wouldn't be much fun to only see legs and feet, hardly any faces. "Good for them! How did you like the ceremony?"

"It was good, not too mushy or long. Papa and Mama looked so cool! She really liked her professor doing the prayer."

"Yes, that was a surprise for her. Your dad talked with some Orthodox priests about doing a blessing or reading a prayer but they don't know any of us, we don't belong to their church, I mean their specific churches, and it's a really busy time of year for them. Then your dad called Dr. Biros for advice and the man volunteered to read the prayer. So…have you talked with your Greek family?"

Andy shook his head. "Only when they arrived. If Yaya's alone, I could talk with her but I don't want to talk with my pappous. He's being nice today and that's kind of scary." He leaned forward, "Rissa didn't know who they were. She hasn't seen them since her first name day."

"Ouch. Maybe you should spend some time with them, though. They are your grandparents and they traveled a long way to be here."

"I didn't think of that. All right, I'll find them. It'll be strange to be Jason again."

Geordie smiled at him, "Aw, it's a good name, just a bit too popular. If you wait a few minutes, I'll go with you."

"I don't mind waiting but I thought your leg hurt?"

"It does. I took a pain pill, it'll ease the pain in a few more minutes."

"Good! Does it hurt all the time?"

"It did at first. Now it's healing and getting stronger. I might have overdone things the last couple of days."

"Christmas?"

"Mm, sure, I suppose all the excitement. That was fun yesterday and the day before. Glad I wasn't the only new guy for the McGee-Gibbs-Mallard clan Christmas. I think my leg hurts today from too much standing. My bad, I know better." A few minutes later, he said, "Okay, Andy, the pain's quieter, let's go find your other grandparents."

Using his cane and allowing his nephew to give him some support, Geordie led the way back into the celebration. The first person they saw was Lu and she beamed when Andy asked if she'd seen his other grandparents. She was getting used to being Grandma but to be acknowledged as the children's grandmother _and_ Tim's surrogate mother at his wedding was beyond her wildest dreams.

"Yes, sweetheart, they're talking with the Porters, over by the fireplace."

"Thanks, Grandma." Andy hugged her and Geo kissed her cheek as the pair worked their way through the crowd. Geordie grinned as he spotted Tony's father, Senior, charm-chatting Tim and Tony's friend Natalie. Natalie caught the grin and gave him a little wink. Her husband was here somewhere.

After greeting and talking to several people, nephew and uncle finally landed near Andy's Greek grandparents. Sophia spotted her grandson almost right away and put her arm around his shoulders. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a hug. She kissed the top of his head and smiled her thanks at Geordie, who'd slipped around behind Mr. Galanis. With a discreet nod, he headed in the direction of the couch, his leg really was not cooperating today. Halfway there, he felt an arm around his waist and found James providing support. "Let me take your weight. Sarah's gone to find one of the doctors."

As they approached a chair, someone James didn't recognize was at Geordie's other side, "Hang on, Captain, let us ease you down." Geordie sighed in relief as he sat.

"Bad?"

"Worst it's been this week. Nowhere near as bad as it was when I left Bethesda." He gave their father a little salute as he appeared with Sarah, "Tim's right, you really do appear out of nowhere."

Sarah chuckled, "He has good Spidey senses for his kids."

Dad tilted his head in agreement as he put a stool on the floor and gently lifted Geo's bad leg. "Jimmy will be here in a minute. He's got a wheelchair in his van. You're off your feet for the duration, son. Let the docs take a look and then you can ride around like royalty."

Kosmos Galanis was impressed. While no one was making a fuss, he knew the Marine had a medical problem, he'd watched the taller young man help him across the room with the assistance of a man who looked closer in age to Jethro. He couldn't decide if the taller man was the younger brother the doctor or the sister's boyfriend, they were the same height. While he didn't care for the extreme height of the young people these days, he could admit it wasn't their fault and tried not to show his disapproval. He'd never understand how both his daughters came to be near-giantesses, Artemis at 5'9" while Susannah was even taller at 5'10". He'd decided years ago that his wife's family must have a few mutant genes. That nearly obscene height certainly hadn't come from the Galanis family! Luckily, his son was normal, about a half inch taller than his papa's 5'8", just as it should be.

From Kosmos' vantage point near the edge of the room, he saw Timothy's father slip through the crowd with a footstool. Two minutes later, the man who'd sung during the ceremony brought in a folded chair on wheels. He approved of their discretion.

Geordie sighed to himself as his family gathered around him. He knew they were trying not to hover, wishing they could help. When Tim and Artie appeared, he sighed aloud, "Tim, I'm…"

Tim shook his head, "Don't even think it. Let the docs take care of you. You can kick up your heels at the next party."

Artie smiled, leaning over to kiss his head. "What Tim said, Geordie. Relax and let our doctors take care of your poor leg."

The two younger doctors appeared, Jimmy with a folding wheel chair and Rob shooing everyone away. While Dad unfolded the chair and made sure the brakes were locked, Rob, Tim, and James lifted Geordie and gently placed him in the chair. Rob pushed while Jimmy cleared the way, not that he had to do much. Entering the 'groom's room', Geordie was moved from the chair to the bed.

Kosmos turned back to his wife and grandson who were talking about his new school and how much he liked it. He frowned, "Jason, what was wrong with the International School?"

"It was very elitist, Pappous. The other students looked down on me because we aren't rich or well known. I know you are well known but Mama taught me not to brag. It was different than the other international schools. Partly because we were there longer, three years in London. That also made it harder with the children in our neighborhood. I was there for 3 years and never made a friend. They treated me like an outsider and in a way, I was. I think if there had been someone there who wanted to be friends, who shared some interests with me, that would have been different. Brambury, where we live now, is a small town and very friendly. Papa, Grandpa and Aunt Sarah have only been there since April but because Papa is a professor at Bedford University, they were welcome. Classes were easier for me to start because my brother Greg is already known. And now it will be easier when Mama travels for her work. She will miss us and we'll miss her but she won't have to worry. We can continue living with Papa in our house and go to the same school. It's great with Greg and Kyle and having Grandpa and Aunt Sarah too. Uncle Rob visits whenever he has a couple of days off work and now Uncle Geordie will live with us too."

His yaya's eyes widened, "How big is that house, Jason?"

"It's huge! When Papa accepted the job offer from Bedford, he and Aunt Sarah made a list of all the things he wanted in a house. Aunt Sarah already lived in London and knows an estate agent, she found the house. Papa said when he first saw it, he wondered what they'd do with all of the rooms. But now there won't be any empty rooms. Once Uncle Geordie can walk upstairs, he'll move into Mama's old room."

"Her room? She had her own room?"

Andy nodded, puzzled by the question. "Yes, ma'am. Upstairs has a long hallway," he described the rooms on the second floor of their home. "Greg says when they first moved in, Uncle Rob thought he'd use the other big room but once he started working, he wasn't there very often. When Papa invited us to move in, he showed Mama and Aunt Susannah all the rooms and let them make their choice. Grandpa even offered to move upstairs so they could have his suite. But Mama didn't want to be downstairs so they moved into the other big bedroom upstairs."

Kosmos was surprised at that and found himself almost…pleased with his daughter. He'd have to find an excuse to visit, curious about the house and town.

Across the room, Senior was chatting with Tim and Artie, telling them how impressed he was by their family and the wedding. "I knew it would be wonderful and this is absolutely top notch. Stunningly beautiful bride, handsome groom, love the tails, Timothy! Very elegant and romantic, no one would ever dream you have 4 children between you!"

Tim had had enough and he was sure Artie had too. From anyone else, the words would be complimentary but coming from Senior, they sounded slick and bordering on making him feel nauseous. He'd rather be talking with…oh, that was a good idea. When Senior finally paused to take a breath, Tim grabbed Artie's hand, "Senior, please excuse us, my wife's parents have been waiting to speak with us."

Artie giggled all the way across the room, finally whispering, "You'd rather spend time with my parents than Senior?"

"Yes!"

Seeing Andy speaking with a smile on his face brought more smiles to their faces although Tim managed to tame his before his father-in-law saw him. Happy was good, expected in these circumstances. A big smile because your son is voluntarily speaking with his dreaded grandfather would be difficult to explain.

He nodded to Kosmos, he'd continue to call him Mr. Galanis unless invited to do otherwise and he couldn't see that happening. Andy grinned when he saw them and Sophia also smiled happily. Tim looked at them, "Need drinks, meze?"

Sophia tilted her head in thought, "I'd love more meze, they're quite good. However, I don't want to spoil my appetite for dinner."

"I'm glad you like the meze. I have a former co-worker who's Greek and recommended the bakery. Unfortunately, she couldn't be here tonight."

Considering she didn't exist, that was understandable. Tim knew how to play the game, establish a few quick credentials and work on the harder ones later. Abby's friend Carol had a Greek-American aunt by marriage who recommended her favorite bakery for Greek meze and other delicacies. So…a Greek woman had recommended the bakery and Carol had been unable to attend the wedding. Close enough. Come to think of it, Carol had worked cases with them, thus qualifying her as a former co-worker. Definitely close enough.

Tim looked at Kosmos, "Sir, do you need anything more?"

"I am also fine, Timothy."

A gracious response or just minding his manners? Tim didn't really care, as long as his bride was happy, he was happy. He asked them about their post in Stockholm and that was interesting. Dad had mentioned seeing Oslo and Tim thought they might be able to combine the two capitals. They'd need a second trip to visit Copenhagen and Helsinki. Maybe not in that order but Stockholm would be their primary goal.

"Sir, the boys have the first week of June as a school holiday, Artemis' project will be complete and my classes will be finished for the term. Would that be a convenient time to visit you in Stockholm?"

Sophia bit back a smile, she could see this new son-in-law of hers would give no quarter to her husband. She liked that.

Kosmos was startled, covering it by passing the buck to his wife. "Sophia, I don't have my schedule with me."

"I don't either." She smiled at Tim, "We'll check it later." He nodded his agreement. He smiled when Dad joined them, Marissa in his arms, asking Tim's new in-laws, "Hello, are you enjoying the party?"

Sophia nodded, "Yes, indeed, we had a nice chat with the Porters. Timothy, we heard about your sojourn in Cambridge last year. Quite the feathers in your cap, teaching at MIT and Bedford."

Tim nodded, "Thank you. It was a difficult time, I'd just been given custody of Greg and Kyle after their mother's sudden death and there were other unfortunate things going on. When Dr. Donovan called, I was happy for the opportunity. I was offered a month's teaching to replace a professor on emergency leave and we stayed into April. That gave the boys and me time to settle in together."

"Will you continue at Bedford?"

"For another 18 months, yes. Artemis and I have some ideas of what we want to do afterward but nothing is yet firm." He clarified, "We both have offers and it will take us time to whittle those down to the best positions for each of us and our family."

That also surprised Kosmos, "You have offers for positions 18 months in the future?"

"Yes sir, we both do."

Marissa squealed as Grandpa gently lowered her to the ground. She looked up at her grandfather and extended her hand, saying in perfect Greek, "Hello, grandfather, grandmother. My grandpa (that was in English) helped me be tall so I could see everyone and everything. Uncle Rob is doing the same thing with my brother, Kyle." She frowned, looking at her papa and still speaking in Greek, "Papa, what do Greg and Kyle call my grandparents?"

Tim squatted so he was face to face with her, "They'll call them Mr. and Mrs. Galanis."

"Oh."

Sophia didn't dare say what she wanted, her husband had already made his feelings known about that. Jason and Marissa were their grandchildren, not the other two boys.

Thankfully, Emily Fornell had spotted them. "Hello and congratulations. Beautiful ceremony, now I know what I want if I decide to marry!"

She was introduced to the Galanises and asked Artie's father a few questions about working in the Diplomatic Corps. He answered them, asking her if she was interested. She nodded, "I am, although of course for the United States. I've been the chief diplomat and negotiator between my divorced parents since I was Marissa's age. Learning how it happens on a national and international scale appeals to me."

He nodded, visibly amused, and they chatted while Sophia played with her little granddaughter. The bride and groom melted into the crowd, stopping to speak with their guests, especially those from out of the area. The Donovans were chatting with Sarah, James, Nikki Jardine, Bill, Freddie and Abby which Tim thought an interesting combination. The Porters were talking with Jimmy, Breena and Natalie while Leon was in serious conversation with Drs. Biros and Santos. Breena's mother, Ginny Slater, was laughing about something with Lu and Artie's former roommates. Ed Slater, usually somewhat of a grouch, looked like he was having a good time talking with LJ, Rick and Jim.

Andy was talking with Kayla and Jared Vance and Tim was glad to see him connecting with the older kids. It helped that they'd spent most of the day together yesterday. Kyle and Greg were hanging with Ellie, Rob, Geo and Barry. Geo was riding the wheelchair, looking considerably more at ease. Wondering where Ducky, Tony and Maggie were, Tim looked around and Artie pointed them out. Ducky was talking with Senior and Tobias. And Tony was laughing about something with Maggie, Ron Sacks and his date.

Tim looked around, feeling complete. He and Artemis were finally married, her parents had thawed enough to be here, all of his family and friends were here. He wished he could freeze this time, keep exact memories of the day fresh and intact in his mind. He was kissing Artemis when their caterer cleared her throat right next to them. "We're ready to seat everyone in the dining room."

"Time for another parade!" They gestured to the children and their parents to join them. His dad caught his eye and nodded, he and Lu would bring the Galanises with them. The newlyweds led their guests into the library, the two younger children between them. Greg walked on the other side of Artie, Andy on the other side of Tim, holding hands. The bridal couple's parents followed behind with Tim's siblings.

The room was again transformed, this time into a lovely dining room complete with white tablecloths, candles and flowers on the tables, the silver and glass ware reflecting the dozens of overhead lights. Each place setting had a wine and water goblet. Baskets of warm crusty bread, plates with a selection of Greek, American and other international cheeses from goat, sheep and dairy cows were on each table along with bowls of olives. There were two types of entrées. The first was a dish often seen at Greek weddings, lamb shanks, slow roasted with locally sourced herbs, tiny Yukon potatoes, vegetables, lemon zest and lemon juice. The second entrée, for the vegetarians and vegans among the guests, was herb crusted cauliflower steaks with roasted broccoli, green beans and sweet potato wedges.

When everyone was seated, Dad stood. "As best man and father of the groom, I'm required to speak and today, I'm happy to do so." He paused as those who knew him as the 'functional mute' chuckled. "Artemis, you've been a member of the family for some time now, please accept this as your formal welcome. We're very happy you've joined us and we already love you. And thank you for bringing me two more grandchildren. Jason Andrew and Marissa Athena, you know how much we love you and welcome to the clan! Kyle Timothy, Gregory Griffith, I'm so proud of the way you've welcomed Artemis and your new siblings!

"Timothy, I'm prouder of you, love you more than I know how to say. You and your siblings re-opened my eyes and heart after so many years of living in darkness. My heart is full today with new family; welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Galanis, I know I speak for your daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren and the rest of our family when I thank you for making the long journey here. Now, please join me in a toast to Artemis and Timothy, may your union be strong, full of joy, laughter and safe journeys."

While he'd been speaking, the servers poured glasses of sparkling cider or champagne for the newlyweds and the rest of their guests. Now everyone stood, raising their glasses for the toast, followed by applause.

When the noise died down, Kosmos Galanis rose. "Sophia and I thank you for the warm welcome, we are most impressed with the family our daughter has joined, do you know each one of them greeted us in our native tongue? That was without knowing we would be here today; we thank you for that. We are proud of Artemis' accomplishments, both professional and personal, for giving us Jason Andrew and Marissa and now her marriage. Timothy, we welcome you, Gregory and Kyle to our family with pride and affection and look forward to many visits between us. And for your father, siblings, family and friends, thank you." He raised his wine glass, first saying his toast in Greek and then repeating it in English, "May God continue to bless Artemis and Timothy and grant them love, laughter and happiness for all their years."

As the noise once again died down, the caterers moved in with plates of Greek salad. While Tim and Artie would later remember that the meal was delicious, they had no specific memories of the food. What they did remember was chatting with their guests, making sure they spoke with everyone. And they caught up with their children, hearing about their experiences. They'd eat a little, visit a little, return to their seats and repeat the process.

After he finished eating, Tony left Maggie with his father, returning to the piano to play a piece or two. He had a good idea of the kind of music his brother and new sister-in-law enjoyed and played some of that along with a few classics that made excellent background music.

When everyone was through eating, the caterers cleared the tables and Tony stood beside the piano. "Some of Tim and Artemis' family and friends here are new to other folks. We'll have cake in a few minutes but in the meantime, Tim's siblings and I thought it would be fun to ask people to tell us when and where you met our happy couple. If no one minds, I'll go first."

He grinned at his brother, "I first met Agent Timothy McGee when he was a very new agent, working a desk aboard the Norfolk Navy Yard. When he was handed a crime scene that was outside of his experience and his then authority level, he called in the Major Case Response Team from DC. There were 3 of us on the MCRT, Gibbs was our team leader, I was the senior agent and Kate Todd our junior. Now, the crime was an especially nasty one and much of it is still classified; I'm sure you're relieved I can't tell you much about the crime itself. As much of a prankster and overage frat boy I was at the time, I had a great time teasing the very young and inexperienced, or so I thought, Agent McGee. Even to the point of ordering him to stand guard all night over a secondary crime scene. I was gleeful about that and remorseful in later years until he finally told me he'd called the Shore Patrol to handle the guard while he had a good night's sleep. Pretty smart move and definitely not so green, McGee!

"During that same investigation, he was delving into our suspect's electronic records and rattled off a litany of technobabble. It was too important to let it go and I believe I said, "Phys Ed Major, you?" To which he replied, "Bio-medical engineering degree, masters in computer forensics", before explaining what he'd said. After Gibbs transferred him onto our team, I made it my personal mission to tease and prank him whenever possible. That works better when there's friendship between the prankster and his target. And there wasn't, not for a few years. When he started either ignoring me or retaliating, we finally started to become friends. And here we are more than a decade later, proud to call each other brother. He has the heart of a lion, is tenacious, loyal, smart, vulnerable, loving, funny, a proud geek with an almost inexhaustible supply of patience. Almost!

"As for our lovely bride, I heard about Artemis before I met her. I was lucky enough to join my family for vacation on a little island in Greece last summer and Tim said something about his long lost love having taught him the Greek language. Only he referred to this person as Artie which I of course assumed was short for Arthur. That was a surprise, although nothing wrong with it. Then Greg giggled and told his papa to tell us her whole name. When Tim opened up and told us more about her, I remember thinking he still loved her and that explained his dating history. Weeks later, we met not only Artie but also Andy, Marissa and Artie's sister Susannah on a Skype call. After numerous chats online and over Skype, I finally met her in person when they arrived home for Christmas.

"Artie, I'm so glad you and Tim are bookworms and have the same love of bookstores! Who would ever have thought that the two of you would re-connect on an entirely different continent thousands of miles from Cambridge, Massachusetts? Clearly, you were meant to be together!"

The group laughed and applauded and then Lu stood to talk about meeting Tim as a 9-year-old. "I believe everyone here knows the circumstances of Tim's early life, several of us lived it with him, so I hope what I'm going to tell you won't be a shock. I first met 9-year-old Tim the day after he and Geordie rescued 2-year-old Robbie from a busy street. He'd been running to keep up with his mother and ran right into a busy intersection. Luckily, Tim, Geordie and 3-year-old Sarah were returning from the clinic where Tim's walking casts had been removed. Tim spotted Rob and managed to grab him as a car swerved to avoid him. They later found his mother in a nearby transient camp and she agreed to act as Tim and Sarah's shelter mother in return for Tim raising Rob. As their shelter mother, she registered the children under her name at the shelter. She had to be with them in the afternoons when the shelter opened or they weren't allowed in.

"That first day, she signed them in and then swept into the room, ignoring the children. I happened to be there that afternoon and saw one of the saddest sights I'd seen there. A boy about 9 with two babies clinging to his legs. He was exhausted, hungry, terrified, angry, grieving his lost family and his legs hurt. But he smiled at me when we met and introduced his baby siblings, Sarah and Robbie. Robbie was very shy, wouldn't even look at me while Sarah wouldn't let go of Tim's legs but gave me her most charming smile as she asked for a cookie. That began my association with the McGee family and I'm prouder of them than I can say. I can't say I've known them the longest, that honor applies to our Geordie, but I feel as if I've known them all their lives. Tim worked hard during the years they spent at the shelter and later the transient camp, I don't think he ever gave himself a chance to slack off and I wouldn't be too surprised if he slept for a month after finally leaving Baltimore for Cambridge!"

She turned toward Artemis, smiling, "Although Artemis and I only met in person recently, the same time as Tony, we've agreed we've known each other much longer. When Tim would write from Cambridge, his letters were full of 'Artie this' and 'Artie that'. I was so happy for him! And Artie has told me of learning about all of us, the Baltimore family, from Tim, how much he missed us. That's me, Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose, raise your hands, gentlemen! When I heard that Artemis had reappeared in Tim's life, I was so happy, I cried. As Tony says, the two of them clearly belong together!"

Geordie cleared his throat to speak next. Remaining seated, he told the story of meeting Tim and Sarah in the bus station, being given a quarter of a sandwich, helping them to the transient camp and becoming family. When he was finished, Jared Vance stood up. "I first met Tim in person when we moved from San Diego to Alexandria. But he'd been involved with our family before then. I was frequenting a chat room that he was monitoring. He realized the 'kid' I was friends with was a grown man, a child predator. He traced the guy and got him busted and then let my parents know. Tim told me later he was really nervous when he figured out who my dad is because Dad was the head of the San Diego office at the time and Tim was a newbie at Norfolk. Months later, I needed help with a math class and didn't want to ask my parents, I don't remember why. Anyway, I contacted Tim and he was a big help although he made me promise to tell my folks. We met Artemis, Andy and Rissa over Skype and then in person over Christmas. Artie's really nice and it's been a lot of fun last year and this year with Greg and Kyle joining the family and now Andy and Rissa."

He sat as his father and sister smiled proudly at him. Larry Porter stood up next, "I guess my wife Cyndi and I are two of the few who met Artemis and Tim about the same time. We met Tim first but Drs. Biros and Santos met Artie first so that balances out."

He went on to describe his first meeting with Tim, a nervous overachiever (that got a laugh) who was living with his 2 minor siblings, Sarah and Rob. "That caught my interest, an 18-year-old raising two kids on his own; however we wouldn't learn anything more for a couple of years. With Tim, trust is a huge issue and it took that long to trust us enough to share that he'd grown up homeless. In the meantime, I became his mentor and eventually, his friend. We knew Mrs. Ferguson, their landlady, and between the three of us managed to put some weight on the McGees. She taught them how to really cook; once they had money from Tim's scholarship, they'd started eating the calories they needed but not the nutrition as they were eating out of cans. It was interesting to watch their family dynamics. Tim was definitely the papa, the kids called him Timpa and he was very protective of them, scheduling his classes, when possible, to coincide with their class schedules. Rob was his shy child, his head usually buried in science texts which has helped him considerably on the way to medical school and now his residency. Sarah was apparently born a rebel. While she was perfectly sweet with us, she fought Tim every step of the way, over everything. When Tim introduced her to Artie, things got better. With the major exception of Lu Morgan, who you already heard, none of them have ever had a mother and Sarah was always the only girl in a group of boys. They're good now, over the years they've both matured and have become very close.

"Tim was an interesting young man, old beyond his years as you can imagine and yet refreshingly young in some ways. We were pretty excited when he started talking about this awesome girl he'd met, come to find out they'd met at freshman orientation, before classes even started. Typical Tim at the time, reluctant to share anything personal, too afraid anything good would be ripped away from him again. Artie was 16, 2 years younger than Tim, underage and the ward of Dr. Biros and his wife Dr. Santos. She was a breath of fresh air for Tim, they talked about anything, she was fearless while he was sometimes hesitant, understandably so after his experiences. Someone taught him impeccable manners early on and he was always respectful of Artemis and mindful of her age. Apollo will tell you more, but I don't think our two lovebirds ever missed a curfew. She taught him Greek and how to relax and have fun, he helped her with advanced calculus. They learned how to roller and ice skate and taught the children, while Cyndi and I, Mrs. Ferguson and the Biros-Santos' would rotate babysitting so they could have free time together. Neither knew how to drive and walked everywhere; they were known for their walking. Except in the worst of blizzards, they'd walk everywhere. When it got so bad they couldn't see, they'd give in and take a bus.

"They were at MIT with us for several years and all of us hoped they'd stay together but we knew that with their disparate goals it would be tough. Still, I think we were nearly as upset as they were when Artemis left for Japan. And that reminds me of an odd little thing. Last year, when Tim, Greg and Kyle came to Cambridge, they lived in campus housing. When Tim saw the house, he remembered having tea there on Sundays, with Artemis. That was the first time in years I'd heard him mention Artie. Cyndi and I kept in touch with the McGees, went to Sarah and Rob's high school and college graduations, Tim's graduation from FLETC and 3 years ago, Rob's graduation from medical school. Spent a few holidays together as well.

"Anyway, in Cambridge last year when Tim mentioned Artie, Greg asked if he'd really liked her and why hadn't they married. Tim told him it was because she'd had to move to Japan. Greg said that he should look for her, maybe by now she was through with Japan. Well done, Gregory! God or some power in the universe, perhaps our late friend Mrs. Ferguson, must have heard you as less than a year later, we saw them together on Skype and here we are at their wedding. And may I say," he looked toward the head table with a big grin, "it's about time!"

Dad got up and gave his version of meeting Tim, on that dock in Norfolk in 2003 and a few highlights of their work together. With a smile, he related meeting Artemis at lunch in London with Tim, Sarah, Greg and Kyle after she and Tim ran into each other at their favorite bookstore.

Drs. Biros and Santos related meeting Artemis and becoming her legal guardians until she turned 18. Much of what they said corroborated the Porters, although they had a few more personal things to add, how much she'd missed her family, especially her sister and mother and how excited she'd be whenever Mrs. Galanis visited. Although Artie was free to move to a dorm or her own place when she turned 18, she remained with the Biros-Santos' until she left for Japan.

As the caterers moved in with the cake, Kosmos sat, silently absorbing everything he'd heard. He'd had it all wrong, all these years. He'd believed the punk kid McGee had defiled his child and he'd always thought that Timothy had been a runaway who'd found Sarah and Rob somewhere. Of course, he'd never bothered to visit his daughter in Cambridge, he was always too busy, even though he'd been as close as New York several times. Which meant he'd never met the McGees until today and here they were, 4 mature, respectable adults.

When Sophia gently nudged him, he straightened, leaving his thoughts for later. Geordie was standing, leaning on his cane, toasting his brother and sister-in-law and each of the children, who were beaming at his praise. Kosmos almost laughed aloud at little Kyle, he only had eyes for the cake and held a fork tightly in his hand.

Artie and Tim cut the cake together, feeding each other bites without creating the mess some newlyweds do with their wedding cake. Some of their guests said goodbye as they left. Jimmy and Breena left with a very tired Victoria. Rick and Denise also said goodbye as they had an early flight in the morning, heading to nice warm Florida for a New Year's holiday. As Jim and Anne O'Brien had ridden with them, they too said their goodbyes. James was nearly asleep at the table and had to be nudged frequently to stay awake. He was leaving later tonight, on the last flight out to London. And the littles were clearly in need of sleep although Kyle had thoroughly enjoyed his cake and was now sneaking bites off of James' plate.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be away on vacation (what a glorious phrase!) this week and will have, at best, limited internet access. Rather than delaying posting, I'll post 2 chapters tonight (28 & 29), please read at your leisure. Would love to hear your thoughts about the story as it moves along.

Chapter 28

Artie and Tim decided it was time to wrap up the party or at least time for them to go. They would have Dad's pickup for the next few days.

Before they left Ducky's, they changed from their wedding finery to casual clothes, hanging their wedding clothes in their garment bag. James had offered to take their garment bag home and to the cleaners for them. That way, their formal wear would be ready for their 'second wedding' in Brambury the Saturday after they returned to the UK.

Kissing the children, they wouldn't see them until Tuesday evening, they said goodbye and thanked everyone. They'd see the out-of-towners and their parents at brunch tomorrow, at the hotel they were staying in tonight. After the brunch, they'd check out and head for their secret hideaway on Chesapeake Bay.

Still floating on air, the couple drove the short distance to the hotel, checked in and headed for the honeymoon suite. They made mad sweet love until falling asleep in each other's arms. Awake early, they made good use of the time; the brunch wasn't until 9 AM.

As they were getting dressed, Artie say, "Tim, how attached are you to our bedroom?"

He looked at her quizzically and then smiled, "The bed, chairs, sofa, drapes, artwork, rug…you're thinking we should move to the other master?"

"Yes. We'll have more privacy. The closet is a little smaller, but ours isn't full anyway."

"I can wire that room for the TV and move it. Great idea, honey, we'll be all the way down the hall from the kids, but still close enough if they need us."

"Will you mind being so far from your office?"

He shook his head, chuckling, "That's what, maybe 40 feet? I think I can handle it. Want to ask the landlord if we can paint? I don't think anything's been done to it since it was renovated from nursery to 2nd master in the 80's."

"Yes, let's do that. And change the light fixture, we'll swap."

"I forgot that's mine, the one that was there when we moved in is in the basement with a few other things. So yes, swapping is good. How sunny is it in the morning?"

"I don't remember but I prefer drapes anyway."

"Ok and I really like the andirons in our room."

"Me too, good, another swap! This will be fun and we'll have more privacy."

"Exactly. The other thing I was thinking of is making the old schoolroom into an office for you. I know we can't do too much but we can at least air it out, clean the walls, floors and windows, see what the lighting is, might need re-wiring."

"What if, instead of moving and having to store everything that's in there, we put up a folding screen?"

"Good idea! I bet the frames are easy to build, have to make sure they're sturdy and balanced, then decide whether you want fabric, paper like the Japanese screens or wood inserts."

They smiled at each other, their first ideas, discussion and decisions as a married couple. Hand in hand, they wandered into the restaurant just as Dad, Lu and the Galanises arrived. Bride and groom smiled, kissing their respective parents, Tim adding a kiss to Sophia's cheek and a handshake for Mr. Galanis. He'd decided he'd better think of him that way or he might slip up, call him Kosmos which he thought was a pretty cool name. Artie kissed both Jethro and Lu.

The Porters, Biros-Santos', Donovans and Artie's former roommates, Cheryl and Hannah arrived and they were seated. Dad looked at the newlyweds, "Senior can't make it, said to say congratulations again and he'll see us next time we're home."

Artie's eyes widened and she turned to Tim, "Does he only show up at Christmas?"

"Mostly. He used to show up in town at odd times and somehow our team always had to rescue him from something."

Mr. Galanis' eyebrows lifted, "Rescue him?"

"Let's see, the first time he dropped in, in the middle of a highly sensitive international murder case, he was accused of giving information to foreign nationals who were involved in the case. And we were the ones accusing him. We went to his location with weapons drawn, looking for a traitor."

"Obviously, you proved his innocence."

Tim tilted his head, "We proved he wasn't guilty. Not sure I would ever call him innocent."

He looked at his dad, an eyebrow raised. Gibbs gave him a look and then said, "The worst time was in France, luckily we weren't there. He met a lovely seemingly-well-to-do woman in a casino he wasn't used to frequenting. He usually played in Monte Carlo, but financial issues sent him to Nice. He wined and dined this woman for a couple of days and then made his move. And found himself face down on the floor, handcuffs on his wrists as the woman, a U.S. Federal Agent, accused him of treason, laundering money for terrorists. He'd walked into a undercover operation. He looked, dressed and acted enough like the real criminal to be tagged for it. He kept his wits about him and gave her our names. I got a call at 2:00 AM from another federal agency asking if I'd vouch for him. I told them to call our director. Leon sent a couple of NCIS agents to the casino and they were able to prove he wasn't the suspect the other agency was looking for. Luckily, the takedown was in a private room so they hadn't blown their operation. While one of our guys stayed with Senior, the other one went downstairs to help restart the operation and spotted a terrorist we'd been chasing for several years, one with a personal connection to our team. Arrested him and the right traitor. That was a win-win situation. I don't think he's been back to Nice since."

"My, he sounds…uh, interesting?"

"Word for it. He means well and he's trying hard to connect with his son."

"And seeing how close Tony is to all of you, he infiltrated the team?"

Dad chuckled while a surprised bark of laughter escaped from Tim. He laughed so hard he had to have a glass of water. "Excuse me! That's perfect!"

Artie's friend Hannah, who'd said it, grinned. "Glad to oblige!"

Their server arrived with their meals and conversation changed to "this is delicious" or "please pass the jam". After he'd eaten, Mr. Galanis told a few tales of wayward diplomats that had them laughing again.

The Porters, Donovans, Biros-Santos, Cheryl and Hannah were returning to Boston on the same flight, so they said their goodbyes all at once. Tim and Artie looked after them sadly and then grinned at each other. "We'll be able to visit them in eighteen months!"

Artie nodded and then added, "Maybe sooner if they come visit us!"

Sophia smiled, "That's a good idea. Artemis, Timothy, we're hoping you'll allow Jason and Marissa to spend tomorrow afternoon with us, and then we'll pick up Gregory and Kyle to join us for dinner at the Embassy, they have a separate dining room for families. Would that be acceptable?"

She relaxed when her daughter and son-in-law nodded and Tim said, "Thank you for including Greg and Kyle." He looked at his father, "Dad? You're in charge of our babies for the next 3 days, does that work?"

"It does, Timson. We'll visit their father and their mother's grave tomorrow afternoon. If you'd like, I could bring them to you, save you a trip. Patrick, their father, is in a hospital in Baltimore; we'll go through DC on the way back."

Mr. Galanis looked startled and then shook his head, "Excuse me, I had forgotten about your brother, Timothy. Yes, that will be fine. Do you still have a military ID?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then if you will bring that, the guards will allow you entrance. I'll leave word."

"Appreciate it. My turn for a question or two. You're leaving the 31st, correct?"

"Yes. It was the only day we could get seats on the diplomatic flights."

"I see. We'd love to have you for dinner on the 30th, spend a little more time with our family. How about we make it early, at 5:00? That way you'll have some time to pack or whatever you need to do before leaving."

"Thank you, that's thoughtful. Yes, we'd love to come."

"Great, is there anything you don't particularly like? We'll probably have a chicken dish."

Tim looked at his wife, she smiled her agreement and he said, "Dad, we'll make dinner, if you don't mind giving up the spatula?"

"That's fine, son."

Artie beamed, saying, "We'll make a recipe Tim and I developed together. It's a fusion of two recipes, Greek and American."

Mr. Galanis nodded and Sophia smiled, "That sounds wonderful!" When their car arrived, they said their goodbyes. After they were sure the Galanis were gone, all four sat back at the table to relax for a few minutes.

Dad shook his head, "I hope I'm not expected to call them Mr. and Mrs. Galanis for the rest of our lives."

Tim huffed, "I am."

"That's different, you're their son-in-law. I'm their peer, your parent."

"What did you call Shannon's father?"

"Mr. Fielding, although he asked me to call him Mac. I couldn't do it, not with that witch around. When Kelly learned to talk and called him Grandpa Mac, then I also called him that. Eventually, I had to call Shannie's mother by her first name, which nearly did me in."

Tim chuckled, "I don't know what I'd do if Artie's father ever asked me to call him by his first name. It's not going to happen!"

Artie thought about it and then nodded. "Probably not. My brother has been married for 15 years, has 4 children and his wife still calls our parents Mr. and Mrs. Although if my father's not around, she calls Mama by her first name."

"What's her name, your sister-in-law?"

"Adriana and Ana is her short name."

They talked for a little while longer before Lu nudged Jethro, "J, we're cutting into their honeymoon!"

"Oh geez! Go on, get! Love you both."

The honeymooners took off, laughing at Dad's forgetfulness. The drive to their spa hotel on Chesapeake Bay was a little over an hour and they were glad they'd paid a little extra for an early check-in. The Waterfront King Suite was just as advertised, with a 2 person jacuzzi tub, waterfront views, a 3-sided fireplace and a separate sitting room. The hotel also had an indoor swimming pool they wanted to use and of course a spa. A massage sounded wonderful to both of them.

After experiencing the jacuzzi tub, they decided to nap. When they woke, they went for a swim before returning to their suite, eventually ordering room service. Monday, they stayed in their room all day, finally dressing for an elegant dinner in one of the hotel restaurants. The next morning, they dug themselves out of their love nest for an early swim. After their swim, they ate a light breakfast downstairs and then loaded up the truck for the drive home. In no hurry, they wandered through small towns, stopping at several interesting looking stores, buying a few things they'd probably ship home. When they got hungry, they found a waterfront restaurant where they enjoyed some of Maryland's famous crab cakes.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

On the 29th, Rob drove Geordie to Bethesda for a medical appointment. When he met with his primary physician, he was astounded to hear he'd been selected to receive a new therapy treatment in the UK. The treatment had been in use for three years on Royal Marines with a high percentage of success, but had not yet been approved for use in the United States. In essence, he would be 'Patient One' for the U.S. He'd be flown to London on a military medical transport and taken directly to the hospital where he'd be for about a week. When the doctor was told that Captain Perry's family lived just outside of London, he smiled in relief. "You'll be in and out of the hospital for months, possibly up to a year, and will need a place to stay in between. We've been trying to arrange temporary quarters for you. How far outside of London does your family live?"

As Geo wasn't sure, he asked if Rob could join them. When Rob heard the name of the hospital, he smiled. "That's less than a mile from my hospital. Our dad, brother or sister can easily pick him up or if he's only out overnight, he can stay with me, there's an elevator in my building."

He looked at his brother, "You'll be living in Dad's suite downstairs, you'll have a private bathroom and you're not far from the kitchen. It's quiet, you won't hear Tim and the kids when they leave for school in the morning. Artie's leaving for her next project in a few weeks and will only be home on weekends, not that she's noisy! Sarah isn't noisy and neither is James, besides, they're on the other side of the house from you. And you know Dad's usually quiet, he snores a bit as you know but you won't be in the same room with him. I've never heard him when I've stayed in there."

"Where will you sleep when you visit?"

"There's a second master upstairs. I've got a Cal King mattress at the house, I'll move that upstairs and we'll all be fine."

The doctor was intrigued, "Suites, 2 master bedrooms? How big is this house? It sounds huge!"

"It is huge, at least to us. Upstairs has 6 bedrooms, 3 baths, a library and an old schoolroom, downstairs has 2 suites each with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and its own living room. The kitchen is pretty big, eat-in, there's a formal dining room with a huge table and, let's see, hallways to the suites, a bathroom downstairs, next to the kids' playroom. Laundry room, living room and I forgot my brother's office upstairs, basement, Dad has a woodworking shop down there. There's also an attic that none of us have explored yet."

"And how many people live there?"

Rob grinned, "Was 6, expanded to 9 and now there will be 11, although James and I don't live there full-time. I have my own flat near the hospital and our sister Sarah's boyfriend doesn't quite live there full-time but does spend more nights there than at his flat in London. Almost the whole family."

"Will the Captain need to go upstairs for anything? And are there stairs into the house?"

"No, it's all living quarters up there, except for the library and we can bring him books. And there are no stairs into the house. There are two to get into the backyard, there's a step out terrace off the back of the conservatory and then two stairs down into the yard. But he can access the backyard from the front, by walking around the side. There's a gate and a bit of a downslope but nothing drastic and it's paved."

"Good! Are the children all in school during the day?"

"Yes, school and nursery, that is day care. Tim, their father, is a professor at a university in town. When his schedule allows, he walks or drives them to and from school. On the days he has late classes, our dad, sister or his wife, when she's home, handle the children's transportation."

"Will there be anyone at home with him during the day?"

"Yes, our sister works from home on her own schedule and our dad is usually home. He's retired but sometimes does consultations."

Geordie frowned, "Won't he and I be tripping over each other?"

"No, if he's home, he's in the basement working on a project. He and Sarah always have their cell phones handy in case one of the kids gets sick and has to come home. Geordie, there's a big TV in the family room off the kitchen, huh, I missed that room! Anyway, there's a recliner and couches in there, very comfortable furniture."

The doctor nodded, "That sounds great to me, certainly a good setup for the Captain's recovery. One last question, how long would you estimate the time to get to and from the hospital?"

"Like any big city, it depends on the time of day. We'll drive him back and forth, the town is on train and the Tube, sorry, subway, and bus routes but those can wait until he's fully recovered. During non-commute hours and in the afternoon, 25-30 minutes, during the morning commute add another 20 minutes, say 40-45 minutes."

"That works, our guidelines for his quarters were no more than an hour's drive from the hospital." He smiled at Geordie, "I'm pleased we were able to get this approved as quickly as we did. Secretary Porter authorized it as soon as she was given the paperwork and her counterpart in the United Kingdom also waved it through. Now, the question I should have asked from the start, when is your family returning to London?"

"They're taking an overnight flight on the 2nd. I think it leaves at 2230."

Rob nodded and the doctor looked at the clipboard he'd had in his hands. "There's a medical transport leaving from Anacostia-Bolling on the 2nd at 1900. Does that work?"

Rob tilted his head, a gesture he'd picked up from his brother and father, "Yes, we planned to be at Dulles by 2030, so that would work. But why the medical transport? Geordie's ambulatory as long as he's careful. We've already arranged for a cart and wheelchair at the airport. Once we're there, he'll only have to standup at security and even then he won't have to wait in line, he'll go through separately. We'll have the same setup at the other end, he'll go through Customs in a wheelchair with an escort. He has a bulkhead seat with Dad so he can stretch his leg out and he'll be able to elevate his legs. As an injured active duty service member, his flight is taken care of and he'll have medical assistance anytime he needs it, I'm a medical doctor and will be with the family."

"I see, you do have everything arranged. We probably should have waited to arrange the transport or checked for your family's departure date. What about transport to the hospital in London?"

"Our sister's boyfriend has already returned to London, he's staying at the house, and will pick us up in our van. We can easily take Geordie to the hospital."

"Very well. You'll be arriving in London sometime Saturday morning?"

"Yes, a little after 10."

The doctor nodded, quickly scanning through the second page of a thick wad of paper on a clipboard.

"Hmm. Captain, you're not required to be at the hospital until Tuesday morning at 0900. You can check into the hospital on Saturday or go home with your family and report in on Tuesday, I'll leave the choice to you."

Geo looked at his brother, "Think someone will be available Tuesday morning?"

Rob laughed, "You're kidding, right? We haven't seen you in more than 3 years and we're going to be too busy? I guarantee you every adult in the household will be available. Heck, we'll probably all ride in with you."

Geordie smiled, "Then I'll go home, Doc. Don't want to leave my family until I have to."

"Excellent! Now, I'm being incredibly nosy, but you mentioned your sister's boyfriend arriving Christmas Day, being at the wedding over the weekend and now he's home?"

"Yes, he arrived early Christmas Day, surprising our sister, stayed for Tim's wedding on Saturday and caught the first flight out early Sunday morning."

The doctor grinned at them, "That's more than a boyfriend – and that's really why you counted him at the house."

"He spent some time with Dad and Tim but no announcement has been made."

The doctor nodded, moving on. Geordie had been nervous since hearing about this new treatment. He felt a little better when the doctor gave him several pages of information about it, making a copy for Rob, and providing both of them with his contact information.

On the way home, the brothers discussed the treatment, Rob was excited about it, which made Geordie feel even better. From there, they segued into their plans for the rest of the week. Tomorrow, Sarah had plans with friends from Waverly and Tim and Artie were taking the kids to the snow. Dad, Lu and possibly the Galanises were going with them.

Andy and Marissa spent an afternoon with their Greek grandparents while their parents were away and Greg and Kyle joined the four of them that night for dinner. The younger boys were happy that Andy's other grandparents asked to be called 'Pappous and Yaya'.

Greg remembered having to dress up for parties and meals with his father's boss, his Commanding Officer, and later told Papa it felt the same. He'd told Kyle beforehand and his little brother did very well minding his manners and using his indoor voice, difficult for a 3 ½-year-old to stick with for several hours. Grandpa was so proud of them, he took all four ice skating the next day. Kyle never left the ice the entire time they were there!

The previous evening, after returning from their time away, the newlyweds had dinner with the Galanises at the Greek Embassy, just the two couples, and reported everything went fine, although Artie reported she was tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tim chuckled as he said he'd had a dozen questions about life in the embassy, especially after the tour they were given, but asked only a few.

Now, after leaving the doctor, Rob and Geordie talked about joining the others for the snow trip but Rob had little interest in going to the snow, he'd had his fill of being cold and Geordie didn't think he'd better chance it. He'd had a couple of outings and that was enough. However, he didn't want to stay home all day either, so the two called the guys to see if any of them were available for lunch the next day and possibly something else afterward. As long as Geo could sit, he'd be all right, he'd have his cane and the walker would be in the Challenger. Freddie and Joe had to beg off, but Barry had the day off and during the winter Bill made his own schedule. The four friends decided to meet at the diner in Silver Spring and then decide what to do for the rest of the afternoon.

By dinnertime that evening, Rob had read the highlights of the new treatment for Geordie, scanned the information pages into his email and shared them with Ducky and Jimmy. They were encouraged by the success rate with the Royal Marines, 85%, and realized that if the treatment worked for Geordie, he'd regain 100% mobility and close to 80 % strength in both legs. If it was even partially successful, he'd still be better off.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The trip to the snow on the 30th was a lot of fun. They took the van, and both sets of grandparents joined them, although Kosmos wasn't interested in sledding. Not only did it look dangerous, there was no way he'd give up his dignity to slide down a mountainside!

The Gibbs-McGee clan were happily surprised to find their snow family mostly intact. They took a few more photos before deciding to sled first and afterward build three new snow people, Pappous, Yaya and James. Kosmos remembered enough about building snowmen in his youth to get started on the new ones. The relative who'd raised him had a house in Volos, near Mount Pelion, and he'd lived there with him for several years.

Everyone had a wonderful time, even Kosmos, who went as far as allowing himself to chuckle a few times. When the new snow people were finished, they took more photos and found someone to take photos with all of them, Kosmos and Sophia included, standing behind their snow people. Kosmos' snowman had two stick people shaking hands, Sophia's had, to her joy, a stick woman, in a skirt, holding her arms open to little stick figures, and James' had lines of code that Tim scratched into his snow doppelganger's chest.

Back at the house, the Galanises had first dibs on the bathrooms to change their clothes as they were staying for dinner.

When everyone had changed, Tim poked his head out from the kitchen, "Dinner in 10 minutes. Greg, would you please wake your uncles? And Kyle, how about quietly letting your aunt and sister know?"

Before dinner, they had beverages and appetizers in the living room, Kyle proudly pointing out their train while Mrs. Galanis looked at the decorated photos hanging from the Christmas tree. Greg told her who they were and she put his hand on his shoulder when he stumbled a bit with the photo of his birth parents.

Accepting a glass of wine from her daughter, she smiled as she looked at the room, "It's very festive! Did you decorate as soon as you arrived?"

They laughed as they told her about the snow, waiting for the plow and getting the boxes down. She nodded, "Ah, so the Christmas decorations live here."

Tim nodded, "Yes. We put a wreath on the front door of our house in Brambury before we leave, it has a security camera hidden in it. Other than that, we don't have any holiday decorations there." He frowned, looking at Artie, "Honey, do you have any or do we need to buy some? We will need to decorate as soon as we get home!"

Andy laughed while his mother grinned at his father, "Several of those boxes you helped us move contain our holiday decorations! There's no need to buy anything."

Mrs. Galanis was examining the animals around the Nativity Scene. "These are interesting. I've never seen a lion included."

Dad smiled, "I did a little research and discovered that the Israel of 2000 years ago had more variety of animals than it does now. I don't know that they were all in Bethlehem, but it was fun to make them and then surprise the family."

Artie and Tim's Greek-American fusion dinner was well received and Sophia asked for the recipe. Tim chuckled, "As soon as we write up our final version, we'll send you a copy. We made a few changes while we were preparing it this morning."

After a pleasant evening, the couple left, promising to let the family know dates for visits. When they were sure the children were asleep, the adults sat down in the living room to relax. All of them had been on their best behavior, as Geordie put it, it was like having the principle of your school visit your home. Minding your manners, making sure you didn't use slang or spill any family secrets. As the others spoke, Artie sat next to Tim, nodding. "Now you know why I don't see them often, Susannah and I feel the same way! Although it was easier today, I suppose because we've seen them a few times now."

Lu thought about that, "They're often at formal gatherings, aren't they?"

"Yes, several times a month."

"And they've moved around a lot. Do they have friends, other couples, in the Diplomatic Corps?"

"Mama makes friends, yes, but then one or the other is moved and it is sometimes years before they see those friends again. My father is too rigid to be much of a friend to anyone."

"Does he have siblings?"

"Much younger half-siblings, yes, a sister and brother. His father remarried several years after his mother died. I believe my father was already in college; he has no strong ties with them. I've only met them once, at my grandfather's funeral."

"So, except with each other, they never have anyone else to relax with, to enjoy a casual dinner, movie, like that?"

"I think when we were young, they did, the families in the Diplomatic Corps would trade childcare. But now, no. Aside from the apartments Susannah and I have lived in, this is probably the first time they've been in a private home, one not connected to the Diplomatic Corps, in many years." Artie shook her head, "It sounds awful, doesn't it? Everything they do, from flying, having a car and driver, to staying in an Embassy rather than a hotel, is tied to the Diplomatic Corps." She huffed, "And my brother couldn't wait to join!"

Rob looked around, "Anyone want to play cards? I'm tired but I'm not ready to go to bed yet."

Cards sounded good and they played for an hour or so before calling it a night.

The next day was New Year's Eve. Rob was having dinner with Ellie, they'd had a good time at the wedding and decided to extend their 'not going solo' friendship. A special dinner was easy to figure out, however it took them a few hours to realize neither of them wanted to go anywhere with a lot of people, especially not a lot of drunk people or at the other end of the spectrum, just go to a movie. When one of them mentioned bowling, the other smiled enthusiastically and voilà, their plans were set.

Dad and Lu were also going out, leaving Geordie and Sarah home with Tim, Artie and the kids. Sarah and Artie had things planned, from an indoor picnic to watching several Disney movies, geared to the children's ages.

But before the New Year's celebrations started, the Challenger and pickup needed to be returned to Freddie and Jose's garage and be prepared for long term storage. They decided to form a three vehicle caravan from Alexandria as far as Restful Haven, where the van would drop out to visit Patrick at the hospital before joining the others at the garage. From there, they'd continue to the shelter and camp. Greg had decided he and Kyle didn't need to visit their mother's grave again. Knowing there were flowers and that Grandma would visit was enough.

On the return trip, they'd stop at Diner the Great in Silver Spring, meeting whoever could make it. On the 2nd, Saturday, they'd have brunch at Elaine's, run any last minute errands, getting as much exercise and fresh air as possible before their flight that night.

But before the brunch, Dad wanted his kids and their significant others to have dinner together on New Year's Day. They'd be without the Palmers and Granducky as they'd already made plans, but they'd see them at Elaine's.

Most of the group flying out on the 2nd had already started gathering their belongings. The children pulled their toys, books and other paraphernalia together, sorting what clothes to wear between now and reaching Brambury and folding everything else away. More or less. Mama, Papa and Aunty Sarah helped the littles. Having moved and traveled so much in his life, Andy had his own routine and showed Greg who followed his lead. When finished, they helped their younger siblings.

After the trip to Baltimore to see Patrick, leave Dad's vehicles and visit the shelter and camp, the caravan group stopped in Silver Spring at 'Diner the Great' for lunch. The siblings beamed when they spotted Freddie and Jose's van, Barry's car, Bill's truck and what Tim thought was an agency sedan. Lu just smiled when the sibs looked at her. Tim was right, Tony, Abby and Jimmy were in the diner with the others. They had a great time at lunch, the guys having dredged up more stories to tell about the McGees while the NCIS folks had a few more tales about Tim and Gibbs.

When they returned to the house, packing went into full gear and the washer and dryer were busy the rest of the afternoon.

And while everyone pulled their things together, their perfect Christmas tree was denuded of ornaments and lights, taken out to the back deck where it was removed from its stand. It was left there for the moment. Tomorrow, it would be put out on the curb for the Boy Scouts to pick up and turn it into mulch. Tim tried not to think about that.

The train tunnel, people and village were already on their way home, having been packed and shipped that morning. The train and tracks were staying, they were duplicates, and were packed away with the Christmas decorations.

The New Year's Eve indoor picnic was a lot of fun as they sat on blankets on the floor, a warm fire in the fireplace, eating their favorite Mexican food off of paper plates. It was fun and as they were wearing clothes that still needed to be washed, it was okay to get messy. They mostly drank hot beverages, with lids on the cups so they didn't have to worry about spills.

They'd planned to watch one of the Winnie the Pooh movies appropriate for Marissa's age but when she fell asleep in Papa's lap, they upped the age to Kyle's and watched Disney's animated "The Jungle Book". The only one who'd seen the movie before was Greg and they all enjoyed it. After Kyle and Marissa were both tucked in, the group watched "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" which Geordie thought he'd seen with his father before they became homeless.

Rob and Ellie came in to catch the end of the movie and have hot chocolate with the others before Ellie wished them a Happy New Year and left, Rob walking her out to the car. She'd be at the family dinner tomorrow. By 11:00, the party was over and everyone tucked into their respective beds. Geordie woke about 0300, grinning when he saw Dad's empty bed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS Chapter 59

Dad showed up about 0730, early enough that the kids were still asleep. He kissed each of his big kids, grabbed Tim's coffee out of his hand and disappeared into the bathroom. Waiting until they heard the shower, the 5 of them dissolved into laughter. Marissa and Greg were in the kitchen when their grandpa reappeared, kissing them and smiling as someone handed him another coffee. Over breakfast, Rissa told him about their indoor picnic and the boys talked about the movies they watched.

After breakfast, they got busy, making sure they had everything rounded up that needed to return to Brambury with them. Geordie's clothes were all new, even his uniforms, and he had two new jackets, each a different weight, gloves, hats, scarves, boots, everything he'd need for winter in the UK. Using James' garment bag would help keep his uniforms, including his fatigues, from badly wrinkling while his civilian clothes were neatly rolled into his sea bag.

By the time Lu, Tony, Maggie, Abby and Ellie arrived New Year's Day, suitcases were packed and all the Christmas boxes were safely tucked in the attic for another year. While dinner simmered for another few minutes in the Crock Pot, the group bundled up, even Rob and Geordie, and went for a walk around the neighborhood.

When they returned to the house, they talked about vacation/trip plans for the rest of the year. Pocket and phone calendars were consulted as the group discussed their plans.

Other than the flight home the next day, the first travelers would be the newlyweds as they traveled to Amzida, Turkey, Tim for a long weekend, Artie for her first week on her new project. They hadn't told the children yet, but the couple planned to sneak a few weekends in for themselves. Dad, Sarah, James and Rob had already agreed to staying home with the children.

There was some discussion about what to do in February, when the boys had their half-term holiday. Abby thought she'd visit then but she'd be leaving cold and going to cold. Instead, she and Artie discussed her coming over for the May 1st holiday. It would be warming up, in the mid-70's, in DC, cooler but pleasant in London and if they went north to Stockholm, it would be even cooler but not cold.

Tim wouldn't have any time off, other than a long weekend in February, until the Easter and May 1st holidays but they figured they could do weekend trips and Artie could fly to their destination from Amzida. They might go to Edinburgh or the Netherlands or Paris. Or Stockholm, Kosmos had mentioned he might be available that same week in February.

In March, they'd head to Greece the Thursday before the western Easter. They'd meet Artie in Athens where Tim, the 4 children and whoever else was with them would meet Artie's yaya, staying in Airbnb lodgings close to her in the town of Varkiza, where she lived. The adults hadn't said anything to the kids but on their return flight, they'd fly to Paris for a weekend visit to Disneyland Paris. They hoped to keep that a surprise as long as possible. As they'd be in Greece from Thursday night to Thursday night, Artie would be with them in Greece and the following weekend in France.

Sarah and James would drive Big Blue to Paris, pick them up at the airport and they'd head out for Disneyland. They'd already reserved a large Airbnb house that would accommodate all of them. They'd drive home Sunday afternoon and Artie would either fly back to Amzida early from Paris or go home with them and leave from London Monday morning.

With inexpensive airfares between London and almost anywhere in Europe with the further attraction of group discounts, Tim felt they'd be wasting their time overseas to not see as much of the UK and the Continent as possible, although he had to admit Greece was a constant draw.

Once Artie's mother told them the first week of June would not be good for a visit to Stockholm, they'd made other plans. By that time, Artie's work would be finished, Tim's school year over and the boys would be on their summer half term holiday. After much research and discussion, they'd decided to spend a week in Portugal and Lu and the Porters would join them. The group would fly to Lisbon and then rent a van for the drive to the village of Sabugueiro, where they'd stay in another Airbnb find, a large old stone house in the mountains. They'd experience life in a Portuguese village, with goats being herded past their front door every morning, on their way up into the mountains, the bells of the local church ringing every day. They'd hike and swim in mountain lakes, giving the children a taste of a more rustic lifestyle.

Tim and Artie felt that it would be a different experience for all of them. When they returned to the UK, Lu and the Porters would still be with them. The Porters would stay another week while Lu wasn't going home until after their August vacation. Although Tim thought that if things went well, she just might stay until they went home for Christmas.

They hadn't yet decided on their August vacation. It would need to be less expensive than last year's splurge on the Greek island villa but the family didn't know who would be joining them. Tony said once they agreed on dates, he'd put in for the time off. Ellie said she wanted to come too and Maggie was working on a deal so she could also join them. The siblings already knew Lu would be with them.

When Ducky was mum about whether he'd be joining them, Breena laughed, "It's okay, Don, it's time anyway. We're adopting a baby boy who will arrive in July. Jimmy will be on leave so Ducky can't join you. And aside from the agency, we'll need him too." There were cheers and congratulations on the adoption and everyone who'd had a courtside seat to the Palmers' previous adoption heartbreak hoped this one would be successful.

Artie was thoughtful when they said they couldn't afford the villa life again, finally saying, "I have a friend who has a friend whose husband is a real estate agent in Athens, I'm sure he can find us rentals wherever we decide to stay. Do you want to return to Aegina or go to another island?"

That required some discussion as Geordie, Ellie, Maggie, and Lu also wanted to experience Athens. In the end, they decided to stay on Aegina again, this time hoping to find rental homes close to each other rather than a villa. Artie thought those would likely be in Aegina town. After agreeing on dates, everyone marked their calendars and Artie promised to contact her friend's friend and Dad promised to contact Tobias to see whether he'd be joining them. After the wedding, Fornell had flown to Florida to visit his elderly father.

By the time they had their travel plans settled, dinner was ready. When they gathered around the table, Dad stood at his place, smiling at all of them. "This has been a great ending to a year that started out pretty rocky. Eventually, it brought us to safety, saw Tony and Maggie grow closer, Tim and Artie re-connecting, gave us Andy and Marissa, two new grandkids for me, Sarah met James, we adopted each other, Geordie came home and then the wedding! Here's to 2016, may it be even happier, with a new Palmer and many adventures, although let's not have any bad ones this year!"

They toasted and then dived into their feast. By 8:00, all but two of their guests had said their goodbyes, some of them tearfully. Tony stayed behind, he wouldn't stay late but he wanted to spend a few minutes with his dad, Lu, his siblings and the kids. Those he considered, along with Maggie, his immediate family. He hoped to find the funds to visit them for another week during the year but hadn't worked it out yet. He thought if he could see them in person every 3 or 4 months, he could get through the next 18 months. He just didn't know how he was going to pay for multiple transatlantic flights.

When Tim told him that he and Artie had decided to move home after the Bedford contract was fulfilled, he'd been so happy he thought he might cry. Before, when Tim talked about working for NCIS in London for a year or two, Tony had been ready to tear his hair out. He loved Maggie, he was fond of Abby, Ducky and the Palmers and the Baltimore family but he wanted his immediate family back. He fiercely missed Gibbs and Tim and sometimes the Skype calls made those feelings more pronounced.

Now, helping to clean up and listening to the chatter of his niece and nephews filled him with warmth. He blinked back tears when his dad wrapped his arms around him. "Have a date set yet?"

"Huh?"

"For your surprise visit."

Tony huffed, "How did you…never mind. Not sure yet. Somewhere between March and May."

"Come to Portugal with us in June. Or Greece over Easter week. Or just come stay at home in Brambury with us. We miss you." He tugged on Tony's arm, "C'mere, want to talk with you."

They headed down to the basement for a father and son chat. Dad learned son was very close to proposing to Maggie but was still terrified of marriage. "Then don't get married. If Maggie doesn't care, then don't worry about it. Just be together and be committed. Maybe it'll happen someday, maybe it won't. Unless you're planning on having kids but even then, you're a standup guy, Maggie has no reason to worry."

"You think I wouldn't bolt, like Marissa's father did?"

"You might think about it but you're not that kind of man. You won't abandon your wife or child, you know too well what abandonment feels like."

Tony nodded, "You're right, I wouldn't. But there are worse things…"

Gibbs gently squeezed the back of his neck, "Nobody on this planet is born knowing how to be a good spouse or a good parent. Every guy I know, including me, is terrified when his child is born. Some women feel that way, too. Most of us do our best, while feeling like we're floundering and possibly ruining our children. And yet here we are, all 7.6 billion of us with thousands more born every day."

Tony chuckled, that was true enough. His dad patted his face, "Come stay with us in Brambury. You can do what you want during the week and we'll plan an adventure or two for the weekends."

"Plural weekends?"

"Yes. Fly out on Thursday night, get there on Friday, that's one weekend. Stay the week and fly home on a Sunday night or Monday, that's two weekends. Seven days off work and ten days with us."

"Ok, I'll do it. Just need a couple more paychecks before I make the reservations."

Dad looked at him, "One of the downfalls of you being over here is that I don't get to spoil you the way I have your sister and brothers. I told them a while back that I have plenty of money, more than my pensions, more than I can possibly spend in one lifetime. I've set aside funds for each of you but in the meantime, let me do some spoiling, ok?

"I'd like to pay for your trip and when you and Maggie decide where you want to live, I want to help with that, too. And anything else you need, kiddo. I don't want to throw money at you but I've got it and want to share with my children."

"Uh, Dad?"

Gibbs sighed, "Jenny left me her estate."

"Jenny Shepard." Tony's voice wasn't questioning, he said the name in a flat tone, making a statement.

"Yes. I gave the insurance money for the townhouse and the proceeds from selling the land to charity, but there was a lot more. I learned how to invest and I've done pretty well. And my dad left me a chunk of money, they must have saved since the day I was born! Our old house sold for a nice profit, considering it was paid off before I turned 21 and is on a 2 acre lot. So I have plenty. Not as much as Ducky, but plenty to keep us all comfortable and help those who don't have enough."

"Wow. I had no idea!" By now, Tony had absorbed the Jenny part, an inheritance from Jackson was easier to deal with.

"Took me a few years to come to terms with it, the fact that she had no one else to leave it to, that was sad, somehow endearing and a wake-up call. And frankly, I was overwhelmed by the whole thing. Especially when the insurance money for the house arrived, I was…well, freaked out is a good way to describe it. I couldn't stand to look at or touch the check. Mike gave me the idea of giving it away. I'm pretty sure Jenny would have approved of the charities and people I chose. I did it again when I sold the lot."

Tony swallowed, "I don't know what to say."

"Try yes, you'll let me spoil you a little bit."

Now he smiled, finally understanding this was a totally different situation than it would have been with Senior. That would have been a bid for his respect and approval, this was a plea from his dad who missed him and wanted to treat him to airfare so he could spend more time with him.

"Yes and thank you!"

"Good! Now, c'mon, let's go figure out when!" Then he stopped, "One condition…don't tell Abby. She'll get all weepy and huggy."

"Ok…are you treating her too?"

"Good question. I guess I'm gonna have to get through the weepy-huggy part, huh?"

"You could just tell her about your inheritance from Jack. None of us need to know every detail of your life." Tony shook his head, "But that's not fair to her when the rest of us know. She'll cry buckets and throw herself at you and then hopefully it'll be done. Or, you could send her a gift card for airfare, wish her an early Happy Birthday. After all, her birthday's in March."

Gibbs stood in thought. "I can't tell her now and then just leave. I'll do the gift card thing. I can really do that?"

"I don't know. Let's look." Tony pulled out his phone, tapped in, "gift cards for airlines" and showed his dad the results. "Look at the first one, it's accepted by 300 airlines." He tapped on the selection and they looked at the airlines listed, a perfect choice for Abby. Back upstairs, they used Tim's laptop to estimate roundtrip prices and then decided the amount for the gift card, making sure to round up for taxes and fees.

Before they pressed the button for purchase, they read the fine print as Tim was skeptical about the taxes and fees being included. As there was nothing on the Frequently Asked Questions on the topic, they emailed the question and had an answer back within an hour, all taxes and fees were included. In the meantime, Tim looked into the business. While it had been in existence less than 3 years, it had a good record and reviews.

Tony did the input for Dad to purchase the card and then printed out the documentation, which included instructions for Abby to book her flights. While they were doing that, Sarah and Tim drove to the store to buy a 'from father to daughter' birthday card. Sarah picked the card, finding one that was caring, a little funny and sweet without being too mushy or sentimental.

When they had everything printed, Dad wrote a note on the card and signed it. Writing her name on the envelope, he looked at Tony who nodded, "Yes, I'll give it to her if she's not at Elaine's tomorrow."

"Thanks, son!"

Tony wandered through the house, deciding he'd better get home, which was currently Ducky's house. While he was wandering, Tim helped their father buy a second gift card from the same company, this time for Tony. Instead of printing the documentation, they sent it to his email.

After he'd told everyone goodbye, Tony took off, ignoring the buzz that told him he had a text. He drove back to Ducky's, tiptoeing into the house. As he was getting into bed, he read the text. From Tim, it said, "Check your email. See you tomorrow."

He shook his head, having forgotten about the brunch at Elaine's. It was a good thing they'd been walking, playing in the snow and ice skating with as much food as they'd eaten recently! He promised himself to have a salad for brunch. He didn't need anything else. Except Jacob made these biscuits that were buttery and light. Laughing at himself, he logged back into his email, immediately spotting the gift card for flight. He'd been so busy helping figure out Abby's gift, he'd forgotten Dad wanted to treat him too! He thought about booking his flight tonight but he'd wait and do it in a few days when he needed something to remind him he'd see his family again soon and after his leave request was approved.

When the family arrived at Elaine's, they were surprised to see the booths moved around so that the large family booth was in the center with a long table and chairs extending the space. The Baltimore uncles, Lu, Abby, the Palmers, Vance, Ellie, Ducky, Tony, Maggie, and Fornell all seemed to arrive at once and it took a few minutes before everyone was seated and the noise level dropped a bit. Tobias chuckled, "So…where are we meeting next Saturday?"

Tim and Artie grinned at each other, realizing they'd been married for a whole week! Turning toward Tobias, Artie replied, "Amzida, Turkey. We'll text you the name of the café."

"You're kidding, that's next week? Wow!"

Tim chuckled, "She's teasing. We're not leaving until the 22nd."

"Thank you! We already have Energizer Abby, don't need an Energizer Artie too!"

Abby and Artie looked at each other and laughed, nodding. Elaine appeared with coffee, tea and drinks for those she knew and took drink orders for those she didn't. Once those were distributed, she took their meal orders.

While they waited, Tobias told them about visiting his father in Florida. "He does really well, still walking on his own and driving short distances. He's made some close friends, plays poker with a group every week, plays that game you guys like, that rummikube tile thing and swims either in the ocean or the pool every day. He and his lady friend go out to dinner, movies and bingo. He's healthier and happier than I am!"

He held out his phone, "Look at the tan on him and his buddies!"

Tim laughed as he looked at the photo, "Hey, there's a pale face like me!"

Tobias leaned over, "Oh yeah, that's his buddy, Mac. He's a great guy. Sad though, lost his family and then he and his wife split up. Although he says that was a good thing."

Dad frowned, "Mac? Happen to know his last name?"

"No, Jethro. Someone you think you know?"

"My former father-in-law lives in Florida. His skin tone is about the same as Tim's and his first name is Mac, short for McKenzie."

Tim smiled, "Oh yeah, Grandpa Mac, we were talking about him last week."

Tobias passed his phone to Jethro who looked and smiled, "Yep, that's him. Sure looks happier than when I knew him."

He saw Tim, Tony, Leon, Ducky and Abby giving him unhappy looks and he stopped talking. He hadn't meant to raise the nasty memory of the case with Joann Fielding.

Ducky jumped in, "McKenzie, he's sure to have Scottish forebears somewhere in his lineage."

"He does. As I remember, his mother's side of the family was Scots. He and his three brothers were named for their maternal grandfather and uncles. He had some great stories."

"You want to contact him, Jethro? I'll send you the address of the place."

Gibbs didn't know about contacting the man, but he nodded to Tobias. "Sure, thanks."

While they ate, the group caught up on the past week. Leon and Tobias were impressed that the Galanis grandparents had been involved with the family, although they were careful how they expressed that. Tim passed around his phone with the photos of the snow family and the kids talked about their sledding adventures. When Granducky asked Kyle if he had his Engineer's cap with him, he giggled, pulling it from his jacket pocket. "Not allowed to bring the train, there's no tracks anyway, but I always have my cap, Granducky!"

Sarah laughed, "I love that cap almost as much as Kyle does! When we were returning from Cornwall last summer, he dropped it somewhere on the train. We were just going to look for it when this handsome guy walked up to us with it. That's how James and I met."

There were pleased murmurs at that and both of Sarah's dads wondered how long it would be until she and James would announce their engagement. Comparing notes later, both found they'd had the same thought, that the couple would wait until they'd been together longer, knew each other better.

No one tarried long after they finished eating but it did take a while to say goodbye to everyone. Dad handed envelopes to Abby, Jimmy and each of the Baltimore uncles. Leon hugged the kids and shook hands with the adults, saying he'd be visiting the London office sometime during the year and hoped he'd see them, too. Tim beamed at that, he'd work for Joel for several weeks during the summer and hoped the director would visit then.

Finally, the family was in the van and headed back to Alexandria. Once home, they went for a long walk, taking the Daddy pack, which Rob insisted on wearing, saying having Rissa or Kyle on his back kept him warmer. The cold air and exercise helped clear some of their melancholy at leaving their friends and family again and they returned to the house with renewed energy. They emptied the garbage and started checking each room for stray items. They'd have an early dinner and run the dishwasher so it would be finished with enough time to put the dishes away. They left perishables in the refrigerator as Tony would move back in on Sunday. Knowing he'd be missing them, each member of his family wrote a little note, the littles drew pictures, and hid them around the house for him to find. They cleaned the bedrooms and bathrooms, not wanting Tony to come home to a mess, deflating the beds and pillows, stacking them in the basement, where they were covered. Andy and Greg checked the DVDs to make sure the right discs were in the correct jackets. Kyle and Marissa pushed the vacuum cleaner around the living room and Grandpa's bedroom. The extra leaves came out of the table, carefully covered and stored.

Before they did too much in the kitchen, Lu made one last batch of apple crisp. They'd skipped dessert at the diner but after a light snack for dinner, they helped themselves to their favorite dessert. Tony's helpings were already covered and in the refrigerator, marked with his name.

When it was time for Lu to leave, the littles cried and Greg and Andy were doing their share of sniffling. The big kids sniffled along with them as they hugged and kissed their surrogate mom. She kept her head, telling them she'd be over for at least two visits and that got them through her walking out the front door. Dad went with her, his eyes moist when he finally returned.

They packed the rental van before Tim, Artie, Andy and Rob climbed into the back rows of seats. Geordie would ride shot gun, Dad would drive and Sarah would sit with the kids. Traffic was light as snow was expected after midnight and as Geordie said, "Only crazy people are out in this cold!"

Rob sent a text as they approached the airport and Geordie fought to keep from rolling his eyes when an attendant with a wheel chair appeared as the van pulled to a stop. Porters also arrived to take the luggage inside and the family hurried out of the cold as Dad took the van to the rental lot. With so few people around, he was back in less than 15 minutes, joining his family in line to check their luggage. Geordie's attendant stayed with him as the family went through the pre-check Security and then helped him out of the chair and into the electric cart waiting for him. The littles and Sarah rode with him, a ride through the airport that Kyle would never forget!

Reconvening at the gate, they were early enough to find seats together in the waiting area. Piling their stuff in the chairs, they stayed on their feet, walking around the area, until it was time to board. Their wounded warrior and 2-year-old Marissa qualified them to pre-board and they were fairly well settled before the rest of the passengers boarded.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The flight was long but uneventful. The kids, Rob and Geordie fell asleep quickly after the jet rolled back from the gangway. Sarah, Artie, Dad and Tim stayed awake longer but one by one, dropped off. Gibbs woke up hours later as the plane started its descent into Oslo. He smiled, their last visit to Oslo seemed like months ago rather than 2 weeks! Another 2 hours and they were making their descent into London's Gatwick airport.

Geordie was taken from the jet in a wheelchair and then he, Sarah, Kyle, Artie and Marissa were transferred to an electric cart. After everyone went through Customs, the group found James waiting for them in Baggage Claim. Yet another attendant with a wheel chair awaited Geordie. They were pleased when James told them he'd been allowed to leave Big Blue parked at the curb so Geordie would have easy access. With the luggage on rental carts and Geordie with his attendant, the family hurried to their van. Within minutes they were on their way and turned into their driveway about an hour later.

Geordie whistled when he saw the house and the others laughed. No matter how well they described it or how many photos they showed, newcomers to the house were always amazed at the size of it. Although James had a folding wheelchair stashed in Big Blue, Geordie insisted on walking from the driveway into the house and Rob didn't object, as long as he used the cane.

As sad as they'd been to leave their extended family and friends behind, all of them were glad to be home. Sarah and the littles gave Geordie a quick tour of the downstairs while the luggage was brought in and he grinned at his sister's fancy suite. And then laughed when he saw the room he'd live in between stints in the hospital. While it was part of Dad's suite, it was the biggest bedroom Geordie had ever had. Which wasn't saying much as he'd lived in a homeless shelter and tent between the ages of 7 and 18. In the Marines, he sometimes slept in officers' quarters but more often in tents or huts during their covert operations. On one mission, he'd slept on a platform in a tree and admitted that had been the most unusual and oddly, the most comfortable. This oversized bedroom with his own luxurious bathroom was a first.

Later that afternoon, Greg, Kyle, and Tim gathered in Tim's office for their weekly call to Patrick. The volunteer roster had Rick Carter, just returned from Florida, on point for the call. The two men chatted a little bit before the boys had their turn telling their father what they'd done since they'd seen him Monday. Greg remembered to mention that the flowers at their mother's grave had been left by their chosen grandma, whose name was Lu. They talked a little more about the wedding and then having dinner with their brother Andy's grandparents, in a big fancy room at an embassy. Greg proudly reported his little brother's good behavior while Kyle shrugged.

Tim noticed that Kyle never addressed Patrick as 'Dad' or 'Daddy' and he spoke to the person holding the phone or tablet rather than the man asleep in the bed. He wondered how long it would be before Kyle started resisting the weekly calls. He knew Greg still felt a bond with the father who'd been asleep for half his life now. He'd also noticed that after the calls, Greg would only call him 'Papa' for the rest of the day. 'Dad' or 'Daddy' wouldn't creep back into his speech until the next day.

Just about everyone slept most of Monday, Tim and Artie rousing themselves to check on their children and occasionally feed them. When none of them appeared downstairs during the late afternoon, Dad went upstairs to check on them. He smiled when he found his son, daughter-in-law and the 4 kids curled up on the king-sized bed, all sound asleep.

Tuesday morning, Dad and Tim drove Geordie, Rob, and James into London. James hopped out at a Tube station only a stop away from the NCIS office. Big Blue continued to Geordie's hospital where he said goodbye to his brothers and father as an aide waited with a wheelchair. Rob left them next as they dropped him at his flat. He'd head to his hospital and work in a few hours.

Back home, Tim emailed Joel that he was available to work at home beginning the following Tuesday, adding that they'd have out-of-town relatives, here for the wedding, who would be leaving Tuesday morning.

When Artie drafted him to help her with her Christmas decorations, he realized the Greek celebration would begin on the 6th, the next day!

They were even busier when their wedding planner, Jenna Laurence, arrived for her first in-person tour of the house. With the exception of the Greek Christmas decorations, the home looked much the same as it had in the virtual tour she'd seen over a month ago. That made her happy as everything was based on that. The décor would be simpler than the wedding in Georgetown. With 30 people attending, there would be comfortable padded chairs added to the living room furniture. The officiant would stand at the fireplace and the couple would walk in from the hallway that led to Gibbs' suite and the playroom.

Artie's sister Susannah would be her maid of honor while Rob would be best man. At the time they'd planned this, they didn't know Geordie would be with them. As it was, he would be released from the hospital Friday afternoon for an extended weekend. Dad would drive in, circling to pick up Geordie, Rob and James.

That Tuesday, the same day they decorated for the Greek Christmas celebration, Tim found a large casserole in the freezer, something he or Artie made before they left, anticipating the short timeframe. Neither of them remembered making it but it looked good once thawed.

On Wednesday, the family celebrated the Greek Orthodox Christmas Eve. Orthodox Christmas Day was traditionally January 7th, but with the second wedding and party only a couple of days away, they'd decided to celebrate on Christmas Eve this year. The difference in the dates, from December to January, was due to the Orthodox churches' use of the Julian calendar for their holy days, while western Christianity used the Gregorian calendar.

They spent the day relaxing over wonderful food and with each other, although neither Geordie nor Rob were able to join them. Greg and Kyle were happily surprised to be given more gifts. Their parents had held onto a few for each of them for today.

Greg's eyes were wide, "That's 3 Christmases! Christmas morning, Christmas day and today! Wow, we're really lucky!"

Andy agreed, although he was looking at it from the opposite side of the coin. He'd never before received gifts on December 25th, although he was used to the gifts left by 'Ayios Vassileios', the Greek version of Santa Claus and those given on the 7th.

Gibbs was pleased when he was told some of the gifts were from the senior Galanises. He knew Tim had been happy and relieved when the couple made an effort to include Greg and Kyle while they were all in DC and now he saw they'd carried it through with their gift giving. He still had doubts about Kosmos as did Tim, but the other man seemed to be making an effort, a big step as far as Jethro was concerned. Unless of course, he was just grandstanding while he figured out how to deal with them. Like Artemis, they were still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jenna, their British wedding planner, returned on Thursday to start prepping the house for decorating. The Christmas decorations had been taken down late Wednesday night and were in storage for another year. Tim felt bad that Artie, Andy and Rissa's traditional Christmas had been cut short but Artie shook her head, "I spoke with Andy about it, he's fine. And Rissa's too young to remember last year's Christmas. Anyway, we had a great time with all of you in Alexandria."

Now the house was clean and Jenna was ready to start! She'd hired a caterer, found an officiant and had the party under control. There would be 30 people, 14 of whom were family, including Susannah and Ian and, to Artie's delight, her grandmother Athena Midei, known as Yaya to Artie and Susannah, and Mimi to Andy and Marissa.

While the couple had invited Artie's brother Dimitri and his wife Ana, they'd declined. Other guests included Joel Morris from the NCIS London office, his wife Carol and two of the members of Joel's team, Lydia and Julian, both with 'plus ones'. Tim and Artie debated about asking the fourth member of the team, Laurel Miller, but Dad reported she was on leave in the U.S., adding that she wasn't expected to return.

The celebration would mimic the DC wedding with flowers, once again combining the official flowers of Greece with the unscented, long-stemmed roses of the US. The two large vases would bracket Tim and Artemis as they stood with the officiant. The fireplace mantel would have a simple arrangement of LED pillar candles, with greenery winding through them.

The ceremony itself would not be as long as the one in Georgetown. The children, Sarah, Geordie, and Ian would read a few prayers and poems.

When Jenna saw the photos of Ducky's library decorated for the first wedding, she agreed with Sheila, the American wedding planner, that the same type of lights would also look fabulous here. A party rental business would install the lights on Friday. They would cover the chairs, sofas and benches with luxurious off white linen, to tie everything together. A runner of the same color as the linen, the edges lined with lace, would be laid from the edge of the hallway through the living room to the fireplace. Jenna thought she might also wind a vine and a few flowers around the staircase railings, but was concerned about it appearing a bit fussy.

Music would be provided via a download to Tim's laptop, a recording of Jimmy singing the same song he'd performed at the wedding. They'd added a speaker and tested that it could be clearly heard throughout the living room. Additional music was ready on the laptop to play during the pre-ceremony drinks and appetizers. Artie and Tim would greet everyone as they arrived, introduce them to Dad and whoever else was around and then disappear to change into their wedding attire while their guests relaxed for a few minutes.

Following the ceremony and the ubiquitous photos, there would be a sit-down dinner in the dining room. The table that Tim once thought would fit the entire extended family would indeed seat all of their guests. With the generous size of the room, they were able to add a table placed across the top of the dining table, for the newlyweds, Dad, and Artie's grandmother.

Mimi, as she asked to be called, would arrive Friday afternoon. When Dad went into the city to pick up Geordie and the others, Artie would ride with him and their first stop would be the airport. Her grandmother already knew the plan and had no problems riding in the van while her granddaughter's father-in-law picked up his sons for the weekend. She would stay until Tuesday, giving her more of a chance to catch up with her family as Susannah and Ian were also staying until then.

Figuring out where the three would stay had been a little tricky. With Geordie in Dad's guest room, Rob and his king-sized inflatable bed would sleep in Tim's office, leaving Sarah's guest room available for Susannah and Ian.

That left Artie and Susannah's old room upstairs for Mimi. While the newlyweds still planned to move from the master to that room, they hadn't yet had time to do anything but make sure the room and en suite bathroom were clean with fresh linens, towels and a vase of fresh flowers.

By the time Artie and Dad left for the airport and London Friday afternoon, the house was fully decorated and looked beautiful. Jenna had time to try the vines and flowers on the staircase and agreed with her clients that it was indeed a bit fussy and down it came. The flowers for the tall vases would be delivered by a local florist in the morning. As the carpets had been cleaned, Tim asked that, from now until the last non-family guest left after the party, no shoes were to be worn downstairs. As they all had warm slippers, no one minded too much although Kyle had to be reminded to change to his boots when he wanted to play in the backyard on Friday.

The transport folks left Brambury early to avoid the worst of the commute traffic Friday afternoon. When they arrived at the airport, Artie left the van to meet her yaya while Dad sat at the curb until he was chased away by airport security. He circled twice before Artie and Mimi emerged from the terminal. He hopped out to be introduced and put her luggage in the back. Security watched him but when they saw the older woman, they moved on.

Gibbs was happy that Mimi spoke perfect English. By now, he knew many words and phrases in Greek but didn't feel he was up to a conversational level. Artie explained what they were seeing as he drove through London to Geordie's hospital and then Rob's. Last was James, who was waiting outside the Tube station where they'd dropped him Tuesday morning. Mimi was pleased to meet all 3 young men, amused to find James, who wasn't formally a part of the family, treated as another son. Geordie was quiet, he was glad to be heading home for a few days; his first treatment had been rough but the staff assured him it would get better. He hoped no one minded if he crashed right after dinner.

Greg and Kyle were a little nervous about meeting Mimi, although they'd only heard good things from Andy and Rissa. When they met her, Kyle nearly melted into her arms, she was so sweet, and Greg's whole body relaxed in seconds. They were excited about having a great-grandmother! Greg understood that Mimi was their yaya's mother. Kyle didn't understand the difference between a grandmother and great-grandmother but he didn't care. Rissa and Andy's Mimi, now also his and Greg's, was great and she smelled like cookies!

After showing her to her room and then giving her a tour of the house, the group reconvened downstairs for dinner. Susannah and Ian would arrive tonight but they were driving down from Edinburgh and wouldn't arrive until close to 11.

Dinner was a simple chicken dish from the slow cooker and the family caught up with each other as they ate. Mimi kept up her end of the conversation but also listened, learning about her new family.

With a busy day ahead and having 'lost' two hours, Mimi turned in soon after dinner. She was amused to see she wasn't the only one as Geordie also bid everyone goodnight.

Dad and Rob excused themselves shortly after the older boys went up to bed, leaving Tim, Artie, Sarah, and James to wait for the rest of the family. They were playing cards at the kitchen table when Artie received a text that her sister and Ian would be there in 30 minutes, an hour early. Susannah was able to leave work earlier than planned, which meant they left home an hour early. Not knowing how long it would take to reach the house with Friday night traffic, they didn't send the text until they were sure what time they'd arrive.

As they'd had snacks in the car, after spending a few minutes catching up, the group headed to their beds.

Dad and Mimi were the first ones up in the morning. When Mimi woke, it was only 5 AM and she decided to stay in her warm bed for another hour, hoping someone else would be first up. She heard the furnace come on at 5:30, waited a few minutes and then, putting her warmest clothes on, descended the staircase, smelling coffee brewing.

She found Jethro, Artemis' father-in-law, waiting for the coffee. She smiled, noticing there were two coffee mugs on the counter. They greeted each other and he asked if she'd slept well. "I did, however, Greece is 2 hours ahead of the UK and I am an early riser, so I woke too early."

They sat at the table, enjoying their coffee. Gibbs chuckled, "I understand; that can be a problem with me, even without a time change. Back home, in the States, my normal wake up time for work was 5:30 and I haven't been able to break the habit. Although there have been a few times our grandchildren have worn me out enough that I've slept late."

She smiled, "I can imagine." After a pause she continued, "Andy writes me, you know, and he is so much happier now. I worried about him as I know Artemis and Susannah did but he seems a different boy!"

"He needed his dad; Artie did the best thing for him by bringing Tim into the picture."

"She says Tim, and all of you, understand why she felt she couldn't tell him before."

He nodded, "Tim and I are investigators, usually with crimes. In this case, we decided he needed to approach the situation as if it was a case, although there wasn't a crime. Our experience in dealing with people's motives, why they do what they do, led us to a theory and then he spoke with Susannah and Artie. Our theory proved to be correct, fear of your son-in-law was the culprit and, again with our experiences and Tim's background, he understood, we all did. We saw even more of the truth at the wedding last month when we met your daughter and son-in-law. Do you know how Tim grew up?"

"Yes. It's a horrifying story, like out of a book, but I feel better now, having met them all, I know they survived and are wonderful people. You're right about Kosmos, although he can be quite charming when it suits him. Artemis tells me he behaved while he was in the States, to the extent of including the younger boys in their plans. Do not be fooled! He may have decided he's met his match with you and Timothy but that doesn't mean he won't keep trying or be more…deceptive, is that the word?"

"Yes and thank you for confirming my thoughts about him. It was all too easy, too smooth after what we'd learned about him. Although I'm grateful he included Greg and Kyle and they sent gifts for them for Christmas too. Artemis, Andy, Marissa, you, Susannah and Ian are part of my family now and whatever power Kosmos thinks he has, he's mistaken. Neither Tim nor I will deliberately antagonize him but we won't put up with any of his nonsense where our loved ones are concerned. Does he do that with you?"

"Heavens no, my late husband and I put him in his place years ago. He's still wary of me, although, as I said, he can be quite pleasant and disarming." She smiled, "Especially when he's staying in my home. I treat him as I do my own son and he behaves himself."

Jethro was racking his brain, trying to remember if he knew her son's name. "I didn't realize you also have a son!"

"Artemis hasn't seen much of her uncle or my younger daughter, her aunt, in her life as neither of them tolerates Kosmos or the way Sophia is because of him. They are Nikolas and Gaia."

"Do they live near you?"

"Unfortunately, no. Gaia and her husband have a home in Thessaloniki, which is a long drive, an hour longer than the flight here. They are both archeologists and are frequently away in some remote corner of the world - except when there are new finds in Greece! They have twins, a boy, Matthaíos Adan and a girl, Cassie Athena, about to leave home for college. I see them more often; over the years, they have lived with me while their parents were on a 'dig' somewhere unsuitable for the children.

"Nikolas lives in a small town in southern Italy, Sorrento, outside of Naples. He is a master chef and owns a restaurant there. He's not married in the church but has a life partner, Sergio. They've been together for many years and have two adopted daughters, Katerina and Damaris. Katerina was the name of Sergio's mother and Damaris is one of my names.

"The girls are sisters, their parents were killed in an accident when Katerina was 2 and Damaris a newborn. Katerina was, of course, already named but Damaris had not been, so they named her for me. They are 14 and 12 now. I visit them at least twice a year for a month each time. They have a cottage in back of their house that is mine to live in while I'm there. Perhaps Artemis and Tim could visit while they're here, take the children, it would be lovely if they made friends with their cousins." She smiled, "When you come to Greece, you'll meet Matthaíos and Cassie and perhaps Gaia if she is in Greece."

Gibbs smiled, "I look forward to that. And you know that Andy is interested in archeology. If it was possible, I think he'd live at the British Museum."

She chuckled, "Yes, he wrote me about his birthday overnight in the museum. That's a wonderful thing to do for children! There's a museum in Athens, not as large as the British Museum, but it has artifacts from different periods of Greece. They have school groups visiting there all the time, I imagine all the children would enjoy it."

"Good, we'll add that to our list for the March trip." Gibbs made a mental note to ask Tim and Artie if they'd like to ask her to stay with them for several weeks. Maybe during the summer when it was so hot in Greece. A trip to Italy to meet Artie's uncle sounded like it would be fun.

The newlyweds were the next ones up, followed by Susannah and Ian. Gibbs and Tim were putting breakfast together when the kids arrived, followed by Geordie, then Rob. Last to wander in were Sarah and James.

They ate in the dining room, glad the table wasn't set yet. They'd have to vacuum after they ate but the kitchen table wouldn't fit all of them. Andy, Greg, and Rob cleaned up while James vacuumed. Artie wanted to wear her hair differently today and pulled her sister, Sarah, and Yaya into the master bedroom with her.

Jenna the wedding planner arrived at 10 with her assistant. They set the table, using dishware with a pattern so close to his china at home that Gibbs picked up a plate to look at the back. He told Jenna, who chuckled. "I know, Sheila saw your china and told me what pattern it is. We both thought it would be fun to have something close to it."

"It was my late wife's china, she chose the pattern. Using this today means something to me, thanks."

Tim was wandering the house and caught the tail end of the conversation. He looked at the china on the table and smiled, giving his dad a hug. "We'd have enough place settings, too, Dad. 30 people coming and we have 32 place settings."

Jenna's eyes widened, "32 place settings? I thought the pattern was discontinued!"

Dad started to laugh as Tim explained their 'buy it when you see it' campaign. "As it turned out, we had 31 people for dinner this Christmas, so we got to use it all. Almost all of it, the children ate from a set of Christmas dishes."

"31 people for dinner? That's more than your guest list today!"

"Yes but that was at home. We have a lot of extended family and friends who flew in from other parts of the U.S. for our first wedding, some of them joined us for Christmas. And my dad's godfather, who was our grandfather's best friend. Grandpa Jack died a year and a half ago so it was even more important that LJ spend the day with us. We had 60 at the wedding."

"I see."

The two men wandered off again, trying to stay out of everyone's way. When Artemis told him she was commandeering the master bedroom and bath, Tim moved everything he needed to Dad's room. He was already dressed to meet and greet at the door, but there were a couple of hours before anyone was expected.

He found the children in the playroom with Geo and Rob and they played a couple of board games before switching to playing cards. Rob and Rissa played as partners but Kyle was right in there with the rest of them and they had a great time. James, Ian, and Dad joined them and they played several more games.

They had about 30 minutes to go before their guests would begin arriving when Sarah hurried in. "Tim, Artie just had a text from her brother, he and his wife are coming to the wedding."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS (Chapter 60)

Tim looked at Ian, who tried not to look as panicked as he felt. The senior Galanises did not know that Susannah and Ian were cohabitating, in fact they didn't know much about Ian at all. Tim's first thought was that Kosmos sent Dimitri to spy on his sisters.

Dad, Ian, and Tim left the playroom. Tim ran upstairs to talk to Artie and Susannah, who had the same thought he did. Tim looked at his sister-in-law, "We'll back you, whatever you want to do. But it is reasonable that you brought a date to the wedding and that you're staying at the house. What if…what if you and Mimi are sharing the room upstairs?"

James also left the playroom to join the other men. He'd heard enough from Sarah about Artie's father and having met him at the wedding, believed the theory that the brother was sent as a spy. He spoke quickly with Sarah and then presented their idea to Ian. Dimitri wouldn't know anyone but his sisters and grandmother. He'd never met Marissa and hadn't seen Andy since he was 3 years old. If the brother started sniffing around, they could say that Ian and James were sharing Sarah's guest room. Geordie overheard them and shook his head, "No, I'm staying in her guest room, I'm her brother after all. You two can be staying in Dad's guest room."

"All right, that works."

Dad rolled his eyes. "Go and get ready, boys, Sarah, Susannah too. Then we're going to lock both suites. We were going to do that anyway. Ian, you good with sharing with James, at least verbally?"

"Yes, I hate it but I'll do it for Susannah."

"You haven't met her father yet. He's a sly one, loves his power trips."

"And you think he's sent Dimitri to spy on us?"

"Yes. Mimi warned me just this morning."

"Wow."

Upstairs, Susannah looked at her sister, "Thank you for the months of peace. It's time, but not today and not here. When we get home, I'll tell them. Dimitri hasn't made any effort to stay in touch with either of us since he left home, I see no reason why any of us should tell him anything. The children don't know him."

Tim stopped to take a call from his father and was chuckling when he disconnected. "Ok, here's what Ian, James, Dad, and Geordie came up with. And it's just verbal, not going to actually happen. Geordie is staying in Sarah's extra room. Susannah, you're sharing with Mimi. Ian and James are sharing Dad's extra room."

Mimi nodded, "I warned Jethro this morning to expect more from Kosmos. He can't get at Artemis anymore so now he's turned his focus to Susannah."

"You agree he's sent Dimitri to spy on us?"

"Yes. And, girls, I'm sorry your father is such a creep. Believe me, your grandfather and I did our best to discourage your mother from marrying him."

Artemis turned to Susannah and gave her a long look, the two of them having a silent conversation. When Susannah nodded, Artie turned to their grandmother. "Yaya, the two of us want to stand up to him, together. The only thing that will get his attention will be if we cut off communications with him and Mama."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we're in our 30's and he's still trying to control us, to the extent of sending spies."

"If you are willing, I'm with you. But then, Susannah, no hiding today. Let Dimitri see what he sees. You live in the open now, no more of your double lives. Yes, I know you two have been living like that most of your lives. But if you're cutting off communications, then live in the open, live your lives."

They nodded, agreeing and Susannah and her grandmother went downstairs to tell the men, thanking them for their quick thinking and willingness to hide Susannah and Ian's relationship.

The only thing Dad had to say was that if Dimitri annoyed any of them, he had four strong sons who would gladly help him leave the house. James beamed when he realized he was one of the four, even though he and Sarah hadn't made any announcements. Not until their trip to Greece this summer, if they could stand waiting that long!

Mimi and Dad decided they'd talk with the children. They'd tread lightly, they didn't want to scare them, nor did they want Kyle to go into defensive mode as he would if he thought anyone was upsetting his sister or brothers. He might be younger, but he was definitely the 'warrior' of the family. Luckily, he didn't have much of a temper.

They told the kids that an uncle and aunt they didn't know were coming and it was all right if they stayed away from them. The boys had been curious about what was going on and Andy understood that whoever these people were, they weren't really welcome. He told Greg that and they decided to stick with Kyle and Rissa. They'd already been told they could go to the playroom or their rooms if they got bored or tired. Now Andy said they'd stick together and lock their doors upstairs. Kyle's face lit up, "We can use the secret door, Andy, then we have two rooms to play in!"

"That's right, Kyle, good thinking!"

They decided to go upstairs now so Andy and Rissa could move a few toys and Andy's books to Greg's room. Mimi was up there and told them she was locking her door too! She made it seem like an adventure, which cheered them up.

When the guests started arriving, the kids were dressed and ready, knowing they had to stay downstairs until after the wedding part. Kyle said he wanted to eat, too, and his brothers nodded, none of them wanted to pass up cake!

First to arrive were the Morrises, Lydia, her partner Marty and Julian with his date. That was good because the children already knew them and were comfortable talking with them, telling them about all their fun over Christmas. And they knew Tim's university boss, next to arrive, with his wife. The officiant came in and met the whole family, congratulating each one of them. Then the strange uncle and aunt came in. Andy looked at him, he and his siblings were on the other side of the room as it was cold by the front door. "That's him! He looks like Pappous."

Greg nodded, he agreed. He didn't know who the guy was but he definitely looked like his new pappous. Papa motioned to them to come over and they used their best church manners as they were introduced to 'Uncle Dimitri' and 'Aunt Ana'. All of them noticed Mimi didn't like them. She was polite but nothing more.

As soon as the man turned away, the kids took off, heading for the playroom.

Last to arrive were Artie's boss at the engineering firm, his partner and the project manager from the job they'd recently completed. When Artie's friend Elspeth arrived, the guests were all there.

Dad, Mimi, Sarah, James, and Geordie stepped in to keep things going while Ian hung back. Tim, Rob, Susannah, and Artie disappeared to change for the ceremony. The caterers dispensed non-alcoholic beverages and appetizers, including meze, while the family mingled. Dad, Mimi, Geordie, and James made a point of staying close to Ian in case Dimitri tried to interrogate him.

Ian wasn't quite sure what to think but he was amused when Kyle sidled up to him and told him he was welcome to join them in the playroom.

At a signal from Rob, Dad and Mimi started herding the guests to the seats. The family took the first row of seats across with Geordie at the left of the runner, then Ian, and Sarah with James sitting next to him. Across the runner, Dad sat with the two littles, then Mimi and the older boys. Dimitri and his wife sat in the second row, behind Dad, with the Morrises on one side of them and the Bedford Head Master and his wife on the other. Dad said something to Joel about the unexpected and suspicious arrival of Artie's brother and Joel had a great time asking the couple questions. Finally, Carol nudged him with her elbow and he stopped.

The wedding party entered, with Susannah and Rob walking in together, followed by Tim and Artie who looked as elegant and lovely as they had two weeks ago. Jimmy's solo played and the family smiled, happy to hear their friend's voice. The officiant took them through the ceremony, with Dad and Sarah reading prayers and Mimi saying one in Greek, repeating it in English. Then the four children recited a short poem they'd memorized. The couple repeated their vows and that was it. They kissed as Geordie played one of Tony's piano solos. That was a surprise and the newlyweds' smiles shined even brighter.

Photos were taken while the guests were ushered to the dining room. The caterers managed to find two extra chairs and two more place settings for Dimitri and Ana. Tim spoke briefly with the couple, feeling sorry for Ana. The Morrises, Lydia, Marty and Julian chatted them up, Tim's university boss and his wife joining in. During the meal, Artie and Susannah spoke with Ana, acknowledged their brother and Mimi spent some time with the couple, asking about her 4 great-grandchildren whom she hadn't seen in 9 years. She'd tried to visit but was always told the time was inconvenient and invitations to visit her in Greece were always declined. She sent cards for Name Days but had no idea if they'd been delivered to the children.

Geordie, Dad, and Sarah also spoke with the couple but Rob, James, and Ian stayed out of their way. As the three men were close to the same height, it was a little confusing to strangers to figure out who was who.

Dimitri was angry. They were only here because his father ordered him to come, he could care less about either of his sisters. His father wanted him to gather information about the man Susannah was supposedly dating and thought the wedding was the perfect opportunity for his son to snoop for him.

After two hours, Dimitri still had no idea who Ian was. He knew it wasn't the groom, his father, or the man in the military uniform, Geordie in his dress blues, or any of the older men with wives.

At first, he'd thought it might be one of the 3 tall men but then it could have been one of the other younger men who'd spoken with him, they were all taller than he was. Although Dimitri never knew, NCIS Special Agent Julian Bashon-Martin, Artie's boss, his male partner and the former project manager were the other men who'd chatted with him. Julian had heard something from Joel and the other three were curious about Artie's family as she'd never mentioned a brother.

Once the cake was cut, Dimitri and Ana left. While Dimitri warmed up the rental car, Ana ran back into the house. She hugged Artie, Tim, and Susannah, quickly saying, "I'm sorry, your father was insistent and yes, he sent your brother to spy on Susannah, but he learned nothing. Artie, Tim, best of luck, you look wonderful together and your children are beautiful. Susannah, live your own life, please. I wish I could keep in touch but then they'd be after me. Be happy." Then she kissed Mimi, "The children always get their cards, I make sure of it. I'm sorry you haven't been able to see or talk with them, I tell them about you all the time." And with that, she hurried back to the car, telling her annoyed husband she'd had to use the restroom.

Within an hour, the guests had all departed and the family was eating the rest of the food and the cake. They'd told Ian what Ana said and he shook his head. Turning to Susannah, he said, "Do you want them in your life? I'll support whatever decision you make. Personally, I think we shouldn't even bother to tell them about us or invite them to our wedding."

Susannah smiled, "Yes, that's what I'd like too. And yes, I no longer want them in my life, not unless Kosmos promises to stop trying to control our lives and then lives up to his promise."

Mimi sighed, "He is not likely to do that, my darling girl." She looked at Ian, "Do you have family?"

"Yes, and my parents adore Susannah. Would you like to meet them?"

"Yes, I'd like that very much." She turned to her granddaughters, "My loves, I will be your family along with Timothy's and Ian's families, your aunt Gaia and uncle Nikolas. If Sophia and Kosmos wish to be part of us, they must make the changes necessary. Are we agreed?"

"Yes, Yaya!" Her granddaughters kissed her.

"Now, although the intrigue was a little fun, there are too many long faces here. We have good food, drink and best of all company. Let us continue our celebration!" The kids cheered, happy to see smiles. Greg was relieved they wouldn't have to see Andy's pappous again.

They were all tired the next morning, staying close to home all day. As the weather was frigid, that wasn't a problem.

Uncles Rob, Geordie, and James were driven into London Monday morning after Andy and Greg were dropped off at school. Kyle and Rissa would return to the nursery on Tuesday, after the walkway at their school had been cleared of snow.

The remaining adults were restless, deciding to visit Tim and Artie's gym. They took ice skates, swimsuits and towels. Ian and Susannah rented skates and skated with the McGees, Jethro, and Sarah. Mimi watched, saying it looked like fun but was too cold for her old Greek bones. She laughed at her two youngest great-grandchildren who were skating rings around their elders. Kyle watched an older skater do an elaborate step, successfully copying him and then Rissa followed his lead.

After skating, they changed into their swimsuits and swam, enjoying the heated pool. Grandpa and Mimi worked with Rissa and by the time they left the pool, she was able to hold her breath and stay afloat, a major accomplishment.

By Tuesday, the snow was cleared, the littles returned to the nursery, and Mimi, who'd changed her plans, climbed into Ian's car with Susannah and rode off, blowing kisses to Artemis, Tim, Sarah and their father.

That was a depressing day, the first day with nothing planned since they'd started preparing for their trip home for Christmas. Tim and Artie disappeared upstairs shortly after realizing they had no children and no obligations until later that afternoon. Dad looked at his watch, too early to call Lu. He decided to do some laundry and then find something to do in his workshop. Sarah returned to work, managing to block out a couple of chapters on her book. Nobody needed to know that she also took a four hour nap.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By Wednesday, they were inching back toward their pre-Christmas, wedding, party, routine. Artie and Tim cleaned house, did the mountains of laundry and went grocery shopping. When they returned, they started working on a recipe they wanted to try, one the family appreciated as they ate dinner that night.

Once the kids were in class and their parents back in their routines, time went even faster and in what seemed like a few hours instead of a week, Artie and Tim were packing for their trip to Amzida. They'd fly out Tuesday morning, taking extra days at the insistence of Dad, Sarah, and Rob who were determined to give the couple more time to themselves. Geo agreed, although he wouldn't be able to help with the kids.

The newlyweds would stay in a hotel, tour the city and give Artie time to inspect her work site as well as the apartment she'd live in for the duration of the project. They planned to move her in on Friday so she'd have a couple of days to settle in while Tim was also there. As his classes resumed on Monday, he'd fly home Sunday.

Their 5-hour flight to the city was uneventful and they caught a shuttle to their hotel, one recommended by Artie's project manager as well as several of Tim's contacts. With the time difference, they were 3 hours ahead of London. Once they checked in, they had a late lunch in the hotel's café. Having scoped out the sites and restaurants online, they'd booked a table for that evening in a small family restaurant highly rated by its customers.

Tomorrow, they would have a full day private tour of, among many other places, a museum displaying artifacts of history and various populations of the region, the Citadel of Amzida, an historically important tomb, and one of the first communities of humankind. They felt that by having the private tour, they'd get to know more about the country and its history, and eat the best food. The days after the tour, they planned to wander, to become familiar with the city and the people.

Their tour was phenomenal. Their guide was a scholar with wonderful insights into the culture, history and personality of the city. Because it was a private tour, at their request they were shown through some of the neighborhoods, stopping at local markets and shops. It was interesting and fun, a great introduction to the city and the country. And he gave them some important information, including showing them a back road to the airport using surface streets and winding through residential areas of the city. When they asked their guide about the neighborhood where Artemis would live, he promptly took them there, pointing out the best cafés, restaurants, clubs and shops. The couple was reassured, Artemis finally feeling excited about her time here while Tim was mentally revamping his schedule for more visits. This was a vibrant city and he couldn't wait to experience more of it.

They were also newlyweds taking advantage of their precious time alone. Balancing exploring the city and each other was fun and they felt they were having a true honeymoon.

When they returned to Artemis' new neighborhood early Thursday morning, they saw the apartment building itself was modern. When they saw the inside, both smiled. Their guide had told them a little about traditional Turkish houses and it looked like the architect of the building had kept those traditions in mind. The building housed only 7 apartments, each one two stories. Entering the building, they walked through a beautifully tiled central court open to the ceiling with a large skylight. There was an indoor garden with flowering plants and small trees, a lovely fountain and a few benches, also tiled, placed around the atrium.

There were 3 apartments on each side, with the 7th one occupying the center of the back of the building. The doors to each unit were framed in tiles, each one a different style and colors. The 7th apartment, the one in the back with nobody on either side, was Artie's, much to her joy. The largest unit, it would also be the quietest and she would have a lovely little walk every morning and evening as she walked to and from the entrance to the building.

Inside her unit, the lower floor was traditionally Turkish, with tile work and a foyer decorated nearly as beautifully as the courtyard. A skylight, on a smaller scale than the one in the central atrium of the building, brought in natural light. On the far left side was a small pool. From end to end, it looked like 3 or 4 swim strokes would cover it, from side to side maybe 2 strokes. There were 2 chairs and a small table nearby. Tim wasn't sure if the pool was meant to be decorative and asked his wife, who said it was a real pool, designed for a quick dip. Tim grinned at her, thinking of the fun they'd have.

Past the foyer, the kitchen was on one side of the ground floor while the other side was divided into two rooms, dining and living. Much to Artie's relief, the kitchen had modern appliances, refrigerator/freezer, oven with stovetop, dishwasher and microwave, a countertop for food preparation. Three windows graced the back wall, bringing in natural light. Tim smiled as he looked in the cabinets, finding cookware, dishes, cups and glasses, cutlery in the drawers, everything his wife would need. From the kitchen, they took a quick look at the dining area, which had a table large enough for several people. The living area had a tiled fireplace built into the outer wall, with a note with one word, 'wood' taped to it. They decided that meant the fireplace burned wood. Along with sofas, ottomans and a TV, there was a beautifully woven room-sized rug on the floor.

Continuing up the stairs, the fronts of which were tiled, they found 3 bedrooms and what Tim called a den, or extra room. The master bedroom was large, with a good-sized closet, another tiled fireplace, built into the same outer wall as the downstairs fireplace, and an en suite bathroom with a tub that rivaled the dipping pool in the foyer. When Tim looked out one of the windows at the back of the room, he noticed that the part of the building he was standing in seemed to be hanging in midair, from what he could see looking sideways, it jutted out and away from the rest of the building. Remembering that was another Turkish building tradition, he saw houses across what looked like a residential street. Some of them also had rooms jutting out over the building.

Back in the hall, they found another bathroom, shared by the other bedrooms. The bed in the master was a king, as Artie requested. There were 2 beds in each of the other bedrooms and a pull-out bed/sofa in the den. Plenty of room for the children and Dad or anyone else who wanted to visit. Artie thought one of the sofas in the living area downstairs was also a pull-out bed.

They found another staircase which took them to the roof. With the large skylight, the 7 smaller ones and 7 chimneys, there wasn't much room for a terrace on the roof and they surmised the door was meant for safety.

Back downstairs, they found a small hallway running perpendicular to the kitchen and dining room. There was a bathroom on one side, complete with a shower, and two storage closets on the other side of the hallway - and a door at the end. When they went through the door, first making sure they still had the keys with them, they found themselves in a landscaped area leading to the street Tim saw from the master bedroom window.

Walking to the side of the street, Tim turned around, looked up at the apartment building and smiled, pointing out the piece of the master bedroom that jutted out over the bottom floor. The building was decoratively painted on this side, again reflecting Turkish tradition. They loved the design, the front exterior of the building presenting a modern look and the back and sides, a traditional look in an established neighborhood. Taking photos of each room, the foyer with the pool, the large central atrium, their interior front door and their exterior door, as well as several shots of the back of the house and neighborhood, they sent them to Sarah to share with the family.

Tim was satisfied with the security of the building, the unit and now that he'd seen the neighborhood in the back of the property, he let go of most of his anxieties. He'd always have some worry, it was his nature, but overall he was pleased. Of course, knowing that Artemis was skilled in mixed martial arts also helped his frame of mind!


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My heart goes out to those suffering from the floods and wildfires in the U.S. as well as the awful fires in Greece, Sweden and Italy. I was horrified when I read about the people running into the water in Greece - and those who didn't make it. As I drove home from my coastal vacation (wonderfully chilly escape from the 100+ degrees Fahrenheit in California), I heard on the radio that the city I was driving through, a city of 95,000 residents, was on fire. I'd been driving in smoke for hours as there are several wildfires in Oregon and hadn't wondered at the smoke continuing. Days later, it's still burning and nearly 40% of the population has been evacuated. It's more than 150 miles from where I live but the smoke here is bordering on unhealthy. Having to wear a mask (I have mild asthma) is nothing compared to having to flee your home, flee to the ocean as those poor souls in Greece had to, losing your home or worse, your life.
> 
> As far as I've been able to tell the town of Varkiza, where we'll visit in this chapter, has not been affected by the fires.
> 
> All of you, wherever you are on this planet, be safe, be well.

 

Chapter 30

As they wandered around the neighborhoods, front and back, they decided to move into the apartment right away. Buying food for a few meals, they introduced themselves to the local grocers before returning to the apartment and putting the food away. On their return to the hotel, they packed up and checked out, early enough to avoid paying for the day, and took a taxi back to the apartment. They spent the rest of the morning settling in, unpacking, making the bed and then messing it up again as they celebrated.

Wanting a few personal touches, the couple had a wonderful time shopping the markets for a beautifully woven small rug, wall art (besides the children's drawings, of course), framed tiles and several other items that would make the temporary quarters more homelike. The last shop they were in, the owner chuckled as Tim carefully stashed their purchases in his backpack. "You're like a camel but instead of storing water in your hump, you store treasures!" They laughed and waved as they left the store. When they were on the street, Artie said, "I could easily have purchased the entire store!"

Tim nodded, "He has a lot of beautiful things in there."

"I just have to remember I won't be here long and then what will I do with everything?"

"Bring it home. We'll decorate our next home with your treasures from around the world. And while we're in Brambury, we can decorate the library!"

She smiled at him, "That's a great idea. And they are o _ur_ treasures. You should start collecting on our travels. Find something from each place we go. You've already started that with what you've found on your travels around the UK, Athens and Prague! The more we travel, the more you'll find. You already have eclectic tastes, which fascinates me. For such a techie to embrace the ancient or merely old amazes me."

He grinned, "Dad said something like that to me once. I told him old stuff, really everything that still exists, was once the newest thing. Wooden bridges across a creek must have been a huge improvement over wading or climbing over rocks just as the building of the Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges were huge deals in their own times. That aqueduct in Wales helped those folks with their economy, that was a big deal in their time. It's part of our history, how we operate. We see a need, we imagine, we design, we build, we thrive, we move on and the new becomes standard, eventually outdated as the process repeats. Sometimes I think the failures are just as fascinating, as long as they failed without killing anyone."

She patted his arm, "You see, you have a unique perspective. Now, come along, Camel, I think that hump on your back is big enough to fill our new home and I'm hungry."

With a surprised laugh, he followed her back to the apartment, glad to get that 'hump' off his back. He felt like it weighed more than Kyle and Rissa combined although not as wiggly on his back as their littles generally were.

After lunch, they found places for all the new treasures and then returned to their favorite store, one they would always refer to as the 'camel' store, for a lamp that they knew would go perfectly with the small rug and framed tiles. That was enough shopping and wandering for the day and they spent the rest of it wrapped up in each other.

Friday morning, they forced themselves from the apartment to pay a visit to Artie's job site. She was pleased with the progress and spoke with the project manager while Tim wandered the neighborhood surrounding the project. By now, he knew how to say hello and a few key phrases although he was certain his pronunciation needed work.

After they left the job site, they wandered through the city, stopping to look in shops, outdoor markets, enjoying learning more about a new city, new country and an ancient culture also new to them. When they returned to the apartment, they gave the driver the name of the back street, going in through the backdoor. Tim unlocked the door and stood aside to let Artie go in.

As he waited, a movement caught his eye. A man standing across the street nodded and then made a specific, albeit discreet, movement with his hand. Tim had all he could do to keep his mouth from dropping open. It was a movement Geordie showed him two weeks ago, after their second wedding. The two of them had been laughing about the nonverbal communications still in practice between Dad and his former teammates, in this case Tim, and then Geordie showed him the move. He said it was a way to let someone know the person making the movement was a U.S. Marine, a good person worthy of trust and that it was only known by Marine officers in the higher levels of Special Ops.

When Tim blinked, the man was gone. As he followed his wife into the apartment, he decided he'd show her, telling her it meant the person was trustworthy, leaving out the Marine part. And he'd let her know not to tell anyone. The more he thought about it, the more he thought there must have been a reason for his brother to show him, that it wasn't just a random part of their conversation. There had been a conversation about Artie's next project at their New Year's Day gathering but Tim didn't remember Geo asking more questions than anyone else.

As he entered the apartment, Artie distracted him and it was Sunday as he was packing for home before he thought of it again. Sitting her down, he showed her the movement and told her it was a secret code to signal that person was trustworthy. When she wanted to know why she needed to know, he shrugged, finally saying, "You're in a new country and I've never experienced you being on your own like this. Susannah was with you in London. If there's trouble and someone approaching you makes that signal, they're there to help and can be trusted."

"But there's no trouble here, you said so yourself."

"You're right and this is just a precaution. A 'just in case'."

She smiled, "Will it help you sleep better?"

"Only if you're in my arms!"

She wrapped her arms around him and the two of them forgot about the super-secret code. When Tim's watch buzzed, they jumped out of bed and she called for a taxi while he hurriedly finished packing, making sure he had his ticket, passport and work visa for the UK.

He slept nearly the entire flight and was still a bit groggy when he boarded the train to Brambury. When he disembarked, he smiled at Sarah, who was waiting for him with Big Blue. "It's snowing and we figured you'd be tired."

"Thank you, Sari. How are you, the kids, Dad, Rob, Geo, and James?"

"We're all fine, glad you're home, hoping Artie's work goes well, we've missed you both. Any chance she'll finish early?"

Tim huffed, "Maybe a week or so, but not much more than that. It's a big project. Her project manager is really good though. What did you think of our photos?"

"That apartment is fantastic! Maybe one weekend, we'll go over and the two of you can have the house here to yourselves."

Tim chuckled, "It's wonderful over there, totally different culture. And like here, everyone we met was friendly and warm, wanted us to see or do this or that. We had a great time!"

"Good! So it's a good place for a ho…vacation?"

He grinned at her as they pulled into their driveway, knowing she'd been about to say 'honeymoon'. "Absolutely."

They went around the back to the mud room as their snow boots were mucky. Tim had no sooner put one foot inside the house when he was nearly taken down by his children. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around them, kissing and hugging each one of them twice, saying, "That's from your mama, that's from me."

"Did you and Mama have fun, Daddy?"

He smiled at his daughter, "We did, MarissaNissa."

She giggled at one of his nicknames for her. They each had a 'bug' name: Flootle Bug for Andy, Scooter Bug for Greg, Doodle Bug for Kyle and Pookie Bug for Marissa. And there were others, Andyson, Gregson, Kyleson, Rissadot, short for daughter, JAM for Jason Andrew McGee, GG for Gregory Griffith, KT for Kyle Timothy, Rissathena for Marissa Athena, although sometimes she was 'Mary', which she also thought was funny.

Greg's middle name, Griffith, meant Prince and his papa told him he thought he was named that in honor of his aunt Sarah, whose name meant Princess in ancient Hebrew. Once in a while, Papa would call him Prince Greg while Andy was sometimes 'Mr. Fleece' or 'Fleece man', because of the ancient Greek story about Jason and the Golden Fleece. Kyle was also 'Kyleyboy', 'Train Man' or 'Mr. Engineer' and Rissa was 'Queenie', as her brothers usually did her bidding.

When Tim was through hugging and kissing his kids, he hugged and kissed his father and brothers, who were both home. He chuckled when James showed up in line. "I don't mind hugging you, James, but we're not kissin' kin yet!"

James tried to ask him what that meant, but he was laughing too hard. When he finally wound down, Tim explained to him. "Kissing kin or kissing cousins are relatives close enough to kiss in greeting."

"You're right, we're not kissin' kin!"

The kids helped their father carry his bags upstairs. A few minutes later, they came rushing downstairs, "Look what Papa got us!"

They each had a souvenir, along with a bar of Turkish Taffy. Sarah looked at one of the bars. "This is made in the U.S."

"I know, I bought it at the airport gift shop in Amzida. I thought it was funny they were selling it as there's nothing Turkish about it, never has been."

The kids didn't care, they were enjoying their treat, Greg helping Marissa break the taffy so she could eat it. They each had half their candy before Papa decided they should save the rest. It was a school night and they all needed to sleep that night.

With his classes starting the next day, Tim took it easy the rest of the day, indulging in a nap or two and playing with his children. He woke from a nap in time for the weekly call to Patrick and, like Kyle, found himself talking more to Ducky than to his brother.

That evening, he turned in before Andy, amusing his eldest. He woke at 0300, realizing he had to wear his robes in the morning! Slightly panicked, he turned on the light and opened the closet door. Then he stopped, chuckling to himself as he read a note, taped to the inside of the door, in his own handwriting. Dated the previous Monday, he'd written, "Your robes are hanging in the closet in your office. Stop worrying!" While he had no memory of taking the robes to his office, he trusted the note.

As it was snowing the next morning, Dad drove the kids and Tim to school. After the kids had been delivered, Dad turned Big Blue toward the Uni, chuckling, "Did you see your note to yourself?"

"Yeah, how…oh, that was your suggestion! I still don't remember taking them over though."

"Understandable. After all, you've been honeymooning since then."

Tim just grinned at him and gave him a quick kiss before he hopped out of the van. "We _are_ kissing kin! See you tonight."

He was glad he'd been able to rearrange his class schedule. He had one class after his lunch break on Fridays and after today, would start late on Mondays. That would give him a precious few more hours with his wife when she was home and a little extra time to fly to and from Amzida when it was his and the kids' turn to visit. It meant teaching two night courses during the week, but he had a break in between, long enough to get home for dinner with the family.

As this was the start of Winter Term, there was an assembly before class for new students and Tim greeted 3 young Americans. Although they wouldn't be in any of his classes, he offered to help or give advice if needed. He smiled at them, "If you get so homesick you can't stand it, hop on the Tube and get yourself to a McDonald's; I'll give you the directions and Tube stops for each location in London. I know it sounds ridiculous but amazingly, you'll feel that you've been home for a few minutes."

They laughed at that and he gave them a few more tips to ease their way into living British. He'd already spoken with his Departmental Master about acting as a transitional advisor to these 3 and had been given approval. He planned to talk with his family about having them over for dinner one night.

He greeted his 'regulars', the students who were majoring in his specialties. Several of them would likely be with him for the duration of his contract. He'd attend the graduations of others and welcome new students every term. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself, he was starting to sound like an old English novel, something right out of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" or "To Serve Them All My Days". Still, he liked seeing familiar faces in his classes.

Done with his robes for the term, he took them home that afternoon to be cleaned. He was walking upstairs when he received a text from Artie, _'Are you home and ready for our Skype call?'_

Calling out to the kids, he grabbed his laptop and joined the children downstairs in the dining room, sending her a text that they were ready. They sat at the table, the laptop positioned where they could all see her. Smiling as Jethro, Sarah and Geordie joined her husband and children, she said hello to everyone. She told them how her first day on the project had gone, adding that she'd bought dinner at a local market on the way home. She asked if they knew about the front and back doors and they nodded, smiling. She said she left for work through the front door, to catch the bus she needed but coming from the grocers that evening, she'd walked around to the back door. She looked at her husband and father-in-law. "It was still light and there is a good light fixture outside our back door."

Then it was the children's turn and their grandfather, aunt and uncle quietly left while they each spoke with their mother.

She smiled at them, "It's so good to see your faces and hear your voices, I miss you all! Thank you for loaning me your daddy last weekend!"

They giggled at that and then Tim talked about his classes and the 3 young Americans. When he saw his wife yawning, she was 3 hours ahead of them and he knew she'd been up early, they wished her a good night, sending kisses and hugs before they signed off. Seeing sad faces, Tim gathered the kids, wrapping his arms around them. "I know this is hard for you, that you miss your mama, I do too. Her work is important to her and you know, she's helping the children of Amzida and their parents by building a bridge that will keep them safe from all the cars. It's a walking bridge, no cars, trucks or scooters allowed."

He kept them with him for a while, listening to them talk about her, how much they missed her and couldn't wait until she got home Thursday night. With a smile, he suggested they write letters or draw pictures to give her when she got home. That cheered them up a little and both Kyle and Rissa said they would draw pictures for her in school.

Jethro watched his son with the kids, admiring the way he kept them going and proud of himself for insisting Tim and Artie have more time together in Amzida.

Before they knew it, that first week was over and Artie was home for the weekend. Tim met her plane Thursday night; upon reaching home, she made a beeline for the children's rooms, kissing each of them. Andy and Greg were still awake and Kyle and Marissa woke to their mother's voice. All four of them went to sleep with smiles on their faces, Mama was home.

She was up with them the next morning, seeing them off to school and Tim's Uni. Once they left the house, she waved to her housemates, returning to bed for a long nap. She told Jethro later that she'd been worried about falling behind in her work and had worked late every night so she could get home as promised. Now that the project was going in the right direction, she wouldn't worry as much. And as Jethro pointed out, they could always come to her.

The third weekend, that's what they did. It was February, the following week was half-term for the boys and Bedford University was on holiday Friday and Monday. As Andy and Greg had class on Friday, they took a day's worth of schoolwork home to do during the week-long holiday. The family flew to Amzida Thursday, after Tim's last class.

As Tim told his wife, he didn't care how expensive the tickets were, they were tired of being cold and wanted to do something fun. Artie was fine with that, it was a jolt every week to go from the mild weather of Turkey to the misery of the cold-to-your-bones deep freeze of Southern England. Jethro and Geordie went with Tim and the kids. Geordie was out of the hospital for the week and was also in need of warming his bones.

Artemis met them at the airport in a rental van and drove them to the apartment via the back roads their private guide showed them a month ago. The kids, Dad, and Geo loved the apartment. As Geo was still prohibited from climbing more than 4 or 5 steps at a time, he'd sleep in the living room, one of the sofas converted to a bed, and use the bathroom in the back hallway. Dad would take the pull-out couch in the den and the children would share, Andy and Greg in one room, Kyle and Rissa in the other. Artie had borrowed a wheelchair for their visit, thinking that would be easier for Geordie and he'd certainly be able to see and do more if he wasn't wearing out his leg.

After they had a snack, everyone turned in. They were all tired from the flight, the week and it was past midnight, Amzida time. Friday, they had a swim before exploring much of Amzida, visiting Amzida University's Toy Museum and spending a few hours at a large park with many fun things for the kids to do. One of the first things they did there was to take the train all around the park.

When the littles and Uncle Geo tired, they were sent home in a taxi, while the older boys, Grandpa, Mama, and Papa saw more of the city. As Tim and Artie had their first few days there, the group wandered, visiting various sites, shops and open air markets.

Back at the apartment, they rousted the littles and Uncle Geo from the pool so the others could have a dip. Afterward, the kids stayed in, playing happily with Grandpa while Tim and Artie made dinner. The next day, they found another park with a playground and took a picnic lunch.

Overall, it was a relaxing and interesting weekend. They saw some of the sights of the city but didn't rush through; there was family time, play time and a few hours alone for Artie and Tim. Sunday evening, they set up Tim's laptop for the weekly call to Patrick. The volunteer that week was Freddie, and Abby was with him! That was a fun call as they gave their friends a virtual tour of the apartment, including the pool, surprising Dad and Geo who were taking a dip. The kids chattered about what they'd seen and done in Turkey.

As they boarded the flight home on Monday, they looked forward to Thursday night when Artie would be home again, and planned for their next trip to Amzida.

The rest of the kids' holiday week flew by as Sarah, Rob and Dad took the kids into London for some fun, sledding on 'Butterfly' hill, ice skating and swimming at the local fitness center. They all thought it funny when they ice skated in the morning and swam in the afternoon on Thursday. At their father's urging, Andy and Greg had their schoolwork done before Friday, so they could spend the weekend with their mother without taking time away to do their schoolwork.

Artie arrived home Thursday night and the family had another great weekend. As it was snowy and cold outside, they stayed home, playing games, watching movies and generally enjoying family time. Monday morning, she rode with Jethro as he dropped the children at school, Tim at the Uni and then drove her to the train station before he took Geordie back to the hospital for his next treatment.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

One weekday morning, Tim was woken by Andy, who'd worried when his father didn't check to make sure he and his siblings were awake.

"Thanks, Flootle bug. Stayed up writing last night, too late, I guess. Are Kyle and Rissa up yet?"

"Yes, Kyle's dressed and Rissa is working on it."

"Thanks, sweetie. I'll go help her. You three go on downstairs, your sister and I will be down to get breakfast in a few minutes."

"Okay!" They kissed each other and Andy ran down the hall to gather his brothers.

Rissa was dressed but had evidently decided it was summer out as she had her favorite sundress on, even though it was now too small for her. She wrinkled her face sadly when Papa came in, "This is too small."

"It is, Maryissa, because you're growing taller! How about your favorite leggings and a long-sleeved top? It's chilly out."

She thought about that before agreeing. When Papa put her favorite shoes in her pack to wear with her outfit, she was very happy.

Andy was making their lunches when Papa and Rissa arrived in the kitchen. The boys had decided they would do that to help Papa while Mama was away. Tim was touched when they made a lunch for him too and he was frequently amused by what was in the brown bag. There was always a cookie or two, a piece of fruit, it was the 'entrée' that entertained him. Sometimes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, sometimes, depending on the maker, it was peanut butter and bananas or butter, one time it was peanut butter and mayonnaise. That wasn't nearly as disgusting as it sounded and he remembered Sarah liking that as a child, squeezing part of a packet of mayo onto her peanut butter.

One time he found a plastic container full of cheese in his lunch. No bread, no sandwich meat, just cheese. Another time he had a plastic bag with a bug in it and he wondered if the bug had eaten the sandwich. Sometimes it was leftovers although in that case, he usually got a bite of the good stuff, all of the vegetables or soggy salad while the boys got most of the good stuff. On one memorable occasion, he had a big piece of cake with a bite taken out of it (that had to be Kyle), with a bottle of chocolate sauce and a container of what Tim thought was melted ice cream (oh yeah, that was Kyle). Luckily, there was a well stocked cafeteria for the days when his brown bag lunches weren't so appetizing.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Before they knew it, March appeared and the family started to get excited about their trip to Greece at the end of the month, over the Easter break. They'd fly to Athens on the 24th, Thursday afternoon, meet Artie at the airport there and then drive to Varkiza, where her grandmother lived.

As everyone was going, even Rob, Geo, Sarah, and James, they'd found Airbnb lodgings, 2 apartments in the same building, for all of them. Sarah, James, Dad, and Rob would stay in one apartment while Tim, Artie, Geo, and the kids would stay in a downstairs apartment. Rob, Sarah, and James weren't staying the whole time. Rob would fly home on the 28th so he'd have days off for other trips and Sarah and James would leave on the 30th so James would only use a couple of days of vacation along with the office closures on Good Friday and Easter Monday. He too was saving days for other trips and, with any luck, the Christmas trip to the States in December. Once they left, Dad would move to the downstairs Airbnb apartment, sharing with Geo.

For Tim and the other adults in the household, the month flew by. Artie gave up three of her Fridays off so she could spend extra time with her family during the Easter vacation. One weekend, she flew home Friday night and the next weekend, Tim met her Friday evening in Florence, Italy, for a wonderfully romantic, if short, weekend. They managed to see just about everything they wanted to see while also spending time walking around the city, getting out of the 'tourist zone' and experiencing some of the neighborhoods. They sent Larry and Cyndi Porter a postcard that they were having their own walking tour of Firenze. The couple smiled when they read the card, remembering that Tim and Artie had been known for walking everywhere while they were at MIT.

Enthralled with the artwork and museums, ducking into churches, being invited into courtyards as they peeked through open doorways, finding two wonderful family owned restaurants, buying a few souvenirs, both adding to their collections and purchasing a few things for their children, the couple had a memorable weekend and before they went to their separate flights Monday morning, vowed to return.

Looking back at his journals later that week, Tim noted the date. They'd arrived in Brambury shortly after Easter last year, not quite a year ago. It was hard to believe they'd been here for that long. So many wonderful things had happened: Artie, Andy, Marissa, Susannah, all the fun travel and adventures, Sarah meeting James, Dad adopting them, Geo returning to them and of course, the weddings! He thought that for him and his siblings, it'd been the most pivotal year since he and Sarah first met Geordie and Robbie.

The third weekend of March, Artie flew home Friday night again, returning to Amzida on Monday with her suitcase full of clothes to take to Greece. As planned, she met her family Thursday evening at the Athens airport, ready for their vacation!

Because it was late, they went straight to the apartments, picking up the keys from the building manager. Once the luggage was sorted, they had a bite to eat, had stories and cuddles with the children and then the family turned in. There were 3 bedrooms in the downstairs unit, the master had an en suite bathroom and a King bed, the second bedroom had a double bed and two singles, that was the kids' room. Geo would have his own room until Dad moved downstairs after Rob left.

The apartment upstairs also had 3 bedrooms but the group left the middle one empty. The other two bedrooms had King beds, much to Rob and James' relief. There were 2 bathrooms, one in the master and one in the hallway, between the empty bedroom and Dad and Rob's room. Although he didn't mind sharing, Rob wondered why Dad didn't take the middle bedroom and then realized he probably wanted some separation between Sarah and James' room and his room. Yeah, that could have been awkward.

Excited to finally be here, everyone was awake early the next morning, even with the time difference. Mimi wanted them to come to breakfast, so once everyone was dressed and ready, they piled into the van and drove the few blocks to her house.

Andy and his siblings were almost vibrating with excitement to see Mimi again. She'd captured Greg and Kyle's hearts during her visit in January while Andy and Marissa had been hers since their births.

Tim was also excited about seeing Mimi again. He'd never thought about grandparents until he met Artemis. She told him all about her yaya, how much fun she was, how much help she'd given Artie and her sister when they were growing up. Wherever they lived, she'd write them weekly with details of her daily life, so they always knew what was happening and had a strong sense of 'home'. Her proper name was Athena Susannah Damaris Midei. Mimi had been a childhood nickname but she didn't remember how or why. Her late husband's name was Andrew Damien Matthaíos Costas.

She opened the door when she heard the van and held her arms open as her granddaughter and great-grandchildren hurried to her. The others smiled; they really couldn't help it, with the joy on the woman's face. She was tall for her peer group, 5' 6", and stood as straight as Artemis, no stooping for her! Tim thought now that both his wife and sister-in-law had inherited her bone structure. She wore her hair in a stylish 'do', without a trace of gray, not bad for a woman of 83 years.

She happily greeted her family, new and old and was delighted when they spoke to her in Greek. Gibbs watched as his big kids once again fell under the spell of their new grandmother, a relative none of them remembered having, and his grandkids followed them. Greg and Kyle nearly melted in her arms and their father, aunt, and uncles weren't far from the same feeling. Dad remembered his own grandmothers and the special love and warmth they gave.

He also smiled as he was welcomed to her home and he understood he was as much a part of her family as the others. When Kyle's tummy rumbled, she chuckled and taking his hand, led them all into the house. She sat them around a large table and would allow only Artemis to help her serve, even though everyone offered. They brought plates of warm spinach pies, croissants along with bowls of creamy yogurt, two carafes of coffee, a teapot for Sarah and James and a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice for all of them to share.

As they ate, she told them that their cousins, Matthaíos and Cassie, would arrive late that afternoon and stay the weekend, they were excited about meeting Artie and her family. After they'd stuffed themselves, she asked them what their plans were for the day. Marissa blurted out, "Beach!" before anyone else had a chance to say a word. Mimi smiled and kissed the little girl on her head, "Yes, that's lovely, but it's not very warm yet."

Greg looked at his father and aunt and the three of them grinned. With a nod from Papa, he said, "We went to the beach in Cornwall, in the south of England, last year. Everyone said it was warm but we were cold! Grandpa built fires on the beach so we could warm up before we went in and after we got out."

Sarah nodded, and with a fair imitation of Gibbs, said, "He said, came all this way, we're goin' in the water!"

Everyone laughed at that and Mimi looked thoughtful. "You can build a fire on the beach here if you'd like or you can walk on the beach, look for treasures and then swim in a heated pool." Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Jethro, "And there is a large patio heater to get warm afterward."

Kyle's eyes sparkled, "Are there shells and starfish on the beach?"

Mimi nodded, "Yes, this time of year, before it's warm enough for the tourists to come, there will be shells. I don't know if there will be starfish. When I find them, I put them back in the water so they can rejoin their families."

Kyle nodded before asking, "Will you come with us to the beach and the pool, please?" His family echoed him and she smiled, "Thank you, I'd love to join you!"

They didn't quite 'bundle up' but they wore more than their usual beach clothes for their walk. The children, Tim, and James took their shoes off and got their feet wet walking along the shoreline. James said it felt fine to him, although he remembered the warmth of the beach on Aegina.

Mimi didn't know about that trip and they told her about the extravagant villa and their crowd of 11. She laughed, "I hope you got a good price! Artemis knows someone who can find rentals for groups. You may need to rent more than one house or apartment but it will be less expensive than a villa!"

Sarah smiled, "The owner gave us a great discount and it was worth it. We had our own lifeguard and a private pool. And air-conditioning in the house."

"Ah, air-conditioning! That might have made the price worth it for your first visit." She had a quizzical look on her face, "Why would you need a pool?"

Tim smiled, "That was 9 months ago. Greg had just learned to swim and Kyle didn't yet know how. I was uncomfortable with them getting in too deep in the sea. I taught Kyle how to swim in the pool and Greg practiced until we all felt more confident." He grinned, "And it was fun to swim at night."

She gave him a considering look. "I have a friend whose brother-in-law owns a villa on Aegina. I remember her saying he was excited because he was renting to a famous author, that he gave him a discount because of all the hours of entertainment he'd had reading the man's books. After his renters left, he went in to clean and found that the man had autographed the books he'd written, personalizing them for him."

Without saying a word, Tim listened as Mimi continued, "I've read most of those books too. My English isn't perfect but it seems to me that the name Tibbs sounds very much like Gibbs."

The boys were trying not to laugh and Jethro was beaming, "That's our boy, Mimi, Thom E Gemcity, otherwise known as Timothy McGee."

"That's really you, Timotheos?"

"Afraid so. And you're right about Dad being Tibbs. When I first started writing the Deep Six books, he was my boss, not yet my father."

"And Tommy, Amy, Thea?"

"Tommy is our brother Tony, Amy is our friend Abby, and Thea is our friend Eleanor, nickname Ellie. She chose her name for the meaning."

"The doctors?"

"Dr. Donald Mallard, known as Ducky to us and Granducky to the kids. And Dr. Jimmy Palmer, Uncle Jimmy to the kids."

"Oh, I must meet them! Will they be visiting again this summer?"

"Tony, Ellie, and Abby will visit, although Abby will visit over the May 1st holiday, she doesn't like hot weather. Tony and Ellie will visit in August, along with Tony's girlfriend Maggie, who's not in the books. And Lu, our chosen mom."

"Not Plucky or Pimmy?"

"No. Pimmy, I mean Jimmy and his wife are adopting a baby who's due in July and he'll be on leave after the baby arrives. That means Ducky will be busy working on his own and helping with his new granduckling."

The older boys laughed at that and then explained to Kyle and Rissa. Kyle laughed while Rissa wasn't sure she wanted to be called a baby duck.

"Abby is only coming for the long weekend?"

"No, she'll stay for a couple of weeks. Sarah will show her around London and a few other places after the holiday weekend. We're visiting Stockholm over the holiday and Abby will go with us."

Mimi grinned, "Then I might go, too! Have you made arrangements for the summer visitors yet?"

"Not yet. We know where we'd like to go but haven't started looking yet. Guess we'd better get busy with that!"

She looked thoughtful, "If you come here to Aegina again, you can rent houses and I'll visit while you're there."

"Why visit? Why not come with us? Whether we go to another place in Greece or back to Aegina."

"Oh well…that does sound like fun."

"We'll rent a car and show you the villa, it's in Perdika."

She smiled, "I haven't been to Perdika in years."

Artie nudged her, "We could take the ferry over while we're here. I'll call my friend to see if her friend's husband can find rentals for us in Aegina town this summer. We have the dates and the number of people."

"How many?"

Tim grinned at his new grandmother, "We have confirmations for 20, now I'll make it 21, adding you."

"Wonderful! That will be more than 2 rentals, though. Artemis, you'd better make an appointment with the property man and you'll need to decide who stays with who."

Tim nodded, "I'll send an email this afternoon. With the exception of Susannah and Ian, they're all in the States and probably asleep right now."

Mimi's smile grew even wider, "Susannah and Ian are coming? Oh, this will be fabulous! If Gaia is home, perhaps she can visit, with Matthaíos and Cassie! That's a bad time for Nikolas, though, tourist season is very important for the restaurant."

Artie smiled back at her, "Susannah and Ian are staying with us, she's already asked. Why don't you stay with us, too? And if Aunt Gaia isn't home, perhaps my cousins could come anyway."

"Yes, that sounds perfect."

Sarah made some notes on her phone that she showed her brother. Tim looked, "Ok, that makes sense. Dad, you and Lu want your own place?"

"That'd be great, son, thanks!"

"Ok, that's 3 rentals. Rob, Geordie, you guys want a separate place?"

They looked at each other and then nodded, Rob answering, "Yes, with at least 3 bedrooms and then Ellie can stay with us, too. And either no stairs or 1 bedroom and a full bathroom on the main floor."

"Ok, that leaves the Fornells, Tobias, Emily and her best friend, don't know her name yet. That's at least 2 bedrooms and rental #5."

Dad tilted his head in thought, "Em's best friend's name is Pauley, her nickname is 'P'."

"Thanks, Dad, I'll add her name to the list."

Artie had been on the phone and now she disconnected, "We have an appointment with the property man tomorrow morning at 11:00, either in Piraeus at his office or in a café on Aegina, it's our choice."

Mimi laughed when everyone wanted to go to Aegina. "Good, that will be a day trip then. Geordie, Dr. Rob, there will be a lot of walking and Aegina town is not flat; however, I can't think of any stairs to climb up or down."

"Then that's good, Mimi, thank you. I can do slight hills, it's the bending and putting more weight on one leg that makes stairs bad for me. As long as I can sit and rest every so often, walking is good. My doctors, including my doctor brother, want me to walk every day. It's helping to rebuild strength in my leg."

By that time, they'd walked the length of the beach and turned around to go back, the children racing ahead, although the older boys waited for their younger siblings. Kyle had a little bucket with all the shells he'd found; he said he might make a little beach in the train village. Grandpa had a very thoughtful look on his face after that and Tim chuckled, thinking their little guy might have a surprise addition to his train village for his 4th birthday, coming up in May.

On their way back to Mimi's, they had a brief tour of the town of Varkiza, meeting several people who greeted them enthusiastically. They all knew Artemis, little Marissa, and Andy, known here as Jason, and were pleased to meet the new American husband and his family.

They stopped at the apartment building to change into their swim suits while Mimi chatted with the building manager, a friend of a friend. Then they drove to Mimi's house where they put together a picnic lunch. Taking that, blankets and towels, they drove to Mimi's friends' house with the heated pool and patio heater. The friends were away and offered the use of the pool and house to Mimi and her family.

The warm water felt wonderful and the group spent most of the afternoon in either the pool or the adjacent hot tub. Geordie, especially, rotated swimming and hot tubbing. They all got out of whichever water they were in when Tim and Artie told the kids it was time for lunch and a brief rest. The boys and Rissa laughed at that, knowing Papa and Mama only meant them!

Drying off near the heater, they went inside with towels and blankets once they'd stopped dripping. And laughed because it felt good to be warm again. Taking their time over lunch, the littles rested for nearly an hour while the rest of the family played cards or read. Kyle eventually wandered out from the family room where he'd been laying down, cuddling with Mimi and then Grandpa for several minutes. When Rissa woke up, she was ready to jump right back in the pool and that's what they did.

By 5:00, they admitted they were waterlogged, ready to return to dry land for the evening. After drying in front of the heater again, they climbed back in the van, driving back to Mimi's. Changing into their street clothes and leaving the others there, Tim, Artie, and Dad went back into town for groceries. While they'd eat at Mimi's, they didn't want to eat Mimi out of her home and eating out would be expensive for every meal. Buying enough for breakfasts, snacks and food that could be eaten either for lunch or dinner, they returned to Mimi's with dinner for everyone. As they parked the van, they noticed another vehicle and smiled, that would be Artie's young cousins, Matthaíos and Cassie.

The twins had been there several minutes and were already enthralled with their young cousins, and the feeling was mutual. Sarah, Rob, and James, used to being the youngest adults in the family, were feeling positively ancient, although they were enjoying Matt and Cassie's stories of their last year of school. They'd start their college lives in September at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

"We looked at all the higher ranked universities and chose this one. We'll live at home for our first year."

Sarah smiled, they were so serious, so intense. She knew she'd been intense when she was their age but not about school. "What are your majors?"

Cassie grinned, "I'm going to be a medical doctor, specializing in ophthalmology. If it weren't for Mimi's ophthalmologist, I don't know if I'd be alive." She told them a little about her headaches, at age 10, that nobody could help. It had been a chance remark made by Mimi to her own eye doctor during a routine exam that led to that doctor seeing Cassie that same day and sending her immediately to a neurologist. She'd had a precancerous brain tumor that had been successfully removed, with no recurrences.

When she finished, she smiled at her brother, who nodded, saying, "Although I didn't know it until now, I'm following in cousin Artemis' footsteps. I want to be an Environmental Engineer, I believe it will be a key field in the near future."

While Tim and Artie cooked, they listened to the twins talk about their lives, asking their young cousins about their lives in England and America. Kyle and Greg told them about hiking in the snow to cut down their Christmas tree, riding in a horse drawn sleigh and all about their train rides. Taking the train, first to Cambridge and then to New York City and ice skating there as well as seeing the Lion King, riding in a boat way above land, the cold beach in Cornwall, the fairytale castle in Prague and taking the train in England. Andy told them about starting school in Japan, learning to ride a bike in Thailand and a horse in Chile. Then he told them about Australia, where he'd hiked in the Australian Alps, snorkeled around the Great Barrier Reef and viewed Aboriginal Rock Art. Marissa told them about making snow people and their wedding.

Their new cousins were impressed, they'd thought of Andy's life as an unhappy one but he had laughed and smiled as he told them about living 'around the world', adding that he loved living in Brambury with his family the most. And the younger boys spoke Greek quite well, they were surprised that they'd only started learning it a few months ago.

With their travels and fun today, they were all tired and the McGee-Gibbs group didn't stay late at Mimi's. Along with the new cousins, they'd have a full day tomorrow with the ferry ride to and from the island, exploring the town of Aegina and the beaches near it. The day after that was Sunday and some of them would attend church with Mimi. After that, they thought they'd split up, at least the adults would. Some would go into Athens to sightsee while others would stay with the children, take them swimming and for a kid-friendly hike in the hills nearby. They'd probably switch on Monday, although Rob would be on his way home, and then do something together on Tuesday, Sarah and James' last day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several name sites had 'Griffith' as a Welsh name meaning 'prince'. However, on a separate search I also found 'Griffin'. I left Greg's middle name as Griffith. If it doesn't mean 'prince', oh well.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Friday night, Kyle and Marissa were having stories when Geordie popped his head into their room, "Excuse me, Tim. Ducky and Barry just pinged you on Skype. I told them you'd call each of them back. They both said nothing was wrong."

"Thanks, Geo."

Kyle murmured 'Granducky' as he finally fell asleep and his parents chuckled as they kissed him. As Marissa was already asleep, the trio tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Tim's laptop was open on the dining table and after pouring coffee for each of them, they sat in front of the laptop. They called Ducky first and he answered almost immediately, smiling at them. "Hello, my dears! Are you having a good time?"

"Yes and we're going to Aegina tomorrow to set up our vacation rentals."

"Plural? No villa this year?"

"No, too expensive."

"Well, I have news and a change to tell you about. First of all, Jimmy and Breena have pulled out of the adoption, the mother couldn't seem to make up her mind and as you know, they've already been down that road once.

"However, there is a young boy, about Marissa's age, who has lost his parents and is in need of a foster home. He will be coming to live with Jimmy, Breena and Victoria sometime in the next few days. By August, David, their foster, will be settled into the family and Jimmy will have returned from his leave. I have persuaded them to travel with me to the UK and then to Greece. They're quite excited, I know they've been feeling that they were missing an opportunity to visit you and see a little more of the world. I've already made arrangements with Director Vance so that both Jimmy and I can be away. I'm glad I'm not too late to throw our names into the pot!"

"That's wonderful and I'm glad that they pulled out of the baby adoption before possibly having to go through that heartbreak again. Have a couple of questions, though. Are you coming to see us first? We'll book rooms for you in Brambury if you'd like or you can do that if you'd rather. If you do, mention you're visiting one of the faculty at Bedford, all the lodgings in Brambury have a Bedford discount. We've had a lot of luck with Airbnb, which is frequently less expensive. Also, if you're staying a few days after we get back from Greece, remember to book for then too. We'd love to have you at the house but we're at capacity. Now, while in Greece, we're going to have several rentals. I think we're up to 5 now. How do you want to do this?"

"I spoke with Tobias earlier and he thought that he, Emily and friends would have a separate rental. If the 5 of us could share with the 4 of them, that would be fine."

"Huh, 4? I only have 3 for the Fornells."

"Oh, then I suppose he'll be in touch, I'll give him a nudge. Emily's friend's mother is coming along with them. She's a single mother and apparently she and Tobias have been casually dating. I believe her name is Gail."

"So we need…8 beds for your place. Does Victoria need a crib or toddler bed and what about David?"

"A crib would be lovely for Victoria and we're told David is fine in a regular, that is a single bed. Breena hopes our rental will not have stairs."

"We'll put that in as a condition then."

"Now, I am paying their share, so if you could let me know the cost?"

"Will do, Ducky. And yes, please ask Tobias to send an email to me about his lady friend, need to know her full name and how they're paying."

"I will do that as soon as we disconnect. It's good to see you three, how are you doing, Geordie?"

"Pretty well, Ducky, thanks. We walked on a beach today and then spent the afternoon in a heated pool and a hot tub. I went back and forth, felt good to swim and to get warmed up again."

"I should say! Artemis, Tim has kept me up to date on your life in Turkey, it all sounds wonderful and your apartment is beautiful. All right, my love to everyone, and I'll look forward to hearing details when they're ready. No rush, though, please enjoy your vacation!"

"We will, our love to everyone over there. Talk with you soon."

They disconnected and Tim looked at the numbers. "Wow, that puts us at 27 people!"

Geordie chuckled, "This going to be like the table at Christmas?"

They laughed and Artie said, "No, the town of Aegina is much bigger than Jethro's house!"

Still chuckling, they pinged Barry, who answered right away. "Hey, good to see you! No tans, though."

"We've only been here a day, give us time!"

"Will do…so, Bill and I have been kicking around taking a trip somewhere for a couple of years now, we got passports two years ago and after hearing you and Tony talking at Christmas, and looking at our finances, well, we'd like to get in on your next trip to Greece, the one in August."

"Great! That's wonderful, you're going to love it here! And your timing is great because we're meeting with a property guy tomorrow; we hope he'll find us vacation rentals. Are you two interested in sharing a place?"

Geordie leaned forward, "Rob, Ellie, and I are planning to share a place, Barry, want to stay with us? The others are couples or families."

"Yes, actually that'll be great, sounds like fun. I talked with Tony and he recommends that we fly to London a few days early and stay a few days after we get back from Greece. He says it'll be easier, especially because neither of us have been out of the U.S. before."

Artie leaned in, "Yes, Barry, that's an excellent idea. Last year, Tony, Tobias and Ducky did that and will do that again. For the two of you…" she looked at Tim and Geordie. Tim nodded his agreement and Geo smiled, he'd handle this, "Barry, the house is pretty full and we're telling the others to get rooms in Brambury but if you two don't mind, I'm sure we can work something out for you at the house. Might be the pull out couch in Tim's office and one of the inflatable beds but we'll figure it out."

Artie chuckled, "The schoolroom is empty, Geordie, we can put beds in there."

Geordie looked at her, "How big is that? I've never been upstairs."

"I forgot, sorry. It's about the size of the playroom."

"Oh, that's plenty of room then. Barry, you two stay with us at the house, before and after."

"Thanks!"

Tim cleared his throat, "Barry, when we came home for Christmas, we got a group discount on our flight, both ways. Talk with Tony about doing that for all of you, there are 15 of you coming over. Even if Lu comes over early or stays longer afterward, we got the discount with 9 of us, so as long as you have 9 or more people traveling together, that should qualify you all for a discount."

"Lu…what?"

"Don't know anything for sure, just something we think might happen. She's coming over in May to go to Portugal with us, don't know if she's staying or going home and coming back."

"Ok, that's good, we've been talking about that, she says she has a lot of vacation days to use up. She's so much happier now."

"Yeah, Dad is too."

They chatted for a little longer before disconnecting. Tim opened his email to see if there was anything from Tobias and started laughing when he opened the first message.

"Timmo?"

"The Porters! They're going to Portugal with us in June and have decided they'd also like to go to Greece. They say, because we'll only be here another year they don't want to miss any of the fun. Okay, I'm gonna ping them."

"How many people do we have now?"

"I lost track, let's see…5 for the Mallard-Palmers, 4 for the Fornells, as far as we know, 2 for Barry and Bill, and 2 for Larry and Cyndi. That's 31 people, they'll need their own rental, we're up to 6 of those!"

He moved back to the Skype tab, still open, when he got a new email. "Ok, that's Tobias, confirming they will be a party of 4 and his lady friend's name is Gail Tehema, her daughter's name is Pauley. Now let's see what the Porters have to say!"

Artie had another pot of coffee going and was pouring for the three of them when they heard a knock on the door. It was Dad, looking a little sheepish.

"Rob's asleep and Sarah and James are in their room. I'm not sleepy. Thought I'd see if you have coffee, want to play cards or something."

Geordie laughed, "Grab a chair, we're just signing up the last of the American population for our August vacation."

At the raised eyebrow, Tim explained while Artie pinged the Porters. They both appeared on camera, looking excited. "You got our email?"

"Yes, just now. Your timing is great, we're meeting with a rental agent tomorrow."

"Oh good, we were a little worried about that."

They already knew about flying over early, they were doing that in June for the Portugal trip. They laughed when they heard how many people there would be, saying they'd already looked at lodgings in Brambury. "There are several Airbnb lodgings, we think we're going to go for one of those, although we don't know if the hosts will let us split the time like that."

Artie smiled, "They should. Bedford is their meal ticket and classes don't start for the autumn term until later in September. They'll be happy to have paying guests. Tim and Jethro have had great luck with Airbnb in their travels. One of their hosts even picked them up at the airport. Which reminds me," she told them about the group airfare discount and Cyndi said they'd contact Tony to get in on that. "For a discount, we'll fly or drive to DC and get on their flight. That'll be more fun anyway."

Artie laughed, "Tim says there will be 17 of you flying over! We'll have to think about transportation from the airport."

"Why can't we take the train? With that many of us, we can all pitch in to help each other and then let Uber know how many there are of us and where we're going."

Geordie snorted, "They might have to put an extra car on the train for all of you!"

They laughed at that and Artie said, "All right, we'll let you all figure that out, let us know if you need any information or help."

When they disconnected, the four of them sat looking at each other before they all burst into laughter again. Dad shook his head, "This really will be our last hurrah over here, our last grand vacation."

"With 31 people, yeah!"

Artie shook her head, "It won't be the last. We'll have half-term in October and February, the term holiday at the end of March and then half-term in June again. Oh, but this will be the last long summer holiday over here."

Tim grinned, "There's plenty to see and do in the U.S."

Dad looked dreamy, "You know what would be fun?"

"What?"

"If we had a place in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine where we could all go. There's a lot to do up there and it's nowhere near as hot as it is in DC."

"How long a drive is that?"

"Mm, about 8 or 9 hours to Vermont, say Stowe, in the mountains, close to the same for New Hampshire, depends where we go. Take two days with the kids. A little longer to Maine, maybe 11 hours, again it might depend where we're going, to the coast or inland. We could have what they call a camp. A few acres, enough for 3 or 4 cabins and plenty of outdoor space. Maybe one of those inflatable pools, leave it up all summer, put it away the rest of the year. Hiking, fishing, mountain bikes."

Tim and Geordie looked at each other and then at their father, "We're in!"

Artie laughed and then looked at them, "Are you serious? Timotheus, we need a place to live in DC first!"

They grinned at her and Tim chuckled, "Just daydreaming, hon. Have you ever been up there?"

"No."

"Me neither, or not that I know of, but it's supposed to be beautiful."

"How long will the children have off for summer in the U.S.?"

"Out within the first 10 days of June, back around that same week in August. About two months."

Dad nodded, "You could bring them up and leave them there with me and Lu, come back on weekends, Fourth of July, whenever you can make it."

Artie's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. She trusted her father-in-law but she also knew her husband would have a very difficult time leaving the children for any length of time. A few days, yes, maybe even a week but not two months! And with her current experience, she knew how difficult it was to be away from her family every week. Even if it was 'only' 4 days every week, she didn't like it. She loved her work but she loved her family more. It was different when it was just Andy and her, they'd moved all over the place together. It would have been difficult with Marissa, as young as she'd been, but now there was no way she'd sign another contract that required separation from her family.

Geordie poured more coffee, wondering if anyone noticed they were now drinking half decaffeinated and half regular.

Saturday morning, their second day here and they were again up early, everyone looking forward to their trip to Aegina. They had breakfast in the downstairs apartment before packing the van with what they planned to take with them, including the Daddy pack, and then piling in and driving to Mimi's. She greeted everyone with smiles as she got in with her own tote bag with shorts, beach shoes, hat and 2 towels, one to sit on, one to dry her feet. She also brought two lightweight folding chairs, thinking that would be easier for Geordie and her. Sitting down was one thing, getting up from the rocky/sandy beach with a bad leg could be tricky for her granddaughter's brother-in-law and while she herself didn't have a bad leg, she could admit she wasn't young anymore. Active, healthy and spry, yes, young, no and that had meant some adjustments.

When the group traveled to the island last summer, they'd taken a hydrofoil across, this time they'd take the ferry, a somewhat slower trip. However, it gave them more of a chance to see dolphins and other sea creatures. Parking close to the dock, they gathered their belongings and walked toward the ferry slip. Tim had already taken his ginger root and had his sea bands on, he was ready!

The trek over was just an hour and worth every minute as they watched the dolphins who accompanied the boat, jumping out of the water and chattering at them. Geordie and Marissa, who didn't like the top deck, watched them from the first level of the boat, calling out to their finny companions.

When they docked at the pier in Aegina town, the group made sure they had all their belongings before disembarking. They hadn't brought much. The boys and each of the adults, except Geordie, had a pack with a beach towel, flip-flops or water shoes and a sun hat. Mimi had given each of the children a small bucket and shovel and Sarah had an inflatable beach ball, Dad had the cards, all they needed for some fun.

Tim's pack also had Geordie's towel, water shoes and sun hat along with Tim's tablet in a waterproof case, extra ginger root, sea bands and sunscreen. Rob's also contained several of his snack packs, an extensive first aid kit and a few of Geordie's pain pills. Once again, he had the Daddy pack and attached his own pack to the inside of it. If Rissa wanted to ride, he'd offload his pack or hang it on the outside. Dad, James and Artie also carried snacks and juice boxes with them. The juice boxes were lighter than bottles of water.

Mimi smiled as she watched the faces of her new family and of course, her grand and great-grandchildren, glad to see that Matthaíos and Cassie had melded right in with the others. She saw Tim's grin at her granddaughter, he was a love, that one. Rob, Sarah, Jethro, James and young Greg were also smiling as they looked around at familiar sights. Kyle was clearly excited while Andy was both relaxed and excited; she remembered how much he loved to come here, how excited he'd been when they'd stayed over. Marissa hadn't been born the last time her oldest brother was here and she smiled up at him as he took her hand. "There's a really cool beach here, Rissa, you're going to love it!" She giggled as she pulled on his hand, "Let's go!"

Papa chuckled, "All right, troops, you heard the girl, let's get going!"

Andy, still holding his sister's hand, Mimi and Artie led the way, Tim walking with his wife and younger sons. He and Artie would get the kids settled before they went to the café to meet the property guy.

Andy found the perfect spot, close to the water with enough sand to make castles without them getting knocked down right away by the waves rolling onto the shore. And it was close to the path that had a public restroom sort of hidden in it. The path ran between buildings and up into town and the restroom was tucked into one of the buildings. It wasn't marked, you had to know it was there but he remembered that it was always clean. There wasn't a lifeguard on duty, too early in the year, but he figured they were going to play along the shoreline, not actually swim or get anything wet much beyond their ankles.

Tim and Rob put their flip-flops on and walked into the water about two feet, deep enough to get the lower parts of their calves wet. They walked up and down the shoreline, out a little deeper and back in, finding no drop-offs and not feeling any pull as the water receded, which would mean riptides.

Tim had the map of the island beaches that Clay marked for him last year; according to their private lifeguard, riptides, also known as rip currents, were usually not a problem on this side of the island.

Kyle and Greg were first in the water, their eyes widening when they stepped into the water, which wasn't exactly cold but was nowhere near the warm of last summer's vacation. Greg hopped on one foot and then the other, finally calling out, "Grandpa, will you build us a fire?"

Dad laughed as he shook his head, "I didn't bring any wood, Greggers. If you dance around there for a little bit, your feet will get used to the water."

Geo snorted at him, saying under his breath, "You mean they'll get numb!"

Dad just grinned.

Leaving the kids in good hands, Artie, Tim and Geordie, who wanted something hot to drink, walked up the path to town. Artie led them right to the café. As they walked in, a man sitting with four people, 3 women and a man, looked up with a smile, "Ah, there are my potential clients. Welcome!"

Artie smiled as she greeted her friend Eva, who introduced her to the property guy, whose name was Evander, his wife Kim, and Kim and Eva's co-workers, a woman named Bec and the other man, Rusty. They joined them at the table as the newcomers were introduced.

Tim was surprised to find that Kim, Bec and Rusty were American. They smiled at him as the woman named Bec quietly said, "We work for the U.S. government over here. We uh, finished a…big project yesterday so we're celebrating. When Kim said Evander was meeting an American family on Aegina today, we decided to come with him. Hope you don't mind?"

Tim looked at her for several long moments before reaching into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and sliding something over to her. She looked at it and started laughing, passing his agency ID to Kim, who also laughed.

"Ok, so we're all busted! Eva, Kim, Rusty and I work in the NCIS: Athens office. We broke a big case yesterday, took us about 10 days."

"In Athens?"

"The case we caught was actually in another jurisdiction but their agents were down with the flu so we had to travel, we were away from home for over a week. Any case that comes in today goes to them, they're back at work. You know our setup in Europe?"

Tim nodded, "I'm on special assignment outside the agency right now but I work with London when I have time. I know you're, _we're_ , stretched thin over here with four offices for the entire continent."

"Yes. We rotate holidays and weekends and we're not on call this weekend. Marseilles, the office with the flu, will take a few of our on call weekends to make up for the time. And if we ever need help, they'll do the same for us."

He smiled, "I like that!"

Geordie looked at Bec, "How long have you been over here?"

"Three years. I came in as a junior with almost 2 years' experience and then our SFA went out on maternity leave so I was acting SFA for a few months. She's back now and in the meantime, we brought in another junior, Rusty, so we're set."

Geordie asked Bec another question and Tim smiled to himself, happy to see his brother's interest.

While they chatted, Artie and Tim ordered hot beverages for the three of them, Geordie looking surprised when a mug of steaming hot coffee appeared in front of him. The pair didn't seem to notice as the rest of the occupants of their table moved to a different table to talk vacation rentals.

As they moved, Kim looked at Tim, "How long have you lived in the UK?"

"Almost a year."

"Been home recently?"

"Yes, we were home for two weeks at Christmas. That's when Artie and I got married, too."

"Congratulations! Evander and I are getting married in May."

"Oh, great! I guess I had that wrong."

Eva shook her head, "No, I told Artemis they were married, it was easier than explaining."

Artie and Tim nodded their heads in understanding.

Evander laid out several information sheets, with photos. "We can go and look at some of these today, if you have the time. For now, here are the fact sheets, with the number of bedrooms, beds and the prices. How many people do you have coming and how many rentals?"

Tim chuckled, "The numbers have gone up since yesterday. We're moving back to the States next year and I guess our extended family realized this would be our last big European vacation. Several of us were here last summer but that was before…well, a lot of things. There were 9 of us and we splurged on a villa. This year we started out with 12 and that's just our immediate family! When we decided to rent apartments or houses, multiple rentals, instead of all trying to stay in the same place, more people got interested. Last night, we had calls from 3 more groups of friends, pushing our total to 31 people. We broke that down into groups, some people want to share, some want their own place. Here's the list."

Tim handed the list with the names, and the groups who would share, how many beds they'd need.

"We figured 6 rentals with two of them big enough to sleep 9 of us and the rest are smaller groups." He pointed to the number of beds, "Some people are closer than others."

Evander nodded his understanding. He looked at the list and then went back to his fact sheets, making a few notes. After a few minutes, he looked up. "All right, here is what I think will work best. There are two big houses, just down the beach here, that have the 7 and 8 beds for your two biggest groups. The 8 bed house has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs, that will suit your friends with the small children and the grandfather, and there are 3 bedrooms upstairs and 2 bathrooms. And we can arrange for a crib for that house. The 7 bed house has a king bed in the master, an en suite bathroom and 2 ½ other bathrooms, a full one downstairs with the 2 bedrooms and a full one and a half bath upstairs.

"Next to the house with the 7 beds, there is a small house, a cottage with one bedroom. There is another such house on the other side of the 8 bed house. If you like those houses, that will take care of these groups." He made tiny check marks on Tim's list, marking off the McGees, Dad and Lu, the Porters and the Fornell-Mallard-Palmer groups.

"Across the street, there are two more houses that will sleep your 5 bed group and the 2 bed group. That last one is a slightly larger cottage with closets and bathrooms in between the two bedrooms, it was built as a vacation home for 2 couples and both rooms have king beds. Two of the beds in the 5 bed house are also kings. "

He smiled as Tim and Artie read over the information sheets. "Would you like to see them? It is a 5 minute walk from here. All the houses are unoccupied until tomorrow; I have the keys for all but the larger cottage."

"Yes, that sounds great, we weren't expecting that! I'll let my sister know so she won't think we've run away."

"She's here on the island?"

"Yes, we decided to make a day of it, she, our dad and the rest of our family are on the beach."

"Wonderful! All right, shall we go?"

With a smile, they told the others they'd be back in a few minutes and Tim sent the text to Sarah. Geordie just nodded when they told him they were going to look at houses and once they were outside, Tim chuckled. "He's not going to want to go home!"

Artie looked thoughtful, "Will he have to go back to active duty?"

"He wants to but it will be an administrative post, a desk job or at least not very physical."

"Marines guard the U.S. Embassy in Athens."

"Yes, but they have to be combat ready. I don't think that the treatment he's getting is expected to bring him back that far. He'll have 100% mobility but I don't think he's expecting the ability to be combat ready."

"Then he couldn't be a field agent for NCIS, could he?"

"No, same thing."

"Combat ready?"

"Yes. Not long term but we do have battle gear and Dad, Tony and I have been in battles. Not big war battles but fire fights."

"I am so thankful you will not be returning to that job. That you will be able to use your talents and experience from inside and still catch bad guys." She paused, "Maggie and Ellie?"

"Yes, they also have battle gear and Ellie's fought with us, side by side and Maggie's a Marine. But it's not the norm, Artie. The norm is crime scenes and investigating, interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, interrogating suspects and arresting bad guys."

"Thank you, please keep reminding me of that or I will fall apart every time I see Tony, Maggie and Ellie." She looked at her husband, "Does Rob know all that?"

"Up to Ellie to tell him, not me. Don't know if they've reached that point yet or if they will."

She made a noise, "They will. They're taking it slow because of her divorce, the death of a boyfriend and Rob's residency. And because he's never had a serious relationship. By the time he's done, they'll know what their next step is."

Tim grinned, "That's what Rob says, too."

They stopped in front of a small house, cottage #1. Evander unlocked the door and they stepped in. It was roomier inside than they expected as well as being bright with natural light, although Tim noticed window shades and air-conditioning units in the bedroom and living area. Tim didn't look but Artie said the bedroom had plenty of room, the bathroom had a shower, no tub, which was fine. The kitchen had everything they'd need and there was a small table and chairs, couch and TV. Everything Dad and Lu would need. Artie patted his back, sensing her husband was trying not to think of the two people he loved as parents having sex. She thought about that, he'd never had to deal with that. His parents were dead by the time he was old enough to be squeamish about parents having sex.

Leaving the cottage, they walked next door to the house that would be theirs. They smiled as they walked in. It also was bright and airy, with central air. There was a large kitchen and dining area, decent sized common area with comfortable looking furniture, DVD player and TV. There were 2 bedrooms downstairs, those would be Mimi's, and Susannah and Ian's. They were separated by a bathroom and they also noticed the closets were on the walls shared with the bathroom. Smart design, that would give them all a little more privacy.

Upstairs, the master bedroom was at the end of the hall, much like the houses in Cambridge and Alexandria. As promised, there was a king bed and an en suite bathroom. There were 2 other bedrooms and each of those had 2 beds apiece with a hallway bathroom and a half bath. There were showers in the full bathrooms but no tubs. Artie said Marissa could shower with her and Tim thought Kyle could shower by himself or with him.

There was a good sized terrace out back; Evander said there was a grill and picnic table and benches in a storage shed out there. They smiled when he pointed out the path to the beach, that would come in handy!

The house next door was much the same, only there were 3 bedrooms downstairs and 3 upstairs. It also had a good sized terrace and Evander said there was a toddler's wading pool on the list of amenities. It would likely be in storage. Artie said she hoped the Palmers would share that with them.

The cottage next to that, for the Porters, was a mirror image of Dad and Lu's place. Across the street, they looked at the 5 bed house, with the 2 kings, perfect for Rob and Bill. There was a bedroom and full bathroom downstairs, that was for Geordie. They thought Ellie could have the master, then she wouldn't have to share the bathroom. Except that was one of the king beds. Evander suggested they swap the beds and then move them back before leaving. Tim just nodded, he'd let his brother and Ellie figure that out.

They were happily surprised that each rental had a supply of beach chairs and umbrellas and a few beach toys. All the linens and towels were provided and the kitchens were fully kitted out with everything they'd need. Tim looked in the cabinets, pointing out a large slow cooker to Artie.

The houses were within 5 minutes' walk to town, less to the beach. Evander gave them cards for vehicle rentals and Tim nodded, remembering they'd rented a van here in town last summer.

They gave Evander a check for a deposit for all the houses. Dad had already told them he'd cover costs until everyone paid their share. While the overall cost seemed daunting, Tim reminded himself that there were more than 3 times the number of people this year, he trusted them to pay and each group or individual would pay a share, except for Mimi. When he figured it out by groups and individuals, it wasn't bad at all for a vacation on a Greek island in the Aegean sea. Although his immediate family had doubled in the past year, he'd still pay less than a third of what the villa cost him. Even with the Gemcity discount.

When Artie expressed concern about booking and paying so early, Evander nodded, "I understand. However, the tourist season on Aegina stretches from April through October. You've done well to secure them now. And if something changes, there will be a waiting list of people to take the rental. If more friends want to join you, let me know and I'll see what we can come up with. If I have nothing, there are several good hotels in the area."

Back at the café, they found Geordie and Bec still talking while the others were gone. Checking his messages, Evander said they were on the beach. They told Geordie and again he nodded and then looked up again, "Hey, how were the houses?"

"Great, we put a deposit down for all 6 of them."

"Wow!"

Bec smiled at them, "For now?"

Geo shook his head, "No, the first two weeks in August. We have extended family and friends coming from the States. First, we're going somewhere at the end of May; where are we going, Timmo?"

"Portugal. Renting a old stone house in the middle of a village, with goats herded by every morning and the old church bells ringing, swimming in a lake and hiking in the mountains." Tim looked at Geordie, "You're in the hospital that week."

"Bummer! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be up for goats and church bells - and definitely not hiking. Be a good experience for the kids, though."

Bec frowned, "Why will you be in the hospital?"

Giving his brother a look, Geo gave her some sort of explanation. Tim and Artie returned to the beach where they found Evander, his wife and the others. Kim looked at him, "Are your brother and Bec still talking?"

"Yes."

She sighed, "We're ready to leave."

Tim nodded, "I'll go." His father stopped him, "Why don't you have some lunch and relax a little. I'll go tell Geo. Just point me in the right direction."

"Follow the path into town, turn left. The café is two doors down and they're sitting at a table near the front window. Her name is Bec and Dad, she's a Federal Agent."

"With NCIS or…who? Here?"

"NCIS and yes, the Athens office, which is in Piraeus. They worked a big case for the Marseilles office because they had the flu. Took them over a week in France to bust it."

"Huh, I've heard Joel and Lydia talking about the other offices, never thought about this one!"

"I know, weird, huh? And Artie's friend works there too."

"Sometimes I wonder about rule 39. Ok, I'm going."

Marissa and Kyle wanted to go with him, so off they went, the children each holding one of Grandpa's hands.

When they located the café, Kyle and Rissa peered in the window, looking for Uncle Geordie. Bec saw the kids looking at them and asked. "Uh, Geordie, are those children with you?"

He looked, grinning, "Yes, my niece and youngest nephew, they're Tim and Artie's. And that's my dad holding their hands. Guess that means I'm late for something."

Dad and the kids entered, Kyle immediately looking to see if there was ice cream. He and Rissa smiled at the pretty lady. "Uncle Geo, the lady's friends want to go home. Papa said he'd come tell you but Grandpa said he'd come and we wanted to come with him."

"You did, huh? Thank you! Kyle, Marissa, Dad, I'd like you to meet Bec Childers. Bec, this is my Dad, Jethro Gibbs, my nephew Kyle and my niece Marissa."

Bec smiled at them, "Hello, I'm happy to meet you. I guess I'd better go if the others are ready to leave."

Rissa smiled back, "You could stay with us. We're not going yet, are we, Grandpa?"

He shook his head, "No, sweetie, but Ms. Childers just met us, we're strangers."

"Oh. We're stranger danger!" She and Kyle giggled.

Bec smiled, "I know Geo's brother works for the same company I do."

Dad smiled, "As do I, for Morris."

"In London?" She looked at him, "Gibbs, are you the Gibbs from the Navy Yard? The SSA for the agency's top team for…a lot of years?"

"Yes, and Tim was on also on that team, for 11 of those years. If you'd like to stay, we can give you a ride home from the ferry. As long as you don't mind squishing into our van."

She smiled again. "Thanks, but I'd better go with my friends. I've been away and was only home last night long enough to sleep." She wrote something on a business card and handed it to Geo. "My cell and email."

"Great, thanks!" He looked at his dad, "Do you have any paper?"

Dad handed him the notebook he still carried with him, and Geo quickly wrote his cell number and email address. "Here you go. We'll be here, in Varkiza, until the 31st if you'd like to get coffee or something."

"I'd love to, I'll be online tonight, IM me?"

"Sure!" Geo wasn't sure what that meant but figured he'd find out.

When Dad and the kids left the beach, Kim asked Tim to tell them what was new at home. She explained that they kept up as well as they could but always wanted to know people's reactions, how they really felt and what were the real issues. Tim, Sarah and Rob answered as best they could, although they'd been so busy with Christmas, making sure they saw everyone and the wedding that the news hadn't been a top priority. Rusty thanked them, "Anything you know is more than we do!"

When Geordie, Dad and the littles left the café, Bec walked back with them and the two groups waved goodbye to each other. Tim watched them walk toward the ferry, shaking his head. When his dad gave him a questioning eyebrow, he shrugged, "Weird, I almost feel like I know them."

Dad huffed, "Me too. Don't know why, only been here once before. Maybe we saw them or some of them in Athens when we were sightseeing?"

Tim tilted his head in a 'could have happened' gesture and turned to Greg who wanted him to build a sand castle with them. He did, eventually they all worked on it, even Matthaíos, Cassie and Mimi. They were quite proud of their large castle, complete with moat, gated bridge and turrets with sticks standing in for the pennants that would normally be flying from them. By the time they finished, the tide was coming in and several photos were taken; in one of the last ones, the moat was full of sea water and the very last one was an action shot showing a wave about to drown the whole structure.

They'd walked the beach, collected shells, got their feet wet, had lunch plus treats and saw a bit of the town. Knowing they'd be back here for several days when it would be hot enough to swim all day, they didn't push to do everything in one day. Back on the ferry, they watched for dolphins again but this time the ferry crossed the sea without their friendly companions.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They dropped Mimi, Matthaíos and Cassie off at Mimi's house before driving to the apartments. They'd already bought groceries to make dinner at Mimi's that night but needed to clean up first. And Rissa needed a nap. Just 2 weeks shy of 2 ½, she was an energetic little girl, still needing an afternoon nap, usually about an hour. Occasionally Kyle might need some quiet time in the afternoon, but other than that, he was done with naps. Both of the littles were right in line with their age groups.

While Artie was in the shower, Geo asked Tim what 'IM' meant. His brother showed him on his email and then loaned Geordie his laptop. He thought about having him use the tablet but Geo disliked touch screens, said they made him feel clumsy and inept. Dad agreed, telling him about trying to read the news and ending up on some totally unrelated screen.

Tim showed his brother where to look to see if Bec was online. She wasn't, so Geordie sent her an email, telling her they were going to Mimi's for dinner and would be back around 1930. He grinned as he wrote that, it was nice to know someone, besides Dad, Tim, Tony, Jimmy, and Ducky, who understood military time. Because of Bec's work and her father, a retired Chief Warrant Officer for the Navy, she was familiar with a lot of the military terms Geordie was used to.

Mimi chuckled when her family arrived and licked their lips at the plates of meze hot from the oven. After they devoured those, Dad grilled lamb burgers while Sarah and James made a chopped salad, a new take on salad for Mimi. Matthaíos and Artie got the potatoes ready. They were first baked in the oven, before spending a few minutes wrapped in foil on the grill. Dessert was fresh Greek pastries with a creamy yogurt topping. Daylight Savings Time wouldn't start until early Sunday morning, so they had a twilight walk after eating.

They left soon after the walk as it was close to the littles' bedtime. Back at the apartment, Rissa and Kyle got ready for bed while Geordie returned to the laptop and opened his email. He smiled when he saw a green dot by Bec's email name, she was online!

He sent her an IM and chuckled at her response. Within a few minutes, they'd moved from instant messaging to talking on the phone. They talked for nearly an hour before Geordie realized he could hear the fatigue in Bec's voice. Making plans to have coffee together the next day, Sunday, they disconnected, Geordie still smiling.

Tim, Artie, Greg, and Andy would attend church services with Mimi and the twins on Sunday while the others would stay with Rissa and Kyle. When someone mentioned that Sunday was the Western Easter, Geordie wondered if he should get something for Bec. Tim showed him a couple of sites online where he could sending greeting cards, or e-cards, to people and they both thought that would be enough. Easter in Greece is a religious celebration, there weren't any egg-laying rabbits in the culture, no candy eggs, jelly beans or chocolate bunnies sold in stores. Geo picked a card and then scheduled a time for it to be sent to Bec, just after midnight. Satisfied, he logged off.

Once the littles were asleep, the older boys picked a DVD to watch and their adults joined them. Artie woke them an hour later and they went to bed. They'd done very well with jet lag today, it wasn't bad coming from the UK with only a 2 hour time difference. Artie had the opposite situation; while London was 2 hours behind Athens, Amzida was an hour ahead. As it was only an hour, it didn't really bother her.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The church group left early Sunday morning, remembering to set their watches ahead an hou, Gibbs coming downstairs to get the littles their breakfast when they got up. Sometime later, Kyle's giggle woke Grandpa from his nap on the living room couch. "Hi, Grandpa! Did you sleep here all night?"

He laughed helplessly as Grandpa tickled him, "No, Train man, I slept in my bed upstairs. How long have you been awake?"

Tickles done, Kyle crawled onto Grandpa's lap and pointed to the time on Grandpa's watch, about 10 minutes.

"I looked at the big clock when I woke up. Everyone was still asleep so I read my book." He knew the alphabet and how to spell several simple words, which he also recognized. His book was a primer that explained the words in pictures to help him learn to read and to think about the letters and sounds that make a word.

"Rissa's still asleep." They heard a noise as the little girl emerged from their shared bedroom. "I'm awake! Good morning, Grandpa." She crawled up on the couch and onto Grandpa's lap with her brother.

Grandpa kissed them both, "Are you hungry?"

"Yes!" He made a little shushing gesture and they covered their mouths, they'd forgotten Uncle Geo was still asleep.

"How about eggs, bacon and pancakes?"

"Yum!" They both whispered and then giggled.

Kyle nodded, "I can help." Rissa smiled, "Me too!"

"All right, Mr. Engineer, Ms. Queenie, let's get started."

Putting everything on the table, easier for the littles to reach, Grandpa helped Kyle crack eggs into the bowl for the pancakes while Marissa used a big wooden spoon to stir the mixture a bit until it was ready. In the meantime, the senior cook had the bacon sizzling and the eggs mixed with a little milk, salt and pepper, waiting to be scrambled.

Rob, James, and Sarah were wakened by phone calls while Geordie had a visit from the littles, who each gave him a kiss. Rissa said that was like waking Prince Charming, which greatly amused her uncle.

They were just gathering at the table when they heard the door being unlocked. Rob chuckled, "Perfect timing, Dad!"

"I remembered the service at Christmas was nearly 2 hours, based breakfast on that. And our tour starts at 11, so it's time to eat!"

Andy and Greg appeared, "Yay, breakfast, we're starving!"

Rissa nodded in agreement, "Us too and Kyle and I got to help Grandpa!"

Gibbs opened his mouth to ask where their parents were when Tim and Artemis appeared in the kitchen, looking smug. He smirked, clearly they were up to something and he thought he knew what it was.

After everyone ate their fill, Tim sat back in his chair. "Kids, do any of you know what day this is, besides it being Sunday?"

Greg nodded, "It's Easter Sunday at home, Daddy."

"That's right, kiddo. Your Mama and I thought it would be fun to celebrate Easter here."

Andy frowned, he'd never associated Easter with fun, he'd been taught that it was a deeply religious event Although the food was delicious and the red eggs were kind of fun. He sat quietly, watching and listening, noticing Papa's eyes were twinkling, Mama was smiling, Greg looked hopeful while Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob were grinning.

Greg's reaction was the key and Andy smiled when his younger brother asked if they should look inside or outside.

"Inside, Gregson and in this apartment, not upstairs."

Greg took off, Kyle, Rissa and Andy following him. Papa called after them, "No fair telling if you find someone else's treat!"

Treat, that gave Andy a hint, but was it like Christmas where gifts could be huge and hidden in a closet or Grandpa's basement or very little and put into a stocking or clipped to the Christmas tree? He thought it would be small because it would have had to fit in a suitcase. His question was answered when Kyle crawled behind a big chair and pulled out a basket full of something. He couldn't tell what because it was covered in some sort of purple wrap. There was a tag taped to the handle and Kyle read it to himself, Andy could see him sounding out the letters and then put it back, smiling at his big brother.

While Kyle hurried off to other possible hiding places, Andy removed the basket from behind the chair. The tag said Marissa, the wrap and the basket were purple, her favorite color, so he put it back to start his own search.

Kyle found his basket in a corner behind a little table with magazines on it. The top magazine had a picture of a train on the cover. When he pointed that out to Andy, the older boy looked back at the chair with Rissa's basket. It had a purple throw and a purple pillow.

He smiled, continuing his search. This was fun! He turned around when Rissa spotted the purple, "That blanket belongs at Mimi's! I 'member because it's my favorite."

Greg stopped what he was doing, "Maybe it's here as a clue, Rissa. You do love purple."

She nodded with a grin and poked in the chair, not finding any treats. But something rustled behind it and she yelled when she saw the basket, "It's purple! Is it mine?" Greg read the tag to her and she chortled happily. "I have a purple basket! Papa…" she turned to look at her parents, who were filming the search, "is this my treat? I love it!"

Mama replied, "It's part of your treat, sweetie. Why don't you bring it to the table and you can see the rest of it."

Kyle was the first one there, he'd been trying to take the wrapping off his basket but it was taped and taking him longer than he liked.

Andy thought about what he liked, books, science, math, fossils, museums. He wandered into the hallway, looking for anything that might be a clue. When Papa told him he was getting 'cold' or farther away from his treat, he returned to the family room. Then he saw the clue, a piece of paper on a little table with information about the British Museum! He looked on the table and behind it, but didn't see anything. Then he noticed the table had a door in it and he pulled it open and found his basket! Greg was still looking and Andy waited for him.

Greg was having fun looking through everything. He figured the clue would be something about a book or one of his favorite books. He knew Andy found his basket and was waiting for him, that was nice. When he thought about where Andy found his basket, he started looking for a door or drawer. Then he noticed the door to a closet had a kitchen towel hanging from the handle. The towel was from home and had Pooh Bear wearing a chef's hat and holding a spatula with Piglet nearby. Grinning at his parents, he opened the door and found his basket.

Andy joined him and they headed for the big table. Sarah and Rob were looking at each other a little sadly and their dads, Dad and Timpa, laughed at them. "Why aren't you looking?"

Dad added, "You too, Geordie, James, Artie and Tim…the Easter bunny knows who's here!"

Laughing, Dad's big kids moved out, checking the whole apartment. Dad hadn't used clues for them but he had tagged each basket. Kyle looked at his grandfather, "Grandpa, didn't the Easter bunny bring you a basket?"

"I don't think so, Kyle."

A voice drifted in from the other room, "That sounds like an assumption, thought there was a rule about that?"

Surprisingly, the voice belonged to Rob, not Tim, and their father laughed as he shook his head and went to find his basket.

When all the baskets were found, everyone gathered around the table. The children frowned, there were three baskets sitting in the middle of the table, unclaimed.

Before they got any further, they heard a knock on the door and Grandpa went to see who it was, even though he knew, while Kyle giggled, "Maybe it's the Easter Bunny to take the extra baskets!" He looked at his father, "Papa, how did the Easter Bunny know we'd be here instead of home?"

"Just like Santa Claus knows at Christmas, Kyleson. We let the Easter Bunny know where we were going to be."

Grandpa returned with their surprise guests, Mimi, Cassie and Matthaíos, the extra baskets were for them! When Tim and Artie called Mimi to ask if they could ship a box of Easter treats for the children to her house, she'd agreed. She'd read about American Easter customs but hadn't ever seen them firsthand. When she also had a call from Jethro, asking if he could ship a box to her home and explaining why, she'd been amused and even more curious.

Tim explained the Easter basket custom to Mimi, the twins, Andy and Marissa, how it had evolved from pre-Christian traditions. He was stymied when Mimi asked about egg rolling as the only people he knew of that did that were whoever was occupying the White House.

His father backed him up, he'd never heard of anyone outside of the President of the U.S. doing that, although he supposed it had to have been popular somewhere in the country before the first official White House egg roll in the late 1800s.

He added that when he was growing up and in later years, they would dye hard-boiled eggs various colors and then hide them, either inside the house or outside, depending on the weather. The hunt for Easter baskets happened in the morning, usually before church and breakfast and the Easter Egg hunt took place in the afternoon while their Easter feast was cooking. Unless it was hot, then they were hunted earlier. Nothing spoils Easter like a spoiled Easter egg! Greg and Kyle remembered having eggs to hunt last year, at Grandpa's, but they'd been brightly colored plastic eggs that pulled apart and had jelly beans inside.

Each of these baskets contained a few pieces of candy, fresh fruit, nuts and a gift. In her basket, Rissa found a small stuffed rabbit and a book to help her learn her alphabet while Kyle had a stuffed Train Engineer from the Thomas the Tank universe and a book to help him learn his numbers, Greg had a small Winnie-the-Pooh and a book of short stories from around the world. Andy had a soft cover National Geographic book and a small Owl from the Winnie-the-Pooh universe.

The 'big kids' had various gifts along with the candy and fruit. Gift cards, books, and for Tim a science kit he'd considered buying for Andy but really wanted for himself.

Mimi's basket had the same, candy, fruit, nuts and a gift. That was a card from Artemis and their new family, saying they would pay for round trip airfare to London, to visit them. She beamed at that. While she wasn't poor, she was careful with her money and found that airfare was not cheap, not even for the advertised 'cheap flights'. As she'd been saving to visit her granddaughters in the UK anyway, there'd been enough money to fly to London for her granddaughter's 'second' wedding. However, it would take her nearly a year to save those funds again. Now she could put what she'd saved toward a trip to America when her family moved there. She thought it would be fun to spend an American Christmas with them and experience the friendly chaos her great-grandson described to her.

Matthaíos and Cassie were at first bewildered by the colorful baskets with candy and food in them but then their cousin Artemis' husband, Timotheus, explained the tradition and they smiled. Realizing the Easter Bunny was probably a myth, they asked Kyle if they should write the Bunny a thank-you note. He frowned, "I don't know. We don't do that." He looked at his father who agreed, saying the Easter Bunny knew they were thankful for the gifts and treats.

For now, the children were allowed to have one piece of candy each and their adults did the same, knowing they needed to set a good example. Of all of them, Tim had the worst sweet tooth, with Kyle a close second, although the little guy was more assertive about his love of sweets than his father.

Once the kitchen was clean, they got their packs, ready for some fun. They'd changed their plans a bit. Today, they were going on a guided walking tour of Athens, tailored for families. They'd explore 5 historic neighborhoods, Mimi said it was perfect for all of them. Geo wasn't going, because of his leg and his coffee date with Bec that afternoon.

The group met their guide at Syntagma Square. There they saw Evzones, guards of the Unknown Soldier's Monument in front of the Hellenic Parliament building. Unfortunately, their timing was off and they didn't get to see the changing of the guard but Mimi said they'd check the schedule and return to watch later in the week.

Plaka, a popular and ancient neighborhood, was their next stop and they had fun looking down all the streets, at the ancient buildings. There were some hidden spots that their guide pointed out and Artie smiled, they'd come back here to look around some more, maybe the same day they saw the Changing of the Guard. There were a lot of restaurants and cafés, it looked like fun. She'd been here many times but it would be different with her husband and children. Like their cousin, the twins had been there several times but were learning and experiencing new things and it was a lot more fun with the kids along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed our brief visit with some old friends!


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

By the end of the four hours, they'd had a wonderful time, learned a lot of interesting and fun things, returning to Mimi's with a list of places they wanted to see again. Tim, Rob, Sarah, and Dad thought it both sad and amusing that they'd seen some of the same places last summer but hadn't known any real details about them.

Back from Athens, the group had lunch before saying goodbye to the twins as they had school in the morning and a long drive ahead. After they left, everyone but Sarah, James, and Geordie decided to walk down to the beach. Sarah and James thought they'd head over to the pool house with Geo, for a quick dip in the pool and a visit to the hot tub for their wounded warrior.

As the day was warmer than yesterday, the beachcombers wore shorts and filled their packs and bags with towels and water shoes. Dad and Artie each carried a blanket in their pack while Tim and Rob had water and snacks in theirs. Once again, Rob brought the Daddy pack, figuring Rissa might be tired on the way back although sometimes she just liked to ride up high so she could see more.

The group had a great afternoon at the beach, at first wading along the shoreline and as the day warmed up, venturing a little farther into the water. Rob measured Marissa's waist height on his legs and waded in and around to make sure there were no drop offs. Mimi assured them they hadn't had stingrays or jellyfish at this beach for as long as she'd lived there, more than 40 years.

While their family was playing in the water, the others had their swim with a long soak in the hot tub for Geo. By the time Sarah said it was time for him to get out, his pain level was considerably lower and he found he could walk without grinding his teeth. He'd definitely overdone it the last couple of days and that was a wakeup call for the Captain, who'd begun to think his doctors were babying him. When he said that, Sarah nodded, "Tim says Dad's like that when he gets hurt. He rarely pays attention to what his doctors say."

"I pay attention and I follow their directions, but I thought I could push harder than they'll let me. Now I know." He sighed, "At least I'll be able to walk into the café with Bec without having to bite my tongue or take a pain pill beforehand."

James frowned, "Rob says reducing pain levels helps your body heal faster. I'm not advocating taking painkillers forever, mind you, but while you're recuperating."

"Yes, but painkillers can also become addictive during recuperation and I will not allow that to happen to me." He shook his head, "I know I'll never be combat ready again and I'm learning to deal with that, getting help to deal with it. When the treatments in London are complete, I will be able to lead a mostly normal life, support myself, all that, if I can keep my head in the game and not get mired down in addiction."

"What's mostly normal?"

Geo huffed, "Never going to be in the same shape I've been in since joining the Corps. Or climb more than a few stairs at a time, they're saying maybe two flights, and very little running, if at all. Good thing I like to swim as it turns out that's about the only exercise I'll get, other than walking." He frowned, "Sorry to sound so negative."

Sarah gave him a hug and kiss, "Realistic, not negative, and maybe just coming to terms with everything."

James nodded, "I'd think in London, it's easier. You're in the hospital for treatment, then you go to Rob's flat for a few days or home to the family. You know what you can do or not do there. Is this the first time you've been away from all that?"

"I was in the States with all of you at Christmas but I was so happy to be there, to be alive and with all of you, that I didn't pay much attention to my injuries, just tried to ignore the pain. Luckily, Rob, Ducky, and Jimmy figured that out pretty quickly. And then I went to Amzida with the gang for the boys' February half-term holiday, listen to me, Sari, I sound like James, like a Brit! Anyway, I took it pretty easy there, saw a lot but there was a wheelchair."

She nodded, "Tim said he thought you were able to do more, enjoyed yourself more because you didn't walk much. Just so you know, Mimi's made arrangements to borrow a wheelchair for you for the rest of your visit. Someone's dropping it off at her house this afternoon."

Geordie huffed, "As long as no one expects me to use it for coffee with Bec!"

"No one expects that, Geo, not even Dr. Rob."

He made a face as his stomach growled, "Can't believe I'm hungry!"

James grinned, "All the swimming, mate! C'mon, let's get back to the apartment and eat before your new friend picks you up."

While Geordie showered, James made sandwiches for the three of them, making sure to leave onions off of Geo's. He emerged from his room in jeans and a button down shirt. Sarah nodded, "That's good, just the right amount of casual while still looking stylish. Are those the jeans we bought you in DC?"

He nodded, "Shirt and shoes too."

Sarah chuckled as she remembered his reaction to the high top Converse sneakers. "You like the shoes now?"

"Yes, because they give my ankle and thus my leg, more support. Still feel like I'm trying to be 20 again."

His sister laughed outright now, "Trust me, the four of us look far better now than we did when we were 20!"

"Tim was working at NCIS when you were 20. And you were at Waverly."

"Yes, and Rob was still living with him. I had a monthly allowance though, even with my full-ride."

Geo frowned, "He did that for Robbie then, too. And none of you told me! Sari, I could have helped! Geez, all these years, I trusted you three to be honest with me."

"We were, Geordie, for the most part. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd tell me to stop spending money and I liked being able to look, act and live like a normal person. Rob probably didn't mention it because then it would have meant outing me. And Tim was so proud that he could afford it."

"He couldn't afford it, that's what kept him in that tiny little apartment all those years, Sarah. I hope you've grown up and I really hope you and Rob have shown him some appreciation for everything he's done for you."

"We do but he doesn't like to talk about it or make a big deal out of it."

"For raising you and Rob when he was still a child? For everything he went through? It was a big deal!" Geordie shook his head as his phone buzzed. Picking it up, he sighed, "Bec's on her way, she'll be here in 5. Thanks for lunch, James. I'm gonna go brush my teeth."

Sarah stood there, stunned, wondering why she'd opened her big mouth, as James tugged her arm, "Come on, he doesn't want an audience."

They locked the door as they left, Geo would lock the deadbolt when he left.

Geordie brushed his teeth, working to relax. And then realized that Tim was always reluctant to tell him anything that he thought would worry him. Sometimes he was given information weeks or months or in this case, years, later so that he heard about the problem and the resolution at the same time. Tim told him more than once that it was great that he wanted to know everything but none of them wanted to distract him from his dangerous job, that he'd rather Geordie be upset with him, or them, later, than distracted by something that was likely resolved by the time he heard about it.

Resolutely, he focused on his coffee date with Bec. He was glad they'd be here for a few more days, hoping he could see her again. After that, he didn't know. He'd been out of the dating game for so long, he'd forgotten that people had long distance relationships.

He was smiling when she knocked on the door. Grabbing a light jacket, he slipped out, stopping to lock the deadbolt before getting into her car. He was glad she had the passenger seat pulled back, that meant he wouldn't have to squish his bad leg into the car. He smiled at her as he slid in, being careful not to bump his leg. "Hello! Have any trouble finding us?"

"No, I asked Eva and she gave me better directions than my GPS did!"

He chuckled, "Technology isn't always the answer."

"No, but it helps most of the time. Sure helps with our work! How's your day been?"

He grinned as he told her about the surprise Easter baskets and she laughed. "My boss and his wife had all of us expats for brunch, they do something for every holiday, and we each had a chocolate bunny with our names on it, our place cards."

"Wow, they host the whole office? Although I guess not everyone is an American."

"Pete and his family, he has 4 kids, then Rusty, Kim and me. Evander joins us if he can spare the time and our Greek friends, Eva and Caleb, her husband, and our dispatch, Tea, usually join us too as our American holidays don't usually coincide with Greek holidays. Carla, our SFA, and her husband Norm and their kids. And a couple of other Americans who don't work for NCIS."

"Nice crowd!"

"It is and it's always delicious and fun. Whenever any of us have family visiting, the Russells throw parties for them. You must be used to large crowds with your family."

Geordie chuckled as they walked into the café and sat down. "Didn't grow up with a large family. Just the four of us, Tim, Sarah, Rob, and me. And we didn't meet until I was 12, Tim was 9, Sarah was 3 and Rob 2. Tim and Sarah share DNA, Rob and I sort of fell into the family."

"Adopted?"

"Not the way you probably mean. We had a nasty childhood, Bec. Tim, Sarah, and I were orphans and Rob's mother abandoned him. Tim and Sarah were abandoned by their guardian after their parents and brother died. They ended up in Baltimore and I met them their first day. Helped them a little bit and they never let go of me after that, been family ever since. We never lived together until this year, though, strange, huh?"

"Did you grow up in foster care?"

Geordie shook his head, telling her about foster care in the big city in the late 80s and 90s. "Tim, Sarah and Rob stayed in a homeless shelter for 3 years, then Rob's mother took off and they moved to the transient camp where I stayed. When I turned 18, I became their legal guardian and then Tim did the same thing when he turned 18, so I could finish college and join the Corps. We've always kept in touch, when I had leave, I came home to them, they kept an extra mattress in a closet for me."

"That's…I can't even imagine."

"Good, rather you didn't. We had some rough times but we made it through, got out. Have other friends who made it out too, they're also family. Over the years at NCIS, Tim grew close to Gibbs, his boss, and when Tim was made legal guardian of Greg and Kyle, the kids asked Gibbs if he'd be their grandpa. He said yes, if Tim and Rob wanted to be his kids. Sarah was in grad school in the UK and I was deployed.

"Anyway, last fall, Gibbs ended up formally adopting Tim, Rob and Sarah and after he and I finally met at Christmas, he's adopted me, too. We have a big family now, our friends from Baltimore plus Tim and Gibbs' NCIS family, Greg and Kyle and then Artemis, Andy and Marissa!" He chuckled, "One of our Baltimore friends, the manager of the homeless shelter, is now 'Grandma' to Tim's kids and she and Dad are dating."

She huffed, "I thought I had a convoluted family! That's wonderful though, that you've all stayed close and consider yourselves family. I heard your brother say they're moving back to the States."

"In a little over a year. He's currently on a special assignment that will be finished next year, during the summer. The plan is for Dad, Tim, his family and Rob to move home, if things work out. Andy and Marissa have never lived in the U.S. and our family there want us to come home. Artemis and Tim met at MIT so she's lived in Massachusetts but Tim wants Andy to have a few years in the U.S. before he hits college age. Greg and Kyle's father, who's comatose, lives in a hospital in Baltimore and their mother is buried near there. That's hard on Greg, who remembers his father when he was awake, sorry, I mean before he was injured, and both boys miss their mother."

"How…I'm sorry, I'm being nosy."

"That's all right. The boys' birth father is Tim and Sarah's brother, the one they were told was killed in a car crash with their father when Tim was 9, right before they were abandoned. Apparently, the brother was told they were dead and someone eventually adopted him. He's a Navy commander who has been in a coma for more than 3 years. When the kids' mother died, NCIS handled the case and that's how Tim discovered his brother was alive, but in a coma. He was the lead on the case."

"Geez, that's awful!"

"Yeah. Gets worse but it's classified."

Changing the subject, they talked about other, happier things. They were still talking, having shared a piece of pie and several cups of coffee, when they noticed they were the only customers left and someone was wiping down all the tables. They laughed, having forgotten that with Daylight Savings Time, the café would be closed before dark. They paid, splitting the bill and walked out to Bec's car. When they got in, they sat and talked for another half hour before Geo got up the nerve to ask her out to lunch or dinner, her choice. She said yes, opting for lunch in Athens, asking if he'd seen much of it. He said no, because of his bad leg and she nodded, she'd forgotten about it.

"How about we go on a driving tour and then have lunch? We won't be able to see everything, but that takes years!"

"That sounds like fun!"

They decided to go Friday morning, Good Friday for the Orthodox church, when there would be less traffic. Most of the public buildings would be closed but if they timed it right, they could drive around in the morning and then have lunch. Geordie agreed and then stopped, "Don't you have to work on Friday?"

"No, we're not allowed to. Marseilles will take anything that comes up on Friday and Rota is on call for the weekend. We take everything we might need home with us so if we do get called out, we don't have to sneak into the office. And Kim handles dispatch, from home, so Tea won't get in trouble for working on a holy day."

"How do the local police forces handle it?"

She shrugged, "They work split and short shifts so everyone has a chance to attend services. My understanding is that when the U.S. was negotiating with Greece to open an NCIS office here, the government said they were welcome but that the American office and the Americans working in the office would be closed, not allowed to do business on the holy days and it was not open for discussion or negotiation. So the Americans figured out a work around and we still follow it. The Embassy does pretty much the same. They're officially closed and the Ambassador always seems to be out of the country; we think she conducts business wherever she is." She paled, "Oops, probably shouldn't have mentioned that!"

"That's okay, I heard nothing. Special Ops for over a decade, wouldn't be here if I weren't good with secrets."

"Are you going home, to the U.S., when your brother and family go?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still on Active Duty, on Medical leave and I'm fighting to keep that designation, don't want a medical discharge, heard too many nightmares about wounded vets and the VA. I hope to be posted somewhere in an administrative position, put in the rest of my 20. Or be allowed to move to the reserves until I hit the magic number. Those are 2 of the best scenarios."

"How many years?"

"Just a couple. So there is a possibility I'll finish my 20 while still on medical leave but hoping I'll have some sort of duty, hard way to end my career and God knows what I'll run into as far as medical support."

"Yeah, my dad's in good health but he's got friends with horror stories."

Changing the subject again, Bec told him what restaurant she had in mind for their lunch, "It's open on Good Friday because it's popular with tourists, but Easter's early this year and the weather isn't very warm so there aren't many tourists yet."

"Works for me! We're leaving for the airport at 2:30, so I'll need to be back by 1:30."

"Great, then we'll get an early start!" Bec looked around, "I guess we should go, huh?"

"I guess."

She drove slowly back to the apartment, the two of them talking the whole way. When they got there, she put the car in park and Geo looked at her, "I'm woefully out of practice with this so I'll just ask. May I kiss you?"

She grinned, "Either that or I'll kiss you."

He smiled as he leaned over and they kissed. They took it easy while enjoying the kiss. Geo cupped her face, kissed her once more and quickly got out of the car. She waited until he was inside before leaving. He smiled at his brother and sister-in-law as he walked in, "Hello!" They'd pulled apart as the door opened and he felt bad for interrupting what little private time they had. Wishing them a good night, he headed for his room.

While Geordie was gone, Tim, Greg and Kyle had their weekly call to Patrick. Their volunteer that week was Lu and the boys chattered to her about everything they'd done, going to the island, the beaches, swimming and doing a little sightseeing. When it was Tim's turn to talk, he did the same thing, talked to Lu, even though she'd put the phone down on the table next to Patrick's bed. Although he enjoyed his chat with Lu, he was a little depressed afterward and noticed Greg was also dragging. He gave him a hug, "It's hard, isn't it, Greg? We talk to your dad, tell him everything and there's no response."

"Is it ever going to change?"

"I still have hope, Scooter Bug, as long as my little brother is breathing, I'll have hope."

"Do we have to talk to him every week?"

"Do you think it would be easier to talk to him every other week?"

Greg thought about that for several minutes before shaking his head, "No, it'd be harder because then we're not used to it anymore."

"Let's see if we can think of some changes so it'll be more interesting for you and Kyle."

"And you, Daddy."

"Thanks, son. What if we wrote poems for him or sang songs? Or…what do you think about this? We read to him, pick a book and read a chapter or part of a chapter every week, like we do stories at night. Didn't we used to read to him, when you first came to live with me?"

"Yes but then we moved to MIT and it took too long to read a whole chapter. I like reading aloud to him and Kyle will too. What should our first book be?"

"How about you and Kyle pick one out?"

"This will be more fun than talking to nobody. Although I usually talk to whoever's holding the tablet or phone."

"Me too."

Tim was happy and relieved to see Greg smiling as he went to tell his little brother. Whether Pat heard them or not, Tim felt it was important to communicate with his brother every week. He wished Sarah would join them more often. He was sure it made her feel as bad as it did him, but he was their brother.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Monday was the day Rob was leaving for home. It sounded fine when they planned it, it meant he'd be with them for their summer vacation, but now that he was leaving, now that they would be in different countries, across the continent, for almost an entire week, although the kids didn't know that, nobody was happy. It reminded Sarah and James that they had to leave in two days and Tim always hated being separated from any of them. Geordie wasn't doing any better with it. When they'd gone to Amzida, Sarah and James were still in Brambury, with Rob, although he'd worked that long weekend. Still, the three of them had each other. Now Rob would be by himself for 2 days. And they would be without their baby brother for a week. Not good at all.

Dad watched Geordie and Tim quietly fuss, understanding Tim's need to have his family with him as much as possible. He guessed Geordie had discovered he had the same need and hoped he'd remember that when it came time to return to duty. Finally, he couldn't stand it and took his youngest for a walk.

Rob was amused as they left the apartment, "It's okay, Dad, I'm used to it. Tim is never fully comfortable without Sarah and me nearby and now all of us being somewhere close. I don't know how he got through Sarah living in London without us, especially with everything else going on."

"He decided she was safer there and that got him through. But you, you're his youngest, our youngest. It's harder and easier."

"Huh?"

"You're our youngest and that's difficult, even though you are a fully grown and mature man. However, your height gives you some advantage, along with the way you treat people with respect."

"And Sarah reacts with sarcasm and flippancy when she's scared?"

"From what I've seen, yes. Although when Tim really needed her to listen and follow his directions, when Hatman was in the house, she did exactly what he needed her to do. I was impressed with that."

"She's grown up, worked through a lot of her fear and anger. Realized how misplaced that anger was."

"They've worked their way through that, proud of them and you, because I know you helped both of them. I don't know how you ended up playing the role of the middle child, the peacemaker, but thank you for doing so."

"I only had to do that when Geo wasn't available. When we were growing up, he and Lu, later Cyndi Porter and sometimes Bill were the only ones who could reason with her. I guess because Geo was older and wasn't part of her anger. Same with the others, she had no problem with them."

Dad smiled, "You realize that no matter how old you are, he's always going to worry about you? Me too, but he's got the history with you and he'll be around longer."

"I know and when I have my own kids, I'll probably be the same. I've never minded his concern and I don't mind yours, it's always meant love to me."

Dad put his arm around his shoulders and squeezed. "You're the best, Robbie! Now, when you get home…"

"I know, Dad. Send a text from the airport and another one when I get to my place."

"Yes, please."

"To both of you?"

"No, send it to Tim. I'm moving downstairs after you leave."

"Thanks for hanging out with me upstairs. Less awkward."

"Ya think?"

They laughed as they continued their walk, eventually returning to the apartments. Soon after, Rob said goodbye to everyone as he took his bag out to the van. He wasn't surprised when Dad, Tim, and Geordie insisted on driving him to the airport.

After seeing him off, they stopped for groceries on the way back, buying enough groceries for the rest of their time there and takeout for dinner that night.

Tuesday, Dad was surprised with a call from Pete Russell, the Special Agent in Charge of the Athens NCIS office. He, Tim, and Geordie were invited to the office for lunch on Wednesday. He told the man he'd have to check with the others and would call him back. Sarah and James were leaving Wednesday morning and he didn't know if Tim would feel like going anywhere.

They were having a big Easter dinner Wednesday night and Tim would be one of their cooks, along with Artie and Mimi. It was too bad they had to leave before the Orthodox Easter but Tim had to be home for the resumption of classes on Monday and the boys' school also started Monday.

Tim discussed the invitation with Artie as going to Piraeus for lunch would leave Artie and Mimi with all 4 of the children and they'd be busy cooking dinner. When Mimi told him he could do his part of the food prep on Tuesday, he felt better.

Artie was fine with them going, but suggested that they change it to Thursday so they wouldn't miss any time with Sarah and James. Geordie and Dad agreed, they'd rather go on Thursday, although Geo had no idea why he'd been included. Still, it would give him a chance to see Bec before their date Friday morning.

When she heard about the lunch, Mimi offered use of her car, that way she and Artie would have the van in case of an emergency. Their plans set, Artie took the kids for a walk while Tim called Russell back to accept the lunch date, provided they could change it to Thursday. Disconnecting, he wondered if the man did this for all vacationing NCIS agents. Then it hit him and he looked at his father, "What if…?"

Gibbs got it right away. "Can you dig without eyes looking in?"

"We don't have time and if we back out now and they are part of it, even one of them, then we raise suspicions. I could call our friends."

"Would they be useful this far away? I don't mean our friends."

Tim thought about it, "I don't know how. None of them would be in any position to influence anyone. They're too far from the Middle East to be much help with anything there. Greece is a power player in the region but I don't think that extends beyond the neighborhood, so to speak. We're allies, always have been and I can't think of any serious disputes between our countries."

Geordie added what he knew. "We haven't had any serious disputes. They work closely with the U.S. and have hosted various naval exercises. Did you know Souda Bay, on Crete, is only one of 3 deep water ports suitable for the largest aircraft carriers? That's very important to the security of the region."

"So IPF wouldn't feel a need to interfere here."

"I wouldn't think so. Unless they can perform magic on Greece's economy and the resources needed for that would be huge, even for IPF. And that agency is not known for their philanthropic actions."

Tim nodded, "All right, I guess I'm just paranoid after the past couple of years."

His father shook his head, "After what they've done to you and your McGee family, that's not paranoia, that's justified suspicion!"

Geordie gave his brother a hug, "You're okay. Or no worse than you ever were."

They all laughed at that.

Knowing Wednesday would be a tough day, with Sarah and James leaving, Artie and Tim made a special dinner Tuesday night. They had dinner at Mimi's, chicken tacos, a new dish for Mimi and one of the family's favorite treats. They all laughed when Grandpa asked where they'd found the taco shells and Mama confessed they'd ordered them online and had them shipped them to Mimi's. "We weren't sure where we'd find them here and decided to save ourselves from having to drive all over Athens."

The tacos tonight were a little different as they were made with shredded goat cheese instead of the usual dairy cow cheese shreds. Greg asked if they could always have goat cheese, he said it gave the tacos an extra 'deliciousness'. Papa always used fresh spinach, instead of lettuce, in the tacos and Mimi commented on that. They also had black beans, soaked overnight and then simmered all day in a slow cooker with chopped onions, diced fresh tomatoes, pressed cloves of garlic and a few other spices. There were enough beans for leftovers, which could be heated and served with rice or several other dishes Papa liked to make.

Sarah and James left very early the next morning, having said their goodbyes the night before, the adults having a hard time keeping a certain secret to themselves.

Having survived the departures, the family went sightseeing Wednesday morning, taking the van. Geordie used a wheelchair and was very happy that he could ride in an elevator to see the Acropolis and Parthenon. The littles had fun running around and looking at the things they'd learned about on their walking tour, their adults keeping close tabs on them.

When they walked back down, meeting Grandpa and Geordie at the elevator, they traveled from there to the Benaki museum, one Mimi insisted they had to experience. It had artifacts from nearly every era, displayed in interesting ways and was a lot of fun, interesting and educational for the kids and the adults. Of special interest was the new Toy Museum with its collection of toy horses, straw dolls, sailing ships and goats pulling carts.

From there, they went back to the house to drop off Artie, Tim, Mimi, and Geordie. Geo was tired while the other three got busy preparing their feast for that evening. Dad and the kids walked down to the beach and played for a while before eating the picnic lunch they'd brought with them. After cleaning up their trash, they returned to Mimi's.

They decided to get their swimming paraphernalia and head to 'their' pool and hot tub. Geo and Dad spent most of the rest of the afternoon in the hot tub, although both swam for a few minutes every hour before returning to their refuge.

When Rissa nodded off in her grandfather's lap, she was gently moved to a lounge in the shade. When she woke from her nap, Rissa practiced her swimming with Uncle Geordie, holding her breath, blowing bubbles and scooping pretend fish with her hands and arms. The kids had a great time, as always, in the pool, and their adults had fun playing with them. Mimi had taught Greg how to do underwater handstands and walk underwater while Artie taught Kyle how to swim underwater. Now, as Gibbs watched his youngest grandson underwater, he decided the little boy was really part seal. He glided underwater, using his whole body to maneuver, just as if he was a sea creature. Andy and Greg had been taught how to dive and they practiced, when Greg wasn't standing on his hands.

Their mid-Holy-Week Easter dinner that night was a resounding success as they first enjoyed their favorite mezes, followed by a succulent roast lamb, salads, potatoes and sweets. They were so full, they went for a walk before they could even think of eating dessert. Somehow, they managed that. Once the kitchen was clean, the family kissed Mimi goodnight and headed for the apartment. Even reading their nightly chapter of their current favorite book didn't keep the littles awake, Greg and Andy falling asleep minutes later. Dad and Geo made it another 30 minutes while Tim and Artie turned in as soon as the older boys were in bed.

Thursday morning, Tim and Artie slipped out shortly after breakfast, going for a long walk by themselves, just the two of them. It felt good to be together and to walk briskly. On their way back, they stopped in town to buy a few things for Mimi, treats Artie said she'd never buy for herself.

As they approached the house, Tim shook his head, "I keep thinking we're taking it easy, but I'm tired! And now I understand why you were so insistent in not starting our next bit of fun until Saturday!"

"Yes, we'll have the afternoon flight, the train, Uber to our destination and then meet the others there that evening. Saturday we can have all day and evening there, perhaps a short visit Sunday morning before we leave."

"And then you'll be home Friday night."

"I've been thinking about that. What if you come to me? Then you can bring some of my treasures home and I'll bring more the following week – and that week I'll be home Thursday night."

"Mmm, more time with you, yes! Have you decided which weekend you want us to meet you in Sorrento to meet your uncle and his family?"

"Not yet. I didn't know when Tony is coming over or whether Jethro would be joining us."

"Got Tony's information overnight. He's coming in May, he'll be there for Kyle's birthday. I don't know if Dad will want to go to Italy with us, I'll ask him. And don't forget, you and I promised each other a weekend in Paris, in the spring."

She smiled, "I haven't forgotten, my love. I've already booked our hotel, no, I won't tell you which one or where it is, that's a surprise! I'll meet you at the airport Friday afternoon, April 22nd and we'll leave on Monday. That gives you most of 2 weeks at home and me 1 regular weekend at home before we leave again. Jethro already knows, I hoped to keep it a surprise as long as possible."

"How long?"

"Before we went to Amzida the first time."

"That's pretty good! I have another question."

"Yes?"

"What are we doing for the May 1st holiday? Are we still going to Stockholm?"

She smirked, "Possibly and Abby will still come with us. However, we will not see my parents, they have not contacted either Susannah or me, nor made any effort toward remedying the fiasco with Dimitri at our 2nd wedding. Instead, Plan A is that we will fly to Oslo on Thursday evening, spend the night and all day Friday there, fly to Copenhagen that evening, spend Saturday and part of Sunday there, fly to Stockholm Sunday afternoon, stay that night and most of Monday before flying home. I will fly to London with you but continue to Amzida. Otherwise I believe I would have to fly through Ukraine or Russia with multiple stops." She grinned at the look on his face, "Plan B is that we visit Oslo and Copenhagen this time and save Stockholm and Helsinki for another trip."

"I vote for Plan B! So we'd spend 2 nights, one full day in Oslo, fly to Copenhagen Saturday morning, spend Saturday and Sunday there, fly home through Oslo on Monday." He thought about that, "That's also better as far as your parents are concerned. We can hope that by the time we plan our trip to Stockholm and Helsinki, they will have apologized to Susannah and Ian."

He paused in thought for a minute, "Honey, it's kind of a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation, isn't it? You and Susannah work hard to live independently of your father's control. Which means you keep as much personal information to yourself as you can to avoid his disapproval, which he'll throw at you for everything. You could win the Nobel Peace Prize and he'd have something negative to say about it or want the spotlight on him. From what Mimi told Dad, his behavior in DC was an aberration for him; she said he was probably trying to figure out how to deal with me and Dad. So he was on his best behavior while they were there, even throwing in inclusion of Greg and Kyle to the Embassy dinner and the Christmas gifts."

She nodded and he continued, they were nearly at the house now. "The downside to that is if he isn't told anything, he starts spying or prodding others to do it for him, as he did with Dimitri. It seems to work better if you let them know a little bit."

"Yes, Susannah and I have talked about that since the Dimitri incident. She realizes she kept too much to herself. But we don't know what to do about it now."

"Somebody has to break the impasse." He thought about that, chuckling, "You know, it's a lot easier to offer advice for someone else's problems, even if she is family."

"What have you got in mind?"

"Are there any family Name Days or Greek holidays coming up?"

"Yes, it's not an official holiday but Mother's Day is celebrated the second Sunday in May."

"Just an idea…what if, for Mother's Day, Susannah sent them a photo of Ian and her and a brief note telling them a little more about him? What he does for a living, who his parents are, where he grew up." He paused, "I'm not saying your father doesn't need to apologize for what he did, that was a dirty trick."

"He needs to apologize first."

"Okay. Then when Susannah feels ready, she can tell them a little about him…did either of them ever ask her directly about him?"

"Not that I remember."

"Wow, that's…yeah, Kosmos needs to step up first." He shook his head, "I hope we don't ever do anything like that to our kids."

Artie smiled, "Not that but I'm sure we'll make other mistakes."

"Yeah, parenting – the hardest and most important job in the world!"

Artie used her key to open the front door at Mimi's. Her grandmother was surprised with the treats. "Thank you! But you didn't have to do that, you've paid for everything during your visit!"

Tim looked at her with a smile, "Mimi, I can never thank you enough for the help and support you give Artemis. You have my heart and my lifelong gratitude for that. To my knowledge, I've never had a grandmother and you're the best, more than I could have ever imagined. Allow us to do this, please. And if you want to get out of the heat this summer or fall, come to Brambury to cool off. And then come home with us to the States to meet the rest of our family at Christmas."

She smiled as she kissed him, "You are a love, thank you. I am hoping to join you for Christmas either this year or the next."

"Or both?"

She chuckled, "We'll see. That would be lovely." She gestured to them to sit down before taking a deep breath and saying, "I called Susannah to ask her if she'd heard from your parents. She has not. I don't know how you'll feel about this but I decided to step in. Life is too short and your father is a weak, stupid and stubborn idiot, he will grow old and die without knowing his grandchildren and sons-in-law."

Artie took Tim's hand and they waited.

"I called them, your parents. Woke them up but that's too bad. I told your father what I think, that he is acting like an arrogant, weak, spoiled bully of a child who is pouting because he got caught doing something wrong, something he knew was wrong but did anyway.

"I said that he treats his daughters as if you were both Marissa's age and incapable of handling your own lives. That you and Timothy would have been together long ago if it weren't for him bullying and disrespecting his daughters, raising them to fear him. That you and Susannah might share more of your lives with them if they weren't constantly bullied and verbally attacked by such a controlling jerk. That neither Kosmos nor Sophia will see or hear from me, their daughters, current and future grandchildren or other family until he sincerely apologizes, gives you and his wife the respect you all deserve and makes some serious changes in his treatment of our family. I said that real men, men a mother can be proud of, don't behave as he does. When he is ready to stop being an arrogant bastard and grow up, to contact me." She paused and said proudly, "And then I hung up."

"You…you called him those things?"

"Yes, I should have done it years ago but I refrained, in respect for your mother's marriage. But that's her problem, staying with such a …!" She used a word Tim had never heard and from the look on his wife's face, it was something quite profane.

"Does Susannah know?"

"Yes, I sent her an email and she replied, saying thank you."

"We should have stood up to him long ago."

"He is your father, you've been taught, all your lives, by everyone with any authority, to honor his wishes, to respect him. Whether he was worthy or not."

Artemis kissed her grandmother and Tim gave her a hug, breaking apart when his watch buzzed. She jumped and he tried not to laugh. "Sorry, I set my watch alarm for our lunch in Piraeus today. That was the first alarm, to remind me of the lunch. I think I set the second one 30 minutes later. That's when we should be leaving."

Mimi smiled, "In that case, I will ride back to the apartment with Artemis and you can drive my car."

"Thank you, Yaya."

Grabbing the keys, he kissed them both before they left. Back at the apartment, Geordie was in the big chair, eyes closed and his legs propped up on an ottoman. He opened his eyes and smiled at his brother, "Hey."

"Hey, you ok?"

"Ok, not great. Did too much yesterday, even with the chair. Not going to even try today."

"Yeah, good idea. Relax and take it easy today."

Artie and Mimi overheard him and Mimi looked at him, "Would you be more comfortable at my house, Geordie? We'll be out with the children until about 4:00. The recliner will give you more support and you can stretch out on a bed or sofa." Her eyes twinkled, "And I get more TV channels than you have here."

He chuckled, "Thanks, I think I'll take you up on that. This is okay but your place is more like home."

Dad looked at him, "Your phone got a full charge?"

"Yes, charged it overnight. And I'll take my lunch over."

Mimi shook her head, "You will certainly not, young man. I'll make you lunch before we leave."

Smiling, she shooed everyone away from Geordie. "I may be retired, but I was a nurse for longer than any of you have been alive. Although, perhaps not Jethro."

Taking the hint, Tim and Dad left to gather their things. The kids were ready for their day with Mama and Mimi and followed their father and grandfather into the back of the apartment. Kyle looked at them, "How come you're not coming with us?"

"Because we were invited to a business lunch."

"What's that?"

"Do you remember when you came to have lunch with me in my office at the university?"

"Yes."

"It's a bit like that. We're going to meet the boss of the people we met on Aegina last week."

"Oh, Uncle Geo's friend and the other people?"

"Yes, we'll see them too."

"Why?"

"Why did they invite us?"

Kyle nodded and his father and grandfather looked at each other. "We don't know yet. When we find out we'll tell you, okay?"

"Sure. We're going back to the Plaka and then to the Zoo Park. And we're gonna to see the Changing of the Guard!"

"Sounds like fun! How about you four go to the business lunch and we'll go have fun with your mama and Mimi?"

They laughed, shaking their heads and then Greg said, "Mimi says tomorrow morning we can go on a mythology tour that's for families, even the littles."

"That sounds great, kiddo, let's plan on that! Kyle, Rissa, that will tell us a lot about the heroes of ancient Greece!"

"Like Superman, Daddy?" Like Kyle when he was her age, Superman was Rissa's favorite hero.

"In a way, Pookie bug. They wore different costumes than Superman and did different things but they were heroes like him."

"Cool!"

"Mimi said Uncle Geo can go too, in the wheelchair."

"He'd love that but I think he's going somewhere with his new friend. Now, we need to leave or we'll be late! Have fun today and I know you'll be on your good behavior."

Kyle nodded wisely, "Please and thank you."

"And your indoor voices. No yelling, kicking, or pinching. And stay close to your mama and Mimi."

He smiled at the chorus of "Yes, Papa!"

Gathering them in his arms, he gave each one a hug and a kiss, whispering, "Have fun; we'll wish we were with you!" They grinned at that, hugging him and their grandfather.

Making sure they had their swim bags, in case they were later than planned, the men said goodbye to the women and Geordie before leaving.

They were halfway to Piraeus when Dad had a call. It was Kim, who was the office manager. "Pete asked me to let you know, they just got called out. Sorry, we'd have liked to see you again."

Dad thanked her for calling and Tim looked for a place to turn around. He watched another car, a dark compact, follow them, doing the same thing, and he sighed.

His father frowned, "You ok?"

"Yes and no. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm so used to our situation now that I don't think of it every day. Only when I notice a protection detail – when we pulled off to turn around, so did another car."

"Know what you mean. This has been going on for so long, the timeline's getting a little fuzzy. So, if our friends decide we're still in danger, you'll go to work for Joel?"

"Yeah, Vance and I talked about that at Christmas. He's confident it'll be over and I'm confident it won't be."

"We staying in the house?"

Tim shrugged, "Depends on what everyone wants to do. I expect Sarah and James to have told us something by then, betting they'll want a place of their own. Rob and Geordie will have beds waiting for them wherever we end up. And I'm taking a wild leap here, Dad, but we're hoping you and Lu will decide to make it permanent."

"Been trying to find a way to bring that up. We've talked about spending six months here, six months at home, if I'm not included on the IPF list, although if you're still in danger, I'm not leaving. But I don't think I can stand to be away from all of you for 6 months, so we're looking at 3 months here, 3 months there, etc."

"That's a lot of travel. And when would you travel, you know for fun?"

"I don't know, got a lot of questions. Which could be meaningless because if you add up the number of hours we've spent together, in person, it's…pitiful."

"You'll both have a better idea after her visit this summer. She is staying on after we get back from Portugal, isn't she?"

"Yes. Probably. I don't know."

"Dad?"

"Scared."

"Of a relationship with Lu?"

"Of a relationship with any woman, but especially Lu. I mess this up and I mess up our whole family! And…I don't trust myself."

"Ok, gonna ask you questions, answer without thinking." His father nodded and Tim fired off the first question,

"Does she remind you of Shannon?"

"No."

"Are you a good match physically?"

"Yes. Timothy!" He sighed, "That's never been the problem."

"Are you going to do any more consulting?"

"Not if we do this."

"Do you laugh together?"

"Yes."

"Do you have common interests, other than the family and your love life?"

"Yes. Travel, cooking, bowling, walking, gardening, swimming, skating, skiing, old movies, sailing, snorkeling, fishing, camping, hiking, playing cards, board games, reading, baseball, architecture, making things, renovating, cars."

"Huh, that's good, 22 shared interests!"

"Yeah, how many do you and Artie have?"

"About the same and we share a lot of the same interests as you and Lu. Remove cars and camping, or revise camping to cabin camping for me, add in science-y and geek stuff and everything else falls together. She loves to take things apart and build new things, I like to work the math parts of that. She fell in love with baseball at MIT and you know I love watching and playing it. And we're both museum geeks. I haven't tried sailing, I could learn that now. And I like to fish, I just don't like to eat fish."

"I've seen you eat fish!"

"Shellfish – shrimp, crab, abalone, prawns, lobster, scallops. Tried mussels and snails once, the same night I won a bottle of French wine in a raffle. The only memory I have of either the snails or the mussels is feeling like I was drinking butter and garlic with the wine. I emptied the bottle, by the way, first and last time I got drunk! I've had fried clams, pretty good. Don't like oysters. Won't touch squid, don't care how wonderful the calamari is."

"Huh, I hadn't even noticed! Do you remember fishing when you were little?"

"I have one memory, standing on a dock with a large hand holding onto me and helping me bait a hook."

"How do you feel when you think about it?"

"Safe, secure, loved. Like I do with you."

"Aw, Timiny." Dad paused, "You like cars, although in a different way than Tony and I do. We like classic, you like…what?"

"I don't know, you're the one who said I like them. I loved the Porsche, she was fun to drive. One time when Geordie was home on leave and Rob and Sarah were in school, he and I drove up into the mountains. Going around those curves, wow that was fun! The Prius made me feel very thrifty and a little smug, you know, look at me and what I'm doing to help the planet." They laughed.

"And Big Blue?"

"I do love that thing. She can do anything, take us anywhere. I'm dreading leaving her behind."

"Could you ship her home?"

"Sure. Be weird driving her on the other side of the road though."

"Must be legal, Ducky does it with the Morgan."

"Yeah. We'll see, we make the move, we're going to need 2 cars. Man, that's going to be hard, getting used to what passes for public transportation at home. Going to have to drive everywhere. And no more Cheap flights or EasyJet. We're spoiled."

"Yeah, but a whole big continent to explore and you can take vacation when the kids do."

"That'll be nice and yes, Artie and I have been making lists of places to explore. Cape Cod, Yellowstone, the coast of Maine, Puget Sound in Washington, Oregon, Yosemite, the California redwoods, Colorado, Mt. Rushmore. Vermont and New Hampshire, you know, I really like the idea of having a compound up there like you were talking about, we could all have our own cabins, get all of us together at least once a year and then everyone goes up whenever they have time. From there, we could go into Canada. Oh yeah, even more to see up there. Montreal, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria. Ooh, the stampede in Calgary, we should do that while the kids are still young! Drop back down into the States, Glacier Park, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, down through Colorado and New Mexico, Chicago, San Diego and all the places in between. A friend of mine at MIT was from the Midwest, used to talk about the "UP" all the time, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Where was that beach you told me about, where you used to take Kelly?"

His father laughed, "Fenwick, Delaware. Glad you've thought about it!"

"Remember when I told you about the job offer over here? We said it was only 2 years and then started thinking of all the traveling we could do. We've done a lot, that's for sure, never expected to see Turkey – or the Czech Republic! Now I want to go home, I want to live in _my_ country. Where I get to vote for who runs the place, I mean besides the lobbyists, big pharma, big oil and the health insurance companies. I know we get to vote anyway but we're not there. And at home, I don't have to go through Customs when I fly from state to state. I don't really mind that but it'll be nice not to have to.

"And, this is my biggest wish, that we can find a house that will be our 'forever' home. Or at least until Rissa goes to college, then we'll see. I promised Greg and Kyle we'd do that when we moved back home; it's important for all 3 of the boys. The longest Andy's lived anywhere is the UK, 3, almost 4 years now. Greg was a navy brat, Kyle was uprooted from his home before he was old enough to remember it, then we were at your place, at the apartment in Silver Spring, the house in Cambridge and now here. They think of your house as their home and that's fine, I'm grateful we have that, I think of it that way too. But we need our own home."

Dad looked at the traffic, they weren't moving very fast. Holy Thursday afternoon, a lot of people on the way home or to church. Moving around to get more comfortable, he continued the conversation, "Where are you thinking of looking?"

"That's a good question. I guess we'll have to do some research online, see where the best school districts are and go from there. We'll need at least 4 bedrooms, rather have 6, one for guests, one for Rob and Geordie. Or a big enough office where they can sleep when they're home. Somewhere close to you. Unless you and Lu decide to live with us, that would be wonderful!"

"Maybe someday, who knows. Where do you think your brothers are going to be?"

"Rob, probably working at Johns Hopkins. Geordie, I don't know, the Navy Yard or Quantico? He's only got a couple of years left in the Corps to hit his 20, so he could be teaching somewhere."

"He won't get too far from us. He's been there, done that. Unless he and Agent Childers continue seeing each other and that turns into something. Then he could be anywhere there's an NCIS office." He paused, "Sarah?"

Tim sighed, "I don't want to think about that."

"Me neither. But there is a big IT unit at the Navy Yard."

"Yes, but he's an only and Sarah says his parents love their little town."

"Don't give up hope. And think about how much fun it will be to visit them."

"That's true and we can see Susannah and Ian too."

"There you go. Haven't wanted to ask, but are they talking about permanent?"

Tim smiled, "You remember what Ian said?"

"Uh…he asked Susannah if she wanted her parents in her life, said he would support her, whatever she wanted to do."

"And then he said something like, 'we won't even tell them about us or invite them to our wedding."

"Oh!" He chuckled, "That part went right over my head!"

"Artie told me the other day that Susannah and Sarah are talking, to make sure their weddings aren't on the same day or too close together."

"So it's happening, both are happening but Sarah and James aren't making any announcements yet."

"Right. Dad, you know it, you already treat James like he's one of your sons."

"I do. I think it's his height, the same as Rob's."

"That was funny at our Brambury wedding, with Ian, James and Rob sticking together! And then Julian and those other guys talking with Dimitri. I hope this isn't going to backfire on us."

"Kosmos and Sophia? How would it backfire? Even if something happened to them, they're living by his rules, his choice. What if Sophia left him?"

"No idea. I bet she wouldn't last long, one little sob story and she'd go back."

"You didn't see her face at the wedding when Andy shook hands with them, she clearly wanted more. He finally gave her a little peck on the cheek. And Marissa didn't even know who they were."

"Sad, but you're right, their choice."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

They smiled at each other as they pulled in behind the van, parked outside Mimi's home. "Yay, we're here!"

They laughed as they saw Kyle look out the front window, grin and wave. Then the front door opened and the kids ran out the front door, "We haven't left yet, how come you came back?"

"They had to go find a bad guy, so lunch was cancelled."

Artie appeared, "I hope they find the bad guy and I'm glad you're back. Are you hungry?"

"Yes!"

"I'll make you sandwiches, we're leaving in 15 minutes."

"We can eat in the car."

She huffed, "We're not in that much of a hurry!"

Returning to the kitchen, she found her yaya almost finished with two big sandwiches. "Pour them some lemonade and then they can eat. I don't want the children, Tim or Jethro to miss the Changing of the Guard again!"

Father and son ate half their sandwiches, drank their lemonade and said they were ready. Geordie waved goodbye to them as the group climbed in the van, ready for some more fun!

Once in Athens, they parked and walked to what Mimi said was the best spot for good views. The guard change started within minutes. The uniforms were different, the Greeks wore white kilts, and there were different flourishes here but it reminded Tim and Jethro of the ceremony in London. They were amused when both Kyle and Rissa marched in place, not quite matching the cadence of the professionals.

Next they returned to the Plaka and had a wonderful time exploring the neighborhood again. A few souvenirs were purchased, including several tiles, a woven bag for Artie, another she said Sarah would like and a vase that Tim liked; they had everything shipped home to Brambury. After they'd seen everything on their 'return to see' list, they had ice cream treats.

Back at Mimi's, Kyle nearly pushed them into the house. "Come on, we have to change so we can go to the beach and then swimming."

The men were glad they'd brought their beach things with them! The family changed and loaded into the van, Geordie joining them, for a walk on the beach, possibly getting their feet wet, followed by a dip in the hot tub and swimming in the pool.

The sea was a little bit warmer today, Tim thought if they stayed another week, the water might be warm enough to put more than feet in. The kids had fun, racing ahead, looking for more seashells. After they walked the length and back and got their feet wet, they headed for the pool.

Gibbs and Geordie went straight for the hot tub while the others chose the pool. When Gibbs' knee had had enough of the hot tub, he dived into the water, first checking for any nearby bodies, and then walked on his hands, underwater, all the way to the shallow end of the pool. His older grandsons took that as a challenge and, first appointing Kyle, Rissa, and Uncle Geordie the judges from the lounge chairs, they had a 'walking on your hands underwater' contest in the shallow end of the pool. The group handicapped Greg because he'd just learned.

That started a bit of a water fight and within minutes Kyle and Rissa were perched on Grandpa and Papa's shoulders kicking a lot of water at each other. The battle ended in a truce when Geordie declared a halt.

After that, they swam to their heart's content, only getting out because Mimi and Artie were attending church services. Back at Mimi's, the women changed and left, taking Mimi's car. Tim and Dad made dinner, putting two generous helpings in the oven for the women's dinner.

As they ate, plans for Friday were discussed. With the forecast calling for a high temperature of 73° Fahrenheit, they'd do the family-oriented Mythology tour in the morning, followed by a picnic lunch at the pool with a swim before they had to pack up and leave Mimi.

Uncle Geo was having his own private tour; his new friend Bec would pick him up in the morning and take him 'car sightseeing'. Geo said she wanted him to see historic places and things outside of the city. He promised to be back by 2:00.

Once the women returned and ate, Dad rounded up all his kids and they drove the van back to the apartment.

While they were getting ready for bed, Tim asked about church and Artie huffed, "I haven't been to Holy Thursday or Good Friday services since Andy was born. I've always had to work or thought he was too young for the long services. He's not though and neither is Greg. It would be good for all of us to go more often, we're not consistent about getting the children to church."

Tim tilted his head, he couldn't argue with that, but, "Hey, we get Andy to Greek school, I think that's doing pretty good, considering."

She chuckled, "Yes, but don't say that to any Greeks in the States. They'll say they got their 10 children to Greek school for 20 years, working four jobs to afford it."

"Oh. Yeah, even with the hyperbole, I guess getting one boy to class twice a week isn't that much of an accomplishment."

"Marissa will be expected to start when she turns 5."

Tim made a noise, "That gives us a few more years."

"We may be expected to send Greg and Kyle too."

"Really? Who will be expecting that?"

"Father Linard, at All Saints."

"Is he pressuring you?"

"Not exactly, but he's made a point of asking about Andy's siblings. I explained the situation and he said the school could be a big help to them."

Tim thought about that for a minute, "He might be right, honey. Greg and Kyle have us and the whole family but you know, identifying with the Greek culture could be helpful and useful to them. It's one of the few cultures I'm aware of in the U.S. that still makes a structured effort to teach their children about their heritage. And who knows, they may have some Greek DNA in them. They certainly have you and Greek siblings."

Artie was thinking, "It could help when we move to the States, too. If they're familiar with Greek school, already have that identity in their hip pockets, then it might be an easier transition for them."

"For Andy, too. Won't it give all 4 of them instant friends?"

"Yes, at least a place to start. That's another thing, Andy's schooling and the others as they get older. I'm worried about the violence in American schools."

He sighed. "Me too. He's going to be vulnerable to start with, never having lived there. Although he's plenty street smart from your work around the planet."

"Can we afford private school? For all of them?"

"We'll find a way. Don't forget the Navy will continue financial support of Greg and Kyle, that will help with their schooling. What would you think of private or charter schools for our babies?" She nodded and then smiled as he pulled her closer and they moved on to other things.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Everyone was up early the next morning, excited about the mythology tour and Geo excited about seeing Bec. Mimi arrived with a thermos of coffee, a big slender plastic bottle full of water and several snacks, all tucked nicely into a pack for Geordie.

He kissed her in thanks, saying he'd never taken his own food on a date before!

She smiled, "You've never been part of a Greek family before, either! Life is all about new experiences. Now, stay off your bad leg; if it hurts, take half of a pain pill. If it doesn't hurt, don't go running around! She's already seen you with a cane so use it, no trying to be Macho Man!"

Gibbs couldn't help it, she sounded so much like Ducky he had to go in the other room to muffle his laughter. When Mimi was surprised, Tim smiled, "Sorry, your advice sounds very much like our friend Dr. Mallard. He tells Dad those things when he gets hurt but Dad rarely pays attention. Until Ducky shows up at the house or threatens to restrict him from work, then it gets serious."

She chuckled, "Then he is a good doctor and friend. I look forward to meeting him in August! Now, is everyone ready? I'm excited, I've never been on this tour either!"

Telling Geordie to have fun, they left with their own packs of water and snacks. When they arrived at the designated place, they met their guide, who gave them a little talk about what they would see that morning.

"We'll visit some of the most important archaeological sites of Athens including the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus and the Ancient Agora. Now, I know you've already seen some of those places but there will be new things to discover, all kinds of hidden secrets! We'll also visit a place tourists don't usually go.

"I hope you will be excited by all the myths, those are stories, related to our residents of Mt. Olympusand brave mythological heroes. While we learn about them, we'll also find out what happened to start those stories."

"Usually we do this with 12 people at a time. But you're a special group, so we'll have fun with the 8 of you."

She was right, the 8 of them did have fun and learned some history in a new way. The kids were still talking about their favorite legends and characters when they returned to Mimi's.

Changing into their swimsuits and putting together their picnic lunch, they drove to 'their' pool. They had a happy hour playing in the water, practicing their underwater skills and their swimming skills.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After eating their lunch, they packed up and headed for the beach for their last walk. By 12:30, they were back at Mimi's, saying goodbye. That was hard, harder than saying goodbye to the others, after all, they lived with them. Mimi was special to each of them. Artie and the kids cried.

They'd already cleaned and packed, now they walked through to make sure they had everything. Geordie arrived shortly after they did, saying he'd had a great time and he was really glad they'd decided to return to Greece for their August vacation and would anyone mind if Bec visited them, staying at the house? Of course, no one minded and that seemed to make him feel a little better.

As they had to return the van, they left early for the airport. When everyone but Grandpa got out at the terminal, Geo was once again met by a porter with a wheelchair. When they got inside, he had his attendant stop as his family gathered around him. "Kids, I'll see you Sunday night. You're going on another really fun adventure, but I need to go home, rest my leg. Have fun, be good."

Mystified and a little upset, they kissed him goodbye. Dad came in and nodded to Tim, he'd walk with him to security and then meet them back at the ticket counter. The kids were relieved Grandpa was going with them but had to be coaxed to move as Uncle Geordie was wheeled away.

Andy looked at his parents, "When will you tell us where we're going?"

"In a few minutes, after we get through Security."

"Ok."

Kyle pulled his papa's hand, "Daddy, is it really going to be fun? Do we get to stay together?"

"Yes, sweetie, it's going to be a lot of fun and we will be together, I promise. We'll tell you part of the surprise in a few minutes and the rest when we get where we're going."

"All right." Satisfied, Kyle looked around him. He and Rissa held Mama and Papa's hands while they walked to a ticket counter. Greg frowned, this wasn't their airline! This one flew to France. What was in France? He looked at Andy who was beginning to get an idea, but wasn't sure it was the right idea.

Tim and Artie looked at each other, that had gone better than they'd hoped. They'd wanted to keep the surprise as long as possible, knowing Geordie going one way and them another would be upsetting. Kyle smiled when Grandpa joined them, "You know where we're going?"

"I do, Mr. Train." He bent down close to whisper, "But I'm not going to tell you, your papa and mama will."

"You're going with us, Grandpa?" That was Greg and his grandfather patted his back, "Wouldn't miss this for the world, Greggers."

Kyle was thinking hard. "Have you ever been where we're going, Grandpa?"

"No, I haven't, Kyle."

As they reached the ticket counter, the kids crowded around their adults but couldn't tell from the conversation with the ticket person where they were going. When everything was done, the littles held on again and Greg and Andy walked with Grandpa. They went through Security and then Papa led them to the gate, which Kyle always thought was strange because there wasn't any gate there. He knew what a gate looked like, they'd had three in Cambridge and two in Brambury but not when they went to airports.

The children cheered when they saw Uncle Geordie, still in the wheelchair. He smiled and held his arms out. Kyle hung onto the arm of the chair, "You're still not going with us?"

"I'm still not going with you, Kyleyboy. I'll be in the hospital when you come home, but I'll see you a few days later."

"Ok." Kyle leaned in and Uncle Geo leaned over for a kiss. His sister and brothers did the same thing. Then he had to go as his flight was boarding. Mama and Papa gathered the kids and kept going while Grandpa lingered, making sure his son got onto the plane all right. He smiled as Geordie gave him a casual salute. Then he hurried after the others.

When they got to the chairs, Papa and Mama sat down, pulling the kids closer. "All right, now we'll tell you."

"Wait, Grandpa's not here!"

"I'm here, Andy."

"Ok, good."

Papa looked at them with a big smile, "We're flying to Paris, France. And then we're taking a train to the house we'll be staying in."

"And?"

Artie laughed at her husband, teasing their kids. "And then in the morning, we're going to get up very early and we're going to see a Mouse."

"Huh?"

Andy grinned, "I knew it! We're going to Disneyland!"

Greg's eyes got so big they looked like they were going to pop. "Disneyland?! WOW!"

Kyle and Rissa were jumping up and down and Greg joined them, "We get to see Mickey and Minnie and Pluto! Oh and Donald Duck and everybody!"

They'd found seats in the waiting area far from everyone else, for this reason. Still, Tim spotted a few people smiling at the children's obvious excitement. When the kids finally calmed a little, Andy asked how long it would take to get there.

"It'll take us 3 hours and 30 minutes to get to the airport in Paris. From there, the train ride will be about 40 minutes. After we get off the train, we'll have Uber take us to the house where we're staying."

"That's a long time."

"It'll go fast. We'll read or sleep on the plane and then the train will be fun, we can watch everything. And the Uber ride will only be about 15 minutes."

"Are we going to Disneyland today, after we get there?"

"No, we'll be too tired when we get to the house. And we have two more surprises for you tonight. We'll go to the park early tomorrow morning and stay all day or leave and go back if we need to rest. And we'll go for a few hours on Sunday before we leave for home."

"Cool! We need to figure out what we want to see first, my friend Malik says they mapped everything out before they went. That way they got to the busiest rides first."

"That's part of what we're doing tonight, when we get to the house. We'll have two experts helping us, people who have been here many times and will be our guides."

"Who?"

"Nope, can't tell you yet. You'll see."

They'd calmed down considerably by the time their flight left Athens. Kyle waved goodbye from his window seat, "Bye Mimi, bye island, bye heroes, see you after school!" He turned to his papa, "Does Mimi know?"

"Yes, she does. We asked her to come with us but she had other plans for the weekend."

"Phooey!"

"That is kind of phooey, but we'll see her soon and we can Skype with her too."

"Good!"

As their parents hoped, the littles fell asleep while Andy and Greg read off and on, talking about their favorite rides and what characters they wanted to see. Both boys wanted to see Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Although in some people's eyes, Andy might be a little old for the Hundred Acre Wood, he hadn't known about Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear until he met Papa and his brothers. Now he was just as excited as his younger brother at the prospect of meeting the characters. His father was of the opinion that Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh and friends were timeless, appropriate for any and all ages.

Tim slept for most of the flight while Artie did a little work and kept an eye on the children. Jethro dozed off and on but woke as they started their descent into Paris. He watched out the window, feeling like a kid as he spotted a couple of famous landmarks he never thought he'd see again. Tim was right, he and Lu would need time to travel for fun and he'd love to bring her here, to Paris.

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Having had very specific directions drawn out for them earlier, the family had no problem finding the train station and the right train. They'd boarded and were settling in when Greg looked up and yelped in surprise, "Aunty Susannah, Mr. Ian! What…are you here to go with us?"

"Yes, Greg, isn't this fun!"

"Wow, Mama, Papa, this is a really great surprise!"

Susannah smiled at her sister, glad to hear Greg calling her Mama. When she'd last seen them, he was still calling her Mahnoola. All four of the kids were excited to see them, hugging them and telling them all about seeing Mimi and their adventures.

Andy looked at the man he already thought of as his uncle, "You're our expert, one of them."

"I am?"

"Sure, you must be. How many times have you been to Disneyland?"

"Hmm, let me think. I think I was 6 the first time we went, when the park first opened. And then I was almost 8, about Greg's age, the next time. And then…we went almost every year. I'd say at least 10 times."

"Wow, that's a lot! Oh!"

The train had started to move. Kyle had his nose glued to the window, wearing his engineer's cap. He was surprised when Mama handed it to him when they got on the train, he thought it was in a suitcase. He turned to his father, "Papa, are we going to ride on a train in Disneyland?"

"Yes, we are, Doodle Bug."

"Oh boy!"

When the train pulled into the station, all of them had a surprise, even the adults: Sarah and James were waiting for them! Sarah laughed, "James went in early, worked through lunch and finished his project. We were able to leave London hours earlier than we thought and we took the Eurotunnel Shuttle! Come on, Big Blue is in the car park."

The original plan had been for Sarah and James to leave London at 5 PM when he normally finished work. Instead, they'd caught an earlier Eurotunnel Shuttle, reaching Disneyland Paris hours earlier than anticipated.

The drive to their Airbnb house was just as promised, 15 minutes. After bringing all the luggage inside, they looked around the place. It would do fine for their two nights here. There were 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a good sized kitchen with a table large enough to seat them all. The living area wasn't huge but they wouldn't spend much time here anyway. Their hosts were a retired couple who'd raised their family here and now occasionally rented their home to large families visiting Disneyland. They'd renovated a stand-alone garage in the back of the house into a comfortable apartment and stayed there when they had renters. They came over to greet the group, happy to find their renters were just who they said they were, a family group.

As Artie predicted, they were exhausted from the busy day, first the Mythology tour, then the last walk on the beach, the swim and the travel. Susannah and Sarah took Big Blue for a quick run to the local market, returning with enough food for their stay here. They'd take their lunch into the Park tomorrow and Sunday morning. After a quick meal, the littles were carried to bed, having fallen asleep at the table. Andy and Greg were next to excuse themselves, although both boys insisted they'd be reading. Their parents and grandfather were only minutes behind them, after the others shooed them away from kitchen cleanup.

While the others slept, James and Ian sat down with their maps, the list of attractions and rides the kids wanted to see and plotted out their visit to the Park. Looking online to update the list of closures, they were relieved to see everything they cared about was open, including the train. It'd been closed since they first started planning the trip, a bit of a concern.

Everyone was up bright and early, the children so excited they could hardly sit still while they ate their breakfast. Ian and James shared the plan for the day, handing out copies of the map and list they'd made.

Tim confessed he was nearly as excited as the kids. He, Sarah, and Rob had been to Disneyworld once, but the trip had been a complete disaster. Now, while he was sorry Rob and Geordie couldn't be with them, he was happy that he and Sarah were finally going to have the fun they deserved! He said that to Sarah as they were leaving the house and she grabbed onto him, giving him a nearly Abby-strength hug.

They were at the Park in plenty of time for the opening. As they weren't staying at any of the Disney hotels, they didn't qualify for the EMH or "Extra Magical Hour" but the Park and the hotels were expensive for a large family such as theirs. When both Ian and James told Tim that they'd never qualified for the EMH or stayed at a Disney hotel, he felt better.

Their already prepared lunches and juice boxes were allowed in and they stored them, with a cold pack, in a locker near Main Street. Then they got busy. With two mid-sized kids and two littles, the adults rotated so that the littles experienced everything they could and the older boys experienced what would have been too old for Kyle and Rissa. Because Ian and James were the only ones who'd been there before, they split up so that each group had an expert.

Meeting for lunch, they spent a wonderful hour swapping stories and adventures. As Rissa and Kyle were not tired or in need of rest, the group resumed Plan A, keep going.

By 5:00, everyone needed a rest. Making sure they could return, they piled into Big Blue and drove to their temporary quarters for dinner and a little bit of a rest. They were back in the Park in time for the evening show, Rissa riding in her daddy pack on James' shoulders and Kyle sitting on Papa's shoulders. However, they found spots where everyone could see, and all four of the kids sat on a blanket on the ground where they could jump up and down to their hearts' content.

They were tired but very happy that night and all slept well. Sunday morning after breakfast, they were back at the Park, seeing a few things they'd missed, revisiting others and buying several souvenirs. By 3:00 PM, they were on their way home. As Susannah and Ian were flying home from Paris, they'd dropped them at the train station, with many hugs and kisses, planning to see them again soon.

They rode home via the Eurotunnel Shuttle, which meant Big Blue was transported via the rail line and everyone could relax. 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Back home, the suitcases went straight to the laundry room. There was a very brief call with Patrick's volunteer of the week, Jim O'Brien, and the boys told him (and Patrick) what they'd seen and done at Disneyland and in Greece. As had become customary, Jim reported no change in Patrick's condition. After that, the family had snacks before the littles, their parents, aunt and James dragged themselves to bed. Artie's flight to Amzida would leave at 11 AM on Monday, but she'd be up early to say goodbye to the children, Tim and the others.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Because they were all so tired the next morning, Dad said he'd drive the kids and Tim to school, take James into the City and finally Artie to the airport. Then he was going to stop in at the hospital to see Geordie, who'd had a treatment over the weekend. That was a first and they were a little worried, although Rob said he hadn't lost any ground.

Tim was glad classes were resuming and this was not a new term, he didn't think he could handle being Professor Bright and Shiny that Monday. He'd had to hold back tears when he said goodbye to his wife, wishing she were done with her project, he hated her leaving every week. Still, once he had some fresh air and three cups of coffee, he began to feel more awake and greeted his returning students with pleasant nods instead of a zombie-like look. Although this generation of students might appreciate the zombie creature! He did take a few minutes to welcome everyone back and when someone asked what he'd done, he held up his hand, which still had an ink drawing of Mickey Mouse. "Went to see the Mouse and the Acropolis."

Dad was glad to find Geordie doing all right. While he was still fighting jet lag, he'd caught up on his rest. When his father spoke with his primary physician, he was relieved to hear that, aside from being tired, there were no ill after-effects from all their fun in Athens.

The doctor's eyes twinkled, "I think being with all of you, having fun and then meeting the young lady helped immensely. It's difficult for patients to feel they're part of the world when all they do is go from here to wherever they stay between treatments. He's one of the few who are able to stay with family when he's not here. The captain will be ready to join you again on Wednesday."

"Wonderful, thanks!"

Home again, Dad slept for several hours before waking up hungry and finding Sarah also prowling for food in the kitchen.

That night, Tim told them he was joining Artie in Amzida that weekend; he'd fly out Friday afternoon and return Monday morning, bringing some of her Turkish treasures with him. The kids were all right with that, they'd already known he was going there one weekend this month. The adults were fine too, he'd checked with them before making his flight reservation.

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Monday came along and they said goodbye to Artie for 10 days. By Friday, they were all rested and Tim was ready to go again. As he left the lecture hall after his last class, he smiled as he saw Big Blue and his dad waiting to take him to the train. Several hours later, he smiled at his wife as he was cleared by Customs. When his flight landed at the airport, he felt a little anxious although he wasn't sure why. When he saw Artemis waiting for him, his anxiety vanished.

Taking Uber back to the apartment, she laughed at what he'd brought with him, underwear, socks and a clean shirt for Monday. And a foldable suitcase that would be checked baggage on his way home, with as many of her treasures as he could stuff in there.

That weekend, they decided to postpone their trip to Paris. If they waited, they'd be able to stay more than a weekend, possibly close to a week. Besides that, Abby had changed her arrival from Monday the 25th to Sunday the 24th, the weekend they'd planned to be in Paris.

Of course, they didn't have to be there when she arrived, although they were uncomfortable with that idea. Abby and Sarah planned to do a couple of day and overnight trips around the UK before the family would fly to Stockholm for the May 1st holiday weekend. She'd leave on the 8th and Tony would arrive the morning of the 13th.

They'd also hoped to make room on their schedule for a trip to Sorrento, Italy, to meet Artie's uncle Nikolas and his family, but that might have to wait for several months. When they returned from Portugal, Tim would begin working for Joel in London, working from the second week of June through the end of July.

There was also the money they'd spent! They had a splurge fund for their trips but whatever they deposited, they quickly spent. They didn't begrudge spending the money, their trips were fun and educational for everyone who joined them. As the couple kept reminding each other, they wouldn't be living in Europe much longer and they had more places they wanted to experience. Their current list included the trip to Italy, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki, Budapest, Krakow, Paris, Marseilles, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin and Munich. Tim thought it would also be interesting to visit the Asian part of Turkey.

With less than 2 months to go on the project, Artie was getting antsy to move her treasures home. As much as she enjoyed the apartment, the city and was pleased with her project, she was ready to be finished and home with her family.

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While their father was away, the kids spent the weekend outdoors. The weather was finally beginning to warm up in Brambury and the kids were outside, playing with their friends as well as their siblings.

Dad remembered whole days of being outside with his friends, tramping through the woods, fishing, riding bikes. He thought it was a healthy thing and, when he heard about it, James agreed. While he hadn't fished, he and his friends rode bikes and hiked through the trees, exploring.

Tim and Artie had decided they wanted a do-over on their own childhoods, exploring woods, skating, playing with friends, movies, games, riding bikes and all the fun that goes with them. Dad rolled his eyes at them, "That's why you have kids. And if we have that camp in New England, you can play outside to your heart's content."

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Never forgetting they were still newlyweds, the couple had a wonderful weekend, wrapped up in each other's arms, strolling through the city, stopping in at their favorite places. Tim mentioned his strange anxiety and Artie nodded, "There's been some protesting, some unrest. However, there's nothing to worry about, the government is meeting with the protestors next week and the mood is conciliatory. And there's been nothing on this side of the city."

Sunday night, they bundled up the small carpet and several other items Tim would take home. By the time they had them amassed, Tim shook his head, "I hope these make it home!"

"You'll have to pay excess baggage."

"That's all right, it's either that or pay to ship them, probably about the same. Do you have enough room in your luggage for the rest?"

"I thought I'd buy another bag."

He laughed, "We should invest in a luggage store! All right, how about we just ship them? If we can get everything packed tonight, do we have time to stop and have it shipped in the morning?"

"Plenty of time,, we'll leave earlier."

Tim sighed, "I love this place, sure going to miss it!"

"I'll miss your visits here, and the children's, but I won't miss living here without you."

Somehow they managed to gather and wrap all the treasures Artie wanted to take home and shipped most of them home. Tim still ended up with a suitcase full, plus the receipts.

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Back home, Tim paid closer attention to what was happening in Amzida. They put Artie's treasures in the living room for everyone to see and enjoy. When she came home next weekend, she could decide where to put them. He vaguely remembered discussing putting them in the library. In the evenings on Monday and Tuesday, he and Dad worked on the screens they were building for Artie's office in the 'schoolroom' upstairs.

Tim was sound asleep early Wednesday morning when his phone chimed with a call. It was Mimi, "Timotheus, have you heard from Artemis? There are rumors of riots in Amzida, buildings and cars being burned, I can't imagine!"

"I'll call her and then let you know, Mimi. Thanks for alerting me!"

He immediately called his wife's cell number. It took him 15 tries to get through and he almost cried when he heard her voice. "Tim, I've….call. Servi…ba… block….gone, we…backdoor…men, gesture, don't kn … who they … … ."

Her voice was cutting in and out, the only other word Tim got after that was what he hoped was airport. He told her he loved her and to call or text as soon as she could. He called Mimi and told her Artemis was on the way to the airport. He hoped that was true.

Downstairs, Gibbs answered his phone, glaring at it. It was 0317 and he was retired, for Pete's sake!

"Hello."

"Gibbs, it's Leon. I've been trying to reach Tim's phone but can't get through. There are riots in Amzida, serious ones. Pete Russell called me from Athens, I'd asked him to keep an eye out for trouble in Turkey. He was notified by his CIA friends at the Embassy. They're burning buildings and cars, the body count is rising, rioting throughout the city. We need to get Artie out of there. I have contacts…"

"Hold on, Leon. Let me find Tim. He may have already been in touch with her."

Grabbing his robe and slippers, Gibbs stalked through the house, this house really needed an intercom. Spying a light in the kitchen, he headed there and found his son trying to make a pot of coffee.

"Tim, Leon's on the phone."

Tim nodded, took the phone and started to talk, stopping when his father hit the speaker button. "Mimi called, saying there were all kinds of rumors but she'd also seen the early morning news. It took me 15 tries to get through to Artie, but I did. Service was bad so I only understood a little but she was on the way to the airport. I'm hoping she'll be able to call me from there."

"Is someone helping her or did she decide to leave?"

"Hang on, Geordie's calling. Geo?"

"If you have the speaker on, turn it off, Tim."

Tim turned the speaker off on his father's phone and his brother told him, "She's with friends, they're trying to get to the airport on that back road. They're on scooters, only way they can get through, there are burned out cars and bodies everywhere. It's bad, bro. The government is keeping the airport open, letting planes take off. I heard the airlines are going in to help evacuate foreigners but don't know how true that is. If I hear more, I'll let you know. And Tim, you can't tell Dad, who can probably hear me anyway or anyone else. It could mean their lives."

"Understood."

"I know you're not really a religious guy but this would be a good time to start praying."

"Already done."

Tim disconnected and looking at his father, shook his head, making a motion of zipping his lips.

Dad looked at his phone. "Sorry, Leon, Geordie needed something. What did you have in mind?"

Leon told him and Tim tilted his head, if Artie got to the airport and could get through to him, that could work but he hoped the people she was with would be leaving with her. And that couldn't happen with Leon's idea.

When they disconnected, Dad made coffee while Tim paced, clinging to his phone. While they waited, Sarah wandered out, took one look at them and frowned. "Is it classified?"

"No, Amzida's under siege. Your brother talked to Artie but wasn't able to understand much of what she said. We're waiting to hear."

"Oh my God, how bad?"

"Body count bad. Burned and bombed out buildings and cars."

She wrapped her arms around her brother, "We have to have faith she'll be all right, Tim, we have to."

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While her husband was pacing, Artie was on the back of a scooter, holding on to the stranger driving as they drove up and down streets trying to find one with a path clear enough to get them through to the next street, ultimately to the airport.

She'd woken to the smell of smoke and a call from her project manager telling her to get out, to get to the airport any way she could and take any flight out of Turkey. She quickly dressed and grabbed her pack, shoving in a few things. When she looked out her front door, the entrance to the building was open, the door hanging, the smoke was stronger and she could hear screaming.

Turning around, she closed and locked her front door and ran for the back door. As she opened it, she saw 3 men entering the garden area. In the glow from the light fixture over the backdoor, she saw one of the men give her the signal Tim showed her and she nodded.

The signal giver got on a scooter and pointed her to the one behind him, another man driving. They wore dark clothing and hoods that partially covered their faces. Slinging her pack on her back, she climbed on, wrapping her arms around the stranger she hoped was trying to help her. She'd put her headset on in case she could get through to Tim and almost cried when he got through. She prayed he'd understood what she'd tried to tell him.

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It was an agonizingly long time before there was more news. While they waited, Tim called Susannah and Ian, not wanting them to see the newscasts before hearing from him. Then he called Mimi to see how she was doing. She said she was on her knees praying and told him that when he heard from Artemis, he was to let her know and she would send an email to her daughter. Tim didn't want to argue but he also knew Sophia would be horribly worried. He said that to Mimi who sighed and said she'd send them a text instead.

Sarah had the TV on in her suite and they watched, horrified, at the violence destroying the beautiful, friendly city. Andy was the first one to come downstairs. He took one look at his father's face and said, "What happened? Is it Mama?"

"It's Amzida, son." Tim told him what was happening, stressing that he'd spoken with his mother. When Greg came downstairs with Kyle and Rissa, he repeated the news. All of them cried, the kids huddled on his lap, his arms stretched around them.

Dad gave them milk to drink and toast, they needed something to eat but he was sure none of them would eat much. Except possibly Kyle, their hungry boy. No way were any of them going to school; Tim left messages at the school and the nursery. He also sent a text to his boss, his department master, at 0630, to let him know he wouldn't be in and why.

Leon texted Gibbs around 0700, to check in. When Tony sent a text shortly after, Tim bowed his head, wondering if Dad or Leon had let him know. When Ducky, Lu, Larry Porter and Dr. Biros were next, Tim knew it was Dad and he kissed him in thanks. He sent a mental note to his wife, telling her of all the people who loved her and were praying for her. He asked Sarah to send out a text to their family and friends thanking them for their love, prayers and good thoughts, asking them not to tie up his phone, to text her or Dad if they wanted to send a message. That message did not go to Susannah or Mimi and Tim asked her not to send it to the Palmers either. They had their foster toddler with them now and would need all the sleep they could get.

When Sarah sent the text, she used a group contact she'd compiled after the wedding at Ducky's. After removing the Palmers, she sent the message, one which included nearly everyone else who'd attended, including the senior Galanises. Sophia woke Wednesday morning to a text from her daughter's sister-in-law with an odd message about love and prayers and to send any messages to her phone, not Tim's. Something was wrong.

She poked at her husband, who'd received a text hours earlier, waking them both. He'd mumbled that it wasn't Greece before falling back to sleep. Now she wanted to know what it was about. When he wouldn't wake up, she did something she'd never done before, looked at his phone messages. She knew what his password was, she'd created them and kept a list so he'd know which one to use each month when it had to be changed. Now she input the code, her hands trembling. When she saw the text, she rose from her bed, got dressed, took a few Euros from his wallet, she had her own credit card, packed a suitcase and left, not bothering to leave a note for her cruel husband. Who couldn't even be bothered to worry or tell his wife when the city and country where their daughter lived and worked was experiencing deadly violence, already over 100 people reported dead.

Calling her husband's boss's aide, she asked for a flight to Athens and a car for the airport. She would go home, to Greece. Her reluctance to leave her worthless husband may have cost her a last chance to reconcile with her oldest daughter. No more, she was done. If her mother wouldn't have her, she'd rent a place of her own and do whatever it took to reconcile with Susannah and her grandchildren. And her poor son-in-law. She'd liked him but Kosmos said he was 'puffed up', full of himself, which she thought ridiculous. Kosmos was the one who was puffed up! She'd been very upset when she realized his kindness toward the children was only a tactic to use until he figured out how to manipulate Timothy.

She waited downstairs in the reception area for the car to the airport. She was a little surprised when Eleni Caras, wife of Kosmos' superior, joined her. "My husband told me about Amzida and I remembered you saying Artemis would be working there. Is she still there?"

When she saw the woman's lip tremble, she wrapped her arms around her. "Sophia, she will be all right. We must have faith, come, let's say a prayer."

Together, they said a brief prayer before Eleni said, "You're going to Greece? Will Kosmos join you there?"

"No, Eleni, I'm leaving him. He sent someone to spy on our daughter Susannah and that person was found out. Neither of our daughters, my mother or my son-in-law are speaking to us. My mother told me recently how disappointed she is in me and she's right. I should have left him years ago. He's a heartless man without a trace of human kindness or love in him."

"Oh, Sophia, I'm so sorry."

"I only found out about this because Sarah, my daughter's sister-in-law, sent a text thanking us for the love and prayers but please not to tie up my son-in-law's, phone. When I think how long he had to wait to find out about Jason and how little time he and Artemis have had together, it breaks my heart."

"Why did he have to wait?"

"Because Kosmos forbade her telling him about the baby, about Jason. He said he wasn't worthy of being part of our family and that Jason would be better off without him."

Eleni was shocked but the more she thought about it, it made sense. While she liked Sophia, she'd disliked Kosmos for as long as she'd known him. Her husband kept him around for 'old time's sake', they'd been in school together and her husband said he felt sorry for him back then, a poor kid who lived with an ancient great-uncle. He wasn't the best diplomat but wasn't bad enough to let go and he was useful in tough negotiations when his heartless attitude frequently helped.

He was never allowed to work with any of their close allies. When he'd requested leave to go to his daughter's wedding in DC, there had been many hurried and sometimes heated discussions with the Greek Embassy in Washington. When they learned through the Greek Ministry of State that the American FBI was vetting him and would watch his every move, the Washington Embassy finally agreed to him coming but only if he stayed at the Embassy where they could control who he saw and spoke with and only for long enough to go to the wedding plus a few days. And those few days were only granted because with the holiday season, there wasn't a lot of room on the diplomatic flights.

"Then you're right to go home, to your mother. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Except for prayers for Artemis and her family, no, thank you, Eleni. I'll send Kosmos a text when I get on the plane, I don't want a fuss, I just want to leave. I'll also let my daughter's family know…something. Or perhaps I'll wait until we hear more."

"Will you let your mother know?"

"Yes and thank you for reminding me. Ah, the car is here. Thank you again for all your kindnesses over the years, Eleni."

Exchanging kisses, the two women parted and Sophia took her suitcase to the door where the driver met her. Realizing she would be giving up her very comfortable life, she mentally shrugged. She felt like she was exchanging the luxury of free housing, a car, driver and free flights for her family for the freedom to make her own life and that suited her just fine.

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Susannah and Ian had both called off work, sitting at home in their flat, jumping at every noise. They spoke off and on but there wasn't anything to say until Ian suddenly realized what they needed to do.

"Suse, let's pack our bags and stay with my parents until Artie gets home. Then we'll go visit the family."

She opened her mouth but just nodded. Ian's parents were wonderful, she loved them as much as her sister loved Tim's father and siblings. Throwing a few things in a suitcase, they were on their way in a few minutes.

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When Rob woke about 6:30 AM to eat, he read a text from his dad that had him throwing clothes in a bag and calling his supervisor to tell her about Artie. He was on his way in minutes, riding the Tube to Brambury. At the stop, he shouldered his bag and started walking. An unmarked car pulled up and a familiar face peered out. "Any news yet, mate? Come on, I'll give you a lift."

"Thanks, Clayton. Nothing new. Tim talked to her a few hours ago, she was trying to get to the airport. Nothing since but my dad says cell service was bad when she and Tim talked. Took him 15 tries to get through to her."

"Horrible. But you know, she's probably sitting on a plane waiting to taxi out. Have to think positive, eh?"

"Yes. You don't know anything?"

"No, sorry, and if I did, I probably wouldn't be allowed to share it with you. All right, here we are."

Rob nodded his thanks as he climbed out of the car to join his family.

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Tony woke to the sound of a new text on his phone. He frowned, a new case would mean a phone call, what the heck?

After reading the message from Gibbs, he nearly ran downstairs to the living room to turn the TV on. He and Maggie had been talking about moving it into the bedroom but hadn't done anything about it yet. Good thing, let her sleep.

Clicking through to ZNN and then BBC America, he turned on closed captioning and muted the sound while he jumped back and forth between stations, watching the horrifying video of an ancient city being destroyed piece by piece. He jumped physically when an arm circled his waist. "Where's that?"

"Amzida."

"Oh my God, Artie!"

"Yeah, Dad sent me a text. Mimi, Artie's grandmother, called Tim early their morning to tell him this," he gestured to the screen, "was rumored to be happening. Tim called Artie, took him 15 tries to get through and then he could hardly understand her because of the cell service. He believes she said she was on her way to the airport but there's been no word since."

"How far would it be, from her place to the airport?"

"I don't know."

"We know her address there, let's Google and see."

He nodded, tearing his eyes from the TV screen long enough to see the answer. "45 minutes. She was already on the way and it's been at least 3 hours."

"Was she alone?"

"I don't know, Dad didn't say."

"It could just be cell service."

"There's nothing on the news about flights in or out."

They looked at each other.

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In Baltimore, Lu sat, her eyes glued to ZNN; during commercials, she'd switch to BBC America. One by one her boys arrived, bringing breakfast for all of them, holding her hand. While none of them knew Artie that well yet, she was Tim's love and the thought of him possibly losing her so soon after they'd reconnected made them hurt. Then too, they thought of Tim's children, all of the guys having been children who'd lost their parents, some to violence. Lu told them Tim's adoption of Marissa had been finalized and that made them feel a little better, at least she was legally safe.

When Lu asked Freddie about Abby, he blinked back tears. "She went to the convent. She said the only thing she could do is pray and that's what she's going to do, with her friend Sister Rosita and the others."

Bill thought about that, "Those the sisters she bowls with?"

"Yeah."

Bill huffed, "I didn't know they're nuns! She always says 'sisters', I just thought, you know, that they were a group of sisters."

That got a little laugh and then the video changed and they turned their attention back to the TV.

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Ducky woke, with an awful feeling that something was wrong. He looked at the time, he'd been asleep for several hours. Then he noticed his cell phone was lit up. He knew he hadn't missed a call out, Jimmy would have called him if he had. Then he remembered Jimmy was on paternity leave, spending time with their new foster child David.

Pulling the phone to him, he saw he had a new text and with a growing sense of dread, saw it was from Jethro. Opening the message, he read it with horror and then jumped when another text popped up, this one from Sarah, thanking everyone, on behalf of Tim, for their love but please not to tie up his phone. He sent an immediate text of love and hope to Sarah and then climbed out of bed. There was no way he'd be able to sleep until he knew that Artemis was safe. He wouldn't wake Jimmy and Breena, they'd learn soon enough.

After making himself a pot of tea, he turned the television on and sat, waiting for his tea to steep, feeling sadder and lonelier than he thought he'd ever been. His heart ached for Tim and the children. And Jethro and Tim's siblings. He jumped again when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ducky, it's Tony. Did I wake you?"

"No, I woke up with a horrible feeling and found Jethro's text waiting for me – and the one from Sarah. Have you heard anything?"

"No. Maggie and I have ZNN and BBC on but there's nothing new, we noticed the video we just saw was one that played an hour ago."

"So nothing fresh."

"Not yet. Are you all right? We could come over, bring breakfast. The bakeries are open."

Ducky started to say no and then changed his mind, he wouldn't mind the company and perhaps he could be of some help to his friends. "That would be lovely, Anthony, thank you. Are you going in to work later?"

"No, well yes, but we're off rotation. I let Ellie know, didn't know if she was on the original text. We'll be over in about a half hour, all right?"

"Yes, that's fine, thank you. I'll put the coffee on."

Disconnecting, Ducky realized he too would need to go into work. He'd rather be there, with other people who cared about Tim and his bride, then here at home, waiting by himself. With a huff, he rose and headed back to his room to shower and dress before his friends arrived.

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In Brambury, it was noon and still no news. Susannah sent Tim a text saying she and Ian were with his parents and Tim sighed in relief, glad to hear it. He and Mimi had exchanged a few calls; the last time they talked she said her priest and some of her neighbors were there with her, praying. That made Tim cry and he gave the phone to Sarah.

His dad was having as hard a time as he was, this bringing back memories of the worst days of his life, when he was told his wife and daughter were dead. He'd talked to Lu a few times and that helped, then he could be more help to his son and his grandchildren.

The kids were glued to them, terrified. They'd move from their father to Grandpa to Aunt Sarah, Uncle Rob, Mr. James and back to Papa again. Knowing that Greg and Kyle were remembering the loss of their first mother made it even tougher and Tim held onto them so fiercely he was afraid he was hurting them. He kept thinking of Marissa, thankful his adoption of her had been finalized weeks ago. If the unthinkable happened, at least they could stay together.

In mid-afternoon, they decided to go for a walk. They knew the cell phone worked on the path in back of the house, they'd used it out there before. They all went, the boys holding hands with each other and their papa. Grandpa carried Rissa. She would have been fine walking but Grandpa and Papa were sad and scared and carrying her made Grandpa a little less scared. She missed her mahnoola and wished she was home.

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Artie nearly cried when they stumbled onto the airport grounds as a jet took off. Gesture whispered, "That won't be the only one, don't worry. Keep on going."

They'd had to leave the scooters behind when they'd come too close to a gun battle and the tires were shot out. They'd hidden until the bullets stopped and then walked the rest of the way to the airport, hiding in doorways, behind dumpsters and bushes whenever there were other people. Twice they'd had to wait nearly 30 minutes for whoever else was out there to go away. Although her escorts had their own packs, they rotated carrying hers as well, wearing it on their chests. Right now, she was carrying it. She put one foot ahead of another and kept going. It was all she could do, she had to get home to her family.

During their trek, she'd given names to her escorts. The man who'd made the gesture was named Gesture. The man she'd sat behind on the scooter while he drove was Driver. The third man was Smiley because he would occasionally give her a bit of a smile.

Finally, they could see the terminals. Artie had been afraid, several hours ago, before she'd nearly stepped on the first dead body she'd ever seen, that there would be so many people that there would be no seats left on any flights for the four of them but now the terminal they could see best looked empty.

Gesture shook his head, "Looks like not many made it here."

"But will there be more planes?"

"Yes. We got this far, didn't we?"

"Yes, my trustworthy stranger friends."

She heard a chuckle at that and felt a little better. She'd have to remember to tell Tim.

As they got closer to the terminal, they saw there were plenty of people, mostly sitting on the floor. As the doors swooshed open, the sound of voices washed over her, she thought there were maybe a hundred or more people of all ages, murmuring to each other. As the crowd sitting on the floor caught sight of them, the murmurs slowed and stopped. She noticed the passports she could see in passing were all Turkish.

As they crossed to the ticket counter in silence, feeling somehow incongruous after their struggle to get here, a baby cried and Artie noticed no one shushed him or her, or murmured to the child. She turned to look and saw an infant, probably 3 or 4-months old, lying on a blanket on the floor. There was no one within 20 feet of the baby. Moving to the people closest, Artie asked if the mother or father was nearby. An older woman answered, saying a woman had come in, put the baby down, told her, when she was asked, that the baby was 4-months old, and then said she would be back. It was then they'd noticed she was bleeding from a hole in her stomach. Some of them had tried to help her, but she was dead in minutes. A man, sitting near the woman who was talking, said the child was obviously cursed. Everyone around him rolled their eyes but no one got up to help the baby.

With a look at her trustworthy escorts, Artie picked up the baby and the blanket, taking her, she'd decided the baby was a girl because of her own little daughter, with them to the ticket counter. Without saying a word, Driver removed her pack from her shoulder.

As they were given information about the next flight, the counter person checked their passports. When Artie started to say something about the baby, the woman talked over her, saying emphatically, "Babies under a year travel under their parents' passport."

Artemis opened her mouth to continue what she'd been going to say, that this wasn't her child. She shut her mouth again, realizing the people waiting might help the baby at the last minute but they hadn't done anything so far. She decided to take the child with her. They'd contact the International Red Cross when she got home, try to find her father or other family.

"What's the baby's name?"

"Hope. Hope Luella McGee." Following Greek tradition, she used the name of the woman Tim saw as his mother and thus the baby's grandmother, for the baby's middle name. If little Hope turned out to be a boy, she didn't want to check in the middle of the terminal, she'd change his first name to Nikolas, her uncle's name, and give him Jethro as his middle name. Whoever the baby was, he or she would need a strong identity.

"Pretty name. All right, your paperwork is ready. Your flight will leave in about 30 minutes. Plenty of time to get the baby changed and something to eat."

Artie was amazed when the woman handed her a box of milk and a package of diapers. Leaning forward, the woman whispered, "It's all I could find for her. Take her and be safe."

The group of 4, now 5, headed to the gate. The security area was empty, no scans to go through today. They stopped at a restroom with a baby changing station. Artie was amused and thankful when Gesture came in with her. They smiled at each other as she removed the dirty diaper. Hope was indeed Hope.

When they got to the gate, a flight attendant put them right on the plane. "We're not waiting to board, we're leaving as soon as possible."

As they boarded, they instinctively ducked as something outside of the plane exploded. A few minutes later, the pilot spoke to them. "This aircraft is not damaged. However, we have a few visitors. Please remain calm, don't panic, don't speak unless spoken to."

Several grungy looking men boarded, all holding weapons. There were a few cries but for the most part the passengers remained quiet, not wanting to attract attention. Except for little Hope. Artie had been feeding her, using an eyedropper someone handed her. She'd rinsed it out and now she was giving her minute amounts of the boxed milk. When the milk stopped, Hope was not happy.

One of the grungy men stopped, saying in Turkish, "Who is this?"

"My daughter, Hope. I was feeding her when you came in. May I continue?"

"Yes, certainly. You are Turkish?"

"No, Greek. I've been working here for a few months, almost finished." She offered her passport and visa, he looked and nodded.

"And what work was that?"

"I'm an engineer, building the new bridge over the highway for the students to use."

"Ah, we saw that earlier. It is a good bridge, honors our past while providing safety for our young ones. It will remain. You are returning to Greece?"

"Yes and then to London, where my husband and children are waiting for me."

"They left without you?"

"My sons had to return to school and my husband to his work. It's only been a few days. They had colds so I didn't want to send the baby with them."

"I see. Mrs. Engineer, thank you for speaking so honestly with me. I'm told there are no Turkish citizens on this flight, is that true?"

Artie nodded, she'd heard the counter people talking about it. "I heard the airline people say that."

"Good, we need all of our citizens. Now…" he straightened up, looking at the rest of the passengers and speaking in English, "you may thank this woman for speaking with me honestly. For that and because you are not Turkish citizens, we have no problem with you. Go home to your families."

Turning, he gestured to the others and the men left the plane. There was dead silence and then the flight attendant, who looked like she'd been crying, locked the doors. Without a word, the aircraft pushed back from the gate and taxied out. With no other flights queued up, the jet took off immediately. The flight attendant finally spoke, "I know everyone wants to use their cell phones, let their loved ones know that we're out, but please don't. Not until we've cleared Turkish airspace. It's very important, folks, despite Hope's mommy's help, we don't know what's happening on the ground."

As if to emphasize her words, something whizzed by, close to them. They held their breaths but nothing happened. To them, anyway.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

For several minutes, they flew in silence, no one saying a word. Then the flight attendant got up again. "Our pilot has asked that no one use their cell phones for the duration of the flight. Please understand, there are fighter jets from more than one country and we all saw that missile. Without knowing who and what's in the air right now, we certainly don't want to take any chances."

Twenty minutes later, the co-pilot came out to see them. He smiled, "I have good news but first I have a question. All of you boarded a flight for Athens. If things were normal today, how many of you would have Athens as your final destination?"

Artie looked around. Only her 3 friends raised their hands. "All right. We'll be landing in Athens in a few minutes, you'll feel the plane start its descent soon. Now for everyone who isn't getting off the plane there, would London Gatwick or Heathrow sound better?"

He got applause for that and he smiled, "Our status has been changed to an Evacuation flight, which means we have a little more leeway. When we land in Athens, there will be a lot of flashing lights and military there to greet us. They just want to make sure we're not a jet full of bad guys waiting to attack. That's okay, I for one will be very happy to see them. They haven't said this but we think we should all be prepared to show our passports and any other paperwork, such as visas, you have with you. We may have to wait on the tarmac for a few minutes before they allow us to pull up to the gate. We'll also be allowed to refuel. And…the baby's mother, where are you?"

Everyone pointed and Artie, in the process of burping little Hope, gave a little wave. "We'll be taking on supplies for the baby, bottles, formula, diapers. Anything else you need?"

Artie smiled, "Clothes for her, everything was lost on our hike to the airport. Leggings, a long sleeve top, socks, booties. She's 4 months old. And please, may we have some food? I don't know about anyone else but I'm starving and there's a great food court in the airport."

He smiled, "All right, what would you like?"

She told him and several other people raised their hands for that as well, a minced meat souvlaki. Artie ordered 3 for herself, along with coffee and a bottle of water.

After the flight attendants had all their orders, the co-pilot continued, "Now, back to destinations. Are there any North Americans aboard?"

Several people raised their hands and he nodded, seeming to make a decision. "We'll be flying into Heathrow." He continued, "Once we've been inspected by our friends the Greeks, you'll be able to use your cell phones, it'll be easier on the ground anyway. Back in the air, we're still at risk; we're told there's a great deal of confusion about what's going on in Turkey, although as far as we know, the violence is still limited to Amzida. We'll let you know when you can use your phones, make your calls, eat your food, and then relax, put your phones away while we continue to London Heathrow. We anticipate we'll be on the ground for two hours and unfortunately, we're not allowed off the aircraft. Also, because of our evacuation status, we aren't taking on any other passengers."

He looked at the 3 men. "You three will disembark as soon as we land. They'll question you and then get you to the terminal."

All three nodded and Artie smiled at them. She'd figured out during their hike to the airport, hours ago now, who they must be or at least how they came to know about her. But then Geordie had given that clue to Tim in the first place. Maybe she should have named the baby Georgina. Well, she still could. It wasn't as if there was a birth certificate with her!

The landing was smooth, much to everyone's relief. They sat, quietly chatting. From what Artie overheard, several of them had been on a tour together, traveling through the Mediterranean. Eventually, the pilot announced the deployment of the gangway and the senior flight attendant came forward, tapping Artie's 3 friends on their shoulders. "You're clear to disembark. The military folks are waiting for you at the bottom of the gangway. Be safe."

Artie blinked back tears as they filed past her, smiling to herself when Smiley flashed her the same gesture she'd seen so many hours ago. Their window shades were pulled down so they couldn't see outside but when the hatch opened, Artie caught a glimpse of what looked like a fleet of military vehicles. She cuddled Hope, murmuring to her and the baby made a little noise, settling against her.

When the military boarded, they were professional. They split into four teams, front and back, each side of the aisle. As Artie and Hope had their aisle to themselves and were up front, she was the first in her section to be questioned. A man in a Greek Army uniform identified himself as Captain Lekkas. She nodded and held out her passport, her visa for the UK and the now useless one for Turkey. He questioned her about her reasons for being in Amzida and she told him about her project, with his permission showing him photos of the new bridge taken yesterday. She also had papers from work and gave him those. He nodded, "Thank you, that's very comprehensive. Do you have family in Greece?"

"Yes, my grandmother."

"Where does she live?"

She told him and he smiled, saying, "My wife and I recently took our children to visit their grandparents in Thessaloniki, for Easter. While we were gone, we gave a friend of ours the key to our house. She had family coming to visit and since it was still too chilly to swim in the ocean, we thought the children would enjoy our heated pool. Then too, one of the family is recovering from an injury and she says the hot tub was wonderful for him."

Artie's mouth dropped open and tears came to her eyes. She said her grandmother's full name and the captain nodded. "Yes. I will tell her I saw you, although I think the baby will be a surprise."

Not knowing what to say about Hope, Artie tilted her head in a noncommittal gesture. While he might be a friend of her grandmother's, he was also a soldier and she didn't want to risk the baby being taken away from her or any further delay while they decided what to do. Evidently, the head tilt was enough as the captain nodded to her and moved on. The others, seeing that nothing bad or unpleasant was happening, were beginning to relax a little.

Once they'd checked everyone's legal documents, all but 3 of the military left the plane. The 3 stood at the front and spoke, in English, so all could hear. "Thank you for your patience, it was imperative that we discover who was really on this plane and we are happy and relieved you are not the insurgents. We understand you've been through some difficult times getting this far. We congratulate you on your perseverance and welcome you to the Hellenic Republic. We hope you return for a longer and more pleasant visit with us. Part of your flight crew has been sent for your food and I believe the food courts had the list already. Now, we have one more thing; Ms. Galanis, you have a visitor."

Artie looked up, her eyes asking and saw a smile on the Colonel's face. "I see it will be less effort to bring her on board. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Galanis' grandmother lives here in Greece and has been at the airport for hours, begging to see her granddaughter when your flight arrived. If there were more, we'd have a problem but she is one, so we will allow it. I believe she has been cleared to fly with you to London."

Artie stood as she heard her grandmother's voice and saw her walking up the gangway. Still holding the baby, she turned when a fellow passenger standing behind her tapped her on the shoulder, "I'll take the baby for a few minutes if you'd like."

"Thank you, yes."

The 3 military men nodded as they separated, allowing Mimi to get through. Artie nearly fell into her arms, "Yaya. Oh Yaya. I'm so happy to see you." She whispered in her ear, "Don't ask about the baby, I'll tell you later."

Mimi nodded, crying too hard to say anything, neither woman noticing the applause from the other passengers. Artie did notice when her baby minder shushed the others, pointing to the sleeping baby. The two women stood in the aisle, holding on while the military men departed. When the flight attendant and the co-pilot returned with boxes and bags of food, the two finally sat down and Artie reclaimed the baby, with another thank you.

Before they ate, the pilot announced they could now use their cell phones and Artie grabbed hers before they changed their mind. Yaya had the baby, cuddling her as she slept.

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The walk had helped calm their nerves. They'd gone as far as Butterfly Hill, now sprouting wildflowers and the trees had leaves budding. Back in the house, Tim had just removed his jacket when his cell phone chimed. His family fell quiet as he grabbed it from his pocket.

"It's Artie!" He answered as everyone else held their breaths, the adults hoping it was really Artie, and not someone using her phone.

"Hello?"

"My darling Tim, I'm in Athens, safe. I'm on an evacuation flight, we're continuing on to Heathrow. How are all of you, my loves?"

She smiled through her tears as she heard her children and family cheering. "I'm sorry it's taken so long. The scooter had to be abandoned and we hiked, I met other people along the way to the airport. We're told now we were the last flight out, there were three others before our flight. When we landed here, there were military to question us. They were kind and best of all, they allowed Yaya on the plane and she's coming home with me!"

"It's so good to hear you, sweetheart, to know you're safe and Yaya's with you. We love you so much. We'll let Susannah and everyone know."

"Thank you, send my love please. Jethro, are you there?"

"I am, daughter." Jethro leaned over to speak to Artemis, using his hands to wipe the tears of joy and relief off his face. Next to him, Tim was still crying and Sarah reached up to mop his face.

"The Christmas my loves were in Cambridge, you made something special for Jimmy and Breena."

Jethro nodded, almost saying the word aloud before realizing she hadn't said it for a reason. "Yes, I remember."

"We will need something similar, although bigger, when I get home."

"Immediately?"

"Yes."

"Consider it done."

Tim thought back to that Christmas. Breena was heavily pregnant with Victoria and Dad made them a cradle. A cradle…a baby? But bigger, maybe she meant a crib. A baby. She had a baby with her. His eyes widened but he didn't say anything, didn't even look at his father. Rob watched both of them, he also remembered but followed their example.

"Sweetheart, are you hurt at all? Rob is here but we can take you to the hospital."

"No, no, I have a few blisters and scratches from the hike and I will welcome Rob's care for those, but otherwise I am not hurt." She paused and thanked someone. "Our flight attendant just told us our estimated arrival time at Heathrow. Due to our status as an evacuation flight, we'll have first priority and the closest gate. Yaya and I will be driven to Customs and will meet you there. I have all my paperwork, no worries, my love." She gave them the flight number and their ETA.

"Honey, do you and Mimi have jackets?"

"Oh, I had not even thought of that." They heard her turning to Mimi, "Do you have a bag with you?"

"Yes, my darling girl, the flight attendant took it from me before I reached you. But I did not think to bring a jacket."

Sarah leaned toward the phone, "We'll bring jackets for both of you. Mimi, I think one of mine will fit you fine."

"Yes, Sarah, thank you."

They heard someone say something and then Artie said, "Oh, we're leaving, our flight crew thought we'd be here longer. We have to say goodbye now, loves, we can't use our cells on the flight. And my minced meat souvlaki is getting cold!"

They laughed at that as they said goodbye and disconnected. Tim stood for a few seconds before his knees buckled and he silently collapsed, folding up and nearly going to the floor. His father and brothers, James was there, caught him. The four of them sat on the floor, Sarah and the kids with them as Tim cried out his relief.

Then he called Susannah. When she answered, he said, "I have good news and I've been crying, so don't be alarmed. She's safe, unhurt except for blisters and scratches from a long walk to the airport. She called from Athens, got the last plane out, an evacuation flight. And, Susannah, Yaya's with her! They allowed her to board the plane in Athens and she's flying home with them. They're landing at Heathrow in 3 ½ hours. And there's more, a little mystery but it doesn't seem bad. Come down when you can, there will always be room for you."

He looked up as his dad waved Big Blue's keys at him, Rob and James went with him. Tim figured they were going to buy a crib or maybe a cradle or bassinet. He thought of looking through the attic but decided if there was one, it would be too old; crib design had changed to keep babies safer.

Still sitting on the floor, although they'd moved to the carpeted living room which was warmer, his children near and on him, Tim borrowed Sarah's phone and sent out a group text. "Artie is safe, on a flight home from Athens. Thank you for your prayers, they worked! Love you all. Will be in touch soon, love Tim & our babies."

Across the Atlantic, there in the UK and in Greece, there were sighs of relief, cheers and a few tears, happy ones, as their family and friends saw the good news. In Athens, Sophia sat in her hotel room, crying with joy. Her daughter was alive! Even if things remained strained with her daughters, they were alive, that was the important thing. She could live her life in peace, knowing that. Realizing she needed to let her friend know, she sent a text to Eleni Caras. She hadn't heard from Kosmos, nor did she expect to. If he heard the happy news from Eleni, so be it.

Lu was still sniffling happy tears when Jethro called to see how she was doing. "Me? I'm all right, I can't imagine how you must be feeling."

"Long, unhappy, and tense day but the best resolution. And Artie asked me to buy a crib."

"She's pregnant?"

"Don't know about that, she said it was for immediate use. But she didn't come right out and ask for the crib, she reminded me of what I'd made the Palmers before Victoria was born. And that was a cradle. Only she said bigger, so I'm guessing a crib, unless you know of something else?"

"No, the only other thing would be a bassinet but that would have the same function as a cradle. So she's somehow gained a baby, but not a newborn. How on earth, oh J, do you suppose she rescued it?"

"Only thing I can think of. Have Rob and James with me, we'll buy a crib and a few other things. Don't know if the baby is a temporary guest or permanent member of the family." He chuckled as James said something in the background. "Did you hear James? He said there is no such thing as temporary in our family."

She smiled, "He's right about that."

They chatted for a couple of minutes before disconnecting, both glad they'd talked. Jethro felt better, as if he'd reconnected with the world again while Lu felt secure and happy that he'd needed her. Their connection was growing deeper, stronger while they worked toward whatever would come next.

They found a crib with all the latest safety designs, Rob carefully examining the details. While he did that, Jethro and James found other baby stuff. Crib mattress, sleep sacks, Jethro had no idea babies didn't sleep with blankets anymore and Rob explained that to him, a sling for baby to be carried in, a rear facing infant car seat, good for babies from 8-40 pounds, blankets, things they could buy without knowing the baby's age or could exchange or return if they weren't right for baby. Lu said not a newborn and Jethro thought about that. He'd told Jimmy about babies sleeping in their parents' room until their nighttime feedings diminished. Asking the store clerk, she confirmed that was usually between 3 and 4 months. So the baby was at least that old. Any other information would have to wait.

Returning home, the men took the crib and other items upstairs to the master suite while Tim and Sarah distracted the kids with a call to Uncle Geordie. The three men put it together pretty quickly. Later, the kids played outside while Tim washed the baby bottles and poked through everything else, wondering how long the mystery baby would be with them. There wasn't a baby monitor, they could buy one tomorrow. He smiled at a note from his Department Master, telling him to take Thursday and Friday off, they'd cover for him. He replied with thanks, sending what he'd had planned as far as discussions and assignments.

When the kids came in from the backyard, they asked what time they were leaving for the airport. Tim told them, looking at his watch. Another 90 minutes and even then they'd likely be waiting. He figured by that time, they'd rather wait at the airport than home. Sitting Sarah and the kids down, he told them a few things.

"Your mama has had a really hard time so let's be gentle with her and don't get upset if she cries or hugs you too hard. She might need to sleep a lot and that's fine, we won't worry about that. The other thing is, we think she has a baby with her."

At the astonished looks, he smiled, "Remember she asked Grandpa about what he made for Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Breena?"

They nodded and he continued, "That was right before baby Victoria was born." He saw Greg's eyes widen and he smiled, "Are you remembering, Scooter bug? Your grandpa built a bed for a tiny baby, called a cradle, for them."

Greg nodded, saying, "Were there baby ducks on the sides?"

"Yes, good memory, kiddo! Your mama said we'd need one of those but bigger and right away. We think she's bringing a baby home with her and asked your grandpa that so we'd know to have a crib for the baby."

Andy blinked, "How did you know all that?"

"Because your mother is a very smart person and she remembered me saying that my dad made a cradle for Jimmy and Breena's baby and knew if she reminded him of the cradle but said it would need to be bigger, we'd think she might have a baby with her."

"Wow! Did you know all that from your work?"

Sarah chuckled, "They do, Andy. They know how to look into the words that people say, to see if there are other meanings."

"That's awesome."

Tim ruffled his hair, "We don't do it all the time, sweetie, most of the time people really do mean what they're saying. But in a situation where you might not want people around you to know what you're saying, it comes in handy."

Kyle was quiet, thinking. "Is it a girl baby or a boy baby?"

"We don't know yet."

"Did Mimi bring her or is it Mama's?"

"Ah, that's a good question. I think it's probably your mother's."

"How come the baby isn't with its mama and papa?"

"We don't know that yet, either. But when we see her, we'll let her rest and eat before we ask too many questions."

Andy smiled, "She'll probably tell us anyway, Kyle."

"Okay."

Rissa grinned, "I hope it's a girl, then I won't be the only one!"

"That's the other thing, kids. We don't know how long the baby will stay with us. Maybe it got separated from its parents and they'll come get her or him. Or maybe there's a Yaya or a Mimi."

When Greg whispered, "Or an uncle", Tim wrapped his arms around him. "Or an uncle or aunt who will love that baby as if it's their very own." Greg leaned into him for a hug and Kyle joined them, vaguely remembering when his first mommy died and Papa, who was Tim their uncle then, had taken them home with him, kept them safe.

"Bunk beds, Daddy?"

"No, Kyle, the baby's probably too young for that. It'll sleep in our room tonight. Want to see the crib that your grandpa and uncles put together?"

As they trooped up the stairs, Kyle pulled on his sleeve, "Daddy, is put together different from building?"

"Yes." Tim explained the difference, adding that even their master builder couldn't build a crib in less than a day. They giggled at that and he relaxed a little bit more.

Finally, it was time to go to the airport. They brought the baby sling, car seat, jackets, a pair of sneakers and socks for Artie and two of Rissa's old baby blankets. And their very relieved and happy selves.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Once in safe air space, Artie was allowed to text Tim with their flight number and a message to call the airline and give her name to get their final arrival time. The evacuees' names had not been released to the media, so no one but those who had been contacted by the evacuees would know.

When Tim called, he was given the time and told he and his family could join his wife, daughter, and grandmother in a special Customs area set up for them. That told him the baby was a girl and that Artie had passed her off as her own baby. He shared that piece of information with Dad, his sister and brothers.

They'd be in the same room and could see them, but wouldn't be able to physically greet them until through Customs. And everyone allowed through would have to go through Security first. Tim had no problems with that and explained to his family. It was a way to keep their homecoming private.

He asked his dad to drive, saying he was too distracted and his father pulled him in for a hug and kiss. Tim wrapped his arms tight around his dad, realizing how painful this must have been for him, to go through it again. Although with Shannon and Kelly, there'd been no suspense – and no save.

They were directed to park in a different lot, another way to avoid the media tonight, and were happy to have a much shorter walk. Having no suitcases with them also helped. Sarah had the jackets, Rob had his medical kit, Andy the shoes and socks, Greg the baby sling, Dad and James the baby blankets. Kyle and Rissa held Papa's hands as they walked in.

They went through a different Security area than they were used to and were directed to a large room with what looked like temporary walls. Among the first to arrive, Sarah, Dad, Tim and the children stood in front while Rob and James stood to the side, not wanting to block anyone else's view. They'd talked with Geo before they left, he'd tried to get leave for tonight but was turned down. Tim promised to bring Artie and Mimi to see him in the next couple of days. He was having another treatment on Friday and the doctors wanted him to stay at the hospital through that treatment.

When the Customs staff arrived, they knew it was time. Other people had joined them and one of the women tapped Sarah on the shoulder, "Are you the family with the mother and baby coming home? My sister told me she saved them all."

Sarah nodded, looking at Tim, whose eyebrows were at his hairline. He turned, "My wife will probably be modest about it. Do you know any more?"

"Yes, she was sitting behind your wife and the baby. Before they could leave Amzida, several rough men came aboard. They'd been warned not to panic or speak unless spoken to. Your wife had been feeding the baby with an eye dropper and stopped when the men came aboard. The baby started crying and one of the men asked what was wrong with her. Your wife said she'd been feeding her and would it be all right if she continued. He said yes and she resumed. He asked what the baby's name was and she said Hope. Then he asked if she was Turkish and she said no, Greek and gave him her passport without him having to ask. He asked more questions and she answered them very calmly and honestly, about her work and then he said he liked the bridge she'd built, that it honored their past and would remain. Then he turned to the rest of the passengers and said none of them were Turkish, they would be allowed to leave and that they should thank your wife for her honesty. And to go home to their families. My sister said just about everyone cried when the men left."

Tim tried to breathe evenly. Finally he nodded, one arm around Andy, who was shaking. "That's our Artemis. Calm and collected." He pulled Andy and Rissa toward him before thanking the woman. She nodded with a smile.

In the enclosed room, they hadn't realized how close they were to the gate but then they heard a plane pulling up, the engines shutting down and realized they were just steps from the outer door. In minutes, there was a blast of cold air as a cart full of baggage appeared and the Customs staff began sorting it. The first people to appear in the Customs room were their loved ones, Artie, carrying a tiny bundle, and Mimi. The family cheered even while they had tears running down their cheeks. With only Artie's backpack and Mimi's carry-on, they went through passport control/Customs fairly quickly. Mimi took the baby while her granddaughter was swamped by her husband and children, followed by Jethro, Rob, Sarah and James. Then they transferred to Mimi, while Tim took the baby.

"Hello, baby Hope, welcome home, sweetie!"

The drowsy baby looked at him and gurgled. He smiled, "Oh, you're beautiful!"

Eventually, they left, getting into Big Blue before anyone noticed them. Once they reached home, Artie told all of them, with Susannah, Ian, Lu, Bill, Jose, Freddie, Barry, Tony, Ducky, Jimmy and Abby on Skype, about the long, difficult hike to the airport. She said she'd joined with three brothers, riding on the back of a scooter until they'd had to abandon the scooters in favor of walking.

She told them there was too much debris in the streets to be able to get through on the scooters. In some ways, it was easier walking as the scooters were noisy and attracted attention. By walking, they could more easily hide or move in a different direction if they saw or heard anything they wanted to avoid. The adults listening thought they'd hear the real details at some point.

She told of her grief as they neared the airport and saw a jet leaving. "I thought that was it, but one of the brothers told me there would be others, that we'd gotten that far. It took us till nearly evening to reach the airport. When we first saw the terminal," she told them about thinking the terminals were empty and then seeing that everyone was sitting on the floor.

"Why, Mama?"

"They were all Turkish citizens, Greg. I guess the government didn't want them to leave the country." She took a breath, "That's where I found the baby. She was by herself, about 20 feet from anyone else, lying on a blanket wearing a diaper and a little shirt. I heard a baby cry and no one responded. No one shushed her or murmured. That's not normal for the Turkish people I met. I've seen people voluntarily help total strangers, especially children. I don't know what caused them to leave the baby alone. I do know they were all scared for their lives and they were all sitting still in one place, as if someone ordered them to sit and be still or something horrible would happen to them. I don't know...

"I asked the people closest and they said a woman brought her in, put her down and said she'd be back, but she was badly injured. She collapsed and died before anyone could help her. She didn't have any ID on her, she must have been like the rest of us, ran out with her baby and not much else. I didn't see her, she must have been moved. So I took the baby. We went to the ticket counter to find out the next flight and the lady there told me right away that babies under a year travel under their parents' passport.

"I knew she'd seen me pick up the baby, I knew she knew it wasn't mine. But I also knew then that if I didn't take the baby, she might die. The ticket counter lady asked me what the baby's name was and I said, 'Hope Luella McGee'. I didn't know that she was a girl, I hadn't had time to check. I decided if Hope was a boy, I'd name him Nikolas Jethro McGee.

"Before we left the ticket counter, the nice lady gave me a box of milk and a package of diapers and whispered that was all she could find for her and to take her and be safe. Someone, I don't remember who, handed me an eye dropper, saying I could feed the baby with it. I rinsed it out and fed her milk with it. When we landed in Athens, the co-pilot brought supplies for us, a baby bottle, more diapers, blanket and clothes. I think he knew, too. I thought I'd get her home with us and then contact the International Red Cross. Her father may have been at work or away from home when her mother took her. She could have aunties and uncles, a yaya and pappous, too."

"Mama, Papa told us how you told him and Grandpa that you had a baby with you. But you were safe, you were on the plane in Athens. How come you didn't tell him?"

She smiled at Tim and Jethro and then turned back to her children. "I haven't told you that part yet, sweetie! Before we left Amzida, we were told not to use our cell phones, even before we took off; there were fighter jets from different countries in the air and our pilots didn't want any of the military jets to think we had bad guys with us because of a cell phone signal. Then, before we landed in Athens, the co-pilot told us that because of everything going on, we would land in Athens but wouldn't be allowed to taxi to a gate. Instead, we would taxi to a special area where military people would come aboard and check to make sure we were who we said we were. Sort of like going through Customs without leaving our seats. Captain Lekkas was my customs' officer and he checked my papers and then smiled. He told me he and his family had gone to Thessaloniki for two weeks over Easter and they'd given the key to the house to a friend who would have visitors, well, you know who he turned out to be?"

Tim and Jethro were smiling, they both had an inkling. Mimi grinned as Artie continued, "He's the owner of our pool and hot tub, that's who he is! He said he'd call Mimi right away, tell her he saw me and that the baby and I were safe."

"Now, I hadn't told anyone that the baby wasn't mine, that I'd just picked her up off the airport floor and kept her. I was pretty sure the ticket counter people told the flight crew but they didn't say anything. I didn't tell the passengers because it wasn't any of their business and I didn't tell Captain Lekkas because I didn't want to delay the flight. I was sure there would be a fuss and they might even take the baby from me. So I didn't say anything to him, although I'm sure he knew the baby wasn't mine."

She stopped for breath and Mimi jumped in, "I was already at the airport, we'd heard rumors that evacuation flights were coming through Athens. Father Dimakos and the others left after our prayers and I decided to go to the airport and wait, even if I had to stay overnight somewhere. So I took an overnight bag with me and threw my passport in my handbag. Then my neighbor Andrina Sotiropoulos drove me in. She waited with me for a few hours but had to leave for a medical appointment.

"When we got to the airport, I went to the ticket counters of every airline to ask about a flight coming in from Amzida. They all said no, but one of the ticket people wouldn't look me in the eye when he said no and I decided that was the airline. I waited hours after Andrina left, watching the planes coming in and leaving. Finally, from the terminal I could see the military vehicles arriving and I hoped that meant a flight was coming in from Amzida. I couldn't get through Security of course, so I just kept waiting. Then I saw a plane taxi in but it never went to a gate and was not announced. Forty minutes later, I had a text from Peter, that's Captain Lekkas, that he'd seen Artie and that she and the baby were safe. I replied that I was at the airport and asked if I could see her. That's how I met baby Hope and got to fly home with your mama!"

The group, on Skype and at the house, applauded and the two women laughed, hugging everyone again. The baby slept through everything, finally waking as the kids were going to bed that night. Kyle looked at her, "Hi, baby Hope. I'm your brother Kyle. Now we have 2 sisters!" Greg grinned at his little brother, then leaned over and kissed the baby, "Hi, little sister. I'm your brother Greg, happy to meet you. You're going to love our family."

Tim opened his mouth, looked at his wife and shrugged, they had no idea what would happen with Hope. He fed her, Artie showing him how to hold a bottle and then she burped her. Tim laughed at the enormous belch coming out of such a tiny being. "No wonder babies cry when they have gas! With that much in them, it must take up their whole body!"

He kissed the baby and then his wife. "You're exhausted, in case you didn't know. You're on house rest for the rest of the week. I'll contact the Red Cross in the morning and see what we need to do."

"You're a foster parent."

"In the States, yes. Not here."

She yawned and he took the baby, changed her, put pajamas on her and then slipped her into one of the sleep sacks Dad brought home. "There you go, little one. Sleep well and hopefully all night."

Then he undressed his wife, helping her to the shower, helped her in the shower, restraining himself because she was exhausted, put a nightgown on her as he was sure the kids would invade in the morning, and tucked her in. She smiled, "My gallant husband. Love you so much! Think we should name Hope after Geordie? Because of the Gesture?"

"I think he would not like that because that is something that cannot be told to anyone, ever."

"Not even Jethro?"

"Only with the captain's permission."

She started to say something but fell asleep before she completed her thought.

While Wednesday had been excruciatingly long, tense and terrifying, Thursday was chaotic and confusing, at least outside the house. By morning, the media had the story of the woman who saved the plane full of evacuees, whose grandmother had somehow gotten on the plane in Athens and flown to London with them. The grungy guy's comments about the bridge she built were quoted as well as his comment that she'd saved their lives by being honest with him.

Before the media figured out where she lived, the McGees' protectors got busy. With the permission of the landlord, quick to approve once he discovered he could keep everything, by days' end there was an 8 foot privacy fence around the entire property, with the special approval of Brambury's town government. They normally didn't like fences and certainly not fences more than 6 feet tall but decided the fence would add to the allure of the property and thus the town. The back and side gate locks were improved and additional security cameras were added, overlooking every point of entry to the property and the house. The backyard was secured so the family would still have privacy, even from the sky.

The firm that had Artie under contract issued a statement saying the firm was proud to have Artemis Galanis as one of their leading engineers. That was news to Artie as her contract had less than 6 weeks to go and no one had approached her about another project, much less commenting on her current one. She didn't want one anyway, unless she could work from home or a local office, but that was beside the point. A practical woman, she printed the statement, adding it to her CV.

Talk shows in the UK and several European countries bombarded the firm, wanting Artie to tell her story to them. The U.S. talk and morning news shows weren't far behind and the family had fun guessing who would make the next or the largest offer. When it became evident that the media wasn't going away, that is, no bigger or more sensational news story broke to take her off their minds, she pondered what to do. When Sarah offered to ask her publicist, she agreed.

What transpired was a simple statement from Artemis Galanis. Mentioning her childhood in a diplomatic environment, she said she'd found honesty was usually best and that the man on the plane hadn't asked her anything she felt was out of line. She said she hadn't thought about saving lives, she'd wanted to get the baby fed. She pointed out that none of them knew if he was one of the protestors or part of the existing government. Then she spoke of Amzida, the beautiful ancient city, of the architects and designers who made an effort to honor the city and country's past. She talked about the friendly, warm people of Amzida who'd made her feel welcome and safe. Her penultimate sentence reached out to them as well as the rest of the citizens of Turkey, with a simple hope that their lives would soon be made whole again. In closing, she asked those reading or watching to direct their energies to resolving conflict rather than chasing after gossip or the 'next big story'.

Rather than ending her '15 minutes of fame', it whetted the appetite of the news agencies and their customers. However, she was done and went about her life ignoring those who stuck cameras and microphones in her face. In due time, a less fortunate soul nudged her out of the limelight.

Tim contacted the International Red Cross on Thursday, explaining the baby Hope situation. Friday, the couple drove into London with the baby, where a DNA sample was taken and she was evaluated by the organization's physicians.

The International Red Cross helped secure temporary custody for them while the couple worked to qualify as foster parents in the UK. When they achieved that, Hope legally became their foster child. In the meantime, they'd received a letter from the Red Cross that no relatives had been found for the baby.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Aside from their trip into London for the meeting with the Red Cross, the family stayed close to home those first few days after Artie, Mimi, and Hope's arrival. The baby settled in without any problems, sleeping through the night most of the time, to everyone's relief.

Grandpa, Mimi, Sarah, and Rob, when he was home, put themselves on diaper duty with Tim and Artie and that helped. The baby spent her waking hours either being cuddled or on a blanket, eventually replaced with a belly mat with all sorts of fun things for her to play with and learn from.

The children were fascinated by little Hope. Andy and Greg laughed at Kyle and Rissa's reactions to the first smelly diaper, both remembering when their younger siblings had been the ones with the diaper bombs.

Andy knew how to hold the baby and showed Greg, who then remembered holding baby Victoria and baby Kyle before her. Kyle and Rissa were allowed to hold her, as long as an adult was also sitting with them.

Within days of Hope's arrival, presents began to arrive in the mail. Clothes, stuffed animals, a mobile for her crib, learning toys for her, more sleep sacks, leggings, tops, booties and hats, larger clothes for warmer weather, all kinds of thoughtful items, from their family in Europe and the US. Holding multiple Skype sessions, the Greek and American family met the baby that first Saturday.

A surprise gift came from Yaya Sophia, who'd heard about the baby from her mother. She sent long letters to her daughters and included the family christening outfit with her gift. She wanted to offer it for Hope if she hadn't yet been christened.

The letters and gift were topics of much discussion between Artemis, Susannah and Mimi. The letters were apologetic, full of remorse for her lifetime of inaction and joy that Artemis had survived the horrors. She told her daughters that even if they never forgave her for allowing their father to treat them as he had, as long as they were alive and happy, she could find some peace.

Mimi insisted on making the first contact, talking with her daughter via Skype so that she could gauge her sincerity. Her worry was that one word from Kosmos would send her daughter scurrying back to him. When she heard there had been no word from him, nothing, that made her worry even more. She didn't trust him, had never trusted him. When her daughter said she planned to divorce Kosmos, she urged her daughter to get legal help immediately. She would need to make sure she was not left penniless after 4 decades of marriage. When Sophia told her the name of the lawyer she was already working with, Mimi finally relaxed a little. He was known as a pit bull, her daughter would be taken care of. They came up with a plan to use if Kosmos did surface.

In the meantime, Mimi told Sophia she had a lot of work to do to establish new, healthy relationships with her daughters, that neither of them trusted her. She was encouraged to hear Sophia's acceptance of that and her willingness to work for their trust and affection.

The Monday after Artie's return, she had a letter from the engineering firm, citing her contract and the clause allowing her to leave without penalty if there were problems. There wasn't a problem, the Legal Department of the firm wanted to confirm that she would be paid as agreed and there would be no penalty, also as agreed.

There was also a handwritten note from the head of the firm, thanking her for her wonderful work and expressing hope that the government of Amzida would someday want to finish the bridge. He also said if she was interested in more work, to let him know, they'd love to continue working with her. Artie showed Tim who agreed when she said she'd be happy to take on something local or something she could supervise from home but that she wouldn't leave them again. It was too hard, especially now with baby Hope.

Mimi stayed with them for a week before flying home, saying she needed more clothes, she'd been alternating wearing Sarah's clothes with the few things she'd thrown in her overnight bag on the way to the airport. And she wanted to see Sophia in person with the hope they'd be able to start mending fences between them.

While the family said goodbye to Mimi and adjusted to their newest and youngest member, Abby contacted Gibbs, not sure if she should postpone her trip. Told to pack her bags and get on the plane, she did so, arriving on a Sunday, 11 days after Artie's return.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By now I hope it's obvious that I'm creating my own rules of fostering, adoption and several other things. Fiction, have no idea if there's a glint of reality to them. They fit the story. Enjoy!


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

While Artie had been away and now with everything going on, they still hadn't decided where to go for the May 1st holiday. First, they'd selected the French Riviera, then changed it to Stockholm, then to Oslo and Copenhagen but also thought about Barcelona, which wouldn't be hot in early May. And had beaches, ocean beaches, where the kids could play.

Finally, they'd asked Abby to decide. As many hours as she worked, she still had more time to research the different cities and countries than they did, especially after Hope's sudden arrival. They gave Abby their criteria, reachable by air, preferably nonstop, plenty of activities for the adults and kids, activities that needed to be split between the littles and the older boys. They'd need lodging where they could be together, preferably Airbnb, that was child and baby friendly and no more than 1 flight of stairs, a working elevator was fine, with public transportation, including Uber or Lyft. Decent weather was another item, sunshine without too much heat and fingers crossed, no rain. And that was for a long weekend. Artie added the locations and countries that would be the most crowded for the May 1st holiday.

Once Abby made a decision, she sent her spreadsheet to the couple. When Artie saw it, she laughed, understanding a little more why this woman remained a good friend of her husband's, they were both organizational geeks! Abby's spreadsheet looked very much like one of Tim's. She'd built columns for each of the criteria, including splitting activities between the littles, older boys and adults. The various locations made up the rows, with a comment section at the end of the criteria, for each location. Apparently, the comments had gotten a bit unwieldy as the first two had information while the rest referenced spreadsheet grid numbers for the comments about that location. Tim and Artie laughed at one of them about Stockholm that said, "Tim, no fish. What else to eat there?"

Her decision was Stockholm, surprising Tim who thought she'd go for the more traditional southern European choice of Barcelona. She'd based it on activities for each group, the weather, whether or not it would be crowded, cost of airfare and the availability and cost of lodging to accommodate the group. There were 11 of them for this trip, Dad, Sarah and James were going with them. She included an email that said she'd had to think long and hard about the locations. While she'd originally thought Sweden and Denmark would fit her personal preferences better, during her research she realized there was too much to see and do in Stockholm for just two days.

She recommended they spend the long weekend in Stockholm and plan a trip to Denmark at another time. Cost-wise, she'd found two great Airbnb homes that would suit them. In addition, she thought it would be easier on everyone if they experienced one city. They'd experience more of it than they would by splitting their time between two cities. She forwarded links to the Airbnb homes and they contacted both hosts, hoping at least one of them was still available.

They were pleased with the decision and also with not having to do the research. When they told the others, they were happy about the location. The kids were happy about learning and seeing more about the Vikings while Dad smiled, saying, "I'm looking forward to seeing something different from the other places we've been. We'll have to come back to Copenhagen and the other places once we move home and are sweltering during the summer."

Tim chuckled, "Isn't that why we're buying the 100 acre woods up in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine?"

"Or, Timiny, _or_! Vermont _or_ New Hampshire _or_ Maine, not all 3 states! And we're not buying Christopher Robin's Hundred Acre Woods, just a few acres. Maybe 8 or 10."

Artie laughed, "Jethro, that number gets bigger every time you mention it."

"The kids will need lots of room to play and explore. And we've just added another child, so I added another acre or two. Gotta keep up."

Tim was laughing now, "I can see the sign, 'Welcome to Gibbs' Camp & Playland! No one over 18 allowed'."

"Adults welcome if they're young at heart."

"Ooh, nice save. I know some people who would probably faint at hearing you talk like this."

"So do I. Let 'em, I'm busy having a good time proving an old dog can learn new tricks if he wants to."

James ended that conversation by howling like a dog as he joined them, waking the baby. He received his first ever head slap, a light one as he wasn't formally a Gibbs, hadn't declared himself a Gibbs or married a Gibbs, yet. And Hope had been sleeping through every noise, so the head slap was more along the lines of 'don't do that again' rather than 'you woke my new grandbaby, you're on my s**t list!'"

As they looked at all there was to see and do in Stockholm, Tim wished his brothers could go with them. However, Rob had to work and Geordie would be seeing Bec. She'd volunteered to work in London for two weeks, including over the May 1st holiday, while London's SFA, Lydia Worden, was on vacation. With Bec's prior experience as a temporary SFA while the Athens senior field agent was on maternity leave, the London gig would do wonderful things for her career. And she was excited about working in London, learning more and of course, getting to know Geordie better.

By the time Abby's plane touched down at Heathrow on the morning of the 24th of April, they were all set for their holiday weekend, now they just had to wait for it.

Gibbs and Tim took Big Blue to Heathrow to pick her up, glad she was flying in on a Sunday morning. Although they were a few minutes early, Tim looked online and said Abby's flight was on the ground, taxiing to a gate. They headed for Customs to wait for her, spotting their protection detail and both sighing, wondering how much longer that would go on. Tim had let their protectors know about Abby's arrival and their trip to Stockholm. Two days later, he'd had a text that everything was set. He was just glad Sweden wasn't one of the 6 countries waiting to extradite Hatman!

They saw her as she entered the Customs hall, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, looking healthy, if a bit tired, without her customary dark eye makeup. Her usual dog collar was also missing and Tim quietly wondered if Ducky had had a word with her before she left. Dad had said he'd handle it and now Tim thought that if he'd delegated to Ducky, it had worked well. Both men noticed she seemed a little shorter than usual and realized she must not be wearing her platform boots.

She spotted them just as they saw her and they waved, big smiles on all their faces. Abby thought Tim looked tired but considering the last few weeks, she could understand that, especially with a new baby, although she wasn't a newborn. But 5 kids, wow! Customs wasn't bad, she'd been expecting worse but then she didn't have anything to declare coming in. Wait until she went home! She was so excited to finally be here, it was sweet of Gibbs to pay her airfare. She hadn't told him but Luca and his family still needed some financial help so if he hadn't sent her that gift card for the airfare, she wouldn't be here. Things would be all right now, though. When she'd been at Ducky's for a bon voyage lunch, he'd wormed it out of her, the Luca thing. He'd promptly written her a check, much to her consternation. And relief. She'd been happy and upset but knew it would help her family and trusted Ducky not to leave himself short. And Gibbs had said, before, to let one of them know so she had. Well, Ducky had to work to get it from her but then she'd just blurted it out and felt better and terrible, all at the same time. She jolted to the present when the Customs guy asked her how long she was going to be here. She said two weeks this time and grinned, hoping to come back next year, before they moved home. She had so much she wanted to see and do, a whole list, including Spain, France, Denmark, Norway and Finland. And the Netherlands and Belgium, places with rain, lovely rain and not as much sun and heat as home. She wanted to run to Gibbs and McGee, but remembered her suitcase and carry-on. She hadn't brought much, Ducky told her not to, she could buy things over here. She couldn't believe she was here and then she was in their arms, laughing and then crying because she was so happy to be here, finally!

Tim drove them home, listening to his friend chattering, about the bon voyage lunch at Ducky's, everything before and after and then the flight. He'd once asked Tony if Gibbs had been a functional mute before he met Abby or became one after. Then he felt terrible for saying it, although he and Tony laughed themselves silly about it. He'd given himself a head slap for making such a mean comment about a good friend. Now he felt terrible for thinking about it and resolved to be a better friend.

"Abby, did you sleep on the flight?"

"I did! I didn't think I would, you know how nervous flying makes me. But the flight attendant had to wake me up to serve breakfast so I must have been asleep."

Gibbs smiled, "That's the best kind of sleep, you just drop into it without knowing."

Tim snorted, "Took me until my last year at MIT to be able to do that, loved it. And then I joined the MCRT and that was the end of that."

"Hey, you got sleep! Not much of it, but you did sleep."

The 3 of them laughed at the truth of that. Gibbs pointed out various landmarks as they drove home, noticing there was more traffic on the road. When Tim frowned, Dad said, "Big football game today."

"Oh yeah, forgot about that."

"That's what we call soccer, right?"

"Yes. Although there are a few American-style football teams here now. I don't think it'll ever top their football."

"What's your favorite thing about living over here? Besides the family."

Both said, "Public transportation and the weather."

Tim added, "If there weren't so many of us, we'd take the train, Tube or bus everywhere. We did, when we first got here. Now it's cheaper and easier to drive if we're going somewhere as a family. But individually, train or Tube, it's the best. The boys, Rissa and I walk to school and the Uni when it's not snowing or icy. Sure can't walk to work at home, no matter where you live in DC Metro. And the weather's wonderful! Cold in the winter but it's cold at home, too. Not hot in the summer and beautifully mild in the spring and fall, the way those seasons should be."

"Do you know what you'll be doing yet? And where?"

"Not really. Vance is working on something. As far as where, if Hatman still hasn't had his trial, we'll stay here and I'll do whatever Vance has for me in the London office. If it's safe, we'll move home and I'll do the new thing aboard the Navy Yard."

"Oh, good, I vote for that!"

They chuckled and Gibbs said, "Let the Brits know, will you? They said he'd have a trial within a year and we're 8 months into that year now."

"Is it safe here, though? At least when you're at home, you have the FBI looking out for you."

The men chuckled again as Tim said, "Abby, we have 2 of the UK's finest with us right now and we'll have some of Sweden's finest with us in Stockholm. We're rarely without a detail."

"All this time? Wow! Uh, who's paying…?"

"IPF."

"That doesn't make sense, IPF is paying other law enforcement agencies to protect you from IPF, from their own agency?"

"Yep."

"Wow, that's really twisted."

Gibbs shook his head, "Fubar is the phrase we use when the kids aren't around."

"I guess." She was watching out the window, "I didn't expect to see parts of London!"

"Thought we'd give you a little glimpse on our way home. More interesting."

Tim chuckled, "Take a good look, Abs, at the big buildings, the big city. Because in a few miles, we'll be in the countryside with sheep, trees, rolling hills and wildflowers."

"And that's where you live?"

"It is. Right outside our back gate is a walking path that in about 10 steps takes us right into the countryside. That's where we saw all the butterflies last fall."

"Can't wait to see it!"

Tim glanced at his dad as they pulled into their driveway and saw the twinkle in his eyes. They could almost count the seconds to… "Oh, my God! This is where you live? It's…I can't believe how huge it is! It's like…Tony said it was almost as big as a palace but I didn't believe him – or Ducky. But it's, I think this is the biggest house I've ever seen, you know, a normal one that people live in, not rich people, not a mansion."

They pulled her luggage out of the back and walked into the front garden with her. She smiled at the kids, waving to her from the front windows. Gibbs put his arm around her, "So glad you're here! Come on in, we'll show you around."

The kids gave her a warm welcome and when they could finally reach her through the children, so did Sarah, Artie, Rob, Geordie, and James.

Rob asked if she was hungry and she started to shake her head and then stopped, puzzled, "I'm starving! But I don't know why, I ate on the plane."

They all laughed, Sarah saying, "It's part of jet lag, being hungry every couple of hours. That'll disappear before the rest of it does."

"That's good, I think."

Laughing, they steered her to the kitchen and Artie finished the brunch she was making. "We're all eating, Abby. I made cinnamon rolls with scrambled eggs and bacon. I know you don't like coffee but we couldn't find Caf!Pow anywhere and waited too long to order it online. We have all kinds of caffeinated teas to choose from, if you'd like."

"Thanks! I drink tea at home now, I only drink Caf!Pow at work. And even there I've cut way back."

She chuckled at the astonished faces in front of her, "Hey, I can change. Other people do. Gibbs, you said you don't drink as much coffee as you used to."

Artie's eyebrows rose, "That's cutting back? He still drinks three or four pots a day!"

Her father-in-law and husband laughed, Tim saying, "He drinks about half of what he used to." He winked at Geordie; Dad still hadn't figured out they were replacing about a third of the regular coffee with a high quality decaffeinated coffee.

Or so he thought. His father looked at him, saying, "Actually, Artemis, I'm only getting about a third of the caffeine I should be getting." He smirked at his sons who rolled their eyes. Tim bowed, "I should have known. I should always know, I bow to the master."

"Thank you, nice to know I haven't lost my touch. But it still tastes good, keep doing whatever you two are doing. As long as the two of you are also drinking less caffeine."

"Uh…"

"Ha, that's what I thought!"

Abby was laughing at them, she loved to see this playful side of Gibbs. And Tim was laughing, not turning red and stumbling around as he'd done his first few years on the team. Then she yawned and Sarah pointed her to a chair, "Come on, sit and eat, we're all hungry. Have some caffeine and we'll give you a tour of the house and garden. And Dad's basement. You should stay awake for at least an hour before you crash."

"Okay."

She embarrassed herself with her appetite, eating seconds of the eggs, bacon and enjoying 3, THREE!, cinnamon rolls. Gibbs poured a glass of orange juice for her and she drank that along with her tea.

The kids kept her going, telling her what they'd been up to, all about their new baby sister, who was asleep, and how Mama rescued her. She showed them pictures of the newest Palmer, young David, and they smiled, glad to have another cousin. That reminded them of their new Greek cousins and they segued from Baby Hope and David to their 'big' cousins, Cassie and Matthaíos.

Sarah and James were on cleanup and turned down Abby's offer to help. Instead, Tim, Artie, the kids, Rob, and Gibbs took her on a tour of the house, Geo joining them for the downstairs portion of the tour. When she looked at him quizzically, he smiled, "I'm doing much better, thanks. Had a great time in Greece with the fam, met a new girl and she's coming here for 2 weeks! Oh and I'm allowed to walk up 4 steps now. That means I can go into the backyard through the house and down the steps rather than going out the front door and walking on the down slope in the side yard to the back."

She blinked at that and focused on the mention of a girl, "A new girl…you met her in Greece?"

"Yes, on the same island these guys went to last summer. Tim and Artie were meeting with a rental property guy over there so we all went. And she was with him, well, really with his wife, they work together. At NCIS in Athens!"

Abby's jaw dropped, "You went to an island in Greece to meet a real estate guy and met someone from NCIS?"

"Yes. Two of their four agents, actually." The children laughed, they thought it was funny, too.

"And she's coming to visit you."

"She volunteered to work in the London office while the SFA is on holiday. For two weeks!"

"Wow, that's great! Hope they don't get any cases while she's here."

"Me too, but really, a couple of cases would be all right, give her a chance to prove herself to someone besides her boss."

Tim snorted, "She's already proved herself to Morris and Vance, Geo., as well as her own SAIC. She wouldn't be the TAD SFA in London if she hadn't."

Gibbs nodded, "He's right, son. She's a junior agent, being temporarily promoted to an SFA for the second time. A permanent promotion isn't far off."

"Oh. But that would mean…"

"Could mean anything. Could be Lydia's ready to move on or the SFA in Marseilles or Rota or even Athens. Which reminds me, Abby, did you know Stan's the SAIC for Rota?"

"Burley? That's great! Have you talked to him?"

"No, only heard Morris, that's London's SAIC, mention him by name, didn't say anything."

"Oh shoot, now I wish we were going to Spain! How far is Barcelona from Rota?"

Tim thought about it, "Maybe a 10-11 hour drive. Barcelona's on the east coast, Rota is on the western side of the south coast."

"Oh, that would be too far if that's where we were going. Maybe we could Skype while I'm here."

They'd seen Dad's suite by this time, plus the playroom, family and dining rooms and were headed to the mud room to go outside. Abby smiled at the neat rows of boots, little ones for Marissa, slightly bigger for Kyle, all the way up to Tim and James' large boots. A Train Engineer's cap hung from a peg and Kyle turned a little red. "I forgot it last night."

Tim ruffled his hair, he didn't want to embarrass his little engineer in front of Aunt Abby and most of the family. "Your aunty Sarah found it outside and washed it for you."

"Oh. I'll go thank her." Kyle took off while the rest of them went outside. It had been dry for a few days so they didn't need their boots. Abby loved the terrace, smiling at the large grill, she knew Gibbs would have one here! When they walked down the steps, she finally understood what Geordie said about going around to the side yard to get to the back. The children gave her a guided tour, showing her all their hidey-holes and favorite spots. Then they went out the back gate to the walking trail and Abby gasped at the greenery. The trees were leafing out, wildflowers were blooming and bees were buzzing around. The color was as intense as she'd always pictured Ireland to be, she'd never thought about England being the same lush color!

Greg stuck close to his dad, he was afraid of getting stung. He'd been stung once, when Kyle was a baby, and he still remembered how much it hurt. His mom put a powdery paste on it and it stopped hurting but he was still scared of bees. Kyle came running out the door, wearing his cap, which Tim knew was still damp. Oh well, it was warm out. Geordie had his cane with him and was enjoying being outdoors in warm weather. The wonderful smells, of new grass and blooming flowers, were enough to make anyone feel good.

They showed Abby and Geordie their Butterfly Hill and she smiled, "I remember talking about that last Christmas. Maybe they'll come back again this year!"

She yawned, once and then again and Artie chuckled, "All right, your time awake is almost up. Let's go back to the house and we'll show you to your room, let you get some sleep!"

Abby frowned, "I don't want to sleep the whole day!"

Tim shook his head, "Sarah's got this worked out, Abby. Three hours sleep this time and then we'll take you for a walk around town." He turned, pointing south. "See that big oak tree there?"

"Yes."

"That's about where we drove into town. The train station is close there."

"Huh, but it feels like we're way out in the country."

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?"

She nodded and then smiled as Greg took her hand, "Come on, we'll lead you back inside." Kyle took her other hand and the two boys walked her back to the house.

Upstairs, she was happy to see her room, the second master, the room Tim and Artie planned to move into someday. Hope needed a room and they hadn't quite figured that out, although Rissa wanted her baby sister to share with her. Another possibility was turning the schoolroom into a room for the baby but that room was a little too big, unless both Rissa and Hope lived in it. But then Artie would have no office, unless she took the library, which was near and dear to all their hearts.

Abby smiled at the room, happy to see the comfortable and very inviting looking bed. She looked at her family, "Thank you. Now, if you don't mind…"

Chuckling, they turned to leave but then Artie realized something, "Abby, you have your own loo, sorry, bathroom…there." She pointed to the door. Abby nodded, struggling to keep her eyes open and Artie walked out, closing the door behind her. Tim set his watch for an alarm 3 hours from now. Down 3 hours, then up for 5 or 6, followed by an hour nap, then dinner and maybe part of a movie or playing cards or a game before she'd need more sleep.

Abby managed to kick her shoes off before she crawled under the sheets, sighing in happiness as she stretched out, thinking about…she was out.

Hope woke up minutes later but Daddy was there so she didn't have to cry to let them know she was hungry and wet. Well, she cried a little but didn't need to yell.

Abby managed the rest of the day just as Sarah laid it out for her, with timed naps. On Monday, everyone but Gibbs, Artie, and Sarah went to work while Abby napped after breakfast, joking about needing as much sleep as the baby. When she woke, Sarah said she had between 5 and 6 hours and they were going into London. When Grandpa offered to take care of the baby, Artie joined the other two and they had a great time.

Taking the Tube into the City, they concentrated on a mix of the specific things Abby wanted to see and the usual tourist-y sights. Although she had plenty of caffeine, it was almost 5 hours on the nose when she started yawning. Within minutes, she found herself on a Tube train heading back to Brambury. The fresh air on the walk from the station gave her a few more minutes of grace but they were no sooner in the house than she really began to fade. She was awake again for dinner and was alert for longer than the previous night.

On Tuesday, Sarah rented a car and they drove to Stonehenge, Avebury, Salisbury, Abby loved all of it, and Glastonbury, staying over in Glastonbury. Abby loved everything she was seeing and although Sarah had now seen these places more than once, it was fun to view them through Abby's eyes. Wednesday, they spent some time in Bath before driving to Cardiff, Wales. Like many Americans before her, Abby couldn't believe how close everything was, how you could be in a different country (Wales, although it's part of the United Kingdom) so quickly. They looked at the castle in Cardiff and the museum before driving to Stratford on Avon. That drive was on a multi-lane and while quick, both women preferred the smaller, more interesting roads. From Stratford, they made a stop in Oxford and at Warwick Castle, which Abby loved.

While she didn't say anything, Sarah found it amusing and sort of sweet that Abby had the same reaction to the mounted knight as Tim had, that it was Gibbs, riding out to defend his liege lord. And that his men-at-arms would be Tony and Tim.

From Warwick, they wandered back to Brambury, Abby sleeping in the car. Tomorrow, Thursday, she was having lunch with Gibbs and Tim at Tim's Uni and then they were going into London for a few hours. They were leaving for Stockholm after Tim's last class that night. They'd arranged for a late check-in to their Airbnb flat; waking up in Stockholm Friday morning would give them three full days and part of Monday to explore the city and its surroundings.

Over dinner, Abby gave her impressions of what they'd done and seen, saying she'd decided she needed a month just to see the 'hot spots' in the UK and more time to really experience everything. She smiled at Tim, "This has been such a great opportunity for you, I'm glad you've had a lot of fun exploring."

He nodded, "I really enjoy my job at the Uni but even if I didn't, it would be totally worth it with all the great experiences we've had."

"Do you have a lot more to see?"

They all laughed as Tim nodded, "Yes. We could easily spend a few more years exploring the UK, Ireland and the continent. And there's so much more, Greg keeps track of how many countries we've been to…"

Greg looked up, saying, "We decided to count the four countries of the UK separately, but we haven't been to Northern Ireland. So far, we've been to 11 countries."

"Wow! I should probably know this but how many countries are there in Europe?"

Andy took that one, "There are 50 countries in Europe and 5 of those countries are in both Europe and Asia. I think that's cool!"

"I do too. I never really thought about it. So you've seen a good percentage of the countries."

"And we're adding 2 more, Sweden and Portugal."

Tim chuckled, looking at his wife. "Artie, how many countries have you been to?"

She looked at Andy, who grinned and said, "I'm in charge of the counts for Mama and me. Mama's been to 63, I've been to 21." He looked at Abby, "Out of 195 countries in the world. I found that number on the United Nations' website."

"Wow! That's amazing!"

Artie laughed, "Don't forget I grew up in the Greek Diplomatic Corps, we lived all over the world, sometimes staying only a few months, sometimes a couple of years. And my father would be sent to countries to settle a dispute or attend a conference and we usually went along. When he was especially busy, my mother would take us somewhere new. And then Andy and I traveled for my work. Like my father, sometimes we went somewhere for a quick consult or a short project as well as the longer ones."

Abby wanted to ask her if she'd have to return to Amzida to complete the bridge but decided it was too soon to raise the subject. And the city was not stable, it seemed that every other day the media would report a change in government only to have it revert to the duly elected government in the next report.

"What are your favorite places?"

"This is number one. Next is Bangkok, Andy and I loved it there. We had friends, and felt like we belonged. And Chile, for the same reason. When we were in Thailand, we traveled all over Southeast Asia, it was wonderful! We did the same thing in Chile as we're doing here, spending our weekends visiting other countries in South America. And London, of course, because it brought Tim and I back together and gave us new family, gave me new children and a new home." She paused before looking at Tim with a smile, "My favorite residence during all my travels, not including our Manor house here, was the townhouse in Amzida. It was beautiful and fun to live in, especially when Tim was with me. And the children, Jethro and Geordie. The building has survived, so far. I've been in touch with my project manager there. The central atrium and the big skylight will need repairs and some of the plants were torn out but the apartments are untouched."

"That's good, that's a beautiful building."

Kyle nodded sadly, "It had a swimming pool, right inside! That was fun!"

Tim patted his shoulder, "Doodle Bug, when you're old enough, you can build your own house and put a swimming pool inside."

Kyle's face lit up as the others chuckled. Greg said he'd build one with a swimming pool in the center, surrounded by bookshelves. Andy liked that idea, adding an observatory to watch the stars. Rissa giggled, saying she'd have a hot tub so Uncle Geo and Grandpa would visit and the whole house would be a playroom. Kyle asked if she'd have a train track and she nodded, adding a skating rink. When asked if the rink would be for ice or roller skating, she said both.

Abby looked at Artie, feeling now that the subject of Amzida had been raised, she could ask a couple of questions. "Did you have to leave things behind, clothes and things?"

"Yes. I took my papers, passport, laptop and a change of clothes. I gave myself 5 minutes to gather those and then I left, out the back door. I knew the neighbors on that street, it's a neighborhood whereas the front of the building is on a commercial street. I knew some of the shopkeepers but there was already trouble out that way. My project manager has a spare key. When things are more stable, he and his wife will pack the rest of my belongings and ship them to me. They know the owner of the apartment, and they're Turkish. The government is not yet allowing anyone not a Turkish citizen into the city. Too much turmoil and it is impossible to guarantee anyone's safety."

Tim thought about the 'Camel' shop and Artie guessed what he was thinking. "Yaren, my project manager, said our Camel shop friend hasn't been seen since the troubles began. But the shop isn't badly damaged. The windows were broken but wood was put up quickly and there hasn't been any looting in the area. He thinks the owner is lying low somewhere, probably with family, until stability is restored." She looked around the table, "I want ice cream, anyone else?"

Abby lasted long enough to play a game of gin rummy with Gibbs before her yawns overcame her. He grinned, "You're doing really well with the jet lag. Stockholm is an hour ahead of London so that shouldn't be bad."

She nodded mid-yawn and handed him her cards, she was done for the night. Thursday morning, she did some laundry, laughing at herself for being so domestic and feeling good about it. By late morning, she was done and ready to see Tim's new bullpen. Oh, she knew he had an office but thinking of it as a bullpen made her feel better and reminded her that he'd eventually return to NCIS, to the Navy Yard. Gibbs had showed her a photo of Tim at the start of the winter term, wearing his academic robes. Until that day 18 months ago when he'd called everyone together to tell them his life story, she'd had no idea he had his doctorate. That was just like Tim, to manage his Master's program, be accepted into a Doctoral program at roughly the same time – and never tell anyone.

When she'd asked him why, he shrugged, "I was used to keeping everything to myself and nobody was going to call me Special Agent Dr. McGee, why mention it? To be honest, my advisor at MIT talked me into it, hoping to convince me to become Professor McGee. For me, it was my backup plan." He huffed, "It worked!"

She loved the photo and asked Gibbs send it to her email. She'd print it out and put it up in her lab. And now she could picture where he was. His office was very Tim, even if it was in a room with 2 other professors. He had photos of the kids, his and Artie's wedding, Gibbs, his siblings, including Tony, and 3 team photos, one with Kate, one with Ziva and the last one with Ellie. Each of the 3 included her, Ducky and Jimmy. She smiled at a photo of Tony, Tim and her, that was sweet.

He also had a couple of pieces of artwork up, she asked if one was from Turkey and he nodded. "It's an old metallic and silk mix embroidery wall hanging from Anatolia that I found at a street vendor's and had framed." He grinned, "If I had more wall, I'd put up all the wall hangings and tiles I bought in Turkey and in Greece."

"Do you have them up at home?"

"Not yet. Artie and I are planning, at some point, to move into the room you're staying in. But we want to paint and do some other work first and just haven't had time. And we need to find a room for Hope first."

Dad tilted his head, "I thought she and Rissa would share."

"Yes, but we'll need to reconfigure the room and we'd like Hope to be a little older first. Another few months."

His father nodded with a sigh and Abby looked at him quizzically. Tim added, speaking softly, "We don't know if we'll be allowed to adopt her, Abby. She may very well have family who want to raise her. But until the situation stabilizes in Amzida, we don't think anything is going to happen. And we don't want to break Rissa's heart any more than it already will be if we lose the baby."

She nodded, thinking how sad and difficult that would be for her friends. Although if Hope did have family, they must be missing or even mourning her.

They walked through the campus to the cafeteria, Abby admiring the old buildings and the new growths of greenery and blooming plants. It was a lovely setting. Tim pointed out a large oak tree said to have been planted as an acorn the day the university held its first classes, during the brief reign of Edward VI.

They enjoyed their lunch in the cafeteria, Tim regaling them with tales of the lunches his kids made him while Artie was away. They parted ways afterwards, Gibbs and Abby taking the Tube into London. She was excited, looking forward to the afternoon. They saw the Changing of the Guard on the backstreet Sarah showed her family, took a walk in Hyde Park, spent a few minutes in Harrod's where Abby bought some hand lotion with the Harrod's logo on it and the shopping bag. Then to Fortnum & Mason's for tea, which was fun and something Abby would never have dreamed Gibbs would do. A tour by double-decker bus gave her better views of places she'd see next week, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, the Millennium Bridge, the modern replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and other icons of English history. After quaffing a pint at Gibbs' favorite London pub, he also had a favorite in Brambury, the two returned home.

Dinner was early so they'd be ready when Tim finished his class. Rob was driving them to the airport and would keep Big Blue until their return Monday. Abby watched as Artie put together a dinner Tim could eat in the van. She was impressed by the efficiency of the family, they had their carry-on bags downstairs, even the littles, on time. The boys helped Uncle James, they'd given up on the 'Mr. James', and Grandpa load the van, making sure to check tags. Artie triple-checked the children's passports and all the necessary paperwork. The children all had American passports now, while Tim, Artie, Sarah, and Gibbs also had visas to be allowed back into the UK and James remembered to bring his passport.

They picked Tim up at the Uni and headed for the airport while he ate his dinner. Once there, Hope rode on her father's chest in her new front facing carrier while the daddy pack for Rissa was tucked away in a carry-on bag. Their Airbnb host agreed to provide a crib for Hope which would make things easier.

Once they were aboard, Abby noticed Gibbs counting heads and smiled, he was such a dad! It was a short flight, but Abby was glad she'd listened to her friends and worn a jacket. As James pointed out, it was easier than packing it! Once they landed and went through Customs, an Uber minibus met them and took them to their temporary home. The littles, who'd slept on the flight, fell back to sleep as soon as they were settled in the van. Tim and Gibbs carried them into the house, Artie now had the baby, while Abby, James, Sarah and the older boys got started on the bags. With 5 of them, it didn't take long. Everyone knew which room he or she would be in, they'd looked online, so that went quickly too.

Gibbs was the last one to go to bed, making sure the house was locked up, the heat was on and everyone had their bags.

Friday morning, they all slept in. Kyle and Rissa were glad they were sleeping in the same room as Mama and Papa because they didn't know where they were when they woke up. The big boys were in with Grandpa. Tim woke when Kyle kissed him good morning. He stretched and then pulled the little guy to him for a hug. Kyle's giggles woke Rissa and Mama. Hope was still asleep, so they left her and headed for the kitchen. As Tim first learned to do with their Prague Airbnb, he'd requested 2 meals worth of food for all of them be pre-stocked. In his opinion, it was worth the extra funds to be able to get up, have breakfast and get going, rather than getting dressed and having to find a restaurant with all the other travelers. Especially with a group of 11 on a holiday weekend!

Once everyone was ready, they headed out the door. Their plan this morning was flexible. Either they'd ride the Hop On/Off bus and see everything first or they'd ride the Hop On/Off boat and see everything that way. They had a family Stockholm Pass, good for 10 people, baby Hope was free.

They chose the boat and had a blast. They saw the Royal Palace, Vasa Museum and the Skansen Open Air Museum, everyone's favorite. The Vasa Museum, on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, houses the Vasa warship that sank on its maiden voyage in the year 1628. The ship was located in the 1950's and raised in 1961. During the recovery, many artifacts were found, along with the remains of more than a dozen people.

The Skansen Open Air Museum, also on the island, showcases the entire country, with buildings, dating from the year 1720 to present day, from every part of Sweden. Aside from the historical interest, there were many activities for the children, from pony rides to a kids' zoo, an aquarium, playgrounds, one with a merry-go-round, a classic car track, Grandpa and Aunt Abby loved that, and old fashioned toys to play with. With so much to see and do, they spent a good part of the day there, splurging on lunch out.

Abby was enthralled with everything she saw. She'd been to Canada and Jamaica, but this was her first visit to a country where English wasn't the primary language, and with very different and much older history than the U.S. She loved everything and her family was happy she was enjoying herself.

By late afternoon, they were high above Stockholm in 'Sky View', a windowed cabin that scales the sides of the Ericsson Globe, the world's largest spherical building. In the 20 minutes it took to reach the top, they had 360 degree views of the southern district of Stockholm. Tim did well, considering. He resolutely looked out, never down, managing to enjoy the views.

That was enough for their first day. They were happily tired and pleased with the day's experiences.

On the way back to the house, they spotted a grocery store and stopped in to buy enough food for the rest of their stay. They could have picnic lunches in parks where the kids could also play and relax over dinner at home. While it would be fun to experience the foods of Sweden, that was very expensive to do with this big a group as well as harder with the children. An added bonus was that by making their own meals, Tim successfully avoided fish.

Over the weekend, they took another boat ride, this one on the Royal Canal, seeing Old Town. There was also a cruise from Stockholm's City Center through Lake Mälaren, taking them to Drottingholm Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site. They also visited Vikingaliv, a look into the Viking culture, which Greg and Kyle loved, remembering their Viking experience in Dublin.

Touring the Nobel Museum was interesting for the adults; Tim, Artie and Abby confessed it was on their bucket lists. They found the Nordic Museum, with its wonderful displays of Swedish Folk Art. Tim and Artie had fun buying a few things, shipping them home and now Abby picked up a few items too. She didn't know if she'd be back before they moved home and decided to splurge on things she really loved. She shipped them, to Ducky's address rather than her own.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While the rest of their family was away, Rob hopped a train to the airport where he rescued Big Blue from the car park, drove to the hospital to pick up Geordie and then drove to one of the other airports to meet Bec when she arrived from Greece.

She kissed Geordie hello in a way that let him know she was as interested in him as he was in her. Driving her to her residential hotel, the brothers waited downstairs while her bags were taken up and she changed her clothes, adding a jacket. Back in Big Blue, they had fun pointing out various things of interest as they drove to Brambury to see the house. They had lunch there and went for a walk out the back gate. She'd return the following weekend to have dinner with the family, unless of course, the team caught a case. As she was expected at the Morrises for dinner that evening and needed to unpack and get ready for work, they didn't stay overlong in Brambury, returning her to her hotel where Geordie took a very long time to walk her in while Rob waited in the van.

Geordie stayed at Rob's flat that week, managing to see Bec almost every day. The London office worked on Monday, the official Bank Holiday, holding down the fort for the other 3 NCIS European offices. Wednesday afternoon, her team was called out on a case and he didn't see her but whatever the case was, she was free Thursday evening. He was glad she knew about his leg and the treatments as he couldn't do much when they were together. He would have liked to show her around London but he hadn't seen everything yet and that was more walking than he could handle, for now.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By the time the group departed Stockholm for home on Monday, they felt they'd had a good taste of the city and knew a lot more about it and Sweden. Everyone they'd met had been friendly and very helpful. They thanked Abby for convincing them not to split their holiday between 2 countries.

Andy later told his parents he'd been a little worried they'd run into his pappous while they were there and was relieved that hadn't happened. His mother felt the same way, while for once Tim hadn't been the least bit worried. He was certain Kosmos would do whatever he could to avoid them if he saw them or discovered they were in the city.

While Tim and the children went back to work and school on Tuesday, Sarah and Abby unpacked and repacked, catching the train to York, where they'd stay over a night, continuing to Edinburgh. Once in Edinburgh, they'd spend time with Susannah and Ian and see the sights, returning to Brambury on Friday. Abby still had things to see in London but couldn't resist the lure of the Gothic York Minster, the walled city, and the Gothic Ayr Cathedral in Scotland. She'd already had her tour of Salisbury Cathedral and the mostly Gothic Westminster Abbey. She was also excited to meet Artie's sister and her boyfriend, walk the Royal Mile and explore Edinburgh Castle.

Over the weekend, she'd have her tour of London, followed by as many hours she could squeeze in at the Science Museum, accompanied by Tim and Andy. Greg had a birthday party to attend and the littles weren't yet as devoted to museums as their parents and older siblings. Sunday, she'd see anything she'd missed, buy a few souvenirs and see more of the British Museum.

Late Saturday afternoon, after spending most of the day with Abby and Andy at the Science Museum, Tim drove to the Tube station to pick up Rob, Geo, and his friend Bec. After seeing Geordie nearly every day, getting to know him and Rob better, she was relaxed and looking forward to seeing the rest of the family again.

Tim greeted her warmly, asking how her week had been. She smiled, "Quiet so far, I've been doing some of my Athens paperwork. Hey, have you seen that new software upgrade IT just installed? Took me one hour to do 5 reports, it's awesome! It checks all those awful databases and pulls back information, no more hopping from database to database, copying, pasting and reformatting information! I hope whoever wrote the program got paid a lot of money because it's worth it. We had a call-out on Wednesday but four hours into it, we discovered INO. Yay!"

Geordie laughed at the acronym while Rob puzzled it out. "INO?"

Tim and Bec replied in unison, "It's not ours."

Rob chuckled while Geo remembered hearing about that software when James was working on it. Sarah mentioned last month that it had been put into production but Geo had forgotten his suspicion that his brother was the developer.

He wondered about that. If Tim wasn't involved in the pre-production or production and didn't mention his ownership, then maybe he'd sold it to NCIS. Although from what he'd heard, from his brothers, Dad and Bec, report writing was a horrible waste of resources for every armed Federal Agency because of the redundancy of information in countless databases. Huh. He wondered if Tim sold it to the DoD, but then the FBI reported to the Department of Justice, so would he have had to make a separate deal with them? And the NSA, ONI, ICE, CIA…this was giving him a headache, he'd ask Tim. Sometime.

The family greeted Bec warmly, the littles giving her hugs as if they'd known her all their lives. She was glad to meet Abby, who she knew was a visitor from home, and Hope, the baby Tim's wife rescued.

Bec had a great time, feeling very welcome and relaxed. They took another walk out the back gate, where she once again enjoyed the vivid spring colors, the softness of the air and the different scents. She loved Greece but she did miss the changing of the seasons, although there was usually a definite winter and always a definite summer around the Mediterranean. The kids told her about their visit from the clouds of butterflies last fall and she smiled, loving their enthusiasm.

After their walk, they had drinks and a few light appetizers, enjoying them on the terrace, with the outdoor heater on. Back indoors, they feasted.

Tim, whose turn it was to cook, had decided to make American dishes, something Bec wouldn't normally have in Greece. Knowing both Bec and Abby were from the American South, Bec from Georgia and Abby from New Orleans, he'd decided to make roast beef, first marinating it for 8 hours and then searing it before putting it in the slow cooker for another 4 hours. They'd have oven baked macaroni and cheese, made from scratch cornbread, and garlic green beans for sides with a caramel cake, also made from scratch, for dessert. Artie helped with the cake, making the icing and applying it to the cake.

Neither of their visitors knew the other was from the south but when they saw the side dishes on the table, Abby grinned. "This looks like the Sciuto family table on a Sunday after church. Lots of good home cooked food." Bec had been thinking the same thing and looked at the other woman, "Where are you from?"

"New Orleans, you?"

"Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, on the state route to Athens."

The adults laughed at that while Andy and Greg were confused and Andy asked, "Isn't Georgia a part of the United States?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, son, it's a state in the U.S. and there's also a country in Europe named Georgia. Bec's from the Georgia in the States. There is also a city in the U.S. state of Georgia called Athens. She's from a town near the U.S. city of Athens and she's working near the Greek city of Athens."

That got 'oohs' from the older boys while Kyle stopped to think about it, finally nodding his head. He got it, sort of.

After dinner, they played Tripoly, which was new to Bec and a lot of fun, while Abby grinned the whole time, telling her fellow southerner that playing games and cards meant she was home. As Rob had to work that night, they didn't stay long and Bec thanked them for the wonderful company and the delicious food. She smiled, "You keep feeding me like this and I'm going to have to run an extra mile every morning!"

After the London trio left, the littles went upstairs with their parents while their older brothers played a little longer.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After more wonderful hours spent with her family, Abby reluctantly said goodbye, knowing she wouldn't see them until Christmas. As she rode to the airport Sunday evening, Gibbs driving, with Tim, Artie, and Greg accompanying them, she sighed with satisfaction and a reluctance to leave. "Thank you all so much. This has been a wonderful trip, living with you, being part of the family and then everything we've done. I'm not ready to leave and that's supposed to be a sign of a successful vacation. I'll be back before you move home!"

Gibbs nodded, "Come back for the Fourth of July, Abs. Last year, we celebrated with the Morrises. This year, we might have our own party. And it won't be hot here."

She smiled, "Thank you! I'll think about it and let you know."

Big Blue idled at the Departures terminal while Tim pulled Abby's luggage from the back. Her carry-on was stuffed full but she hadn't needed a second checked bag because she'd shipped most of her purchases to Ducky's house. After saying another goodbye to everyone, she took her bags inside the terminal, gently refusing Tim's help. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked Abby's first overseas visit and our visit to Stockholm!


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Monday was quiet as everyone resumed their routines. With Jethro's help, Artie cleaned the room Abby stayed in, in preparation for Tony's arrival on Friday the 13th, just 4 days away! He'd thought about coming later and going to Portugal with them but when he heard about the goats and the church bell ringing, he started to have doubts. He was not interested in rural life and when Tim mentioned hiking, he tried not to shudder.

He supposed with the kids it wouldn't be too bad, but still, there were bugs and animals and…no thanks. Then too, Tim was the only sibling going, as the others were saving money and/or vacation days for Greece, Geordie was scheduled for a treatment that week and Sarah didn't want to go without James. Lu was going as were the Porters, which meant three couples and the kids. As much as Tony loved them all, he didn't want to be the lone single with no one to hang out with. By coming this week, he'd have more time with Dad Gibbs and his siblings.

He and Abby had been concerned about the tight timeframe between their visits, especially after Artie's experience, but they'd been assured it would be fine. When Abby saw the level of organization the family employed, not just at home but on their trip to Stockholm, she stopped worrying. When she arrived at work very early Tuesday morning, she left a message on Tony's desk phone telling him not to worry and why.

As often happens when something exciting is happening in a few days, those days seemed to pass in slow motion. They'd made a few plans for the weekends Tony would be with them and would figure out the day to day schedule as they went. Dad wanted to take him to some of his favorite places – Warwick Castle, for example, as well as his 2 favorite pubs.

They were going to the Continent over his second weekend, leaving after the boys and Tim were done with classes on Friday, not yet sure of their final destination over there. Or they might go to Ireland or Scotland, Tony was open to anything.

Tim thought it would be great to fly to Nice, it would be perfect beach weather now, not hot but warm enough to swim and it wouldn't be as crowded as it would during the summer or on a holiday weekend. And that would be fun for everyone, there were beaches, casinos, they could take the train up to Monte Carlo if they wanted, Old Town, drive down to Cannes, all kinds of things to do.

He looked at Airbnb apartments and houses in Nice and found 2 large enough for all of them at decent prices and best of all, steps from the Promenade and the beach. The one he liked the best offered a crib for the baby and was on the first floor with no stairs. He read the cancellation policy and while it was a good one, it wasn't flexible enough for him to reserve the apartment now and cancel over the weekend if their plans took them someplace else. That was cutting it too close.

He mentioned Nice to Artie who smiled, "Finally, a beach where we can get in the water without freezing!" She thought about it, "I haven't been there but Susannah has. She told me you can rent sun shelters for the day, to keep you, Rissa, the boys and James from burning. It's a rocky beach, you know, there's no sand."

"Ok, then we'll take our water shoes."

"Yes. Oh, Sarah and I will love it, I know there is wonderful shopping there." She grinned, "And I'm sure Tony will love it too. There are the casinos and Monte Carlo only a short train ride, or drive, away. Ooh, we could see Cannes and all the places they show on TV during the Film Festival. And maybe we could…you know, we have to go there. Does Jethro like to gamble?"

"I don't know. I've never heard him talk about it, except in reference to Senior, and I've never seen him with even a scratch-off Lottery ticket. I'm going to guess no. I'm not much of a gambler either."

"That's good, I'll play a few Euros and then when I've lost it all, I'll remember I hate losing and I'm done." They laughed and Tim said, "I like spending my money on real things, flights to fun and interesting places, hotel rooms, museum admissions, flowers for you, clothes for the family."

She nodded, "I feel the same. I'd rather go shopping than gambling. And just think of the treasures we might find!"

Tim groaned, "When we move, we're going to need a huge house, for us and for all our treasures. 10 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, maybe a second house for our treasures - and no furniture."

They rolled their eyes, laughing at that truth as well as his hyperbole. They teased about that sometimes, how they'd all sleep on inflatable beds and eat off card tables pushed together, sitting on folding chairs. The kids could do their homework on the card tables and their electronics would work nicely. And they'd get bean bag chairs and big pillows for the living room where they'd watch his big screen TV and use an ice chest instead of a refrigerator, cook in the fireplace and buy a couple of hot plates instead of a stovetop. When Tim said he could make a solar oven, they decided they were all set. Who needed furniture or appliances?!

The one exception to their fun was laundry. They would have to have a large washer and dryer. When asked if he could run those on solar power, Tim nodded, "Yes but with as much laundry as we do, we'll have to live in a desert to have enough sun for the batteries to provide all the power we'll need."

Artie had a thoughtful look on her face and Tim wondered if she was considering moving to a desert or building a conduit, half a continent long, from the nearest desert to DC for their solar-powered laundry or if she was mentally designing some other way of obtaining power without involving the power and gas companies. Eventually, they remembered they'd been talking about things to do in Nice.

Friday morning finally arrived and when Tony called to say he was on the train from the airport, Gibbs took Big Blue to pick him up. The flight had arrived in the middle of the morning commute, otherwise he would have driven to the airport. But Tony remembered the trains and knew it would be easy.

Standing with his suitcase and carry-on bag, ready to disembark, Tony grinned as they pulled into Brambury station, he couldn't believe he was here again! He waved when he saw Dad Gibbs waiting for him and then noticed he was wearing something on his chest. The something moved and he realized it must be the new baby, in a pack that was worn in the front. He mentally counted the weeks since Artie's miraculous return, remembering the baby was 4 months old then. Yeah, hadn't been quite a month yet, she was still pretty little. Tony knew almost nothing about babies but this one looked really tiny to him, maybe she wasn't strong enough for the backpacks. He shrugged, he'd find out soon enough.

His dad wrapped his arms around him, carefully not squishing the baby, who cooed at Tony. He liked that and after he and Dad hugged, he looked at the tiny little girl. "Oh, you're a sweet one." He looked up, "She's so little, tiny."

Dad smiled, "She's right on track for her age, 4 ½ months. When she learns to sit up in the next couple of months, then she'll really start growing. That'll be a whole new world for her."

"So she's too little for the backpacks?"

"Yep, not until she can sit up."

"Huh, did not know that."

"No reason you should know. This morning Kyle, while he was brushing his teeth before leaving for school, remembered to tell his mother he was supposed to bring treats for his class today. Artie is now at home, madly baking cookies for their afternoon snack. So I offered to bring my new grandbaby. Sarah's in class, she's almost done, and everyone else is at school, or in Geo and Rob's case, their respective hospitals. Rob will join us tomorrow and for the first time, Geordie will be allowed to take the Tube home. The hospital has a shuttle that will take him to a Tube station that's the most direct route for Brambury, so he won't have to transfer. And there's an elevator he'll take to get down from street level. He has a disabled card which guarantees him a seat. He watched a video to see how the Tube operates, you know, the ticket machines and all that. We'll pick him up from the station here." He huffed, "I won't be surprised if Rob gets off early and comes home with him."

"Ooh, full house, there enough room?"

He grinned when Dad just gave him a look before saying, "Geo has my spare room, Rob has commandeered the old schoolroom, they've fixed it up pretty nicely, and you have the same room you did last summer."

"That's so strange, to think that was just last summer. So much has happened since then!"

Gibbs chuckled, "Tell me about it! Have any ideas what you want to do this weekend while everyone's home?"

"Hang out, play cards, cook. Sleep a lot."

They laughed at that.

"You and Rob! He can't sit still for more than 3 minutes without falling asleep."

"That's because he works so hard. In my case, it's because my butt was planted in an airline seat flying through 6 time zones."

"All in a good cause, son, until someone invents a transporter or some other way to travel faster."

"How is everyone, really? With everything going on?"

"We're getting there. Artie can walk through the house now without one of us attached to her. We occasionally let Hope sleep in her crib instead of our arms. The kids, Tim…Tony, that was the second worst day of my life."

"With a much better outcome, Dad, I know. Tim and I have talked about it. He says he wouldn't have made it through without you and he felt so bad because of Shannon and Kelly." As he spoke, Tony marveled that he could say that without fear of Gibbs retreating in grief or anger.

"I'm so grateful he didn't have to go through what I did. I hope that's the end of our troubles for a while. You and Tim, I think you're in the best places of your lives, right?"

Tony nodded with a grin. "That's a big YES for both of us."

"Good! You deserve the best, both of you, all my kids. How's Maggie?"

Tony chuckled, "Jealous she couldn't come with me. She has a piece of paper in her desk drawer that says, "Remember you're going to the UK and a GREEK ISLAND with Tony for TWO WEEKS SO STOP WHINING!"

Gibbs laughed so hard he woke the baby in her infant seat. She squawked and he called her name. She gurgled a little and seemed to go back to sleep. Gibbs smiled, "I fed her right before we came; she's still in a milk sleep."

They pulled into the driveway, Tony shaking his head at the house, "I still cannot believe how big it is! And that there's so many people living here now." He chuckled, "Really made an impression on Abby. She says she really likes Artie and of course Sarah. Says the family is more fun now that there are more women."

"Huh, that's pretty much what Sari says too. She thanks Artie almost every day for joining the family. Not when the kids are around though, Kyle heard her a couple of times and asked if she didn't like them anymore."

"Oops! I bet they've grown a lot, uh?"

"Oh yeah. Those legs of Greg's are getting longer and longer. Andy hasn't hit his growth spurt yet, but with his parents' height, won't be long."

"Might not be though, Dad, look at Kosmos' height."

They were walking in the front door now and Artie met them, with a big hug for Tony. "I'm so glad you're here. You know, we'd all be happier if you and Maggie transferred to the London office."

"That would be fun, but they'd never let us on the same team."

Dad's eyebrows hit his forehead and handing Hope to Artemis, he wrapped his arms around Tony again, "Congratulations! When?"

"Last weekend, while you were cavorting around England with Abby."

"Wonderful! I'm so proud of you!"

Artie looked back and forth, "I missed something …are you and Maggie engaged?"

"Yes."

She looked at Jethro, "And you knew how?"

"Because the only way they would be barred from the same team is if they're formally attached, engaged or married."

"Oh!" Handing the baby back to her father-in-law, she gave Tony a European kiss, on both cheeks. "Congratulations! Oh, this is wonderful! We should celebrate tonight! Tony, you proposed and then left her for 2 weeks?"

"She thinks it's funny, that's my Maggie. I've been so scared of this whole commitment thing and she says this is the perfect comic response, propose and then leave the country. We told her dad but no one else at home. Ducky started to ask me but stopped himself. I wanted to tell you first and I really wanted to tell everyone at dinner tonight."

Artie smiled, "That's all right, Jethro and I can be surprised!" A timer rang and she made a face, "The last batch of cookies, excuse me!"

The two men and the baby progressed further into the house, putting the baby down on her favorite tummy mat.

"You hungry, thirsty?"

"I'm hungry, can't believe…oh I forgot about that part of jet lag, weird. Yeah, but I'll get it, you don't have to wait on me."

"Bring me back a cookie too, will ya?"

Tony grinned, "Busted!"

He returned with a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, a glass of lemonade and several cookies to be shared. After eating, he took his bags upstairs to his room, smiling when he found a note on the bureau from Tim. "Welcome home, Tony! Can't wait to see you, will be home by 1500. Until then, pleasant dreams, Tim."

Putting his clothes away felt good and he kept smiling as he hung his jacket, shirts and jeans, folding everything else into the bureau drawers. Remembering how comfortable the bed was, he told himself not to sit, he didn't need to sit. A walk would be good. He wasn't sleepy yet but remembering that jet lag can hit you out of the blue, he went downstairs in search of Artie and his father.

"Hey, Tony, get unpacked?"

"I did, yeah. Anyone feel like taking a walk?"

Artie grinned, "How would you like to go with me to Kyle's class to deliver the cookies?"

He smiled, "And surprise Train Man, that would be fun! Are the cookies for his birthday?"

"No, the parents rotate bringing treats on Friday, the schedule got changed and Kyle forgot to give us the new one. Not the end of the world. We won't stay, just long enough to surprise Kyle and deliver the cookies." She looked at Jethro, "Are you coming?"

"Nah, think I'll stay with Miss Hope."

With the cookies packed in a large tin, Tony and Artie set off for the nursery. When they knocked and walked into Kyle's classroom, the little guy's mouth dropped open and his whole face lit up. "Uncle Tony!"

His teacher opened her mouth to scold, but smiled instead. Kyle had been very quiet and sad when his Aunt Abby left and had finally started cheering up, talking about Uncle Tony arriving today. He was a good child, a sweet boy and normally minded his manners, now she wouldn't scold him when he was so happy. She nodded at the good looking man with Kyle's mum as he squatted down for a hug with his favorite Train Engineer. When he felt Kyle burrow into him, he held on tightly, whispering, "I'm here, Kyle. What's the matter?"

"You'll go away too, like Mama and Aunt Abby."

"Your mama came home, sweetie. And Aunt Abby had to go back to work to make more money so she can come back. But I'm here for your birthday, we'll have fun, make new memories and then I'll be back with your Aunt Maggie and Granducky in 3 months, right after Greg's birthday. How about we ask if we can put it on the calendar, so you can see?" Tony remembered Tim doing that last year.

"Okay. Promise?"

"I promise, Kyle. Now, I have to go because I just got off the plane and you know that means I'm going to fall asleep any minute!"

He giggled and the sad moment was banished although Tony mentioned it to Artie. She nodded, saying they were taking him to a child psychologist who believed he was remembering losing his first mother and mixing that up with his fear of losing Artie in Turkey. They'd taken him after he started having nightmares. While he was seeing the doctor every week, Greg, Rissa, and Andy also had sessions with the doctor. They were glad they'd done that as Greg started to relax, admitting he'd had bad dreams. He'd seen a child psychologist while they were in Cambridge, after the murder of his mother, the turmoil they'd been through losing the house, and living in the shelter. Artie's enforced silence and flight from Amzida had stirred all that up again.

It helped Andy too, as he'd tried to put on a brave face for his younger siblings while being terrified his mother wasn't coming home. Little Rissa had also had bad dreams and they'd all noticed she was clingier than usual once her mama was home. But then, they'd all been clingy, in one way or another, when Artemis was returned to them.

While it was a good thing that the children were getting help, Artie could hardly stand the guilt she felt for leaving her family in the first place, all the way back to having to leave baby Jason with her parents. She was also seeing a psychologist.

After her second session, she came home with referrals for Tim, 3 other psychologists. Knowing he too needed help, he didn't hesitate to make an appointment.

He was upset when he, with his doctor's help, realized those hours when Artie couldn't communicate, her life seemingly hanging in the balance, were tied up with his emotions about his childhood. In addition, it seemed he had residual problems surrounding Andy and/or knowledge of Andy's existence, being kept from him for so many years. He was surprised and dismayed to find that he was as angry and upset as he'd been that first day when Artie told him of Andy's existence, but in his need to create a united family and probably to avoid the possibility of losing Andy and Artie again, he'd buried his emotions.

When he and the doctor very carefully examined his anger, he was relieved to discover it was directed at Kosmos. His belief in Artemis was bone deep, his love for her and trust in her strong enough to banish any doubts about her, specifically regarding Andy and the times she'd rejected him. He knew now who the culprit was. Whatever doubts he might have had evaporated when he'd met the man and that was reinforced when Kosmos sent his son to spy on Susannah. He'd seen and experienced enough manipulation in his life to know where to direct his anger. He and the doctor spent some time working on that as the doctor wanted to ensure he wasn't ignoring or burying negative feelings toward Artemis, projecting it onto her father while subconsciously blaming her.

When the doctor and Tim were both satisfied that wasn't happening, they moved on. Tim learned, once again, that it was all right to feel anger for what had happened, to Artie and to him, as long as he recognized and dealt with it, didn't let it fester.

He and Artie thought once the two of them were more confident with their feelings about the Amzida horror, they'd have at least one family session with the children. They also encouraged their siblings, Mimi, Jethro, Ian, and James, to seek help.

Tony nodded, relieved. They'd been concerned, all of the extended family, about the family and how they were dealing with the terror of nearly losing Artie.

And now he realized that Tim, Dad, Artie, Geo, Sarah, and Rob had reached out to him, nudging him to also seek help. He'd thought it was funny, now he realized, once again, that he really was part of this family, part of the immediate family, not the extended family.

It wasn't every so often or when there was news, or talking with everyone, or in each other's presence, it was all the time. He and Dad spoke at least once a week, usually twice, and that was always a Skype call with just the two of them, as well as a semi-regular family call, depending on everyone's schedules. Geordie didn't just converse with him via text as a guy who enjoyed the same kind of humor, he was conversing with his brother. Same thing with Rob and Sarah and that had been true with Tim for years now. Even the boys would send him an email or a goofy photo. He had drawings from each of them in his workstation and they routinely sent him new ones. Sometimes they were funny, and were always creative. Artie sent him school photos of the boys and photos from day care of the littles, he carried them in his wallet, a proud uncle. When they knew Artie was safe, on her way home, he knew then, too.

That was something else Tony hadn't thought about. He was always kept in the loop, even if he didn't always realize it. He was part of them. That helped him understand his need to be with them. If it weren't for Maggie, he probably would have transferred to the London office or to one of the other European offices, to be closer to them. He and Maggie had talked about doing it anyway, if it wasn't safe for Tim and Artie to move home next year.

He thought about that. Maggie's dad was retired, he'd probably come with them. And as long as they didn't announce their engagement, they could still work on the same team. He'd talk with Dad and Tim about it, get their thoughts, before he said anything to Maggie. She'd once said she'd be fine being an Intel Analyst, he mentally shook his head, there were a lot of issues to consider and there wasn't any need to think about it until he talked with his father and brother.

As he and Artie turned into the front garden, walking back from the nursery, she nudged him with her elbow. "Are you all right, Tony? You seem deep in thought or are you half asleep?"

"Not sleepy yet, I'm happy to say. I was deep in thought, thinking about all of you and how great it is to be with you all again. Wondering about your move next year."

"Whether we'll be able to, whether we'll be safe?"

He nodded and she sighed. "That is a frequent topic of conversation and one that drives both Tim and me to distraction as there is no answer. Our protectors have told Tim and Jethro that once that man's trial is over, it will be safe. But there's been no word on the trial, when it might be scheduled, if ever."

"Considering who he is and how many people and countries are invested in the outcome of the trial, I can understand that. I wouldn't publish the trial date, either, just asking for trouble."

"Oh, I hadn't considered that."

Tony grinned as she opened the front door. "That's because you're an excellent engineer and not schooled in the devious ways of law enforcement."

She chuckled as they walked in and saw Gibbs walking the living room, burping, or trying to burp, the baby, who was loudly announcing her unhappiness. He finally sat down and laid her across his lap, rubbing her back. That did the trick. As little Hope started relaxing and falling asleep, Tony sat and watched her, feeling it was almost hypnotic. He woke with a start when Artie shook his shoulder, "Tony, you can sleep here if you'd like, but you'll be more comfortable in your bed."

He blinked and then smiled as his dad and sister-in-law grinned at him. "Nappy time, son! Want some help upstairs?"

Tony huffed, "Thanks but you're a few decades too late, haven't needed help with stairs since I was Rissa's age." He held back a groan as he pulled himself off the couch, he needed exercise! Later, after his nap.

Upstairs, he managed to get his shoes off before he collapsed, face first, onto the bed. Damn jet lag! He woke when he heard Tim whisper, "What are you guys doing? Leave him alone, he's asleep! And he's _my_ brother, I get him first!"

There was giggling and he heard feet shuffling away from him. Carefully opening his eyes, he saw his brother sitting on the other side of the bed.

"Hey!"

Tim grinned at him, "Hey yourself. Decide to just drop in, try out the beds? Like Goldilocks, eh?"

"More like Snow White."

"Oh yeah, with those dwarves." The two men grinned at each other at the opener to their old routine, an old joke. They used to torture Ziva with it. One of them would feed the other one the opener, mentioning Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. The other one would try to name the dwarves and deliberately get them wrong. They'd go back and forth until Ziva would start threatening them. Once she even screamed; they'd made a run for it that time, sure that Gibbs would finally kill them both. After that, Ziva tried to outsmart them by learning the names and correcting them. Didn't matter, they continued their arguing and misnaming.

After Ziva left, they tried it on Bishop. She looked at them, rattled off the names of the dwarves and went back to work while they looked at her, their mouths open, their eyes sad, disappointment on their precious little faces. Gibbs had to practically run to get to the stairs to autopsy, where no one voluntarily went, to let his laughter loose. Of course, he didn't let the boys know until after he retired. He never did tell them he'd prepped Ellie.

Tony sat up, reaching out to Tim for a hug, wondering when he'd become a hugger. He used to hate hugging, especially with a guy. But these 'guys' were his father and brothers. He gave Tim an extra hug, getting in a noogie to the top of his head.

"Ow! That's…phooey; DiNozzo, noogies are cheating!" After all the years working together, each knew the other's sore points and now all Tim had to do was ruffle Tony's hair, something he would only tolerate from Dad, who sometimes forgot that his eldest hated anyone to touch his hair, although presumably that did not include Maggie. Tony made a noise and pushed Tim back.

The kids, listening outside the door, looked at each other, their dad and Uncle Tony were fighting? Andy and Greg ran downstairs to get their grandfather. "Grandpa, Papa and Uncle Tony are fighting!"

"Did you hear what they said?"

"Papa said 'Ow and phooey and that Uncle Tony cheated with a noogie'."

Grandpa laughed, "They're not fighting, boys, that's how they say hello when it's been awhile since they've seen each other. They like to torture each other for a few minutes. You go back up, you'll hear them laughing."

Artie frowned at them, "How is it that you heard them?"

"Uh, we, uh, wanted to see Uncle Tony but he was asleep. Papa saw us in there and said he got to be first because Tony's his brother. We left the room and he closed the door."

"You were in your uncle's room, watching him sleep? And then what?"

"We stayed to listen." Andy sighed, knowing they shouldn't have done that and as the oldest, he was responsible.

"Jason Andrew, you knew that was wrong." Greg's eyes widened at the whole name but then he stood up straight. "It wasn't just Andy, Mama. I wanted to stay too, we talked him into it."

"That doesn't excuse your brother or you, Gregory or the littles. Marissa and Kyle know better than to listen to a private conversation or to creep into someone's room like that. That was very rude of you, all of you."

"We'll apologize to Uncle Tony and Papa."

"Yes, you will. Apologize for watching him sleep and eavesdropping, both were an invasion of his privacy. If you do that again, there will be more consequences than apologies! Now, go!"

Knowing they'd gotten off easy, the boys left the room quickly. Behind them, Artie looked at Jethro, rolling her eyes. "Boys!"

He laughed, "Not just boys! Kelly pulled something like that with one of her friends. Listened to the friend's father mumble in his sleep. Not in his bedroom though, he was asleep in a recliner in the living room."

She shook her head, biting back a chuckle.

With the whole family home, dinner was a lot of fun. Geordie had been working on a new joke while he'd been in the hospital for a treatment and shared it with his family, satisfied with their surprised laughter. He and Tony traded jokes and funny stories, with Sarah, Rob, and Dad joining in. While Tim didn't jump in with the others, he laughed until his sides ached and he coaxed a favorite story or two out of his brothers and his dad. James had also joined them and just kept shaking his head, laughing at Sarah's family.

For Tony's first weekend, they'd stick with the greater London area. And then he and Dad could wander wherever they wanted during the week. They'd probably go to Warwick Castle on a day trip, maybe taking that tour Dad and Tim did the first month they'd been in the UK. He'd already seen Stonehenge, Avebury, and Salisbury and wasn't much of a museum guy, unless it was sports or film. And that hit home; with his love of film and music, there must be plenty of new experiences waiting for him here in the UK.

When Tim started looking for studio tours, he stumbled on a link to a James Bond tour. He clicked on it, finding an entire page of tours exploring different aspects of the franchise. Snagging his dad to look with him, the two found 3 tours that were absolute musts. The first two complemented each other, a 2 ½ hour walking tour of Bond's London, and a 3 hour bus tour, covering more filming locations. That one included a visit to MI-6 where they were supposedly going to have a chance to guess which employees were 'spies'. They laughed themselves silly at that, saying Tony would have to sit that one out. He'd not only know right away, he might even have met the employee on a case at some point. Tim pointed out that Clayton Reeves was on loan to MI-5 from MI-6 and it would be really fun if he was there. Tony could say something like, "Oh yeah, we worked a case together." And then casually mention his work undercover.

The 3rd Bond tour they thought Tony would love was an Outer London Tour, with a stop at Pinewood Studios. They'd see movie clips as they passed or stopped at a film location. Several locations would be featured, from various movies, from the early days through to the most current. It ran all day, 9 ½ hours and was only on Tuesdays, which would help them plan the rest of the week.

There were a few other James Bond tours, one where they'd meet an actress who'd played a Bond Girl, another where they'd meet one of the actors/actresses or production members of a Bond film, a James Bond helicopter tour of London or, and both Tim and Dad thought this sounded pretty cool, a James Bond London Tour via a speed boat on the Thames. Tim clipped a link to the page that listed all the tours and sent it to Dad's email so he could send it to Tony, let him know his ideas about the tours. Each of them were a bit expensive and Dad would offer to pay.

Another interest Tony had developed was a love of antiques. To that end, Tim found antique stores and flea markets, printing out a list and making a copy for Artie and him. They loved to wander through the stores and markets and hadn't yet visited a few of the places on Tony's list.

One of the things they'd talked about after dinner was where to go next weekend and the answer was a resounding 'Yes' for Nice. Tim showed them the 2 Airbnb places he'd found that would fit all of them and they chose the large apartment on the first floor that would provide a crib. Tim and Dad booked the flights, pleased at the low prices, made lower by a group discount and then checked the availability of the Airbnb apartment. They booked that and had a quick email from their host, welcoming them and asking a little about the family and what they thought they'd like to do. When he saw the ages of the children, he recommended they frequent a beach outside of Nice proper, one with sand and more importantly, none of the drop-offs the beach in Nice was subject to. Those were the underwater holes that Tim or Rob always watched for. He also offered to provide enough groceries for a couple of meals and they took him up on that.

Tim, Dad, Tony, and James had been talking about renting a minibus and now they agreed it would be necessary. Tony said he'd rather not go to Monaco, afraid he'd run into his father or some of his cronies there. There were a couple of casinos in Nice, that would be enough. Dad said he didn't gamble but it was fun to watch people play the tables. Tony said the same thing and Tim looked thoughtful, although he still said he wouldn't gamble.

Once they had everything reserved for Nice, flight, rental vehicle and lodging, Tim printed a list of activities in the area and then a second list specific to kids' activities. As soon as he said they were done, Tony said goodnight and headed upstairs. The kids were already in bed, they'd tell them tomorrow or Sunday.

Saturday morning, several of the family set out to explore the flea markets and antique stores with Tony. Rob, Andy, and Greg were excited while Kyle wasn't very interested and Rissa wanted to stay home with Grandpa and Uncle Geordie. Tim and Artie really wanted to go and eagerly accepted when Geo and Dad said they'd watch the littles. The baby would go with them. As little and as placid a baby as she was, she was an easy traveler in her front pack. They had a kit they'd put together for changing diapers when away from home and they'd take a couple of her travel bottles with them. They thought about her stroller but it was bound to be crowded. Having heard recent warnings about pickpockets, the adults wore the travel pants, with zippered pockets, that had replaced their money belts and they all had day packs with zippers and locks.

The kids gave their spending money to their parents to keep secure for them. Both boys hoped to find something for Kyle's birthday. They'd have his birthday dinner at home Thursday night so he could open presents, with more birthday fun in Nice. Tim couldn't believe their little guy would be 4! That meant he could start 'reception' at the Primary school in September, the English version of kindergarten. Tim and Artie were considering letting him stay at the nursery for another year as 4 seemed awfully young to start formal schooling. However, having been following older brother Greg all of his life and older brother Andy for nearly a year, Kyle was mature for his age.

Taking the Tube into the City, they disembarked close to their first stop, an outdoor flea market. Maggie had introduced Tony to the fun of flea markets and he had as much fun as the others looking for treasures. He'd looked at the things Tim and Artie collected on their travels, together and separately, and saw several items he knew Maggie would love.

She loved maps, old and new. When they'd gone to the Caribbean for a long weekend, she'd bought a obviously fake Pirate's Treasure map, meant for kids, and framed it alongside some of the maps she'd cut from an old atlas. Old was her favorite, as borders changed and countries and cities changed their names, she collected the obsolete maps. New was also acceptable because, as she told Tony, they would eventually be old and outdated. Today, he was on the lookout for maps and anything else that caught his fancy.

Tim hunted old books, especially old children's books, science-y things and old travel posters. Artie loved vintage clothing, a love now shared by Sarah. She knew Sarah loved vintage gloves, preferably elbow length and made from lace, although cloth was acceptable as long as there weren't any imperfections. Susannah liked bureau toppers or table runners, as long as they weren't lace. All three women were fond of almost anything that was hand embroidered and Sarah also collected souvenir spoons.

Rob looked for anything medical. Old books, drawings and instruments. His last birthday, Tim had discovered an old medical reference book somewhere and gave it to Rob, who crowed when he unwrapped it, calling it the 'find of the century!' He also kept an eye out for tall things, coat trees (his overcoats always swept the floor on the regular sized trees), lamps, occasional tables, chairs with tall backs, anything useful for his 6'5" frame. Dad made risers for the kitchen table at his flat, and for the first time since he'd reached his full height, he was comfortable at a table. When his father saw how much difference it made, he made some for Ian, too. He would have also made some for James, but James ate at their table and that wouldn't work with the kids or Sarah.

Aside from books, the boys weren't into collecting, but had fun looking for things their parents, aunts and uncles would like. They all kept an eye out for old hand tools for Grandpa, as well as old miniature ships, wood carvings, his favorite books and anything that referenced the USMC. When Abby told the old team what music Gibbs liked from the 60's, Tim started keeping an eye out for Rock Memorabilia for those groups. Gibbs also liked baseball cards and caps, much to the family's amusement. He had several baseball caps from different baseball teams, Major and Minor, and his kids were becoming a little competitive about finding caps from teams he didn't have. Tony thought he had the current advantage, being the only sibling living in the U.S., but then Tim unaccountably found a Toledo Mud Hens cap at a street vendor's stall in Amzida during his first visit. He'd give it to their dad for Father's Day, coming up in June.

He loved the story behind the cap: The original owner, a native of Lebanon, was a big fan of the TV show "MASH", particularly of the character Maxwell Klinger, whose roots were Lebanese. Klinger was a big fan of the Toledo Mud Hens, wore a cap with their name and logo on it and mentioned them several times. When the original owner's cousin's brother-in-law's nephew had a business trip to an American city in the state of Ohio, he'd spotted the cap in a coffee shop with a rack of gift items and bought it for his in-law. That cap had traveled from Ohio to Lebanon to Turkey, now to England and would eventually return to the U.S.

Tim loved the story so much, he wrote it up. Taking a copy to Amzida with him for his second visit, in February with the children, Dad and Geordie, he'd found the vendor and gave him a copy, just for fun. The man was happy his customer remembered the story and now he could add onto it, telling his friends and other customers about the traveling baseball cap.

While they were browsing the flea market in London, Tim thought about that vendor, their 'camel' shop owner and some of the neighbors out the backdoor. He hoped they were safe and able to resume their lives and livelihoods. He said something to Artie, who agreed. After she'd thought about it, she said it was possible her former project manager could check for them. They knew the exact location of the vendor's stall and of course the 'camel' shop and the neighbors. Then Artie smiled, she thought she might still have a business card from their favorite shop and the phone number of one of the neighbors.

Geordie's friend Bec was still in town, she'd had to work that morning, but was off now and met the group at one of the antique stores to do a little exploring. After introducing her to Tony, they told her about their fun. She was looking forward to seeing Geordie and having dinner with the family.

Andy and Greg found train related items for Kyle and a beginning reader's book that Papa said they could read with him as he became more confident. Tony found 3 old maps for Maggie; one was a Victorian map of London, another an old map of the city of Exeter, a modern city founded in antiquity by the Romans, although the map was dated 1978, not quite ancient yet, and the third was a map of the London Underground dated 1953. He'd already given her the small foldup guide of the Tube he'd brought home last summer.

He'd also found an old belt buckle he really liked, with a royal crest on it, and a t-shirt extolling Manchester United, one of the teams on which David Beckham played, also listing his jersey numbers while on the team. However, besides the maps for Maggie, his biggest thrill was finding a copy of a storyboard painted by Akira Kurosawa, one of his favorite directors and screenwriters, for the movie, "Last Man Standing", the last of Kurosawa's screenplays to be released before his death in 1998.

Rob found an old doctor's bag, with a few old instruments in it and was very happy with his purchase. Responding to a text request from Tim, he also purchased three vintage National Geographic magazines for Andy, from Tim and Artie. The boys were glued to their sides, thus the need for Uncle Rob's help. He was amused at the magazines, checking to make sure there were no naked women in them. There weren't but at Andy's age, those would be priceless! Instead, there were thoughtful articles about scientific discoveries and a couple of great articles about different countries, including Thailand and Chile.

Tim found an old book he remembered reading as a library book when they were in Baltimore, authored by one of his favorite English mystery writers, and 2 small travel posters, one of Dublin and one, a newer one, of Prague, with its fairytale buildings. Before they moved home, if he hadn't found posters for every place they'd visited, he'd look online for them.

Artie found a pair of lace gloves for Sarah. A couple of repairs were needed but if she couldn't figure out how to do them, or find help online, she'd ask Mimi, who knew how to tat, that is how to make a kind of knotted lace. She'd also found a pair of vintage boots that fit her perfectly and a lovely, hand knit sweater. When she saw them, Bec almost squealed over the boots and sweater and Sarah did squeal.

For Susannah, Artie found a bureau runner, or topper, that looked like it was a souvenir from Italy, with different Italian themes on it. She didn't know if her sister would like it but bought it for her anyway. If she didn't want it, Artie would keep it, she found it amusing and Tim agreed.

They bought a doll, two outfits and a car for the doll, all for Marissa and a sweet little leggings and top outfit for Hope, hardly worn at all, but then babies grow out of things very quickly. When Tim found hand knit sweaters, known as jumpers in the UK, in colors and sizes for each of the girls, he asked the vendor to hold two of them while he called his wife. Both sweaters eventually went into Tim's pack, one a purple color for Marissa, the other a sunny yellow for little Hope. The couple also found a little Scottish boy figurine playing bagpipes and a small wool and wood sheep they had to have. A poster of an old steam train running through a valley in Scotland, mountains looming over the track, went home with them to be framed for Kyle.

They'd also scored an old illustration of Christopher Robin sitting in a chair with an open book and Edward Bear, more commonly known as Winnie the Pooh, sitting in his lap. That would be framed for Greg for his birthday. As the boys were still glued to their parents' sides, purchasing it had required more skulduggery by parents and uncles without either boy knowing. They hoped.

Tim thought the magazines for Andy, posters for his brothers and the sweaters for the girls were his favorite finds of the day. Artie added that the pottery dishes they'd found decorated with Portuguese motifs, patterns they'd seen on Portuguese tiles, were also a favorite. Tim agreed, glad they were modern enough that they were safe to eat from, use in the microwave and be washed in the dishwasher.

They'd bought lunch along the way, finding a park where they ate, tended the baby and the boys joined in a casual ball game. Hope slept for a couple of hours, opening her eyes occasionally to gurgle at someone, gaining instant fans. They bought her a poster with her name written in calligraphy, with all kinds of pretty flowers.

Home by mid-afternoon, Tim, Tony, and Rob took their packs, and Artie's, upstairs while Bec went to find Geordie and say hello to Gibbs, Sarah, and James. Removing Greg and Kyle's posters and Andy's magazines, first reimbursing Rob, Tim carefully put them in a plastic bag and hid them in his underwear drawer, a location he was fairly certain no one would look through.

Although there was a frame shop in Brambury, it closed early on Saturday, remaining closed until Monday. Artie said she'd take them in early Monday and hope that Kyle's would be done by Thursday. The train picture was a standard size, that should be all right. Greg's illustration was not standard and would need a custom frame, but with over a month until his birthday, that shouldn't be a problem. When Dad saw the posters, he offered to make both frames and they loved the idea, knowing the boys would too.

As it was Sarah's turn for dinner Saturday, they had Chinese, a family favorite. Tony wanted to make their Sunday dinner and his family was already licking their lips in anticipation and they invited Bec to join them again. Tim and Artie asked to be his sous chefs so they could learn more about cooking dishes from southern Italy.

Sunday morning, Tim, Artie, and the boys went to church. Kyle had been with them a few times now and did pretty well. The Sunday after Artie's return from Turkey, the entire family went to services together, pleased when the priest offered thanks for her safe return. Besides needing to express their gratitude, they were loath to be separated from her for any length of time and Kyle had been attending since then.

Rob, Sarah and Tim had talked about that separation anxiety a few times. They'd feared for Geordie for over a decade, but, and this was conjecture, with no knowledge of his whereabouts and the need to live their lives, that fear hadn't been as tangibly present as it was while waiting to hear from Artemis during those long hours. And while they had physically welcomed their long lost brother with hugs and kisses, they hadn't felt the need to stick to him like glue, the way they had with Artie.

Rob said it was probably because Geordie had been away from them for so long, they were used to him not being around, just as they'd learned to live with the fear. Also, they'd never lived with Geordie. Growing up, he stayed in his tent with the guys. While they weren't far apart, it wasn't the same tent. He'd stayed with them at Mrs. Ferguson's a couple of times and visited them in Silver Spring a few times, but he'd never lived with them until this year. Artie, on the other hand, was a presence, part of their everyday lives, even while she was away 4 days a week.

Tony, Tim and Artie had fun making their Italian feast that night. Tony made fresh pasta, showing them how and having each of them cut a ribbon of the dough after it rested, and then unfurl that ribbon, letting it rest again on a baking sheet.

While they worked on the pasta, Tony started on the chicken, he was making chicken cacciatore. He'd had to recalculate the measurements for the ingredients, with Tim's help, as there would be 13 people at dinner rather than the 4 servings the recipe made. He'd use red bell peppers instead of the cubanelle pepper called for in the recipe. Both were sweet peppers with little to no heat, just what he needed. While the pasta was resting, his sous chefs smashed cloves of garlic, quartered mushrooms, chopped fresh basil, drained jars of marinated artichoke hearts, saving some of the marinade, measured cups of black olives, green olives and capers, grating fresh Romano cheese, and then slicing sweet onions. They also prepared a green salad, covering it and putting it in the refrigerator for now.

As they progressed with the recipe, they had fun, with Tony telling them what he was doing and why. While the recipe he was following called for a dry white wine, he preferred a red wine, which his brother and sister-in-law knew would be cooked off. The alcohol, that is, not the taste. When everything was nearly ready, they put the water on to cook the pasta and Artie went to warn the family that dinner was almost ready, hands needed to be washed and the table set.

Bec was there and asked to help set the table. As that was the children's job, they gleefully accepted, until their mother thanked Bec, reminding her that she was a guest. Artie smiled, "Next time you visit, we'll let you help." She looked at the children, "Are your hands washed yet? Table set?"

They scurried off while Artie grinned. "They have to get used to responsibilities, just like the rest of us."

A few minutes later, they sat down to their delicious meal. They said goodbye to Bec that night as she was flying home to Athens, the one in Greece, in the morning. Dad drove her and Rob to the Tube station, Geordie riding along. Rob would be back Thursday evening for Kyle's birthday dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noogie: "a hard poke or grind with the knuckles, especially on a person's head." Source: Google. Urban Dictionary adds: "Generally causing hair displacement and mild cursing."


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Monday, Tim and the kids went to classes and nursery school while Artie worked on an engineering project from home. Using a frame and panels Dad built, they'd screened off the sleeping areas of the old schoolroom and made an office for her in the rest of the space. She had all her equipment in there and was loving it.

The project was one offered by the firm she'd been with for the bridge in Amzida. She'd do the design work, have final approval over the construction plan and progress but would not need to be on site throughout construction. After discussing it with Tim, she'd decided to be a little flexible, she was willing to do random inspections of the build, but only if she could fly out, inspect and return home the same day. Everyone involved agreed. As this project was in Belgium and fairly close to Brussels, she could easily travel there and home again in the same day.

She had no further responsibilities for the completion of the bridge. However, she was relieved when her employer told her they'd hired a Turkish engineer, one who normally worked in Istanbul, to oversee the final phases of the bridge, once the 'troubles' were over. She kept in touch with her friend the project manager and he reported there was still a good deal of unrest in the city, although there hadn't been any more deaths related to it. With the work the government was doing, he estimated it would be another couple of weeks before he and his wife could risk going back to Artie's apartment for her belongings.

After breakfast that morning, Gibbs and Tony took a long walk out the back gate, ambling along talking about anything and everything. DiNozzo figured he was over the worst of his jet lag now. They were taking the 3-hour James Bond minibus tour this afternoon. Tomorrow, Tony would do the 9 ½ hour bus tour, figuring he'd be seeing parts of the country as they drove through.

On Wednesday, he and Dad were taking the train to Stratford Upon Avon and would see the sights, possibly including a river cruise on the River Avon. From Stratford, they'd board the same train line to Warwick where they planned to spend the bulk of the day, taking the train home in the evening.

Thursday morning, Tony was doing the 2 ½ hour James Bond walking tour of London. He said that was enough, more than enough, he'd be 'Bonded out' after that.

That was well planned as they were leaving Friday for Nice. With a short flight in the afternoon, they'd pick up their rental vehicle at the airport, check into their Airbnb apartment and take their first walk on the Promenade before dinner.

By Thursday afternoon, Tony was soaking his feet in a basin of warm water and Epsom salts. True to his word, he was indeed 'Bonded out'. He'd seen nearly every bit of everything that had been involved in a James Bond movie, including a look into the real life of Mr. Bond's creator, Ian Fleming. He'd loved all of it.

However, of everything he'd seen and done that week, his favorite was Warwick Castle, especially seeing it with his former boss. Tim had told him a little of his reaction and Tony agreed after he'd seen the castle and the knight on his mount. That knight was them, hundreds of years ago. Instead of horses, they drove cars, instead of armor or chain mail, they wore bulletproof vests and battle gear. Instead of spears, they carried firearms and knives. It was the same concept, perhaps becoming more specialized over the centuries. They weren't soldiers, in that they differed, but they had the ability to act as soldiers, in defense of their charges.

Sarah and Artie listened to Tony, Tim, Dad, and Geordie talking about it, hearing the passion and pride in their work, in what they did, how their mandate hadn't changed all that much. The laws, the people, the tools, yes. It was a far more defined and complete description of what they did, how they felt the connection, than either woman had ever heard from any of them.

Tony said he'd felt exhilarated when he saw the knight, that he'd never thought about their jobs evolving from the medieval knights and that he'd finally found a definition of what they did and why. He said he wanted to point to the knight and just yell, "THIS!"

The other men nodded in agreement. Dad said, "They don't tell you how much that armor, the chain mail weighs. How little they could see or how they had to have help getting in and out of it, how they could be dismounted by a spear strike and lie there on the ground, helpless, hoping they wouldn't be speared or trampled to death. How they had to learn how to charge and hit the target while riding a moving animal over rough ground. I don't know how true the romantic tales are but I much prefer our time, when we aren't dependent on well-trained but still unpredictable animals, or one shot with the spear. Or wearing all that heavy stuff!" He chuckled, "I'll never complain about vests or helmets again!"

That night, they all had fun at Kyle's birthday dinner. He'd asked for Uncle Tony's lasagna, which was made ahead of time and slipped into the oven that afternoon by Aunty Sarah. Papa made a chocolate-caramel cake Wednesday night, icing it right before dinner on Thursday. They sat in the dining room for their celebratory dinner, festooned with balloons and banners. Everyone was there, either in person or via Skype. Mimi, their Greek cousins, Aunt Susannah, Uncle Ian, Grandma, Granducky, Aunt Abby, Aunt Ellie, Aunt Maggie, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Breena, cousins Victoria and David, the Baltimore uncles, Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Larry.

Kyle had a wonderful time telling them about Stockholm, Aunt Abby's visit and now Uncle Tony's visit and their beach trip this weekend! People wandered in and out electronically as the little boy opened some of his birthday presents. Like Greg and Andy last year, he had a large box of presents from his American family and in his case, another large box from his European family. There was even a card from Uncle Nikolas and his family in Sorrento and they hadn't even met yet!

Watching everything, Tony thought how great it was that he was on this side of the camera for once. He laughed at himself, he was at a birthday party for a 4-year-old and loving it! Who would have thought that would ever happen?

After a fun and sugary evening, Kyle dropped off to sleep, a big smile on his face. Tim sat with him for a few minutes, watching his little guy sleep, still amazed that he was already 4. Sometimes he forgot he hadn't had the boys their entire lives. He wondered, for the thousandth time, whether they could – or should – adopt them. Greg would be 8 in July and his memories of his father before Pat was injured were growing dimmer every month. The three of them were a little better now with the weekly calls, reading to the unresponsive figure in the hospital bed after telling their volunteer what they'd been up to, but it felt increasingly strange. The chances of Patrick waking up had been slim to start with, now they were…Tim didn't want to think about it. He reminded himself that his brother was breathing on his own. Where there's breath, there's hope.

Last time he had talked with Sarah about Patrick, she'd been adamant that he and the boys continue their weekly calls. When he asked her to join them, she made excuses and he called her on it. Dutifully, she'd joined them for 3 calls in the last four months. Finally, she told Tim her problem. She had no more memories of Patrick than Kyle did and while she knew he was her brother, she had a hard time feeling anything for the vegetative man. Tim knew that Kyle was still responding out of loyalty to Greg and he supposed to him as well. Sarah…he decided not to go there, he and Sarah were in a good place and he was not going to mess that up!

Now, as Kyle slept, Tim brushed his hair back from his face and kissed his forehead. Kyle murmured, "Love you, Daddy" and Tim whispered back to him before leaving him to sleep.

Greg was next and the two of them chatted about his new passion, writing. He'd started with writing little stories about their travels and now his stories also included their visitors. He was learning to type on a traditional keyboard, to make writing easier and had asked for a new tablet with a word processing app geared for children, for his birthday.

After he fell asleep, his papa stayed with him for a few minutes. When Tim knocked lightly on Andy's door, he smiled at his son, who had his nose in a book.

One of their heroes was Neil de Grasse Tyson, the astrophysicist, and Andy had become very interested in astronomy. The book he was currently reading was one of the scientist's earliest books. He'd already read "Explore the Cosmos like Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Space Science Journey", published last year, 2015, for children interested in space science. Now he was devouring every word of another of the scientist's books.

Andy looked up with a smile, "I love this book! And I can't wait to read the next one!"

"That's good, son, I'm glad you're so interested in it."

"Papa, I want to be an astrophysicist. I need to find out what classes I need to take."

"We can do that together, Andy, with your mother, too."

"Great! I finished my homework and the schoolwork for tomorrow and Monday."

Tim smiled, "I never considered that my love of learning would be genetic! Glad it is, though."

"Do you know if your mother was a scholar?"

"I don't know for sure but I don't think so. She wasn't in college when she married at age 19. I think family was more important to her."

"Oh. And we don't know about your biological father. I guess we're on our own as far as knowing who it comes from."

"I guess so. But look at your aunt and uncle. Sarah graduated from Waverly and is about to finish her masters here. Patrick graduated from Cal Tech with honors. Even if Lily wasn't interested in learning, one of our forebears must have been! Can't speak for Patrick, but Sarah and I certainly didn't have anyone pushing us forward."

"That's true, I hadn't thought of it that way." Andy shrugged with a grin, "Doesn't matter, we are who we are."

"Got that right! Come on, it's getting late and tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"Can I finish this chapter? It's only 15 more pages."

"Yes, but no more than that, son."

"Promise!"

Father and son hugged and exchanged a kiss, a routine they'd set the first night they'd met.

Marissa was last for her visit from Papa. She didn't mind going to bed but was always curious about what everyone was doing and had trouble falling asleep, no matter how many cuddles and stories she had and Tim hadn't wanted to chance waking her. He thought she was a night owl, like her mother. Sound asleep, she never stirred as he sat with her for a few minutes, giving her a kiss before he left.

Before he left for work in the morning, he brought his suitcase and carry-on downstairs, tucking them into Dad's suite. Geordie would drive Big Blue to the Uni, pick him up and take everyone to the train. While it wasn't a holiday weekend, except for the McGee family, commute traffic started early on Friday afternoons.

The kids left for school shortly after their father. They'd attend their morning classes and had school work for the afternoon classes they were missing today and the early classes they might miss on Monday. So far, Andy and Greg's teachers hadn't had a problem with the boys missing an occasional half or full day, as long as they got their work done and were able to jump right back in their first day back.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tony was excited, he couldn't believe they were going to the French Riviera! After Abby's description of the family's organizational skills displayed in their travels, he was curious to see what she meant. Tim was already gone by the time he woke, but Dad said his bags were in his suite. Tony also spotted bags that were tagged, 'baby stuff' and 'kids' stuff'. Both went into a pink carry-on bag. Artie explained when she saw him looking, "The baby stuff is diapers, dry formula, pretty much what we had with us in London last Saturday plus Hope's tummy mat. The kids' stuff is their classwork and books, water shoes, Kyle's engineer's cap and jackets, items they're notorious for forgetting."

She pointed to a blue bag, "That's the adults' stuff, things we forget or want with us on the plane."

"How much do you take with you?"

"Andy and Greg share a suitcase, they usually share a room so that makes it easier. And Kyle and Rissa share one, too. That's 2, Tim and I manage with 1 but depending on where we're going, we bring an extra carry-on for treasures. Sarah and James each bring a bag and Jethro manages with a day pack for his carry-on and his sea bag. If we had to, and this has happened, we can buy an extra suitcase or carry-on to bring home. Tim says we should invest in a luggage store! We're learning, we have our packs for carry-ons plus that extra bag.

"We know now that we're never going to eat out anyplace dressy so we only need swimsuits, shorts, maybe one pair of long pants, sandals, tops, light jackets, sunhats and lots of sunscreen. It's only 2 days so no one needs much. Jethro and I will inspect the kids' cases before we leave. Andy and Greg will try to get away with bringing 3 books apiece and Kyle will try to bring half a train and some of his books, while Marissa always wants more clothes than she needs, and her party shoes. This trip we're bringing our own beach towels because France is more expensive than Greece, where we bought towels." She chuckled as she rolled her eyes, "We bought cheap towels at Walmart because no one wants to wear out or lose the Greek towels! How much are you taking?"

"I think more than I need, I wasn't sure about restaurants, now I'll take my dress slacks out. Shorts, jeans, swim trunks, hat, shirts, underwear, water shoes and sneakers."

"No sandals?"

"I'll look for some there, I didn't even think to bring any."

"Tim has four pair, look through his and borrow a pair. It's only for 2 days!"

"All right."

He followed her to the master bedroom, looking at Hope who was snoozing adorably in her crib. Following Artie into the walk-in closet, he was impressed by the organization. He pulled Tim's rolling shoe shelf, knowing Dad made it for him, and picked a pair of sandals he liked well enough.

Artie nodded, "We had those made in Italy, when we were in Florence, and shipped home."

"Then I should take another pair instead."

"Don't be silly, they're just shoes! And shoes are made to be worn, Tony, Tim will get a kick out of it." She smiled, "We have the name of the shop, we can always order more. Or ask my uncle, he lives in southern Italy."

"Oh yeah, Tim told me about them. He owns a restaurant?"

"Yes. We're planning to visit, we just don't know when. He'll be too busy during the summer, we're thinking October."

"Nice!"

"Tim says your family is from Sicily. We were trying to figure out how to get you back over here to go with us."

Tony laughed, "Thanks! But unless we go straight from Athens to Naples, I don't think it's going to happen this year."

She looked thoughtful, "That's an idea, we'll have time before the children go back to school. Or for the boys' summer half-term in June next year."

"That works, too."

Laughing, Artie said, "We also want to see Spain, especially Barcelona, Budapest, Munich, Berlin, Croatia, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki and many other places before we move to the States. I think we'll have to pick and choose."

He shook his head, "Hey, you made it to Stockholm! I think that's more than many Americans do. I always thought it would be fun to establish a base, either in France or Italy and then travel out from there. That's what you've done here."

"I guess we have, without even thinking about it! Perhaps you and Maggie will also have that opportunity."

Artie walked the children home from school at lunchtime and they had a big lunch. Tony helped with the luggage, watching how Dad neatly fit everything in. Once everybody and everything was in the van, they left to pick up Tim, laughing when they found him at the gates to the Uni. "A little anxious?"

"Excited! And I didn't want to distract my office mates." He greeted his wife with a kiss and touched each of the kids. At the train station a few minutes later, Tony watched as Dad, Tim, and James handled the luggage while Sarah and Artie dealt with the children. Tony helped however he could. He grinned at his sister, "Trying to figure out the logistics here."

She laughed, "Don't ask me how it works! Tim, Dad and Artie are the organizational wizards. I just try to jump in where I can."

They relaxed on the train and then geared up for another move, from train to airport. They checked their bags, went through Security and were at their gate with time to relax for a few minutes. Tim was hungry, so he went to find a sandwich, taking Greg and Hope with him. When they returned, Tim laughed at Kyle who was trying to look pitiful so Papa would share. "No way, Kyleyboy! I heard what you had for lunch. I only had an apple, this is my lunch."

Kyle next tried a pout, which earned him a look from Papa. "Meant what I said, son."

The little guy knew that was the end of the sandwich sharing possibility.

With Marissa and baby Hope along, they qualified for pre-boarding and Tim quietly told Artie, he remembered thinking that when Kyle turned 3, he'd lose that privilege. "Then you, Andy and Marissa joined the family and that gave us another year. Now with the baby, another 3 years."

The flight was short, 2 hours, and they quickly went through Customs. The minibus was waiting for them and GPS directed them to their Airbnb apartment. They liked the place immediately. The refrigerator was stocked with fresh food for 2 meals as they'd requested and the beds were all made. Tim had discussed moving the beds around with the host, intending that they'd do it themselves, but found everything already done and that made everyone happy. Artie & Tim had the 3 younger children in with them, with a crib for Hope, the older boys were sharing a room, Grandpa had a room to himself, Tony had a room and Sarah and James had a room. There were 5 bedrooms and now they had the number of beds per room that they needed.

After they put their belongings in their rooms, they had dinner and then went for a walk on the Promenade, only minutes away. Papa and Mama made an immediate rule that the kids had to be accompanied by an adult when crossing the Promenade des Anglais. The leisurely walk felt good after the train and plane ride and it was forty minutes before they returned to the apartment. After Hope, Kyle and Marissa were in bed, the rest of the group mapped out what they wanted to do tomorrow. They decided to go their own ways in the morning, meeting at the apartment at noon for lunch, and from there, they'd drive to the beach. If anyone wanted to see more of the city or do something else, almost everything, including the train station, was within walking distance. Tim, Artie, the kids and whoever else wanted to go, would spend the afternoon at the sandy beach. Sunday morning, they thought they'd drive to Cannes and explore there, taking their swim things with them. Dad would have the kids in the afternoon so Tim and Artie could have some time to themselves, although the baby would stay with them. They already knew they wanted to explore Old Town.

Saturday morning, they started out together but quickly split up, with Sarah, Artie, Hope, and Marissa going one way, Grandpa taking Kyle to see the trains at the depot, while James, Tim, Tony, Greg and Andy wandered on the Promenade and then up into the city. Tony enjoyed the morning, he really hadn't spent much time with James so it was nice to get to know him a little better. He felt like he hadn't spent much time alone with Tim at all. He understood why but now it was nice to hang out with him for a few hours. Meeting for lunch at the apartment, they compared notes, Tim chuckling when he saw his wife's shopping bags. She grinned back at him, "These are Marissa and Hope's new clothes, Sarah and I had ours shipped home. We decided the girls' clothes are so little, they won't take up much room."

As they ate, they revisited their plan, decided it was working and then laughed when everyone wanted to go to the beach. They would rent a cabana so they wouldn't fry in the sun. Changing into their swim things and applying sunscreen, they grabbed hats and towels, pulling out the beach toys and chairs they'd found in a closet and loaded up the rental. The beach was a few minutes' drive, but it was worth it when they saw the sand and the lifeguards.

The water was warm, not as warm as it had been last summer on Aegina, but that was August and it was May now. Nice was also farther north than the Greek island. After Uncle Tony questioned the lifeguard about drop-offs and sharks, the kids, their parents, grandfather and uncles jumped right in.

Sarah wanted to get some sun and offered to watch the baby, who was happily playing on her tummy mat, placed on a large blanket on the sand. Now 5-months-old, the little girl was making more sounds, recognizing faces, able to explore more and trying to sit up.

As Sarah played with the baby, Tim watched them and then watched James watch Sarah. He smiled to himself, if and when those two ever married, he bet James would try to change Sarah's mind about children. For all her fears, she was wonderful with her nieces and nephews.

With 6 adults around, the baby and the children had plenty of company and each of their adults spent time with them. While Dad watched the kids, Tim and Artie swam parallel to the shore, enjoying the buoyancy of the waves. Eventually, Tim swapped with Sarah and played with the baby. He sat on his towel and put another one across his lap, his legs stretched out. Putting Hope on the lap towel, he held onto her hands as he slowly raised his knees, bringing her sweet little face closer to his, talking to her the whole time. Holding on to her, he waded into the surf, rubbing a little salt water on her legs. When she cooed, he carefully dipped her little toes in the waves. That got a squeal of surprise and he did it again. This time she made other noises that he decided were happy. Still holding on, he sat down in the wet sand at the edge of the water, wavelets lapping over his legs. He carefully scooted down until the water reached her feet. The look on her face was priceless and she squealed again, kicking her feet. Artie joined them and they played in the water with her until she lost interest and started fussing. Artie took her then, it was just about time for a bottle. Tim played with all four of his older kids in the waves, along the shore with Marissa and then swimming with the boys.

After a wonderful afternoon of playing and swimming, the group spent the last half hour sitting on the beach drying out. As they were gathering their belongings, Greg's tummy rumbled. Embarrassed, he blushed while his parents smiled, "That's all right, Greg, it's time for dinner anyway."

Andy looked puzzled, "Are we going out?"

"No, our dinner's been cooking all afternoon. The apartment has a slow cooker. Your mother and I found a recipe from one of the restaurants here in Nice, she and your aunt Sarah bought all the ingredients this morning and that's what we're having."

"Cool!"

Artie smiled, "It's a great sounding beef dish, called **La Daube Niçoise,** which we'll have with French baguettes. There might also be dessert."

Much to the couple's relief, their dish was a smashing success, accompanied by a dry rosé wine for the adults. Dessert was a surprise, apple tart made by a local bakery.

Sunday morning, there was one more surprise, croissants for all of them. There were four choices, traditional croissants or those filled with either chocolate, almond, or apricot.

After breakfast, they piled into the minibus and drove to Cannes, where they walked around looking at everything. Back in Nice, they went for another walk, this time on the Promenade, looking at the water and at the brightly colored buildings as they walked along. After that, they split up again. Tim and Artie would have most of the rest of the day to themselves while Dad would have custody of the children, including the baby, with help from their aunt and uncles. They were going back to the beach, although Tony and James wanted to try their luck at the casino first.

As their flight home didn't leave 7:00 PM that night, they had the entire afternoon. The airport was a 4 minute drive; if they left the apartment at ten minutes 'til 5:00, they'd be at the airport 6 minutes before their mandated 2-hour check-in time.

After the others left for the beach, Tim and Artie first spent some time reconnecting before walking to Old Town. They spent a couple of hours there and walking around the city, enjoying the soft air and the atmosphere of the city, seeing more of the sights. Now that they'd seen a little bit of Nice, they wanted more and were already trying to figure out when they could return. Tony said last night that he wanted to bring Maggie here and Artie smiled, thinking of their earlier conversation.

After finding a lovely quilt, made in Provence, and having it shipped home, the couple returned to the apartment, changed into their swimsuits and walked across the street to the beach. After their swim, they treated themselves to massages and then floated back across the Promenade to the apartment for a nap.

It was still early when they roused from their love nest. They'd stuck their suits in the dryer and now they put them on again, pulling shorts and tops over them. After calling Dad, who reported everyone was fine and having a good time, they called for Uber, joining the family at the sandy beach.

Finally, it was time to leave. They'd packed this morning, all they needed to do was dry the suits and towels and change into their clothes for the trip home. They left 20 minutes early, remembering they had to return the rental vehicle, which always took a few minutes. Tim dropped the van off and joined his family inside the terminal.

Their flight touched down outside London right on time and they were happy to see Rob waiting for them in Big Blue. He grinned, "I got off early, had Blue with me, and it's Sunday night, not much traffic, so I came straight here. Have a good time? I don't see any sunburn, good job with the sunscreen!" He grinned, "Or did it rain all weekend?"

Tim chuckled, the flight was only 2 hours, they'd all had plenty of sleep last night and there was only 1 hour time difference, which meant their flight landed at 8. All that and every single one of the kids fell asleep in the van on the way home. Tony looked around him and at Tim, laughing softly. "Is it automatic, they get in a car, they fall asleep?"

"Didn't think so, but you might be on to something. Although, it doesn't happen on the way to the beach."

James chuckled, "Just on the way home from a really fun weekend."

"Or that."

They woke the boys up, carrying Rissa and Hope inside. All 5 of them went straight to bed while the adults greeted Geordie before carrying the luggage in. By 9 PM, the only ones awake were Rob, Dad, and Geordie.

When Geordie commented on his brothers' early slumber, their father shook his head sadly, "They've gotten soft. Back in the day, they could go almost 40 hours without sleep. We'd live at the office if we were on a hot case, sleeping at our desks, showering in the gym. One time we were there so long, Ducky took all our clothes home and washed them while Jimmy made meals for us and put them in the break room refrigerator. We hadn't noticed our clothes but our bullpen neighbors asked Ducky to do something, guess we were getting a little ripe."

"Vance let you do that?"

"Before Vance. Jenny Shepard was the director. I was one of her trainers, so she thought of it as standard operating procedure. Vance won't let them do that anymore. Teams can only work so long before they're required to leave the office for a certain number of hours and if agents try to bend the rules, work from home, Vance suspends them. Only had to happen to one team, once, to get his point across."

"And was that you?"

Dad nodded, with a laugh. "Everyone came to my house, and there was sleep, food and showers, along with work. Not much sleep, a couple of hours, about what we did at the office."

"How he'd find out?"

"Ducky busted us. He came by to make sure I had food in the house and saw everyone's cars. He didn't even come in, called Vance from his car. Next thing I know, my phone's ringing with an angry Director telling me my entire team is suspended for two days, that they're to go to their own homes and our case is going to another team. That hurt!"

Geordie was laughing so hard, he held his sides. Tony wandered downstairs, saying he was too tired to sleep and grinned when asked about that occasion. "Oh yeah, Boss was furious. We got out of there, fast. That was a Wednesday. When we were allowed to go back to work on Monday, the new team was still working the case. Boss flew up the stairs to Vance and somehow got our case back."

Dad shook his head, "He made me grovel, had to promise I would follow orders. You know, DiNozzo, that was a direct order, he could have fired me – or all of us."

Tony snorted, "Shooting himself in the foot if he did!"

"True. You push him as much as I did?"

"Can't, he's not scared of me."

They heard a snort and looked over to see Tim joining them. "Slept for an hour and woke up, too tired to sleep any more. That make any sense, Doc?"

Rob nodded, "Yes, although it's usually associated with stress, not fun."

Dad smirked, "How about more exercise than they're used to?"

"Yeah, that'd do it."

Tony and Tim looked at each other, grimacing.

"There's a treadmill in here, somewhere."

Dad shook his head, "That was the house in Cambridge, Timothy."

"Oh. Geez." He rolled his eyes as his brothers and father laughed at him. They stayed up another hour, talking before Rob sent them to bed. He needed sleep and he hated to miss anything, so the rest of them needed to go to bed.

Tim woke in a panic the next morning before he remembered his classes started late on Mondays. He was still tired but slept well on his second try. After seeing the kids off to school, he called Tony to wake him up, suggesting they go to their fitness center for a swim. Everyone else wanted to go, so they took the baby with them. Deciding to walk, they were halfway there when Artie stopped. "Hope's old enough for the nursery."

Tim looked at her, "But there's paperwork. How about we try that tomorrow?"

"All right."

Sarah looked at her brother, "Don't they have a little nursery at the fitness center? I remember seeing babies in there one time."

"Great!"

Continuing on, the others went to change and jump in the pool while Artie and Tim took Hope to the nursery. When they saw other babies in there, they relaxed. The certificates on the wall might have helped, too. Kissing the baby, who was asleep, they headed to their respective changing rooms.

The swim helped dispel the tiredness and by the time Tim left for work, he was feeling good. Wednesday night, they had a big dinner for Tony as he was leaving for home in the morning. It was the unanimous decision of his family that next time he bring Maggie and either stay for a month or permanently. Nobody was ready to let him leave. He and Dad spent time together all three days, and Geordie was able to join them Wednesday, which was fun. Tim and Tony had lunch at the Uni on Tuesday and cooked dinner together that night, really an excuse for the two to spend a little more time together. Whatever the reason, the family was most appreciative of their culinary efforts.

McGee and the kids said goodbye to Tony Thursday morning before they left for school. He reminded them to count the days on the calendar for his return, this time with Maggie. They nodded, taking their sad selves off to school, nursery and classes.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By Friday morning, they were excited again. DiNozzo had safely reached home and Lu and the Porters were arriving this morning! The Porters flew to Baltimore where they met Lu so they could travel together. Once they landed at Heathrow, they'd take the train to Brambury where Jethro would pick them up.

Although they'd be here longer than the trek to Portugal, the extra days would be at the back end of their stay, the group was leaving tomorrow morning. They'd originally planned to leave Friday afternoon after Tim's last class but that was before Tony's visit and their weekend in Nice. They probably could have been ready to leave on Friday but it would have been a real push. Leaving Saturday morning would also give their visitors at least one day to rest before getting on another plane.

Geordie was still home but would return to the hospital on Monday and be home again before the travelers returned. He was doing very well, able to walk normally now, as long as he could rest every so often. His stair climbing had increased to a whole flight, or at least the whole flight of stairs between the first floor and second floor in the Brambury house. That meant he could sleep upstairs and he'd enjoyed his first look at the second floor.

When they'd revamped the former schoolroom for Artie's office, they'd divided the large room lengthwise so there was also a bedroom in there. It easily housed two beds, one for Rob, one for Geordie, with plenty of room for 2 or 3 more. Nightstands, lights, two vertical bureaus, a TV, a small refrigerator for Rob's snacks, a couple of throw rugs and 2 comfortable chairs completed the room. There were two windows looking into the back garden, letting natural light in for both the office and the bedroom.

Artie and Sarah were arranging fresh flowers in vases when Jethro received the text that their U.S. visitors were on the train bound for Brambury. He left, he was too nervous and excited to wait at home any longer. The ladies waited until they heard Big Blue start up before they looked at each other and laughed. They knew how he was feeling, to see his love after being separated. They quickly got the flowers to the right rooms, one vase for Jethro's suite, Artie decided to set it on the coffee table in his lounge, another in the Porters' room, formerly Tony's, and a third one for the lounge here.

Jethro pulled into the train station, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this nervous and excited. He grinned, Lu was here! Almost here, he started to jump out of the van when he realized he hadn't turned the ignition off. Geez! He should give himself a head slap for that, but the train was pulling in.

Lu spotted him right away and waved as he followed the car they were in until it came to a rolling halt. He greeted the Porters with hugs and then beamed as Lu came down the steps. Without thinking, he swept her into his arms, kissing her.

Having seen photos of Big Blue, Larry took the keys from Jethro and he and Cyndi started moving the luggage out to the van. Larry was going for the last pieces when Lu and Jethro appeared with the rest of it.

They were home in minutes, and like all their visitors, they were amazed and awed by the Manor. Jethro grinned, saying, "The funny thing is, we're full up but don't even notice, there's so much room inside."

They were warmly greeted by Sarah, Artie, Geordie, and baby Hope, who cooed when she saw one of her favorite people, Grandpa. After the bags were in, they sat down to have coffee or tea and some of the coffeecake Artie made this morning. Then they were given a tour of the house and shown to their rooms. Lu was relieved when she noticed that Geordie did fine on the stairs, she'd worried about him. She also liked his and Robbie's new bedroom, it looked comfortable, with plenty of light.

After the house tour, the Porters wanted to redo their luggage as some of what they brought didn't need to go to Lisbon with them. With a shy smile, Jethro led Lu into their suite. She exclaimed at the fresh flowers, which he vaguely realized came from Artie and Sarah.

Using Sarah's jet lag routine, they ate, and took a walk through the countryside before returning to the house for naps. Jethro woke Lu 3 hours later and welcomed her more personally to what he hoped would be her new home, with him.

The Porters hadn't commented, but Lu had more suitcases than needed for a 2 week vacation. They were right, she'd brought all of her summer clothes as well as a few jackets and warmer clothes for Autumn if she stayed. She'd had to pay extra but Jethro sent her a prepaid credit card to cover her expenses. She'd been reluctant to accept financial help, but he'd convinced her and here she was. Bill and Barry had given up their apartments and were subletting her house from her. If things didn't work out, she'd go home and the boys would find their own places again. It had been their idea, the four of them didn't want her to risk having to come back and start over as far as having a place to live.

Artie was working while Hope played on her tummy mat beside her. That left Sarah to wake the Porters. They came downstairs all smiles and went for a ride into London with Sarah. That was fun and, like Abby, they were good for 5 hours before they both began to droop. They were already on a train back to Brambury by that time. In the meantime, Lu and Jethro had emerged from their suite and had a walk around town.

Everyone was home for dinner that night and the visitors had a wonderful time catching up with them, getting to know the children and James a little better. With jet lag and an early morning flight to Lisbon, the travelers turned in quite early while Rob, Geo, Sarah, and James played poker in Sarah's suite.

Over the months since they'd decided to try rustic mountain living in an old stone house in a small village for a week, reality had set in. While hiking and swimming in a lake would be fun for a few days, Tim and Artie realized they'd need more activities than that, not only for the children, but for themselves. After discussing it with their traveling companions, they decided to split the week, spending 3 days in the old stone house and the rest of the week in Lisbon, with its history, beauty and warm sunny ocean beaches. When Tim contacted their village Airbnb host, he'd told them he was glad they realized it ahead of time, that too many people booked the whole week and ended up leaving early, losing money. He also said he had a waiting list and gave Tim a couple of recommendations for Airbnb lodgings in Lisbon.

Now, the 2 hour and 45 minute flight to Lisbon passed quickly, after the early morning wake up, most of them slept all the way. As Larry spoke Portuguese, he and Jethro went to get the rental van. They had a 3 hour drive ahead of them, to the village of Sabugueiro. There they'd stay in the large old stone house in the mountains. They'd experience life in a Portuguese village, with goats being herded past their front door every morning, on their way up into the mountains, the bells of the local church ringing every day. They'd hike and swim in a mountain lake, give the children a taste of a more rustic lifestyle. Their fourth morning, they'd return to Lisbon for the rest of their stay. They'd briefly considered a side trip to Madrid, a 4-hour drive each way, but the McGees were planning to visit Spain next year and weren't terribly enthusiastic about an 8 hour round trip drive on this trip.

When they reached Sabugueiro, they smiled as they drove through the village. Following the advice of reviewers and their Airbnb host, they'd brought an insulated pack from home, purchasing enough food for the days they'd be here, and a bag of ice, before they made the climb into the mountains.

The children were instantly enchanted with the old stone house. Andy and Greg were a little disappointed that they couldn't stay in the loft on the top floor. Instead, they'd share a room with their siblings, on the first floor, the same floor as Papa and Mama. Their host had found a crib for Hope, much to her parents' relief. They'd brought a portable high chair that also fastened into a stroller frame, the front facing baby carrier, and of course her tummy mat.

The Porters had the loft while Jethro and Lu had a room on the second level. The first and second floors had full bathrooms while the loft had a half bath, they'd shower in the second floor bath. Cyndi and Larry were grateful for the half bath, climbing down a steep flight of stairs to use the toilet in the middle of the night would not be a lot of fun.

After putting the groceries away, the group went for a walk through the village, hearing the church bell ring for the first of many times over their days there. Larry taught them all how to say hello in Portuguese and the children practiced as they walked, while the others nodded to people who spoke to them.

With Lu and the Porters only in their 2nd day of jet lag, they kept the walk to just under an hour. Returning to their house, they had lunch and then the U.S. visitors headed to their beds for naps. While Hope also took a nap, Artie rested. Tim and the children were restless and found Grandpa was too, so they put their hiking boots on, made sure they had their phones and Grandpa's compass, left a note, and turned right out of the front door instead of left. They hiked, following a well-worn path, for 2 hours before they decided they'd had enough. The terrain was beautiful, not as rugged as Tim had feared and the littles did fine, although Rissa rode partway back in the daddy pack. They'd passed a trail to a lake that Tim recognized as the one where they could swim. That had only been about 30 minutes from the house, a good thing!

Over the next 3 days, they'd start out, after a hearty breakfast, with a hike, there were trails into the mountains from nearly every corner of the village, taking their lunch and swim stuff with them, heading for the lake in the early afternoon, swimming and playing in the water all afternoon, took time to dry off in the warm sun and then the hike back into town. They enjoyed hearing and seeing the goats heading for their pastures every morning and quickly got used to the church bell. The kids had a great time, enjoying the different lifestyle.

Tuesday morning, they left after an early breakfast, returning to Lisbon. There they found their way to their new Airbnb home, and were sitting at the table eating lunch by 11:30. Tim found several family friendly tours and the group set out for the first one that afternoon, a tour that was 'off the beaten path'. They had a wonderful time with that.

Lu was amused that Tim and Artie had been right about the mountain house not holding their interest for a week. She wasn't surprised at Tim. She thought the chilly old stone house and the noise might have reminded him too much of the camp and shelter. That might also be true of Greg, she'd ask them both when they got home. She smiled at that. She and Jethro were doing fine and had been relieved when they'd changed their plans to include Lisbon.

They splurged on dinner out that night, wanting to get more of a taste of the Portuguese palate than cooking for themselves. That was fun and the cooks among them thought they could recreate the dishes they'd had without too many problems. They bought a cookbook of Portuguese recipes, printed in English.

Wednesday morning, the McGees and Porters went on a family food tour, which gave them more tastes of Portugal and gave Dad and Lu some time to themselves.

Meeting back at the house for lunch, the group put their swimming suits on, grabbed towels, hats, water shoes, sunscreen, water and snacks and drove to one of the beaches south of the city. Tim and Artie chuckled; so far, their only overnight destinations without an ocean beach had been Amzida, Stockholm and Prague. The beach here was beautiful, clean and uncrowded. The water was warm enough to swim, much to everyone's delight, and they spent several hours playing in the waves.

Thursday, it was Tim and Artie's turn for time to themselves and, kissing the children, they left after breakfast. Their goal was to do just as they'd done in Amzida, to wander through Lisbon, get more of a flavor of the city. They'd selected 2 museums to see and enjoyed both. They had a wonderful time hiking the hills of the city, joking about having gotten into hiking mode in the village, and popping in and out of shops, art galleries, historical sites and museums. Finding a few treasures, they had them shipped home.

Artie had photos on her phone of the Portuguese pottery dishes they'd bought at the flea market in London and now they were excited to find a few matching pieces. They ate lunch out, finally returning to the house in the late afternoon. They weren't surprised to find the van gone and a note inside that they'd be back in time for dinner, they'd gone to the beach. Realizing they had the house to themselves, they took advantage of the privacy.

When the others got home, they smelled dinner before walking inside and it smelled heavenly. Tim and Artie were making a recipe from their new cookbook, having fun putting it together.

Friday was their last full day here and that morning, they took a tour called "Enchanted Lisbon". They had a wonderful time, the adults loving the secret doors, the Archeological Museum walk and the doll hospital just as much as the children. A 3 hour walking tour, it passed so quickly they were surprised when their guide said they were at their last stop. Grandpa treated them to lunch out, they'd certainly learned a lot about Portuguese food this trip!

That afternoon, they had one last trip to the beach, their last until Greece in August. Saturday morning, they flew home, chatting about their favorite things, from the goat herd, the chilly lake, the warm beach, the hills, the wonderful food, the warmth of the people they'd met and the beauty of the city and the country.

It was nice to get home and not have to say goodbye to anyone for a few more days. The Porters had been to the UK a few times and took Jethro and Lu with them to some of the favorite spots they'd found.

With the Porters' departure and Tim's classes done until September, he returned to his roots, NCIS. He felt like celebrating that first day as he took the Tube into the NCIS office, reporting to Joel Morris for his first day as an Investigatory Agent, anyone's first day in the brand new position. He and Joel spent most of the morning talking about his responsibilities, ensuring they were on the same page. He'd forgotten the position also came with a promotion for him, the equivalent of an SFA rank.

When it was late enough in the U.S., they had a Skype call with Vance, who was thrilled to see Timothy McGee back at work in the agency. He answered the few questions from his agents, telling them to use their best judgment.

Tim had to bite back a smile when the director asked him to take a look at what they'd put together for a standardized training template, between doing his regular work. He'd followed Tim's suggestions, first compiling survey questions, then distributing it agency-wide, including retirees, and then asking 3 agents, attached to offices in the U.S. and overseas, to write the first draft of the training template. He had them work separately and then pulled together the 3 versions. He'd been amused to find Tim's unusual suggestion for training new agents to deal with senior Navy and Marine officers listed by 2 of the other agents. He added it to the "Witness Interviews and Statements" topic.

All in all, it was a productive morning, ending with Tim sitting at his new workstation, reviewing current cases in London and the other European offices. Leon sent an email to the 4 offices, announcing the new position and that Special Agent Timothy McGee would be working with them until the end of September, with a 2 week break in August. Leon blind copied his team leads in the Navy Yard and saw a lot of smiles in the squad room that morning. Finally, their friend was officially back with the agency!

Just after lunch, Tim had a call from Marseilles, they had a new case, a double homicide that they thought might also include embezzlement, and wanted his help. He swapped out of the cold case he was reviewing to the new one and got to work. By the end of the day, he'd received the warrants needed to examine financial records for the victims and found enough information to confirm the SAIC's theory. He wasn't sure if he should leave or stay in case there was more, he still had 3 warrant requests outstanding. Special Agent Martinez, the Marseilles SAIC, released him for the night and Joel approved, which was a relief but also made Tim uneasy. He looked at Joel, "On the MCRT, we worked a case until we hit a wall, either nobody returning our calls or the warrants weren't in, like that."

"Can't do that here, Tim, not allowed to sleep at our desks. For one thing, we have to comply with the labor laws of our host countries. Roger has your contact information, if something comes in and he needs you right away, he'll call. If it's any earlier than 0700, work from home. That worked fine during our big case last year, I'm assuming your system security hasn't changed since then?"

Tim shook his head with a smile, "Not a chance. James and I make sure our system security is as tight as it gets."

"Good, then go!"

Tim took his pack and headed for home. He loved not having to drive, even standing in the Tube train was better than 2 hours on the Beltway for a 20 mile drive. That led him to thinking about next year, when his contract with Bedford would be satisfied. He and Artie were beginning to look online at school districts, neighborhoods, crime rates and drive time to the Navy Yard.

Of course, returning to the U.S. depended on their security. If the FBI and their friends in the UK deemed it safe, they'd move home. If not, he'd work full-time for Joel in London. While he longed for home, he was still enjoying living in Brambury and he knew Artie and the children felt the same way about continuing to live there. Now that Lu was in residence, Dad might be amenable to staying, although he'd never said he was leaving, that had been Tim's fear.

Rob's goal was to work in Baltimore; however, he'd already been offered a position in London post-residency. He wouldn't leave until the rest of them did and that fit with the security profile for their protection. It was difficult to know with Geordie as he was still on medical leave; he had another 7 or 8 months before his final evaluation to determine his fitness for duty. While Sarah understood the pull of home, she'd be happy if they stayed here.

Enjoying the mild weather, Tim walked home from the Tube station, greeting his family. On the days he worked in the City, someone else would have to get dinner, unless he had time to put together a slow cooker dish in the morning and as early as he needed to be at work, he didn't think that would happen very often. With Artie working from home, she could pull together a slow cooker dish on her nights to provide dinner. In addition, Lu wanted to be on the dinner rotation, she said it would be a pleasure to cook for a smaller crowd than the ones at the shelter. James was also now on the dinner rotation, separately from Sarah, and sometimes had time to actually cook, but if his turn came up on a weekday, they usually had a frozen meal or takeout. Lately, he'd been trading with whoever had a weekend rotation so he could make something.

Sarah felt a bit smug about that, having found a mate who liked to cook when she didn't. She didn't mind throwing things in the oven, frozen meals, or making salads, but she was not interested in learning to cook, following recipes.

Dad cooked tonight and Tim smiled as he greeted his wife and children, following his nose to the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo, how was your first day?"

Tim filled him in and Jethro smiled, "That sounds good, productive. I'm not surprised Leon asked you to look at the training plan. It was your idea!"

"Did you have fun with your survey?"

"Oh yeah. Of course, I had an advantage since you, Tony, and I had talked about it. How soon will they implement?"

"Mm, I believe after the next FLETC class. Might jump in, adjust as they go or do a pilot, see what happens. I'm not sure what Leon's plans are."

He helped Greg and Rissa set the table, the kids had their own set of chores, and then sounded the 5-minute 'wash your hands' warning. Helping Dad put dinner on the table, he smiled as Lu waited for everyone to be seated before saying grace.

After dinner, he helped with homework, played with the baby, went through Marissa and Kyle's nighttime routines, spent time with his older sons, watched a little TV with his wife, siblings, Dad and Lu and then went to bed. Thus ended his first official day at NCIS in 22 months.

The rest of his week was busy; by Wednesday he was working 3 cases, putting together the final pieces for Marseilles, jumping into the middle of an multinational case for the Athens office, who were currently split between Bulgaria and Italy, and a cold case that had resurfaced for the Rota team. London was catching up on paperwork and working cold cases.

The week after that was just as busy. Tim was surprised when Joel brought their new transfer, a junior agent, around to introduce her. It was Susan Grady, the former polygraph technician aboard the Navy Yard. While he was polite, he still remembered her blatant misuse of the polygraph test with him and her later breach of security, while moonlighting, sending confidential files to her own laptop for personal use. He hoped she'd had some additional ethics training after those infractions! He knew he'd never trust her, nor would she be a friend but as he wasn't a field agent, he wasn't worried.

She was surprised to see him; however he was so busy, he didn't say much more than "Welcome to London." Julian Bashon-Martin, their former junior agent, had been promoted to SFA in the Bremerton, Washington office, leaving shortly after Bec Childers' duty stint as the London TAD SFA in May.

Tim was working in the office the next day when a familiar but out-of-place voice said, "It's good to see you jumping right in, Special Agent McGee!"

Looking up, Tim took his headset off and stood, a surprised grin on his face. Shaking hands with his director, he said, "This is a surprise, Director!"

"I know, it's almost as much fun to surprise you as it is Gibbs!"

Tim chuckled, "How long are you here for?"

"A couple of days, then I'm off to visit the other offices."

"Do you have time to come out to the house? You never did see the whole thing. We'll feed you, too."

"I'd love to! Would tomorrow work?"

"Sure."

"Great, we can talk details later. What are you working on?"

Tim showed him and Vance nodded, happier with McGee's return than he'd ever show. As he'd said before, he had big plans for his agent. He'd had to make some changes but he was pleased with his amended plan.

The next day, Tim and James rode home with the director and his security detail. Leon knew James spent most of his time in Brambury and insisted he ride with them rather than take the Tube. James, both excited and nervous, complied.

Dad was waiting when they arrived and Leon shook his head after greeting Gibbs. "I know I saw this house last year but I have no memory of it being this huge. Did you add onto it?"

Tim and Gibbs laughed, Gibbs saying, "No, but we may have to! Glad you brought your bag, Leon, got casual clothes?" He was referring to Vance's garment bag which held casual clothes and shoes. Tim warned him they were pretty casual and would probably go for a walk in the countryside. Vance nodded at Jethro, he was prepared for outdoor fun.

He was greeted at the door by Lu, Artie, and Sarah, the kids behind them, grinning at him. All four of them had grown considerably since he'd seen them at Christmas and he commented on that, generating more happy smiles. He was introduced to baby Hope, who gave him a toothless smile and a smoochy kiss.

It was a relaxing and fun evening. Tim and the children gave him a tour of the house, including their mother's new office/uncles' new bedroom. The boys were impressed when Papa showed Uncle Leon his office, not everyone got to see in there. He changed his clothes in the 2nd master, already feeling good.

Before dinner, Tim and the kids took him for a walk outside their back gate and he smiled at their enthusiasm and the beauty of the countryside. He remembered the butterfly photos last year and nodded when Kyle took his hand, pointing to their favorite hill. "Uncle Leon, that's where Rissa and I were covered in butterflies!"

"I remember that, Kyle, your Granducky showed me the photos. Do you remember what it felt like?"

Kyle thought a minute and then nodded, "They were soft and tickly. There was one on my face that moved its wings and almost made me sneeze."

Back in the house, they all washed up, the children set the table and the family and their guest sat down to dinner. The decision as to where to eat, at the kitchen table or in the dining room, had been thoroughly discussed the night before. Artie wanted to use their china, have a more formal setting and Lu and Sarah agreed, while the men thought Leon would be comfortable at the kitchen table. The women prevailed.

The dining table had small bowls of summer blooms, a fun tablecloth from Italy, the china and good silver. With all but one leaf removed, it wasn't as enormous as it had been for their second wedding.

Tim and Artie made the Greek-American fusion dish they'd served the senior Galanises last year. Tonight, they added the braided rolls Andy and Greg loved to make and one of Sarah's chopped, crunchy salads with a homemade dressing James concocted. Leon was a fan of Greek food, he'd worked in the NCIS: Athens office for a few years, and the new dish was an instant hit with him. The dinner was delicious and everyone enjoyed it.

Lu made apple crisp for dessert, remembering Vance had had 2 helpings of it at Christmas last year. Tonight, they had a choice of toppings: Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. The kids liked the ice cream, Sarah, Dad and James liked the whipped cream while Artie, Tim, Rob, and Geordie felt it was nearing blasphemy to put anything on Lu's apple crisp and ate it as it should be eaten, naked. Leon opted for that too. Apple crisp had been one of his late wife's signature dishes, Lu's was every bit as good and he didn't want to dilute the flavors.

After they ate, Leon teased that they should have waited for their walk. Instead, they had a game of softball in the back garden, two teams with everyone playing, 6 on each team, the children split between the 2 teams. Geordie was a designated hitter as he wasn't allowed to run and no one wanted to risk his leg trying to catch a fly or tagging a runner. Leon was impressed with the setup, they had squares of an old canvas bag cut up and pegged down for the bases and the diamond was sprayed on the lawn.

They ended the game as dusk crept up on them, the score tied at 3-3. While they'd had a lot of fun, the kids played seriously, paying close attention to coach-players Papa and Grandpa and being good sports when they were tagged out.

Thanking them for a wonderful time, Leon grabbed his garment bag from upstairs, shook hands with the adults, hugged the kids, kissed the baby and was on his way. He'd remember this trip to London!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After the surprise visit, the rest of the week was so busy that Tim was surprised when he realized it was Friday. While he'd be on call with the London team once a month, he wasn't expected to work every weekend. Relaxing over the weekend, the adults were glad to be home. Between Abby's visit, the trek to Stockholm, followed by Tony's arrival, their trips to Nice and Portugal, they'd been very busy. It felt good to spend a weekend in their own home.

Tim and Artie took the kids for a hike, packing a picnic lunch and stopping at Butterfly Hill on their return to see if any of their friends had returned. Dad grilled burgers that evening and they ate in the conservatory, with the French doors and windows open.

They had cake for dessert, in celebration of Hope reaching 6 months that week. She'd surprised them in Portugal by sitting up by herself; the look on her face told them she was as surprised as they were. She was also making sounds that sounded like 'mama', 'baba' and 'papa', although the latter sounded more like 'bapa'. She hadn't quite figured out the sounds yet but there was definitely a third word in her vocabulary. She was also starting to move around, sliding on her tummy while pushing against the floor. She'd grown quite a bit, definitely past infancy into babyhood. One of the most noticeable changes were her eyes, they were a dark hazel. Her skin tone was about the same as Artie's and her hair was a mass of soft, dark brown curls. She was a beautiful, happy child whose face lit up whenever she saw any of her family. She had Lu wrapped around her little fingers within minutes of meeting her grandma.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Later, Tim was glad they'd had a relaxing weekend. Sunday night, they heard Kyle coughing in his sleep. Kyle was perhaps the sturdiest of their brood, rarely catching colds, even when his siblings did. Tim woke at different times when the little boy coughed. He was cool to the touch, however, with no apparent fever. Tim had finally fallen into a deep sleep when Joel called at 0500. "I know it's early but we have a dead Petty Officer and no record of his being in the UK. Need you to get on it as soon as possible. Don't waste time coming in, working from home is fine. I'll send you the details."

Tim grabbed his robe and slippers, disappearing into his office. Dad brought him coffee at 0530, Artie brought clothes and later delivered a plate full of eggs, bacon and toast, with a glass of orange juice. By 0930, Tim had the probable reason there was no record of the Petty Officer entering the UK. The dead man was not the PO, but quite likely his cousin. Both men were the children of identical twins who'd married identical twins, their looks close enough to pass as each other, although of course their fingerprints didn't match. While the homicide moved to London Metro's jurisdiction, NCIS regrouped and started looking for their missing Petty Officer. By 1330, Investigatory Agent McGee had warrants to trace his cell number and track his credit cards. He found him, or at least his cell and credit card, in Macau, a part of China governed as a 'Special Administrative Region', similar to Hong Kong, and well known for gambling. He was detained by NCIS agents from the Far East Field Office (FEFO) in Japan. They said they'd forward any information when the man sobered up, the doctors estimated that would take at least 24 hours. As he'd been found alive, he was now the FEFO's problem as well as a Person of Interest to London Metro.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim took a break for lunch and found his 4-year-old son playing with his train in his room. Kyle looked up at him, smiled and sneezed. Oh yeah, he was coming down with something, they hoped just a cold. Considering their travels through airports and staying in strangers' houses, neither parent was too surprised, although all of the travelers had been taking extra Vitamin C for the past month.

By the next morning, Tim had a scratchy throat and sent a text to Joel that in the interests of keeping the rest of the office healthy, or at least not catching whatever he had, he'd be working from home the rest of the week. Joel replied, thanking him.

When Andy, Greg and Marissa came home from school and nursery on Tuesday, they too had coughs or scratchy throats and the family was quarantined to the second floor. Artie wasn't yet sick and was allowed downstairs as long as she wore gloves and a mask. Lu made pots of chicken soup and Dad, wearing gloves, mask and defying any cold or flu bug, took the soup, still in a big pot with a ladle, upstairs, returning with bowls and spoons. Dirty dishes and clothes were collected by gloved and masked first floor residents. In this way, the week progressed, with supplies of food, medications and tissues being left upstairs for the sickies. Hope never caught the cold/flu bug, much to everyone's relief.

The upstairs family kept the bug to themselves and by the following Monday were on the road to recovery, although not yet ready to resume their normal lives. Tim managed to work a few hours every day; once the cold meds kicked in, he was good for however long those lasted.

Artie was also able to work, especially after Jethro and Lu moved the baby to the spare bedroom upstairs, staying there themselves. With 5 sick people, 4 of them children, if Artie didn't catch the bug, she'd become sick with exhaustion taking care of everyone without help.

Jethro rarely caught anything and Lu said that after so many years of working in a shelter whose guests were frequently sick all winter, she was as immune as she was going to get. The three of them developed a routine and that got them through.

While Rob wanted to come home to nurse his sick family, his parents persuaded him to stick to his work in the hospital. They didn't want him to miss any work or worse, spread the germs around. Geordie spent the week at Rob's flat as Dad and Lu were adamant he also stay away.

Tim was in his home office on Tuesday afternoon, a week after he became ill, working on a cold case, when a phone rang. He looked at his cell, it wasn't ringing. Remembering they had a house phone and there was an extension in his office, he picked up the receiver only to hear his father's voice. "Hello?"

"Hello, is Dr. McGee in, please?"

"No, he's not. Who's this?"

"It's a personal call, sir, I'd rather not say."

"If this was a personal call, then you'd know he doesn't live here. Try his cell."

"I was given this number."

"For Dr. McGee?" Gibbs couldn't imagine who would have done that. Sarah was nearby and he looked at her, "Does Rob ever give out this number?"

She shook her head and the caller said, "Excuse me, did you say 'Rob'? I'm looking for Dr. Timothy McGee."

"Try being more specific next time. He's at work."

"I'm here, Dad, thanks. This is Timothy McGee, who's this?" Tim heard the click as Dad hung up the receiver downstairs.

"My name is Jeffrey Keilty and I'm an advisor for the U.S. State Dept., resident at the U.S. Embassy in London."

"I'll need your employee number."

"It's…" He rattled off an alphanumeric ID. Tim input it to one of the federal databases, finding a Jeffrey Keilty listed as a State Dept. employee working in London. Didn't mean this was the actual Keilty but Tim would at least listen. There was no GPS on this phone and the number wasn't displayed.

"All right, I've confirmed your employee number."

"Thank you, Doctor, do you prefer that or Agent?"

"Agent is fine." Tim rolled his eyes, willing this guy to get on with it already. Whatever 'it' was.

"Thank you. We received a request from the office of the Turkish Ambassador to meet with you, your wife, Dr. Artemis Galanis, and the child known as Hope Luella McGee. They've proposed the meeting be held here, at the U.S. Embassy."

For a second, Tim went blank. He hoped it was adoption papers, the start of their 'Year of Caring' before the Turkish government would approve the adoption. Finally, he said, "When and why there and not the Turkish Embassy?"

"We don't know why but we do know the Turkish embassy is having some repairs made, it could be as simple as that. I pass it going to and from work and it looks like a mess. They've proposed Wednesday, tomorrow, for the meeting."

"Can't do tomorrow. Everyone but my wife and the baby, that's Hope, has been down with a cold for several days and I don't want to give anyone else these germs. And both of us work, it'll take at least a day, if not 2, to rearrange our schedules."

"Are you ill, too?"

"Yes, sorry, that wasn't very clear. I'm able to work from home when necessary. I've been able to do a little bit of work almost every day. My wife has also been working from home."

"Ah, I see. Do you foresee being able to meet later in the week?"

"Hang on, I've sent her a text. Yes, she can make time Friday afternoon and I'll do that too, as long as I'm no longer coughing and sneezing. I'll wear a mask and gloves anyway. We can be there by 1400, sorry, that's 2:00 PM. We'll be driving a big blue van; I'll give you the license number."

Tim gave it to Mr. Keilty who wrote it down, wondering how this guy knew the Marines at the gate would need that. As if reading his mind, McGee said, "One of my brothers is a Marine. My dad may be with us, he's a retired federal agent. We'll bring our IDs, badges and my wife will have her passport and all the paperwork."

"Paperwork?"

"She's a citizen of the Hellenic Republic with a visa to work in the UK. She's listed under my employee profile on the federal database, I work for NCIS in the London office. I also teach at Bedford University in Brambury, that's where the Doctor part comes in. My wife and I are Hope's foster parents and there's paperwork regarding that. I'm hoping this meeting is to start the adoption process."

"Oh, wonderful!"

"Fingers crossed. Anything else?"

"No, Agent McGee. Thank you for your time, hope you feel better and I look forward to meeting you on Friday at 1400."

They disconnected and Tim stared at the phone and then walked down the hall to talk with Artie. She met him halfway and they moved to their bedroom to talk.

"What's going on?"

"The U.S. Embassy received a letter from the Turkish Ambassador's office saying they want to meet with us, you and me, and to bring the baby. I'm hoping they'll have the papers to start the adoption."

She looked at him, "You're worried they'll take her from us."

He nodded with a sigh and wrapped his arms around her. "I hope, I pray I'm wrong. It could very well be the adoption. It's a little strange that they didn't go through the International Red Cross when that's where we started, but maybe it's protocol to go through the respective State Departments in an international adoption."

"What if they found a relative?"

"We have that letter, remember? We should take that with us, along with all our paperwork about Hope."

"All right, I suppose I'll need all my paperwork, too?"

"Yes, sorry, hon."

"It's really all right, I'm just nervous about this."

"Me too. Do we tell the children ahead of time? I can't stand the thought of us coming home without her and they won't have had a chance to say goodbye to her. Geez." Tim blinked back tears.

"They'll be upset when we tell them it's a possibility but I agree, I'd rather that than finding out after without a chance to say goodbye."

"Don't want to tell them until Thursday."

"We can try, but you know they'll sense there's something wrong."

Tim sighed, "I know. Let's tell Dad, Lu, and Mimi first. Then Sarah, James, Susannah, Ian, Rob, Geo, Tony, Maggie, Abby, and Ducky. Kids last."

Tim donned a mask and gloves and they went downstairs. They found Dad and Lu in the kitchen and told them. Both took deep breaths and then held onto Tim and Artemis. Lu finally said, "We have to think positive but be prepared for the worst."

They nodded, that was their plan too, although they were having a difficult time with the positive part. Dad finally cleared his throat. "Need to call Mimi, Susannah, and Ian. Sarah's gone into London to meet James for dinner. They can wait and we'll call Geordie, Robbie, and Tony later. Don't want to tell Tony, Maggie, Ducky or Abby while they're at work."

Tim looked at his watch, "Then it's now or wait until tomorrow. I'd rather wait, in fact, let's not tell them until Thursday or even Friday before we leave. With their work, I'd rather minimize the amount of time they'll have to worry."

Artie looked at her husband, who had a thoughtful look on his face. "What are you thinking?"

"Just wondering if our contact at the International Red Cross would know anything. Want to call and see? Can't hurt. They might be able to tell us if this is protocol."

She nodded as Dad asked, "What's protocol?"

"Why the embassies are involved. I thought maybe it was protocol in an international adoption, but then shouldn't someone have steered us in that direction when we first brought Hope in?"

"Good question."

They called their contact, who was surprised and upset when he heard of the summons. "Do you still have the letter we sent you? The Turkish government, I have a copy of their letter, and the Red Crescent, that's their Red Cross, both wrote that they'd been unable to find any relatives and were happy to hear of your wish to adopt the baby. The government letter said they were considering waiving your 'Year of Care' because you saved the baby's life, at the risk of your own. And no, there's no set protocol to involve the Diplomatic Corps in an international adoption. If you'd gone to them in the first place, yes, but we're the agency of record. It's odd that they've suddenly moved the process to the Diplomatic Corps. Do you have a family lawyer here?"

"Yes."

"If I were you, I'd invite him or her to go with you. And if you don't mind, I'd like to tag along."

Artie nodded when Tim looked at her.

"Yes to both, we'll contact our attorney."

"Good. Let's have faith that we'll be celebrating." He gave them his full name so Mr. Keilty could notify the guards at the entrance.

Their next call was to the family attorney Tim and Artie saw when they first reconnected, the one who hammered out a custody agreement for Andy. One that was in place a few weeks before Tim proposed. He was happy to hear they'd married and agreed to go with them to the Embassy.

The call to Mr. Keilty was next; he was fine with the extra guests although puzzled by the inclusion of an official from the International Red Cross. He was even more puzzled when Tim told him that they'd dealt with them when Artie rescued the baby. He remembered the incident, asking them a few more questions about the information they'd received from the Turkish government. Finally, he asked for the phone number of their contact, saying he'd like to have copies of the letters from the Red Crescent and the Government before the meeting.

When they hung up, the four of them looked at each other. Lu said, "You were right to question, none of those people are comfortable with the way this is happening."

They nodded and then, taking deep breaths, called Mimi. She was on the beach and they had a terrible connection, she said she'd call them from home in a few minutes. When she called, they told her and she said she'd be on the next flight, she wanted to see her littlest great-grand child, get one last kiss in. She also said she wasn't going to tell Sophia until later.

By Wednesday afternoon, they'd told the family living in Europe, except Sophia. No one even thought of Kosmos or Dimitri. Mimi arrived Wednesday morning, happy to meet Lu in person, sad at the possibility of losing their baby.

Thursday after school, they sat the kids down and told them what was happening and that there was a possibility that the Turks had found a relative and would be taking Hope to live with that relative. They answered their questions as best they could, comforting them as best they could. Rob and Geordie were home, Rob said they were no longer contagious and he'd rather be sick than not be able to say goodbye to his baby niece. Geordie looked at Tim and wrapped his arms around him, whispering words of faith and comfort to him.

All of them hovered over the little girl and picking up on their distress, she became increasingly fussy. On Friday, they all gathered on the stairs with the baby. Tim set up his tripod and remote, taking several photos. Then Tim and Artie called Tony and Maggie.

It was 0545 when Maggie heard Tony's phone buzz. She poked him and then looked at the caller ID, Tim. She answered while she tried to wake him, "Good morning, Tim. Tony's still asle…oh, there he is. Honey, it's Tim."

She put the call on speaker and held the phone while Tony worked to get his eyes open. She made a pained noise when she heard the news and Tony cried. "Can I see her, Tim? Please?"

In Brambury, Tim nodded, "Yeah, I'll ping you in a couple of minutes. She needs… whew! Good thing we don't have 'smellavision'. Be right with you, need to get this diaper off!"

Tony's laptop pinged a few minutes later and there was his adorable baby niece. Maggie hit the record button on the camera as they saw Hope. She squealed when she saw her Uncle Tony; Maggie thought at least they'd have this memory of her. She listened to the story and shook her head, "I pray that you're wrong, that this will be the start of the adoption process instead."

"Thanks, Maggie, we do too but we don't want to take it for granted; need to let everyone say goodbye if that's what will happen."

"If it is, will you be able to send photos with her?"

"We don't know. We've written a letter, with notes from each of the children, Dad, Lu, Mimi, and the others."

Tony frowned, "When do you have to leave?"

"About an hour."

"I want to write something for her, I can fax it to you. Want it in my handwriting."

"That's good, Tony. Ours are handwritten, too."

They couldn't find any paper but did find an unused envelope and Tony wrote on the back of that, telling Hope how much he loved her and how he'd enjoyed being with her when she was just 4 months old, how much her foster parents and siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles loved her, that she'd been cherished and would always be in their hearts. He signed it 'Uncle Tony' and the date, printing his full name and phone number underneath. Then Maggie faxed it to Tim, Tony had to run for the shower to hide his tears. Using another envelope, Maggie added her own note, saying she was Hope's Aunt Maggie, her partner was Uncle Tony and that she also loved her, even though they hadn't had a chance to meet. Maggie added that she'd been looking forward to meeting her that summer when she would visit Brambury and would be very sorry if she wasn't there any longer. She too signed with her full name, the date and phone number.

When Tim pulled the notes off the fax, he nodded. They'd all signed with their full names and phone numbers, in case an older Hope wanted to contact them. He kept thinking they were going overboard with this, that maybe this would turn out to be something other than loss of their baby. He shrugged, then they could all have a good laugh at themselves and give her more kisses and hugs.

The children stayed home from school, they were too scared and upset. Mimi, Lu, Rob, Geo, Sarah, and James would stay home with them. James had gone to work but left at lunchtime, taking a half day off. Tim told Joel what was going on as he hadn't worked Thursday or Friday.

After some discussion with his wife, Joel let Leon know Friday morning. When Tony and Maggie arrived aboard the Navy Yard, he was called up to the director's office. As he walked in, one look at the director's face told him someone had called.

Leon told him the MCRT was off rotation for the day and asked if Ducky, Jimmy, or Abby knew. Tony shook his head, "They don't want to tell them until they know for sure. Tim and Artie are trying to have faith that this might be the start of the adoption process." He told him of the calls to the International Red Cross and how upset that guy was, how he was going with them today, he looked at his watch, "They should be almost there now."

Leon shook his head, "Going to be a long morning, DiNozzo. Feel free to work from home."

Tony nodded, "Thank you, Director, I think I'll do that. I feel like…mush right now. James, Sarah's boyfriend, left work at noon, he walked in the door while we were still Skyping. He said he couldn't concentrate and that's how I feel too. Abby…Ducky and Jimmy haven't met the baby in person, but Abby has."

"Do you want to tell her?"

"Not now, no. She's so tenderhearted, she'll fall apart. Might as well let someone be productive."

"I appreciate that."

"I'll let Maggie know, when I hear. And then I'll let Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy know. I don't imagine Tim or Artie…you know we all wrote her letters with our full names and phone numbers, in case she wants to contact us when she's older."

Leon closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "That was a great idea."

"Tim said they're including photos of all of us. God, I hope they're wrong. I'm sorry, sir, I'll talk with you later or leave you a message."

"Call my private number."

"Will do." Tony turned, trying not to run. He stopped to send Maggie a text that he was going to work from home. He'd gone straight from the parking garage to Vance's office and it was still early, no one else was in his bullpen. He took the elevator to the parking garage and left, sending a text to his team that they were off rotation, he was working from home if they needed him. He started the text as 'Happy Friday'.

Back home, he made coffee and stared at the newspaper. After the family's last visit, Dad left a stack of newspapers behind and Tony and Maggie rediscovered all the in-depth articles in the print news. Sure, there were articles on the Internet, but there were so many whack jobs that unless you knew the name or the article was featured by a legitimate news source, it was hard to tell online who was a legitimate journalist. Anyone could tweet anything, whether it was complete and utter lies, the ruptured brain farts of maniacal, soulless egomaniacs, or the latest scientific theory, or discovery, from Stephen Hawking or NASA. Anyway, the couple now had a daily subscription and especially loved the Sunday paper.

He drank 2 cups of coffee before looking at his watch. It was nearly 1430, 2:30, in London.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Dad drove the van, there was no way Tim or Artie trusted themselves to drive. They sat in the back, facing Hope who rode in her rear facing baby seat, chewing on a toy and babbling at them. They heard mama and bapa several times and they leaned forward and kissed her each time. Thus rewarded, the little girl giggled and continued saying the words. Tim recorded her, they'd been filming her since the phone call, everything she did or they did with her, except for diaper changes.

Outside the Embassy, Dad slowed down when he spotted the people waiting for them, the attorney and the official from the International Red Cross. They got in the van and Dad drove up to the gate. The Marines looked in the car and Artie had to bite her tongue to keep from exclaiming, she was sure one of them was Smiley! Tim squeezed her hand and she nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Once inside the gate, they parked and walked in, Tim carrying the baby while Artie held her hand. Dad carried the envelope with the letters and photos. The attorney and Red Cross official had briefcases with them.

They were ushered inside a conference room where they waited, Hope a little fussy. She'd never been in this room and wanted to explore. Grandpa took her and walked her around, letting her look out the window, telling her how much she was loved, how much she'd be missed, that he prayed her new family would cherish her just as much.

The door opened and Mr. Keilty came in, introducing himself. Next to arrive was a man about Tim's age, with a woman almost creeping into the room behind him. She looked at all of them with wide eyes, finally looking at the baby. There was no expression on her face, no sign of recognition, concern or love.

The man was a Turkish Diplomat and he introduced the woman as the baby's aunt, her father's sister. He explained that she lived outside Amzida and had been too frightened to look for her brother or niece until after the troubles had been resolved. Then she was dismayed to find the baby had been taken out of the country. Now she was claiming her so she could be raised in her culture, with the right values. The woman watched him as he spoke; Artie didn't think she understood a word he said, or cared. She looked so uncomfortable that Artie suddenly wondered if she'd been reluctant to do this, to raise her niece.

The Red Cross official and their attorney were questioning the diplomat while Mr. Keilty occasionally rephrased something or translated the comment or question into Turkish. In the end, both men turned to Tim and Artie, there was nothing they could do, this woman was within her rights to claim her niece.

Leaning forward, Artie spoke directly to the woman in Turkish, asking if she would please take the envelope of photos and notes for baby Umut, so when she was older, she'd know she'd lived with another family who loved her very much. The woman nodded and took the envelope. She looked in and saw the photo on top, the sad one they'd taken yesterday. Taking it out, she asked Artie if this was all her family and if they all lived in one house. Artie smiled, "Most of us live together. Not everyone is there, two of our sisters, two of our brothers, their spouses, children, and one of the grandfathers live far away and couldn't be with us." She pointed out her grandmother and their children's grandmother, Lu, and named the children.

The woman nodded, "I will share this with Umut when she is older. She will know your names. Thank you for saving her life. If you come to Turkey, please visit us. I will leave you my information." She took out a piece of paper and wrote on it, handing it to Artie. "I am relieved you are good people, I am sorry to cause you so much pain, I hadn't realized."

Finally, she took the baby, who squawked, she didn't know this person. With permission, Artie handed her a favorite toy and the baby relaxed a little. Suddenly Tim took Artie's arm, "Honey, we have to leave. This isn't going to get any easier."

Dad walked behind them as they left, each of them giving the baby a kiss. Tim faltered when he heard his little girl say 'mama, bapa' as they walked out the door.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Somehow they made it home. When they walked in without the baby, the kids cried and they cried with them.

Dad called Tony, relieved to find him at home. "We were right to say goodbye, Tony. They found an aunt, her father's sister and she has the baby now. She said we could visit and she took the photos and notes. She only spoke Turkish, which Artie understands, says she will give her the photos and notes when she's older. Thanked Artie for saving her life and us for loving her."

They cried together before saying goodbye. Tony volunteered to tell Abby, Ducky and Jimmy in person, understanding his brother and sister-in-law might need some time before they could handle any more calls.

In the end, Mimi and Lu took Artie and Tim's phones away from them. Mimi called Susannah and Ian, but Lu decided to let the kids decide who called who.

Finally gathering the family together, Tim spoke to all of them. "There are some things we need to remember, to keep in our hearts. First, we were blessed to have had Hope with us for these 2 months, we got to experience her growing from an infant to a happy baby. Let's remember that.

"Secondly, she's alive and she'll be fine with her aunt, she'll grow up to be a happy little girl, knowing she's been loved since the minute she was born. Her first mother got her to safety, where your mama found her and brought her to us. She's alive, she will be fine. We'll be all right, too. It's okay to be sad and to miss her, but we're not going to be sad forever. She's alive. Remember our apartment in Turkey?"

The kids nodded and Papa said, "Remember the houses across from the backdoor?"

More nods. "We don't know what Hope's new home looks like, but we can imagine her living in a house like the ones on the street behind the apartment."

"The red one?"

"Yes, Rissa. That was a pretty house."

The kids felt better, now that they could envision their baby living somewhere they'd seen before. Andy wasn't sure Papa believed that himself but he could see his parents were hurting a lot, so he'd try to believe that, too.

Kyle's eyes lit up with an idea, "Daddy, Mama, can we draw more pictures for her? I mean later, because she has a whole bunch now."

"Yes, I think that would be wonderful. Maybe at Thanksgiving and Christmas."

"Okay!"

With the kids a little less despondent, the adults worked at getting there themselves. Tim wondered how foster parents ever got used to dealing with this, the loss of a child they'd come to love. Maybe this felt so final because of the distance between Turkey and the UK. It hadn't seemed so far when Artie was working there, now it seemed a million miles away.

Eventually, Tim called their family and friends in the U.S. to let them know. Abby was distraught but remembered what Tony said to her, to remember that as much as she hurt, they hurt a thousand times worse and not to make it worse for them. Like the kids, she felt a little better when told that she could write a note for Hope and they'd send it to her, that some of the photos they'd sent with her had Abby in them.

When he heard the news, Ducky sat down and cried for his family. Jimmy took him home with him that night, he needed to see the rest of his family and they wanted him with them.

The Baltimore Uncles also cried, feeling the same sense of abandonment Tim did, an emotion all of them had shared throughout their lives.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

It was a miserable weekend. The weather was lovely and Dad got them outside a few times, playing ball. When they went for a hike, they did a little better. When they went to church on Sunday, their priest consoled them and that helped. They invited him for lunch and he came. His kind and positive words helped immensely. That night, Greg asked if he could go to Greek classes with Andy and his parents agreed. While both boys were fluent in Greek, the classes also taught them the country's modern history, the culture and of course Greece's illustrious past.

Returning to their regular routine also helped. Going back to school and work on Monday pulled them into a sense of normalcy and kept them there. They missed their baby, no doubt about it. They dismantled the crib and found room for it in the attic, a mostly unexplored area of the house. The changing pad for the top of the dresser, their baby travel kit, Hope's swing, baby bath and infant car seat went away. Her favorite blanket stayed with Tim and Artie. As long as it smelled like their little Hope fresh from her bath, it would remain. All of her clothes, most of her toys and unopened packages of diapers were donated to a local shelter, the rest to the nursery school.

Her physical presence was gone but Tim and Artie still woke at odd hours of the night, thinking they'd heard her cry. Jethro quietly put away the puzzle he'd been making her for Christmas. One day, he sat in his workshop for hours holding the baby pack in which Hope had spent many happy hours, whether with her Mama, Papa or Grandpa. Lu understood, she'd lost a child, just as Jethro had.

No else knew. Her son Tegan was 6 when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he didn't make it to his 7th birthday. It was the real reason her husband left, their marriage broke under the stress of their grief and anger.

Now she reminded her love every day that Hope was alive, she hadn't been killed by a drug cartel or a merciless cancer. She was alive and young enough to adjust to her new family, her aunt and whoever else there might be. They'd been invited to visit, they had her address, they could write, send photos. They just couldn't raise her.

Tim and Artie were doing the same thing, reminding each other that Hope was alive, and that their children needed them. That took Tim back to an old thought, a thought he repeated to his wife. When she agreed, they moved forward with the plan, to adopt Greg and Kyle. They knew it would be complicated because Tim and the boys were U.S. citizens and Artie was a Greek citizen. The next Saturday, a week after Hope's departure, they decided it was time to ask the boys. They'd figured out what they needed to do, talked to the people they needed to help.

Tim went to wake the boys, to ask them if they wanted to be adopted. When he found Greg curled up around Kyle, he worried. Waking them gently, he watched their eyes opening and smiled. "Good morning. Did you two have a good sleep?"

Kyle looked at him, "I had a bad dream, Papa. Bad guys were coming after me, taking me away. Greg heard me and came to hold on."

Greg looked at their father, tears in his eyes. Tim picked him up and sat on the bed, pulling Kyle into his lap with his brother. "That was a scary dream, Doodle bug, I'm glad Greggers heard you. Having a big brother is good like that, huh?"

They both nodded and he cuddled them for a couple of minutes. "Your mama and I have a question to ask you. Want to cuddle with us?"

They nodded and he carried them both down the hall. Artie was sitting up and held her arms open, seeing two sad and scared little boys. "Come here, sweeties, your papa and I want to talk to you about something." They climbed onto the bed, waiting for Papa before settling between their parents.

"We want to adopt you, if you'd like that, too. That would mean we are your mother and father and no one can take you away."

Greg frowned, "Does that mean you won't be our legal guardians anymore?"

"It means we will be your legal guardians _and_ your parents. Forever. Both of you." Technically, Tim was their legal guardian, Artie had no legal claim to them. Neither wanted to explain that to the boys just now, it was one of the main reasons they wanted to adopt them.

Both boys burrowed into them, crying again. Eventually, they calmed enough to hear their parents telling them something. "Sweeties, can you listen now?"

They nodded and Papa said, "I'm sorry, I told you this when I first became your guardian but I haven't reminded you in a long time. The only people who could take you away from us right now are your aunt Sarah and your first father. Aunt Sarah wouldn't do that and if your first father woke up, he'd have to spend a lot of time in the hospital learning how to do everything again, like a baby. We would work something out. And he'd be part of our family. There isn't anyone else."

"Grandpa, Grandma, Granducky, the aunts and uncles?"

"No. Sarah and I are your other dad's sister and brother. We were born to the same parents." Tim decided he'd explain his stepfather some other time, this was tangled enough. "That's why you came with me in the first place. When I found out your dad is my brother and Sarah's brother, that meant one of us got to keep you. Sarah was living in London, remember how we used to visit her on Skype?"

Greg nodded yes, while Kyle thought about it, finally shaking his head. Papa ruffled his hair, "That's okay, sweetie, you were still pretty little. Because your aunt Sarah was going to school here, we decided I would be the one to take care of you. Plus I'd already raised her and Robbie."

"Oh! We got to come to you because you're our uncle. Are you still our uncle?"

"Yes, because you were born to your first parents and your dad is my brother, so I will always be your uncle and Sarah will always be your aunt. When I became your legal guardian, we decided to be father and sons. Now, your mama and I want to take that a step further and adopt you so that you will forever be our sons."

"That's good, Daddy, Mama. We were scared."

"I'm sorry you were scared, kiddos. Baby Hope had to go back to Turkey because someone found her aunt, her father's sister. In our family, she'd be like aunt Sarah."

"How come she didn't say before?"

Artie replied, "The officials said she was afraid to talk to anyone because of all the troubles going on there. When she found out I speak some Turkish, she told me she didn't know her brother was dead until the trouble stopped and the government started telling them what happened. Then she heard about the baby coming here and said she wanted to raise her."

"Hope had to leave because we're not related to her?"

"Yes."

"Was the lady nice?"

"I think she was scared at first. She doesn't speak or understand English and the diplomat that was there with her wasn't doing a good job of translating for her. When I spoke to her in Turkish, she wasn't as scared or nervous. She said she hadn't realized how much pain she would cause us by taking Hope and thanked me for saving her life. By the time we left, she was holding the baby and smiling at her."

Kyle nodded approvingly, "That's good."

"Yes, it is good. It was very nice of her to take the photos and letters, too. And to tell us we can visit when we're in Turkey."

"When are we going?"

They laughed, "We don't know yet, boys. When we figure it out, we'll tell you, how's that?"

"Okay."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Due to one thing or another, it was a couple of weeks before they were ready to announce their plan. First, they consulted those who'd be affected and once they had their approval, called the family one Saturday afternoon, tying Tony, Maggie, Uncle LJ, as LJ Moore was known to the McGee children, Granducky, Abby, the Palmers, the Baltimore uncles, Susannah, Ian and Mimi in via Skype.

With the children seated around them, the couple looked at the rest of the family, smiling their thanks at Sarah. Tim said, "We're happy and grateful to announce that Artemis and I are formally adopting Gregory Griffin and Kyle Timothy. Commander Hart's legal guardian has given her approval and we thank you, Sarah! We've already submitted the papers, we may have to go to the U.S. for a court appearance but our attorneys here and in the U.S. think that with my record as their legal guardian, that might be waived. It's not a change in custody. We also might need to make a court appearance in Greece, but you know that's not a problem!"

Amidst the cheers from their family, the couple pulled their two younger boys onto their laps, kissing them. Tim said, "I thought being their legal guardian was enough, we know we love each other and that I, and Artie when she joined us, would raise them, give them all the love and support they needed. But over the past two years, the term 'legal guardian' has bothered me a little and I know it's bothered Greg, we've talked about it a few times. It's a legal term that defines the role of a person who has the legal authority and duty to care for the personal interests of another person. As a legal term, it does its job. It gives people who need assistance a responsible adult to give them that help. In the case of children, it's meant to last until the child, or children, reaches adulthood.

"But there is nothing about loving the child in the definition, nothing about family. And that's the difference. We want to be their parents, Mama and Papa, as we have been, forever, with no risk of anyone taking them away from us and with the legal and familial ties that makes them our children, and us their parents.

"Sarah, Rob, Geordie and I know what a difference that makes, from thinking of someone as a father to being able to call him Dad and knowing there's no one who can take us away from him or him from us. That's what we want for our children.

"Andy and Marissa have that, now it's time to make sure Greg and Kyle also have that. And with our recent experience, we realized we didn't want to take any chances. Once the boys agreed, we met with attorneys here, and online in the U.S. and Greece."

There were more cheers and across the Atlantic, Ducky, and several other people, sighed in relief, happy to see the family had found a way through their grief, turning it into something positive.

Tim smiled at his siblings and they came forward, the kids moving to the floor. "We have something else to say, something more to do with our family. Dad, when we asked Greg and Kyle if they wanted to change their surname, they said yes, but the name they want is one we've all come to treasure. Along with the adoption, we, your children and grandchildren, have decided to change our surnames from McGee and Perry to Gibbs."

There was a lot of happy noise, which was a good thing as Jethro was completely overwhelmed, in tears, holding on to Lu, his kids and grandkids. When he could finally see and thought he could talk, he smiled, "Wow! You guys got me on that one! I love you all so much, thank you for the honor of being my kids and grandkids and now for taking my name. I'm so proud of all of you, so thankful for you. And I know my dad and mom would be proud, too. Right, LJ?"

Across the Atlantic, LJ was beaming through tears. "That's right, son. Jack and Anne would be full of love and pride for all of you. Just like I am now."

It took several minutes, but finally the call was complete. Sarah and James looked at each other, "As we were in on the secrets, we decided to have a party. C'mon, there's cake and ice cream!"

Kyle yelled cake, leading his siblings in a mad dash to the kitchen. Where they saw…the kitchen. Andy made a noise, turning to the dining room where they found banners and streamers congratulating Greg and Kyle, Mama and Papa and Dad-Grandpa. Sarah brought the cake in while Lu and James handled the ice cream.

Gibbs was still, to use British slang, 'gobsmacked'. When Tim announced a family gathering, he'd anticipated news of an impending birth. The news of Greg and Kyle's adoption and his kids' decision to take his surname had really thrown him for a loop. He was thrilled, happy and a little relieved about the boys, but wanted to make sure that all of his kids, the legal ones, were all right with the name change. That meant a conversation with Geordie. As they finished their cake and ice cream, Geordie caught his eye and his father followed him to the playroom.

Geordie chuckled as they turned on the lights. "Haven't been in here in months! Another guest room?"

Dad nodded, "We thought you might like it as your bedroom and had plans to make it a suite. We weren't sure when or if you'd be able to do stairs, so we changed this much. Now it's an overflow guest room as well as the playroom. Son, are you sure about this? I'm fine with you keeping your father's name."

"Good, because you are my father. In the few months I've been home, you've been more of a father to me than Perry ever was. That name carried me through the streets, through college and the Corps. Aside from the sibs, Bill, Barry, Freddie, Jose, Lu and Nate, I felt it was all I had. Now I'm starting a new life and it's time to shed some of that.

"Bill and Lu are the only others who know this, but my parents were alcoholics. It killed them both. From what little I know, their parents were also alcoholics. I'm the last of the line for the Perrys and I don't see any need to perpetuate the name. The DNA will continue anyway, if I'm lucky enough to have kids. I'd rather be a Gibbs and I'd rather they be Gibbs, too."

Dad smiled as he enveloped his son. "Then Gibbs it is, I'm so proud!"

"Me too!"

Dad fussed a little, "Although I don't know how I'm going to tell my friends I've got an officer for a son!"

"Tell them I'm an overachiever, like Tim!"

They laughed, hugging again before returning to the others.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I wrote this chapter months before the death of Stephen Hawking and haven't had the heart to change it.
> 
> \- I'm making up my own fictional rules for international adoptions, especially when the adoptive parents are not citizens of the same county, in this case Greece and the U.S., and the adoptees have dual citizenship, involving a 3rd country. Buckle up and hang on!


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Their adoption/name change celebration was quickly followed by their American-Greek-British Fourth of July party. With Joel and Carol Morris away on vacation, Tim asked Lydia Worden if it would be all right for his family to throw the expat party. She loved the idea; most of the staff lived in the City and getting out into the country, to Brambury, was a great idea. The Fourth was on a Monday this year and it was Rota's turn to work with Marseilles as their backup, which meant the London and Athens' offices were closed while the other offices would have their celebrations later. Although the office was closed, nothing else was, the US Independence Day was definitely not a holiday in the UK! Instead, the celebration was held on July 3rd.

With no rain forecast, the party could be held outside. They'd start it in the afternoon, have games going, grill burgers and dogs and serve corn on the cob, potato salad, green salad and other fresh veggies. Dad would grill veggie kabobs for the vegetarians in the group. They checked with Brambury city officials and were told no fireworks would be permitted. At first, Tim thought to move the TV onto the terrace where they could watch the fireworks shows. Then he realized they would be an entire day ahead of the fireworks in the US.

YouTube to the rescue! James found several fireworks shows on YouTube and downloaded them, they'd run these on the big screen. He had so much fun with them that he made his own clips from the other clips, his favorite weird fireworks, loudest, prettiest, etc. Some were from the U.S., some from other parts of the world. When Tim, James, and Geo previewed the shows, they picked James' clips, the ones with the most unusual fireworks, and two with the U.S. National Anthem playing in the background with red, white and blue fireworks, they'd play one for the opening and one for the close. James did a good job!

The McGees invited several locals, including their landlords, Tim's Uni boss and office mates, their priest and the neighbors on both sides, to the picnic and, just to be safe, let the city know they'd be cleaning up by 10 PM, an hour before the local curfew for outdoor activities. As everyone but the NCIS folks had to go to work and school the next day, the party would likely break up after the fireworks show.

Tim was told he could serve beer, but no more than 3 per guest and nothing stronger. They handled that by giving out drink tickets with that person's name on them. If that person said she or he wasn't going to drink, the tickets were torn up as were the tickets people used to claim their beers.

The adults rotated driving Big Blue to the Tube station in Brambury to transport their guests to and from the house. The drivers later reported that every single newcomer to the Manor had expressed surprise and amazement at the size of the house.

They had 3 runs of 3-legged races, one for the littles, 5 and under, one for mid-size kids, 6-13 and one for older teens and adults. That was fun! There was a tug of war, an American History Trivia contest, a horseshoe pit, a game of croquet, a ping pong table on the terrace, and their version of lawn bowling.

Using large soda bottles, they glued strips of red, white and blue paper around them, applying coats of Modge Podge over the paper so it would last longer. Then they filled the bottles with sand, just enough to make them sturdy but not too hard to knock down, and twisted the tops back on. They staked a small tarp onto the lawn with yellow tape marking the 'gutters', red tape for the 'foul line' and blue to mark where the pins should be set, and that was their alley. The kids had fun setting up the pins.

In a London party store, they'd found top hats and added numerous decorative items, including flags, feathers and ribbons that could be glued on. They also found a coloring book online with American historical figures. When it arrived, they got busy cutting out various presidents as well as other notable Americans such as Clara Barton, Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Mark Twain, Stephen Foster, Johnny Appleseed, Lewis and Clark, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Wright Brothers, the Mercury Seven - the U.S.A.'s first astronauts - making copies of each. Then the family, mostly the children along with Rob, Sarah, Geo, and Tim, colored each of the cutouts, adding them to the other items for the hats.

When their guests arrived, they were shown to the 'Uncle Sam' table where they could decorate their own hat, with the kids helping them. Later, they had a parade with everyone wearing their hats and a panel of 3 judges picked the most patriotic, funniest, most historic (Geordie insisted on that category), cutest and overall best hat.

They ate their burgers, dogs, kabobs, corn on the cob, potato salad and fresh veggies as daylight faded, the big trees helping with that, watching the fireworks show while dessert was served. There were slices of watermelon, cupcakes, and bowls of fresh berries with a choice of toppings.

The fireworks were a big hit, even the neighbors got a kick out of it, congratulating their hosts for their ingenuity with the show. Some of the folks from the U.S. said they hadn't been to an old-fashioned Fourth of July party since they were kids.

Lydia's partner Marty told them she bet they had more fun here than most people at home and that they'd expect to be back next year. Artie chuckled, "That's fine, as long as you send us ideas for games and activities! I think we used all the ideas we saw on Pinterest."

She grinned, "I'll work on it."

Overall, they thought everyone had a good time, the kids said they'd had a blast and they'd made some new friends as there were several other children there. James and Tim reported hearing people in the office talking about what fun they'd had. They laughed when they noticed several of the fun and/or silly prizes people won appearing on their desks, even one of the hats!

Greg's 8th birthday was coming up towards the end of July and Tim remembered to schedule an overnight at the British Museum for the two of them and two of Greg's friends.

Before his birthday, they received word from the U.S. and Greek family courts about the boys' adoptions. While the U.S. court was satisfied with Tim, they didn't know Artemis, although they were reassured that other U.S. citizens, the Porters, the Biros-Santos', her friends Hannah and Cheryl, and the entire extended McGee-Gibbs-Mallard clan, knew her and had offered references. At first, they wanted a court appearance but their attorney told them of her filing in Greece and after much discussion, the family court decided on a Skype interview, first talking with the boys and then with the petitioners.

When the Greek family court asked for nearly the same thing but with Tim, their attorney there told the court of the arrangement with the U.S. court. That was fine but the Greek court system insisting on seeing the children, Artemis and her American husband in person and a session was scheduled during their vacation. Their American attorney told them an official from the Virginia family courts had asked to be present via Skype, during the Athenian court session. This was a first for an adoption but after discussions by the respective judicial officials, all the legal people and various government entities, it was allowed.

Ah well, the McGees knew it would be complicated and this was easier than anticipated. So far.

The U.S. interview with the boys, Artie, Tim and the rest of the McGee children, took place on a Friday afternoon, the time difference allowing the kids and their parents to be done with school and work for the day before the call. The boys had clean faces, combed hair and clean shirts. They were a little nervous but were used to talking on Skype.

They set the call up in the library so there would be privacy and Grandpa stayed with the boys. He'd already been interviewed as had the other members of the family, except Tim and Artemis. Now he nodded as the call started. They were in the judge's chambers; Gibbs saw Tim's attorney and to his surprise, D'arcy McKinna. They exchanged smiles.

He was there to help the boys if needed, but otherwise was silent. The judge introduced herself, then the attorney, who'd met the boys earlier, and Ms. McKinna. Greg smiled as he gave his full name and age, faltering over that. "My birthday is next week, I'll be 8. Right now, I'm 7."

"Thank you, Greg."

Greg looked at Kyle, who was holding his hand. "I'm Kyle Timothy and I'm 4."

The judge, Ms. McKinna and another woman who'd joined them asked them questions about their school, their house, their family. What they liked about school, what they liked to play, if their guardians played with them. Kyle frowned at that. "Who's that?"

"Mr. McGee and Ms. Galanis."

Greg looked at his brother, "Papa and Mama."

"Oh! I thought Papa and Mama would be our parents now, for real, not just our guardians."

"That's what we're deciding, Kyle."

He didn't like that and frowned. "Why do you get to decide? We love them, they love us, we have an awesome family. Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Sarah live with us, and Uncle Rob and Uncle Geo visit all the time. Mimi, that's Mama's grandma, visits us, we visit her, she lives by a beach and has lots of cool shells! Uncle Tony comes to visit, Aunt Abby, Aunty Susannah and Uncle Ian, too. 'A course, they only live in Scotland so we see them more.

"We read to our other father every Sunday, Papa does too, and we tell him what we're doing. Our friends hold the phone for us so we can see but he's always asleep. When we go at Christmas, we'll bring him lots of new pictures and his little Christmas tree. Greg kind of remembers him being awake but I was a little baby so I don't remember."

He sat back, done.

"Do you read to your other father, Kyle?"

"Yes. I know the words and I know how to sound them out if I don't."

"What's your favorite book?"

Happier now, Kyle told her.

"What's your favorite thing in the whole world?"

"I have lots of favorite things so I have to think. My train, my train engineer's cap, Uncle LJ gave me that for Christmas when I was little, Andy, Greg and Rissa, that's our sister, Mama and Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, oh, we have a big backyard and there's a hill with lots of butterflies outside." He was silent for a moment before saying, "My very favorite thing is stories and cuddles with Mama and Papa before bedtime. And cake." He giggled at that.

"That's wonderful, I like cake too. What's your favorite flavor?"

"Mama and Papa made me a chocolate caramel cake for my birthday, that's my favorite now."

"How about you, Greg?"

"I like vanilla and chocolate swirled together."

"What are you doing for your birthday?"

"Papa's taking me to the British Museum for a sleepover! I get to take 2 friends too. You have to be 8 to go so this is my first time. Not to the museum, it's one of my favorite places, Andy's too."

"Andy's your older brother?"

"Yes, he's 12. He loves to read too, we trade books if Mama or Papa say it's okay. And he likes math and science too, like me."

"Great! How about your little sister?"

"We had two little sisters for a while. Baby Hope was a foster and her aunt took her away. We miss her."

"I'm sorry, that must have been difficult."

"It was, we were all sad. Then Papa told us to remember she's alive, just not living with us. We're allowed to write her, she has lots of photos of us and we drew pictures and wrote her letters, Mama said the lady, I mean her aunt, took them with her. Our first little sister is Marissa, we call her Rissa. She's 2 ½, mmm, a little more, her birthday is in October. She's funny, she likes to play with us and we're careful. She always smiles and sometimes she sings to herself. We'll sing with her. She likes that. If you don't look happy, like when I couldn't find my book the other day, she'll pat your face." He leaned forward, "Sometimes I play tea with her."

Kyle nodded, "Me too. When it's her turn to pick what to play, she likes to have tea. She's a really good sister."

The judge asked him about Andy and Kyle giggled. "When Andy came, we were going to have a sleepover and Daddy said we had to be asleep by 10. I fell asleep during stories and cuddles but I woke up during the night and crawled through our secret door to Greg's room. They were asleep so I crawled in between them. Andy said he was surprised when he woke up and I was there. Mama and Daddy let us have another sleepover so I could be awake too. Andy's really great, he loves trains, like me, and plays with me even though he's big."

"What's your secret door?"

"It's really cool! It's in my room and Greg's room, they're next to each other. It's a little door in our closets that opens and we can crawl through."

"Does that scare you?"

"No, it's fun! We're not allowed to use it after bedtime or if Mama and Papa aren't home."

"Who takes care of you then?"

"Grandpa, Grandma or Aunt Sarah. If Uncle Rob's home from doctoring, he likes to stay with us. Uncle Geo too, but he can't play much because of his leg. It's getting lots better now, he can climb stairs."

Greg nodded, "He's a Marine and was badly hurt. His leg gets special treatments in a hospital in London but not Uncle Rob's hospital, a different one. In between, he comes home. He used to have to stay downstairs because of the stairs but now he has a room upstairs."

The judge had a few more questions for the boys and then thanked them for talking with her. They said thank you and goodbye and left the room. Artie was next and she tried to relax as she sat in front of the laptop.

As with the boys, the judge introduced herself and Ms. McKinna. Artie greeted them and the family attorney, who smiled at her. When asked, she started her full name and age.

One of the first questions the judge had for her was how she wanted to be addressed. "Do you prefer Doctor or Ms.?"

"Ms., please. The doctor is for my work and this is about my children, our family."

"Very well. Now, we know how you and your husband originally met, will you tell us how you two reconnected?"

Artie smiled, "Yes, of course. I was at a meeting in the City, London, and we were done early. I was only a few blocks from my favorite bookstore and it was a beautiful day, not raining, so I decided to walk over. I was nearly there when I saw a young woman with a small boy. The woman looked like a grownup version of a teenager I knew at MIT, my boyfriend Tim's little sister Sarah. I called her name and she turned around. She recognized me and introduced me to Kyle, who was quite polite. Sarah told me Tim was in a bookstore and which one, the one I was going to and I continued to the store. I found him, actually, I found Greg and Tim was right behind him, they were on their way to pay for their books. Greg had seen my photo from Cambridge and called Tim's attention to me. And that's how we reconnected."

"I understand the two of you went through counseling before you were married."

"Yes. Our oldest child, Jason Andrew, is ours together. But I never told Tim for reasons he now understands and that was the subject of our counseling. Do you need to know?"

"No, if Timothy is satisfied, I don't need details. Is there a chance of the situation recurring?"

"No, my sister and I have cut our father, the source of much misery and the reason for my lack of communication with Tim, out of our lives. He showed up at our wedding, unannounced, but we cut ties with him afterward."

"Did he meet Greg and Kyle?"

"Yes and he behaved himself with them, although I believe that was to curry favor with Tim and Jethro, my father-in-law."

"Do you believe the ties are well and truly cut?"

"Yes, my mother has since left him and wants to mend fences with us."

"Will you allow that?"

"Not until she proves herself to us. My grandmother, her mother, will not allow it."

"Very well, I'll trust that you and Timothy won't let either of them near Greg and Kyle unless the changes you want have happened."

"Thank you."

She asked about her work and Artie took her time explaining that. "I worked hard to become a civil engineer. There are very few female engineers. I have an advantage due to my height. Because I had Andy to support, I worked on projects around the world and he came with me. When he was school age, he attended an international school so that there was continuity wherever we moved. I was hired for a project here, in London, nearly 4 years ago and we moved here. My sister was in school here and after Marissa's father and I divorced, she moved in with us, to help with the children.

"After that project finished, last November, I had time off, as is my custom between jobs. By then, we'd moved in with the McGees, and Tim and I were planning our wedding. In January, we, Tim and I, traveled to Amzida, Turkey for my next project which would only take 6 months. I was home nearly every weekend and when I wasn't, either Tim and the children came to Amzida or Tim came by himself for a weekend. In March, I met them in Greece and we stayed near my grandmother. I returned to Amzida and then in April came the troubles there. My project manager, who's a Turk, called me in the early morning to tell me to get to the airport as soon as possible and not to take the main roads.

"To make a long story short, I was helped along the way and ended up walking to the airport, avoiding explosions and a lot of bullets. At the airport, I found an abandoned baby and we were allowed to board the next plane out. As it turned out, that was the last plane out. Since then, I've realized there are other ways I can work. I do not want to be away from my family again. I will not put myself in danger and risk leaving them without a mother. My husband lost his mother when he was a baby, Greg was 6 and Kyle 2 when their mother was killed. I won't do that. That was an awful experience and I won't scare my children, husband or our family like that again. I'm now working at home, I have an office and work while the children are at school."

"The boys told us about a foster child you had, who's recently left you."

Artie nodded as she told them more about their Hope, the abandoned baby. The judge had a few more questions as did the other court official. She was thanked and they asked to speak with Tim, then both of them together and then all 4 of their children with them.

She found Tim pacing in the hall and smiled at him. "How'd it go?"

"I think it went fine. They asked the questions we thought they would."

"Ok, good." He kissed her and entered the library.

They didn't have many questions for him. The adoption official wanted to know what he could tell them about the family counseling and he told her about Artie being unable to communicate with them for so many hours while fleeing Amzida. He said they'd all had nightmares and had individual counseling as well as family counseling.

He was also asked about his own adoption and he smiled happily, telling them about working for Gibbs and wishing he was his father, no matter how tough he was at work. How they'd grown closer on a mission to rescue one of their own; the judge was alarmed at that and Tim nodded. "I left the field when I brought Greg and Kyle home with me. It's a dangerous job with irregular and long hours, sometimes we'd be at the office working on a case for days at a time before we could go home. As I said, I left that position then. In the meantime, Gibbs and I became closer and when the boys asked to call him Grandpa, he asked if I wanted to call him Dad and I agreed. A year later, he adopted my siblings and me. I haven't had a dad since I was 9 and I'd never had a full-time dad. It's wonderful and I'm a better father because I'm also a son."

Ms. McKinna had a big smile, "Timothy, I'm so happy for both of you! Has he mellowed at all? Not that he was ever tough with me or the children I was representing, but I know he was hard to work for."

"He retired to move here with us. Yes, he's mellowed a lot. Not quite a marshmallow, except with my kids. He's a happy man, wonderful with his bigs and littles, as he calls us."

They also wanted to know how he felt about his brother. He swallowed, "He's my little brother, I'm always going to love him. Until we were investigating his wife's murder in 2014, I believed he was dead. For 28 years, I mourned my brother. I don't know if he'll ever emerge from his coma and if you want more information about that whole mess, you'll have to contact the office of the Secretary of the Navy. I'm not allowed to say much, except that he's not on life support, he's breathing on his own."

"Then why are you adopting the boys?"

"Because it's been too long. And both of them have abandonment issues, as do I, from losing my own parents. I hate seeing that happen to them. Being their legal guardian is not enough. They need to know, to believe, to feel in their bones, that we are their father and mother, that they're loved, cherished, and will always have a home with us. They need a sense of permanence, of safety and security. We've given them that but we want the legality of it too. Artie and I have been talking about it for months, we'd decided to talk with the boys and Patrick's legal guardian, my sister, after Artie came home for good from Amzida. And then after that day, we had a new baby to take care of. Losing her, that lit the fire again. She's only 6 months old, she should adjust pretty well. But not our boys, they've been through too much already. As they grow up, they're going to discover all the uncertainties of life and I don't want family to be one of those uncertainties."

"You said you were abandoned. Were you orphaned?"

"Yes, my mother died before I was two and my father was away a great deal, a Navy officer. He and my brother, or so I believed, were murdered in a hit and run when I was 9. I was thrown out, bounced on my head and smashed my legs. I was in a coma for 19 days and woke with memory loss, which is still present. Eventually, I was released from the hospital and my stepmother picked me up. A week after I got walking casts on my legs, she said she couldn't take care of Sarah and me anymore and she was sending us to her cousins in Baltimore. Long story short, there were no cousins, she was sending us off to nowhere. We spent the rest of our childhoods in a homeless shelter and transient camp." He added, "By the way, my stepmother was the hit and run driver, the murderer. The FBI finally caught her and sent her away."

"I can see why you have issues."

"When we moved to MIT, there was a psychologist available to students and I had my first appointment with her my second week there. I'd promised myself that for years."

"That takes a strong individual, Mr. McGee."

He nodded in appreciation of the compliment. They thanked him and asked him to bring his wife back in.

Their interview with the 2 of them was brief and then all 4 of the kids came in with them. Kyle was fidgety, he'd thought he was done with the 'court people'. He quieted once he was sitting on his mother's lap.

The judge asked them to say their names and who they were, starting with Tim, who had already been told to have some fun with this. He smiled, "I'm Tim, Papa, Daddy, Sweetie, Honey, Timothy, Timiny, Son, Elf Lord, Timmo, and some private names. I'm a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, grandson and friend."

Surprised, Andy looked at his father, smiled and turned back to the screen, "Hi, I'm Andy, Flootle Bug, Jammer, and Mr. Fleece. I'm the oldest son, brother, science boy, Papa forgot that he's also science man, and I'm also a grandson, nephew and great-grandson. Oh and cousin."

Greg also looked surprised but when Papa winked at him, he smiled, "I'm Greg, Scooter Bug, Greggers, and CR. I'm the second oldest son, brother, book kid, Papa and Mama are also book people, and I'm also a grandson, nephew, great-grandson and cousin."

Kyle giggled as he said, "I'm Kyle, Doodle Bug and Kyleyboy and Train Man and Mr. Engineer. I'm the third oldest son and all the things Greggy and Andy said and I'm the Chief Train Engineer of the family."

Marissa clapped, she liked this game. "My name is Marissa, Pookie Bug, and Maryissa, Rissa, MissaRissa and Queenie. There's more because Daddy makes them up, I can't remember them all. I'm the youngest and the onliest girl, just like Aunty Sarah was, but I let my brothers play with me. I'm all the things they said and I'm the Deputy Chief Train Engineer." She looked at Kyle and they fist bumped.

Artie smiled, "I'm Artie, Artemis, Mama, Mahnoola, mamalama, Chief Engineer, Dr. Engineer, sweetie, honeybunny, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and the rest are private. I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend."

The judge smiled at them, "Thank you, that was most informative. I do have a couple of questions about your names. Jammer, Mr. Fleece, CR, Mahnoola and Elf Lord?"

Andy grinned, "My initials are JAM, Jason Andrew McGee, that's where Jammer came from and Mr. Fleece is from the Greek story about Jason and the Golden Fleece."

Greg snuggled closer to his mother, "CR is short for Christopher Robin because I really like the books. Mahnoola is what I first called Mama when she came here. I didn't want to call her mama because of my mama who was killed. We talked about it and she didn't mind at all, this mama I mean. She told me some Greek words for mother and I liked Mahnoola, which is mommy. I called her that until I felt it was okay to call her mama, that my first mama wouldn't mind and I would still have her in my heart."

"Did anyone help you with that?"

Greg nodded, "Before our wedding, Daddy saw that I was sad and talked to me so I knew it was all right to be sad and not to call Artie mama. Then Artie and I talked about it, and she asked me not to worry about calling her mama, that it was up to me. I liked her and I knew she liked me, but I felt like I would be putting my mother away. Mama, this mama, and Papa told me she'll always be my mother and always be in my heart and not to worry about what I called Artie. When I went to see Dr. K, he helped me too."

The judge nodded with a smile and looked at Tim, who grinned. "I worked for 10 years with my dad, who was then just my boss. In my early years on the team, I was the tech 'wizard' of the team, the others were close to being technophobes. I used to play video games after hours, catching up with my lost childhood, and my screen name was Elf Lord. Boss heard someone say that and the name stuck. He's the only one allowed to use it."

D'Arcy looked at him, "It's affectionate now, Tim? I was never sure."

"I wasn't either, D'Arcy. Over the last couple of years I was on the team, we had a few cases where we worked closely together, got to know each other better as people. When I finally asked him about Elf Lord, he was shocked that I hadn't known; he assured me it was always meant to be affectionate. That was before I left the team, it's even more affectionate now."

The judge nodded, "Thank you. Now, I have two things to tell you. The first thing is that our judgment will have to match the Hellenic court's decision for the adoptions to be final. The second thing is that I am approving the adoptions. Oh and I guess there's a third thing. Gregory, Kyle, please listen closely. If for some reason, the Greek court doesn't agree with me, they will give your parents the reasons why. It is very likely those reasons can be worked out. And here's a fourth thing, I didn't count that very well! The fourth thing is that even if the adoptions are not approved, you will remain with your family, you will still be the wards of your papa, you will still have your mama, your brother, sister, grandparents and all your aunts and uncles. Your papa will still be your Legal Guardian and you will live with him until you're all grown up. Is that clear?"

Greg nodded, looking a little worried. Then he raised his hand, "May I ask a question?"

"Yes, of course."

"Why would they have reasons? Is there something wrong with our family?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with your family. Your family is lovely, I wish I could see more families like yours. What's different, not wrong, just different, about your family, is that you're not all citizens of the same country. Your mother is a citizen of the Hellenic Republic, what we call Greece, while your father is a citizen of the United States. That's the only issue I see." She looked at her notes, "Jammer, I see you have dual citizenship."

"Yes, ma'am. I have dual citizenship and my parents wanted me to have both passports too."

"Good. Now I see MissyRissy was adopted by you, Timothy. Her birth father is Australian but he's no longer involved in this. She also has dual citizenship, Greek by nature of her mother and American with her adoption. That's good too."

"Greggers and Chief Train Engineer, you're citizens of the United States and of the nation of Singapore as your mother, your birth mama, was a native of that country." The judge looked at the attorney, "Mr. Hockins, have you notified them?"

"Yes, your honor, I met with a member of their diplomatic corps, who referred me to their Social Services. Their department's judgment is that the children will remain citizens of Singapore and that, because of the 2014 grant of legal guardianship to Timothy McGee, the same person now filing for adoption, no further action is needed from their end, they will abide by the judgments of our court and the Hellenic court. They did ask for copies of the final judgments for their records. And wished the boys well." He smiled at the camera.

"Good, thank you." The judge looked at the camera, smiling, "Artemis, it seems you and your husband are the only ones in your family without dual citizenship!"

Artie smiled, "Your honor, if I can become a U.S. citizen without having to give up my Greek citizenship, I will. Tim feels the same way about becoming a Greek citizen. We just haven't gotten that far yet."

"I understand. All right, family, thank you again for your patience and your honesty. I wish you the best of luck, and boys, remember, you'll still be together, no matter what happens in the Greek court."

They nodded and the McGees waved as the images faded.

Tim looked at his children, "Are you all right?"

They nodded, glad it was over.

Andy asked, "When is our court date in Athens?"

"During our vacation."

Greg frowned, "Can we do it sooner than that?" Kyle nodded, vacation was a long time to wait, too many days on the calendar. He counted to himself, it was 19 days.

Tim and Artie looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Nodding, they turned to the kids, "We'll talk to our attorney in Greece. Now, that will mean you'll have to miss at least a day of school."

"Can we ask to take work with us?"

"We'll ask your teachers and try for a Monday for the court. That way we can fly out Friday night and home Monday after court."

They sent an email to their attorney in Greece and found him still in his office, even though it was past working hours on a Friday evening. When Tim commented, the man replied his wife was away visiting her mother so he was catching up on paperwork. Tim chuckled, he knew all about paperwork!

As the courts and therefore anyone their attorney needed to speak with, were closed for the weekend, the McGees didn't have an answer until Monday. With the time difference, the answer was waiting for them when they woke up that morning. The new court date was a week away, Monday, July 25th , 2016, at 11:00 AM.

They all cheered at that. Monday was good, they could leave Friday after school, and 11 AM was 9 AM here so they wouldn't be sleepy. Greg and Andy were relieved they wouldn't miss the last day of school.

Before Greg asked, Tim rescheduled their British Museum sleepover to the following weekend, advising the other parents. While he did that, Artie wrote the boys' teachers, explaining the situation and asking if it would be possible to take work for Monday.

By that evening, she had responses from both. Andy's teacher said he'd completed everything he needed to move up and that she'd been giving him research and advanced level studies to get him through the end of the term. She said an oral report on the court process in Greece would be great for his records. Her only caveat was that Andy make it factual, leaving out as much of the emotion as possible. Artie raised an eyebrow, that would likely be the toughest part of the assignment.

She smiled when Greg's teacher had much the same response. Greg was already finished with his current grade level and was working on what Americans called 3rd Grade level assignments, the level he'd be promoted to the next school term. He said if things went well, he'd rather Greg write a report about being in court. If they didn't go well, he was excused from any kind of makeup work.

Tim had the same reaction when he read the emails. All four of their children were intelligent and they were happy to see that acknowledged with their two oldest. They were in Tim's office with the door open, when they heard footsteps running up the stairs and Greg calling, "Papa, Mama! The museum!"

They smiled as he slid into the office. "We've already rescheduled it to the following weekend and let Lin and Robin's parents know. How about we have your birthday dinner here Thursday night? That way, your aunt and uncles can join us."

When Tim told his dad and Lu, they asked to come with them. When they called Mimi to tell her the news, she said there would be plenty of room for the 8 of them. She had 3 bedrooms in her home and a study with a sofa bed. The children would be a little cramped but they'd only be sleeping in their rooms, not hanging out in them as they did here. With a chuckle, she said the Mediterranean was warm now.

Packing was different this time, they took their 'church clothes' for court. It would be too hot for a full suit but Tim, the boys and Grandpa would wear short-sleeved button down shirts and possibly ties, long dress pants, and dress shoes. Marissa and Artie would wear light dresses, Artie's with short sleeves. All the good clothes were wrapped in plastic dry cleaner bags and packed carefully in Papa's garment bag.

Tim wondered aloud if they could get away with kilts, pointing to the photo of the Evzones on their Greek calendar. "If that's their uniform, why can't we wear them?"

Artie gave him a look while his father wisely kept his mouth shut. While he had no doubts about the masculinity of anyone brave enough to wear a kilt, he would be massively uncomfortable in one. He'd rather sweat.

No kilts, their attorney said the court was air-conditioned. He laughed at Tim, saying, "The judge would be in a kilt if it was allowed!"

Because the family wanted to give a favorable impression to the judge, they decided to speak Greek at home for the rest of the week and once they got to Mimi's. Artie spent a few hours with Lu and Jethro. Lu knew hello and goodbye while Jethro knew more but was rusty. The kids were great, having whole conversations in Greek. Tim and Artie spoke Greek together quite a bit, but as it was frequently words and phrases that wouldn't come up in court, Tim wrote down some of the things the American judge asked him, translated the questions, checking with Artie, and then formulated his responses in Greek. He wasn't aiming for perfect, he was aiming for understanding and being understood.

Greg's birthday dinner was delicious, with his aunt and uncles smacking their lips along with the kids. Greg's request was for Uncle Tony's recipe for Italian Sausage, Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni and that's what they had. The dinner was accompanied by birthday cake and gelato. He had fun opening his gifts, putting some of them in his stash to take to Greece as they were meant for the beach or water.

School, something he normally loved, was torturous on Friday. He behaved himself though, forcing himself not to fidget. He smiled at the end of the day when Papa, Kyle and Marissa were outside the school grounds, waiting for them. He and Andy ran to meet them.

At home, they helped load Big Blue. Sarah had a meeting in the City this afternoon and Greg thought Uncle Geordie was going to drive them to the train station. He was a little confused when he saw his uncle's sea bag with the luggage and Uncle Rob in the driver's seat. Uncle Geo smiled, "I'm going, too, Greggers, hope that's all right?"

"Yes!" He hugged his uncle. "Are you going to stay in our room with us?"

"No, kiddo, I'm going to stay with my friend Bec. I'll be in court with you on Monday."

After hearing about the unexpected trek to Athens, Geordie called Bec to see if she was working that weekend. She was not, nor did she have any plans. She was thrilled when Geordie told her he was going to try to get on the same flight as his family. She asked him to stay with her and he agreed.

Their flight was comfortable, not quite full. Bec was at the airport, waiting for Geordie and after saying hello and goodbye to the rest of the family, they left. The others picked up the rental van, Greg wondering if it was the same one they'd had in March, and drove to Varkiza, to Mimi's house. All her lights were on as they pulled up and she met them with kisses and hugs as they climbed out of the van.

Quickly sorting the luggage, they went for a walk to burn off some energy, flashlights bobbing in the dark. It was fun to be out after dark – and no jackets! Back at Mimi's, the littles had baths, cuddles and stories while everyone else ended up sitting around the table, talking. It was different this time as they'd seen Mimi since their vacation here in March and they were comfortable with her and the house.

Taking a picnic lunch, and anything else they might need, to the beach Saturday, they spent the entire day there. Mimi had a big beach umbrella and borrowed a second one so her family wouldn't fry in the hot sun. They all got out of the water every 90 minutes to dry off, apply more sunscreen and then wait for it to dry. Tim, the kids, Lu and Dad wore t-shirts with built-in sun protection. All of them wore hats and sun glasses. On Sunday, they went to church with Mimi, followed by lunch at home before they took off for the beach.

Sunday evening, they had their call with Patrick. Their volunteer was Jose and he looked puzzled when they called. "Where are you guys? I can't keep up with your travels."

"This was a last minute thing, Joe. We're in Greece, at Artie's grandmother's house. We moved our court date for the boys' adoption to tomorrow so here we are."

"Wow! Good luck, I know my nephews want to call themselves McGees. Oh wait, I meant Gibbs!"

Greg and Kyle grinned before launching into their latest beach tales.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Later that night, Tim and Artie were in their room getting ready for bed. Artie laughed at Tim as he looked in the mirror. "Any sign of a tan yet? Anything that might suggest a hint of Greek ancestry?"

She shook her head. "No, love, but having your DNA tested would tell you a lot more about your ancestry than 2 days in the sun."

"I know." He leaned forward, "We're giving Dad and Tony kits for their birthdays."

"I thought we gave Tony his gift? We did, I remember watching him open it on Skype!"

"That was from you and me. This is from all of his siblings, we just decided on Friday, haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Sarah ordered a kit for Dad online and then decided we should all have ours tested and everyone's in, including Tony, although he doesn't know about it. His kit will be a surprise because we didn't want to wake him up at 0DarkThirty to ask him if he wanted his DNA done! So Dad's is for his birthday and Tony's can be seen as a late gift or to go along with the rest of us. Remember I asked you if you wanted one?"

"Yes, and I said no because I know my ancestors for the past 500 years, and where they came from. Not all of them were Greek, you know."

"I know, I've studied Greek history. I'm excited about tomorrow."

"Not nervous?"

"No. I've decided the Hellenic judge is going to like us and decide to follow the U.S. court."

"That's a good attitude, I think I'll adopt that, too, if you don't mind sharing."

He grinned, "I never mind sharing with you."

She pushed at him, "We'll have to be very quiet."

"Bathroom is in between us and the kids."

"Yes and they use the bathroom. And Mimi is right next door."

As he leaned in to kiss her, he whispered, "There's a linen closet and her closet in between."

He covered her mouth as she started laughing. She bet he knew how many feet and inches separated them. And there was a noisy fan in the bathroom.

In the morning, the visitors had showers and got dressed in casual clothes. Papa, Mama and Grandpa worked on getting a few wrinkles out of court clothes while Mimi and Grandma, who were still getting to know each other, made breakfast. After eating and cleaning up the kitchen, they all went for a walk, down to the beach and back. Then they washed up and changed into their court clothes, the kids giggling as Papa and Mama inspected them, straightening the boys' collars and combing their hair.

The men and boys all had haircuts on Wednesday, but nobody's was too short and their time at the beach had given each a softer look. Kyle's curls were kept short during the summer as they sometimes got out of control, especially when he'd been swimming or doing anything sweaty. That was fine with him, he liked his hair keeping his neck warm in winter but not in Greece in the summer!

Tim stood back and looked at his tribe, yep, they were a beautiful group of kids, that's for sure. Mimi smiled at him, "They're very healthy and happy, even their eyes are shining. All of you who care for them should be proud."

Tim grinned as he lifted her off her feet, "That includes you too, Yaya!"

"Timothy!"

He put her down and kissed her. She held onto him for a moment and he listened as she whispered, "I worried about Kosmos pulling something today, he's been too quiet since Sophia left him. I called his boss and spoke with him; he reassured me Kosmos will be too busy today to think about us."

He hugged her lightly, "Thank you, Mimi. You do take care of us."

"I am making up for lost time. I should have been doing this years ago."

"You can't change what happened and it wasn't your job. If it was anyone's besides Kosmos himself, it was Sophia's. Live for now."

"Ah, you're an old soul, Timothy McGee!"

They parted, laughing. By 10:00 they were in the van, on their way into Athens. They considered themselves lucky when they parked less than a block from the courthouse. Security took a few minutes to get through, but everyone had their passports, except Mimi, and paperwork. Geordie met them there, standing with their attorney. The attorney spoke with Artie, Tim, Greg and Kyle first, then with Andy and Marissa and finally with Dad, Lu, Mimi, and Geo. When they were summoned, they entered the courtroom, Greg and Kyle hanging onto their parents, Andy and Marissa with Dad and Lu.

Tim blinked his eyes when he walked into the courtroom. It was nice and cool. There were a few people in the room, which he hadn't expected. One he recognized and that was Bec Childers, Geordie's girlfriend. There was an older man on one side of her and on the other side was their property guy. He could feel that Kyle was getting scared, and picked him up, the little boy relaxing in his arms, murmuring, "I don't like this room, Daddy."

"Mama and I are here, sweetie. And your brother and sister, Grandpa, Grandma, Mimi and Uncle Geo. They'll just ask you questions, like before."

"I liked doing that from home better."

"I know, Train Man, but these people wanted to see us here."

"Can I sit on your lap?"

"We'll ask the attorney."

Kyle nodded at that and when their attorney sat with them, Tim asked him. He thought for a moment before saying to Kyle, "It will be fine if you sit with your papa or mama until the judge asks you questions."

"Then I have to move?"

"Yes, I think that will be best. When you are done, you can go back to them."

"All right."

The judge came in, they stood and the court clerk read the case. The judge, who was introduced as Judge Stathos, asked the family to stand, in Greek, and then made a face, he'd forgotten to speak English. But the family was standing, of course, the mother was Greek!

The attorney spoke up, "Begging your pardon, Your Honor. Mr. McGee, Gregory and Kyle speak Greek."

That brought a smile and Tim relaxed a tiny bit. The judge welcomed them, and then addressing the boys, said how unusual their case was but understood that they wanted Artemis Galanis, a Greek citizen, to be their adopted mother and Timothy McGee, an American citizen, to be their adopted father. Greg and Kyle nodded in agreement.

Tim was called first, he stood, helping Kyle move to Artie, and was asked several of the same questions he'd been asked by the American judge. He answered in Greek, pausing once for a word he'd forgotten. When he said it in English, the judge nodded his understanding and Tim continued.

After Tim answered questions, Greg was next. He stood, saying his whole name. The questions were a little different but Greg spoke Greek with his brothers and sister on a daily basis and had no trouble answering. Kyle started to relax, Tim could see his little shoulders relaxing and Tim thought he saw a small smile on the judge's face.

Kyle was next. He stood up, said his full name and answered Judge Stathos' questions. There was no comment about decisions and Kyle remained fairly calm.

After Kyle sat down, the judge spoke with Artie. Then he asked Tim to stand with her. "It is customary in Greek adoptions for both parents to live and work in Greece for the first year. The adopted children must be monitored for their safety. Mr. McGee, is that possible?"

Tim was shocked but didn't have to think about it, they'd figure it all out later. "Yes, Your Honor. If it means the boys will become our sons, we'll find a way."

"Who is your employer?"

"I currently have 2 employers, sir. During the school year, I am a visiting professor of science and mathematics at Bedford University, near London, in the United Kingdom. I'm under contract there for another 10 months. While I work there, I am on leave from my permanent employer, the U.S. Federal Government, specifically the Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"That's unusual, why is that?"

Tim cast a desperate glance at the attorney who stood and explained to the judge that the reason was classified by the United States government. Tim added that he would ask permission to tell the judge.

When his attorney looked across the aisle, the older man sitting next to Bec stood, introducing himself as a member of the US Diplomatic Corps, posted to the U.S. Embassy in Athens. He asked permission to help with Mr. McGee's obvious dilemma. The judge declared a 30-minute recess, summoning Tim, the attorney and the diplomat to his chambers.

As Tim listened to the diplomat, Mr. Christopher, talk, he realized his inclusion had to have come from Director Vance and/or Secretary Porter. Leon must have realized the topic of Tim's double employment would raise questions pointing to the classified information. He would have consulted his boss who obviously agreed and called the Secretary of State. She, in turn, briefed the U.S. Ambassador to Greece and that's how Mr. Christopher came to be in the courtroom, possibly saving any possibility of Greek approval of adoption.

They spoke in Greek, Tim following along, surprised at how much of the information Christopher was disclosing, although the judge, their attorney and the court clerk had willingly signed Non-Disclosure Agreements. When the judge finished asking questions of Mr. Christopher, he turned to Tim, "You have more time on your contract with the university. How do you anticipate fulfilling those if you're living in Greece?"

Tim was grateful he'd had a few minutes to start working that out. "I believe I have 2 options, Your Honor. The first is teaching my classes online, my contract allows for that. The second option would be to amend my contract with Bedford University to complete my work there the year following our year here. In that case, I'd work for my government employer here in Greece.

"My students are in a special program, they've been in my classes since I arrived and are familiar with the way I teach and evaluate them. I've taught a few classes online, once because my children were sick and I didn't want to infect the campus, once because there was a snowstorm and the whole town shut down and once because I was out of town. I will have to be there for the first day and the last day of each term but other than that, I will be here."

"Where do you live there?"

Tim told him, realizing the house was going to be a problem. He'd worry about that later.

"That is your university employer. What about your government job?"

"There is an NCIS office here, in Piraeus. My current job with the agency is not specific to one office. There are several NCIS offices in Europe and I support them online, doing electronic work. I work from home and from the London office. If there's an empty desk or table at the office here, I can work."

"And your wife?"

"Sir, she'll know best, but she was working in Amzida, Turkey when the troubles broke out and had to leave. Since then, she's been working from home and I imagine will be able to continue with that."

"And your family, other than your immediate family?"

"I don't know, sir. The brother who's with us today is a U.S. Marine on medical leave, he will stay in London until it's determined if he is fit for active duty. My younger brother is a doctor in London, he'll also probably stay as will my sister. She's almost through her Masters there. I hope my parents will come with us but at this point I don't know."

"You are quite determined."

"I am, Your Honor. This adoption means safety and security for Greg and Kyle. I'm already their legal guardian but my wife and I want to be their parents for the rest of their lives. A legal guardianship doesn't last a lifetime. It doesn't necessarily provide the love children need."

Tim gave the judge an abbreviated report of his own childhood and Stathos nodded when he finished. "Now I begin to understand you and your need to be their father and for Dr. Galanis to be their mother." He sat for a moment. "Thank you for trusting me with these details. Mr. Christopher, thank you for your help and pass the court's gratitude to whomever gave you this authority. Please join the others now, I will have my decision when we reconvene."

Tim and the others were escorted from the judge's chambers. He shook Mr. Christopher's hand, thanking him and asking him to pass his thanks up the line. With a smile, he said he'd also send thanks to those he was sure had come to his aid. The man wished him good luck, handed him a card and left.

He found his dad waiting for him in the hallway. "Artie and the others found a courtyard and the kids are out there letting off steam. How'd it go?"

"I really don't know, Dad. I'm afraid it could go either way. If the adoption is approved, I hope the rental market's good here and I hope we can do a sublet or something on the house in Brambury. And that Bedford will let me teach online full-time for the rest of my contract or let me postpone my last 10 months until our year here is up."

They were walking toward the courtyard when their attorney caught up with them. "I am sorry that got so complicated. I did not anticipate his line of questioning and I have been before this judge many times, for more than 30 successful cases."

"He said it, you said it, it's a complex case. I wonder what would have happened if we'd only gone through the U.S. courts?"

"Then you would have been the adoptive father but your wife would not have been part of the equation. My colleague in America and I have discussed this. Are you really prepared to move here for a year?"

"Yes, whatever it takes to prove our sincerity, our worth, although we do have a list of things to figure out."

Watching the time, they gathered the family and returned to the courtroom, Artie realizing from her husband's demeanor that he was troubled and unsure of the outcome. She had spent the recess mentally reviewing their responsibilities in Brambury and realized the house was the biggest problem. They couldn't afford to pay rent on two places. And she couldn't see Bedford continuing to pay the stipend while they were living in Greece, especially with Tim teaching his classes online. He could have done that from the U.S. Amending the contract made the stipend even less likely.

They sat quietly in the courtroom for a few minutes before the judge returned. When they were all seated again, he asked Tim, Artie, the boys and their siblings to stand, nodding when Dad, Lu and Mimi stood as well.

"As I said at the beginning of our proceedings this morning, this is an unusual and complex case. After meeting with Mr. McGee and listening to Dr. Galanis, Gregory and Kyle answer my questions, I took some time to review the facts and read the letters that have arrived regarding this case. The McGee family has many friends, here in Greece, in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Having met them, I understand why.

"Now, I have two things to tell you. One is that I am amending the mandated year in Greece. One of the recommendation letters I received was from the head of Social Services in London, who worked with the McGees in the matter of their former foster child. She has offered her office to monitor the children's progress for the next year, or however long you will be there. Adoptions are difficult enough without having to uproot the entire family to move here. As wonderful as I know your life would be here, I have accepted her offer. The world is getting smaller every day; you are already an international family and this will be one more piece of that. That means you may remain in the United Kingdom while you work with Social Services there. The social worker will contact you in the next few days.

"With that contingency, I have approved the adoptions of Gregory Griffith and Kyle Timothy by Artemis Galanis, a citizen of the Hellenic Republic and Timothy McGee, a citizen of the United States of America. When I receive the final report from Social Services in London, all contingencies will have been met and the adoption will be finalized. I wish you the best of luck, and long and happy lives."

When all 4 of the kids started cheering, the judge smiled and left the bench. Then Geordie, Bec, the rental guy, Dad, Lu and Mimi started cheering and laughing, Tim and Artie did too. They were done!

Almost done, the court clerk had papers for them to sign. That took 45 minutes, by the time the papers were signed, initialed and copied. Several tummies were rumbling by the time they were done and the family, including Geordie and Bec, decided to have lunch out. Mimi and Bec conferred and then led them to a wonderful family restaurant, where they had delicious food and service.

When it was time to leave, Geo pulled his bag from Bec's car. "See you in two weeks!"

She grinned and they kissed. Geo climbed in the van. "Too bad, I was kind of looking forward to moving here for a year. Guess that would have been tough to arrange."

Tim gave him a look, tempered by amusement, and Geo grinned. "Some things never change, could always get your goat! Good thing you know when not to take me seriously."

Back at Mimi's, they packed their belongings and went for another walk down to their beach and back. Then they kissed Mimi goodbye, they'd also see her in 2 weeks, climbed in the van and drove to the airport.

They slept all the way home. Tim was mentally and emotionally exhausted and Artie wasn't far behind. They had takeout for dinner and the upstairs residents went to bed shortly after they ate. Dad and Lu turned in a few minutes later.

Awake early the next morning but still exhausted, Tim asked Sarah to walk the kids to school and then checked in with Joel, saying he was going to work from home. His boss, having heard from Bec's boss, who'd heard from Bec, about the adoption court ordeal, told him to take the day off. If they needed him, they'd call but to just relax and recharge.

Nodding at the phone, Tim realized he needed to speak and thanked Joel. Before he went back to bed, he sent a note to Leon thanking him for his help. Then he crashed, Artie never waking.

By Wednesday morning, everyone was back in their routine. Andy and Greg were looking forward to their last days of school before their summer break. Andy had his oral report ready to present that day, he'd written it out first, making sure he had all the best points, with some necessary editing from his parents. Neither Andy nor Greg needed to mention every little thing. Especially those pertaining to their father's employment and the classified bits. Greg's written report, as far as the proceedings themselves, was so close to Andy's that Tim suspected his boys had collaborated. That was very smart of them, in his opinion, using their different perspectives. Each was written in the voice of the individual reporter and with Andy 4 ½ years older than Greg, that was a significant difference. Greg's position as one of the subjects of the adoption review gave his report an entirely different flavor. Tim could feel Greg's fear and anxiety as he read Greg's while Andy's was a little more objective. Not much more as older brother was scared and anxious for both of his younger brothers. But there was still a layer of separation between their accounts.

When Andy's parents received an invitation to join the audience listening to Andy, they had to decline as both had meetings that had been rescheduled from Monday and neither felt they should ask for another postponement. They did ask if Andy's grandparents, aunt and uncle might attend and were pleased with the enthusiastic reply. Andy's teacher also asked for permission to film his talk and they agreed, asking to see it that evening. She responded that she would send the video to them that evening.

Tim spent the morning at the office catching up on work items. He was busy but not so busy that he couldn't spare a moment to wonder how Andy was doing. When he had an IM from James, who worked one floor down from him, that his supervisor said if he worked through lunch and made up the rest of the time later, he could attend Andy's 'do', Tim felt like an idiot. This was his son, what was he doing, putting work ahead of him?

He knocked on Joel's office door and was gestured in. When he told him about Andy's public speaking debut, Joel glared at him. "You'd better be glad you asked and didn't let this slide, don't you ever do that! This sounds like a milestone event, you go, support your son. Work tonight if you want, otherwise catch up tomorrow." He paused, "Any chance it'd be okay if I went too?"

Tim looked at his boss, who smiled, "We don't have kids and I like yours. Besides, it'll make Leon jealous."

Not having a clue how to respond to that, Tim smiled and nodded, "Let me ask his teacher, don't know how many extra people the room can hold."

First he sent a text to Artie that he was going. As he pressed send, a new text popped in, from Artie, saying the same thing. Then he sent an email to Andy's teacher with Joel's request and letting her know both he and Artemis would be there. She replied that they'd decided to hold the talk in the big meeting room, where the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) usually met and she was thrilled that he and Andy's mother would be able to attend.

Tim remembered to send James an IM that he and Artie were going after all and so was Joel; he, James and Joel could ride the Tube together.

After Tim left his office, Joel sent Leon an email request to reschedule their Investigatory Agent Status meeting and telling him why. It was only 0530 in Washington, DC and Joel didn't expect a response for a couple of hours. With the time differences between DC and the European offices, Leon made it a habit to read and respond to their messages first.

When the three attendees left the building that afternoon, Joel nudged Tim, "Had a reply from Leon. He said he's jealous and hopes someone is filming Andy."

Tim smiled, "Someone is, not sure who. His teacher moved the whole thing from the classroom to the meeting room where the PTA usually meets. So…why is everyone so interested in my son's first public speech? I'm not complaining, actually pretty thrilled, but I'm not sure I understand why."

Joel thought before replying, "I can only speak for me. I've heard a lot about your boys and girl, from you, your dad and James. I know you're proud of all of them and Andy's your oldest; to me, all three of the boys are a lot like you. In different ways, of course, but I was shocked when you told me Greg and Kyle were your nephews. Even more than that, they're the sons of your half-brother, your mother passed along some strong genes there! You told me about wanting to adopt Greg and Kyle, I think it was one of the first non-work conversations we had last year. And you told me about the Skype session with the American court. I expected the Greek session to be the same, but from the exhaustion in your voice yesterday when we spoke, I'm guessing it wasn't. From what little you said yesterday and today, the Greek part of it seemed more complex than the American one, although I'm not sure why."

James jumped in, "I can answer that one. Two things, Tim is known to people in the U.S. and he's already the boys' legal guardian. Artie was the wild card there and that wasn't their call; they knew there would be another decision from Greece."

"So the easy part, for Tim, was the U.S. session."

"Yes."

"And Artemis is known in Greece, so you were the wild card in Greece. "

Tim tilted his head, "Yes, I was most definitely the wild card and if it hadn't been for Director Vance and Secretary Porter, I would have also been the show stopper. You won't hear specifically about that today, Andy removed those references, but you'll know when the mess was about to hit the fan. As for Artie, no, she isn't well known in Greece. Professionally, yes, she's known for her innovative, excellent work. However, she hasn't lived or worked in Greece since Andy was a year old. She was born there, she's a citizen but she only lived there for a few months after her birth and then again 3 years later when she, her older brother and her mother came for a visit, staying several weeks and then later that year when her sister was born. She lived with her grandmother for about a year during her pregnancy and after Andy's birth. Call it close to 3 years total, in bits and pieces. She spent her childhood living around the world wherever her father, the Greek diplomat, was sent." He smiled, "I'm not saying anything else, don't want to ruin Andy's show!"

Tim smiled again when he saw Rob boarding the train at one of the transfer points. When they disembarked at Brambury, Rob spotted them, "Hey, this is a nice surprise!"

"Yeah, for me too! Artie's already here, she had her meeting this morning and came home."

Joel remembered something his boss said, "Leon said to tell you that Tony's team is off rotation this morning and he's working with the school to link in."

"Awesome, wow, that's accommodating of the director."

Joel tilted his head, "It's only 0900 there, Tim. The other teams can handle whatever might come in during the few minutes the MCRT is away. And they can catch plenty of bad guys afterward."

The four of them walked to the school and into the designated building, a combination gymnasium, theater, concert and meeting hall. Andy, his class and teacher were already in there, just getting seated. Andy looked up as they walked in and smiled at his father, uncles and Papa's NCIS boss.

Dad, Lu, Sarah, and Geo were already there, with plenty of empty seats for the rest of the family and the quartet headed for them. Tim sat, saving a seat next to him for his wife. She walked in, Kyle and Marissa with her, less than a minute later, Greg and his teacher following them. The teacher spoke softly, "Hope you don't mind if I join you? Our class was dismissed early today and Greg's been antsy all day."

Tim smiled, "We're happy to have you. Tell you the truth, I've been pretty excited too!"

Artie laughed, "Me too, and we were there!"

Greg sat on the aisle so he could see better, while Kyle and Marissa sat on their parents' laps.

When the lights dimmed, Andy's teacher walked onto the stage and a spotlight shined on her. Kyle looked at his mother, his eyes big and with a smile, she made big eyes back at him.

"Good afternoon and welcome! Today, we have the pleasure of hearing an oral report from Jason Andrew McGee, known to all of us as Andy. He and I thought it would be easier if I gave you a little background first. Andy's parents, Timothy and Artemis, who are also with us today, decided to formally adopt Gregory and Kyle, whom Andy considers his brothers but are biologically his cousins.

"Gregory and Kyle's mother died 2 years ago, their father is in a coma and thus unable to care for the boys. When their mother died, the boys were put in the care of their uncle Timothy. He was appointed legal guardian," she told them what that was, "and they quickly became very close, calling him 'Papa'. When Artemis, Andy and Marissa joined the family, all 4 of the children considered Tim and Artemis their parents and each other as siblings. After the family recently had to give up a beloved foster child to a relative of that child's, Tim and Artemis decided now was the right time to formally adopt the boys. They didn't want anyone to be able to take their sons away from them.

"They knew it would be complicated because Timothy is a citizen of the United States and Artemis is a citizen of the Hellenic Republic, the country we call Greece. Last week, they had a Skype interview with a judge in America who said she approved of the adoption. But the decision was really up to the Greek courts. Let me back up a little here. The American court approved of Timothy adopting the boys as their father. However, their petition for adoption named both of them, that's why they had go to both courts.

"The Greek court didn't want a Skype call, they wanted to meet the boys, who are not Greek citizens and their legal guardian, also not a Greek citizen. What Andy will tell us is what happened during their court appearance, in Athens, Greece, this past Monday."

She nodded to Andy, who walked out on stage. Adjusting the stand microphone for him, she walked off the stage, smiling at the McGees as she took her place amongst her students.

"Good afternoon, I'm Andy McGee. Before I start, I'd like those in my family who were in the courtroom on Monday to stand, so everyone knows who you are."

They stood, nodded and sat again. Andy continued, "My great-grandmother, whom we call Mimi, was also with us as well as a friend of my uncle Geordie's. They both live in Greece."

He delivered his talk with a wonderful pace, including the protocols and procedures, building some suspense, talking about having to live and work in Greece for a year, how Papa had agreed immediately, not knowing how they could accomplish that, caring only that it would mean Greg and Kyle would be their sons.

Although the specifics had been removed, Tim allowed Andy to leave in the stranger from the diplomatic corps who helped them with the judge as well as the visit to the judge's chambers and the 30-minute recess. When he related the judge's closing remarks, there was an audible sigh of relief from the audience, including Joel and Greg's teacher, both of whom already knew the outcome.

When he finished, he bowed to his applauding audience and gestured to his siblings to join him. Greg looked at his parents and his teacher, not sure who was in charge of him at the moment. Realizing his predicament, all three nodded and he walked up, holding Marissa and Kyle's hands. They stood with Andy, waving and bowing.

Before they left the building, Andy's teacher sent the video to Tim's phone. When they got home, Tim's phone rang with a call for Andy. It was Uncle Tony and Aunt Maggie who'd watched his live performance and were thrilled and proud of him. They said Granducky, Aunt Abby, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Leon and some of the agents the boys knew from their calls to Patrick, had watched part of the show but had to leave when they were called out or in Uncle Leon's case, had to go to a meeting.

Joel, who'd been invited for celebratory cake and ice cream, was impressed at the deep connections with the Gibbs-McGee family, including his own boss. He was an only child, his wife had a much older brother with whom she was not close, they'd had no children.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After the last day of school on Friday, the family spent the weekend at home, relaxing. The kids helped Artie and Tim in the garden, removing weeds and a few unfortunate green onions from the vegetable garden and the flower borders. Tim and Andy carefully trimmed the shrubs while Kyle, Greg and Rissa helped Grandpa mow, trim and rake the lawn.

Saturday afternoon, they went out on the walking trail, past Butterfly Hill, greeting the people they met along the way. They stopped to watch a flock of sheep being herded by a dog, finally spotting the shepherd in the trees. On Sunday, they went to church together and then Uncle Geo had his debut on the grill as they had lunch on the terrace.

Monday, Tim and Artie had a call from the London social worker Judge Stathos told them about. She introduced herself as Phyllis Petrou, which gave them a little more understanding as to the judge's change of heart about the year in Greece. They thought their social worker might either be Greek, had Greek ancestry or was possibly married to someone of Greek ancestry. They'd had a social worker when Artie brought Hope home from Turkey, but she'd had a different name. They wondered if Ms. Petrou was perhaps her supervisor, thus the reference to having worked with them previously.

Ms. Petrou would visit them on Wednesday for a home study and to interview the children, all of the children. They agreed and disconnected, looking at each other and then around the house. The home study for Hope had happened so quickly, they hadn't had time to do much cleaning or panic. They knew it had happened, but didn't remember much about it.

Now, they spent the rest of Monday and part of Tuesday morning furiously cleaning. Then they stopped for a break and noticed the house no longer looked like any children lived there, no toys, no books, muddy boots, lone shoes or socks, clothes, paintings or drawings were in view, anywhere.

Feeling stressed and as nervous as they had been during the court hearings, they went online to see if there was anything that would help. They found their reaction was typical, one blogger even said if they were nervous, that showed they were good parents, and should try to relax, that social workers want to place children in good homes and have to maintain their professional demeanor no matter how much they approve of the family, house, etc. The McGees felt a little better after reading the positive words.

Realizing they'd gone overboard, some of their favorite drawings and paintings were restored to positions of honor, and the kids, who'd been mostly playing outside during the cleaning frenzy, were allowed to return to their regular lives indoors, without fear of leaving a speck of dirt or leaf somewhere. Lu reassured them that as long as the floors and surfaces were clean and the house tidy, they should be fine.

They double checked all the child safety situations in the house, testing door and window locks, alarms, the baby gates, still in place on the stairs, and the DIY metal and wood apparatus Dad and Tim came up with for the basement steps.

Although the door to the basement had a sturdy lock and a sensor alarm, they both knew clever children could be unstoppable. In their first father-son collaboration, they'd designed a wall that would come down to prevent further entry if anyone stepped onto the first step leading down into the basement without first canceling the sensor. A warning would first sound in Papa's sternest voice, to turn around and leave the basement. There were more sensors to prevent the wall from going any further if there was something under it, based on the safety measures of an automatic garage door. They'd tested it many times, sometimes inadvertently when 'someone' forgot to cancel the sensor, and it always worked.

They restored the playroom to full playroom status and left it that way for the home study. Doing a general tidying up Tuesday night, they would do so again before the appointment on Wednesday.

In the meantime, Sarah declared her suite off limits and Dad and Lu liked the idea. Both suites would be excluded from the home study. The children rarely went in either one and never without permission of the residents. Tim was sure Ms. Petrou would want to interview his parents and sister, but that was fine, they were prepared for that.

Tim snickered when James left for work very early on Wednesday and then Dad and Geo disappeared after breakfast, saying they'd be out all day. Tim suspected Geordie was finally having his tour of Warwick Castle. If so, this would be Dad's 3rd or 4th visit.

Lu decided to bake cookies and the littles asked to help. Andy and Greg were in the backyard, practicing their baseball skills. When the doorbell rang, Artie laughed, saying she bet everyone just froze in their tracks. She and Tim answered together, welcoming their social worker. She asked to see the house first; Sarah had volunteered to show her around and now she was also introduced. Ms. Petrou smiled at the littles, helping Grandma with the cookies. Artie, who was trying not to hover, wondered if she should have been making cookies and then mentally shook her head. She and Tim were both supposed to be working! And they made cookies with the kids, heck, they cooked with the kids.

The social worker spent a little time in the playroom, didn't protest when Sarah told her the suites were rarely entered by the children, and looked at the drawings, some framed, around the house. She noted the lock and sensor on the basement door, and the locks and sensors on all the windows and doors. She might have smiled when she noticed Kyle's train track and did smile at the books on the window seats in Andy and Greg's rooms. Marissa's room had a chalkboard where it looked like someone had been playing school. And every room had photos and pictures. Funny ones, serious ones. She noted the photos of what must be Greg and Kyle's birth parents in their rooms along with a photo of two young boys and a toddler girl. She looked at Sarah in question.

Sarah smiled, "Greg and Kyle's biological father is our brother Patrick. He's been in a coma for most of Kyle's life and Greg's memories of him 'awake' are fading. Tim and I never met adult Patrick, we were told he was dead after a car wreck when I was a toddler, Tim was 9 and Patrick 8. We know now that he was also told we were dead. The boys' middle names honor us.

"Because we never met him as an adult and some things that we know happened with him, it's hard to connect him with a wife and children. Tim decided it might help if the boys knew who Patrick was as a little boy. He and Tim were best friends, only 15 months apart, and they took care of me from the time I was an infant. This photo is the last one of the 3 of us before the car wreck. We found it in his wife's belongings after her death, along with photos of the boys as babies. The boys decorate their rooms how they want; Greg might be rotating photos, they do that with their father's room, Patrick's room, at the hospital."

"I see. How often do they see him?"

"Every week. Before they moved, Tim took them every Sunday and now they have a video chat every Sunday. A one-way chat but still. We have a team of volunteers, friends and family, who visit Patrick every Sunday and hold their phones or tablets up so the boys can visit. They talk to him, telling him what's happening in their lives and they read to him. Tim talks to him and occasionally I do too. I think everyone here has talked with him a few times. We go home, to the States, for 2 weeks at Christmas. They see him in person several times while we're there, take all the photos and drawings down and put up new ones."

The social worker nodded, taking a few notes. "I'm sure I have a medical report on file, but what's the prognosis?"

Sarah swallowed, "He's breathing on his own but there's little to no brain activity, there's been no change since the autumn of 2014."

"Is that date significant?"

"Yes, that's when his wife was killed and NCIS, the agency Tim and our dad work for, became involved. That's when we found out Patrick was alive and had 2 little boys."

"I see. Have the boys lived with your brother since then?"

"Yes."

From Greg's room, they saw the master bedroom and then went down the hall to the library where Sarah swore she saw a smile on the woman's face. She'd found the children's books on the lower shelves and noticed the kid-sized furniture in the room. She asked who lived in the other large bedroom and Sarah said Geordie. The old schoolroom was last, and Ms. Petrou was surprised to find an airy and roomy office on one side and a comfortable looking sitting room, complete with TV on the other.

Sarah smiled, "The right side is Artemis' office, she works from home and likes to have her old drafting equipment as well as working online. Her grandmother, whom we call Mimi, comes to visit from Greece and usually stays a week or two. When she's here, she has the other large bedroom. If Geordie or Rob are also visiting, they stay in here, there are beds tucked away. We sometimes have other guests, family and friends from the States, and they usually stay in the big bedroom, too. Rob has his own flat in the City and doesn't want his own room here and Geordie isn't here full-time, so we put a room together for them."

"It's a great design, multi-purpose and both sides have a window."

"Yes, we're pretty pleased with it. Our landlord was curious and came to look, he was impressed."

"He's local?"

"Yes, they live in London. The property has been in his family for several hundred years, but when their children were grown, he and his wife didn't want the upkeep. The house has been renovated several times over the centuries. The last two renovations were done before our landlord and his wife moved in, I believe that was about 40 years ago and again before they rented it for the first time. It has all the modern conveniences and safety features without destroying the historical features."

From there, they returned to the main floor and to the conservatory where they found the doors open and the children playing on the lawn. Tim, Artie, and Lu were on the terrace, although Tim's green knees divulged he'd been playing with his children. They'd set up a little obstacle course Tim first saw online, originally designed for Kyle and then Marissa to help with their balance and agility. They were both playing on it now and Papa had been playing with them, staying off the equipment but playing around it.

They offered the women cold tea, and both accepted, although Ms. Petrou said she'd drink it in the playroom while she was interviewing the children. She asked to see Greg and Kyle together and with a smile, led them to the playroom, Lu joining them. Not only were the children comfortable with their chosen grandmother, but with her experiences she was at ease with the social worker and the process.

When Tim and Artie heard the door to the playroom open, they wondered what was next. Lu and the children appeared. Lu smiled, "She'd like to talk with you, she's in the dining room. I left a plate of cookies for you."

"Thanks!"

They found Ms. Petrou munching on a cookie. She finished it neatly, wiping her mouth and hands on a napkin. "Excuse me, I don't usually eat during a home study, but apparently I can't resist butterscotch cookies."

They nodded their understanding, having the same problem.

She smiled at them, "As I'm sure you've been told several times, this is a complex case. When I read the entire file, I was impressed with the way you set it up, with the adoption attorneys in both countries. What I've seen today is that the children are fine; they're quite healthy and happy. I can see it in their eyes and the way they interact with each other, the two of you, their grandmother and their aunt. That's genuine good health and happiness, with a big dose of good manners, thank you for that! And you're fine, there's no question in my mind that the two of you will continue to raise Greg and Kyle in the same loving manner you have been.

"Now, here's a surprise for you. My orders from Judge Stathos were to confirm his beliefs. This isn't an ordinary home study where I go away and come back randomly throughout the year to check on the children or give you a list of things I'd like to see changed. In your case, this is the end piece. I've already sent the judge an email, which I also faxed to him, confirming his beliefs. The adoption is approved, with no further contingencies. You should be receiving the adoption certificates in the next few days. The boys are yours, permanently."

Tim opened his mouth to smile and found tears sliding down his face. He and Artie managed happy smiles and thanked Ms. Petrou, who returned their smiles. "Thank you! This is one of the most satisfying home studies I've ever conducted. Now, I'm going to leave, let you get on with your lives. Good luck and if you ever need anything, you have my contact information."

She walked out but didn't leave just yet. She smiled, moving toward her car as she heard cheering from the house, through the open windows. She waved as Greg and Kyle stood at an open window, calling down, "Thank you!" She had no doubt their father was standing behind them, holding on to them.

They celebrated that night. Everyone gathered and there were phone calls and texts and emails as the word spread to the boys' family and friends. Perhaps best of all, on Thursday they received two faxed adoption certificates, signed by Judge Stathos with yesterday's date and stamped 'final' with a note that the originals were in the mail to them. Greg giggled, "I hope they get here before we leave for Greece!"


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It amuses me that so many of you have speculated and/or asked for...well, you'll see. Enjoy!

 

Chapter 42

With the adoptions accomplished, everyone settled in to enjoy the British summer and the family moved outside on sunny days, frequently starting their days with coffee, tea and breakfast on the terrace, having dinner and later ending the day with a last beverage there. The kids spent most of their days outside the gate, on and around the walking and hiking trails, always with an adult, taking their lunches and exploring.

Tim found that if he started work early, he could be home in time to meet them for their last couple of hours. A few times, he reversed that, set out with them early and then went into work later. Geordie was almost always with them, the easy walking with the gentle slopes gradually replacing some of his physical therapy. His physical therapist said he couldn't compete with trees, wildflowers, sheep and young children. Dad and Lu were also regulars, never tiring of the English countryside or the imaginations of their grandchildren. When Sarah could spare time from her newest manuscript, she also joined them. She said that listening to the kids, watching them on the hills and in the trees inspired her muses.

By Tuesday of the following week, they were getting excited about their return to Greece. Tim and his dad laughed at themselves, remembering their excitement over their 'once in a lifetime' vacation in the Grecian villa. They were right about the villa, wrong about Greece. Including the villa vacation, this would be their 4th trip there in a year!

The rooms were ready, cleaning for the 'home study' had certainly helped with that and the playroom had once again been revamped to a guest room. They'd changed housing plans a bit. The Palmers, Ducky, Tony, Maggie, Ellie, Barry and Bill would stay at the house. Tim and Artie thought it would be easier for the Palmers and Ducky to stay with them, where there were other children and they wouldn't have to deal with a strange house by themselves on their first trip out of the country. Breena agreed, so the 4 of them would have the guestroom/playroom. Ellie would sleep in Tim's office on the pull-out couch, Tony and Maggie would stay in the large bedroom upstairs, Barry and Bill would share Geo's room with him, and Ducky would stay in Sarah's extra bedroom.

As Rob was working until the evening before they left, he'd stay at his flat until then, although he'd come for dinner the day they arrived. He told Tim that Ellie might stay with him on their return and Tim nodded, trying not to look overly happy. "That's fine, Rob, great!"

Susannah and Ian were already in Athens, giving themselves a few extra days in Varkiza with Mimi before the three of them joined the group on Aegina. Susannah told her sister their mother was living in an apartment in Athens, surprising neither of them, and had been working with Mimi to regain her trust. Mimi told the girls that they should wait for their mother to work things out with her before allowing Sophia back into their lives. Artemis adored Mimi but was growing concerned by what seemed like her fanaticism toward her daughter and son-in-law. Tim had first raised the subject, also concerned after Mimi's comment to him about Kosmos and speaking with his boss.

Arrival day for the American group dawned and Tim tracked their flight online. The Porters flew to DC, were collected by Tobias and delivered to Ducky's to spend the night before their flight to Athens. With 16 of them flying together, they enjoyed the group discount. The length of the flight hadn't changed, it just seemed longer. The Porters said they should have just stayed in Europe instead of flying home after their trip to Portugal. They promised themselves they'd do that next year, before the family moved home. They'd fly over after school was out, hope to join the McGees for their June vacation and then wander through Europe, seeing the McGees when it was convenient for the family and flying home with them when they moved. That gave them a year to save and plan what they wanted to experience for nearly 2 months, with lodging, transportation and food to consider.

They were so excited by their new plan, they spent most of the 7 ½ hours of their flight working on it. Young David Palmer had a picture book depicting Europe and when he fell asleep, they borrowed it, tracing the maps into Larry's journal notebook. He always carried a fresh notebook on their travels, keeping an almost daily journal. They made sure to pencil in the names of the countries and cities, anything that was on David's map. When they gave the book back to Jimmy, he asked what they were doing, laughing when Cyndi said they were planning their next trip.

Back in their seats, they wrote a first draft of what they wanted to see and do, a list that would change every time they looked at it, probably up until it was time to make their reservations.

The group slept, walked, read, ate, walked, talked, visited with the others, walked, played with the children, Victoria and David, staying on their feet as much as possible.

Once they landed and went through Customs, everyone helping the Palmers, they rented luggage carts and headed for the train, Tony and the Porters leading the way. When they sat, Ducky patted Breena's hand, "Now you can relax for a few minutes. Tony has sent a text that we're on the train, Big Blue will be waiting for us."

That was a little confusing to Breena, but she was tired, frazzled and not a big fan of airports, especially with 2 little kids and all their paraphernalia. Cyndi Porter leaned over, "That's their van, it's huge." Breena smiled, "Thanks!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

At the house, Tim cheered when he had the text from Tony. "Yay, they're here and they're on the train. He says Breena is exhausted."

Artie nodded, "All right, let's hope the kids remember us from all our Skye calls. We get them here, Jimmy eats, Breena too if she's hungry, then they rest while we take the kids. Or the kids nap too, they'll probably need to burn off some energy first. They can play in the garden with our kids."

Dad drove the van, Tim riding shotgun. They grinned as their group got off the train, hurrying to help with the luggage. Ducky and the Palmers got into the van first, Jimmy and Breena's eyes wide at the size of it. Ducky laughed, "I've only seen photos! It is huge, isn't it?"

David nodded, "It's like a school bus, Granducky!"

"It feels that big, doesn't it, Davey lad?"

Once the luggage was all in, the others got in. The Fornell group and the Porters were coming to the house to say hello to everyone before they went to their Airbnb lodging, less than a mile from the Manor. Although Tobias and Ducky originally planned to share lodgings here, after the change to the housing plan Tobias asked the Porters if they'd like to share. That suited Larry and Cyndi. Emily and her friend Pauley were teens and the professors were used to young college students, close enough.

Breena smiled happily when the van pulled into a driveway less than 5 minutes later. Tim and Dad looked at each other, smiling and waiting for… "Are you kidding me?" That was Ellie and Breena with Maggie, Bill, Barry and most of the Fornell group echoing them. They were right behind Ellie and Breena, all of them with mouths wide open. Tony, Tobias, the Porters and Ducky were laughing along with their hosts.

Tim and Dad started hauling the luggage while Ducky told the history of the house. Lu, Artie, Sarah, and all 4 kids came out to help. The littles took purses and jackets, while Andy and Greg took the lighter roll-alongs and everyone else just grabbed the luggage of those who were staying at the Manor.

Once everyone was in, there were several minutes of introductions and hugs, followed by more congratulations for Greg and Kyle. While all that was going on, Dad, Tim, Larry, Tony, Maggie, and Andy were hauling luggage. They moved the Palmers' bags to the downstairs guestroom/playroom, Ducky's into Sarah's extra bedroom. The upstairs stuff was just starting to be moved when Bill, Ellie, and Barry appeared, "Hey, thanks! We can take our stuff."

Bill looked around, "I've got another hand, anything else?"

He heard a little giggle and then a small hand took his free hand and he looked down, smiling at Kyle. "Hey, Train Man, how are you?" He squatted down to give the boy a hug and kiss. "It's sure good to see you!" Kyle nodded, "Me, too, Uncle Bill!" and then gestured at Davey, who was with him. "This is my cousin Davey. Did you meet him on the plane?"

"I sure did! Kyle, I bet his mom and dad want him to stay down here with them."

"Ok, I'll stay too. He can see my train later."

"Attaboy!"

Once all the luggage was delivered, Artie and Tim gave a tour of the house. As Ducky was staying in Sarah's suite, the others peeked in, marveling at the size. Then they went upstairs, Tony and the Porters approving of the changes to the old schoolroom since they were here in May and June. Bill and Barry loved the room, knowing they'd be comfortable. Geo was downstairs, he'd already been up and downstairs a few times that morning and didn't want to overdo it. He hoped the guys would want to take a walk outside the back gate, they weren't going to believe this place!

Jimmy's jaw was still dropping at nearly every room. They all smiled at Kyle's train and Andy and Greg's reading nooks. Marissa preened as she showed her room with her little school set up. They peeked into Tim and Artie's room, Artie saying it was still clean from their frenzied cleaning for the home study.

Back downstairs, they were ushered to the dining room where they found sliced meat, cheeses, breads, crackers, and a big pot of homemade chicken and white bean soup. Tim handed Jimmy a list with the nutrition information for the soup and the other items they had on hand for him.

Jimmy took a quick look, pointing to one item. Tim nodded, returning with a glass of fat free milk.

Everyone loved the soup, some having sandwiches or cheese and crackers with it. Jimmy had a little extra of the soup and then smiled, "Feels so good to be full. They gave me a diabetic meal on the plane but something about sitting for 7 ½ hours has made me really hungry now."

They all nodded at that. Sarah grinned, "Welcome to jet lag. We usually end up eating something every two or three hours for the first couple of days. The need for sleep lasts longer, unfortunately."

Tony snorted, "And when it hits you, BAM, you want to drop where you are. I almost face planted in the middle of an intersection in London."

The children giggled, and Andy said, "Papa was there, and we caught him, got him to the train but it was close!"

Tobias nodded, "I remember that last summer. Here we were in this glorious place and all I wanted to do was sleep."

Ducky tutted, "That's why we're here for 2 weeks, not one."

After they thought they'd had enough to eat for a few hours, the group was taken on a walk. The newcomers exclaimed at the huge yard and Cyndi asked who would tend the vegetables while they were gone.

Tim replied, "Our landlord. He has a key, of course and the security code. We always let them know if all of us are gone for more than a couple of nights. They'll pick anything that's ripe and water if it doesn't rain."

They followed Gibbs out the back gate, Tim locking it behind them. "Security still tight?" That was Tobias and Tim nodded. "Yes, still have a protection detail wherever we go. Stockholm, Lisbon, even the little village in Portugal, Nice, and Athens two weeks ago."

He looked around before turning to Breena and Jimmy and speaking softly, "When we're out here with the kids and there's no one around, we let them get a little ahead of us. Andy and Greg keep close eyes on Kyle and Rissa and they stay in sight of whoever is with them."

"Not Victoria, she's too little. But that's all right for Davey, if he wants. He's a little shy with new people."

Tim smiled, "I understand, Andy and Greg are the same way. I'm guessing since they're related through my mother, the shy gene came from her."

"Maybe, have you looked for your bio dad?"

"No, I'm very happy with the dad I have."

Breena smiled, "That's so great, Tim. And he's so mellow, it's difficult to remember what a hard ass he was."

"I know; it's fun to tease him sometimes. Or he'll get emotional about something and then say he's lost his mojo."

"But found his heart."

"Oh yeah. It's like he's almost complete now that Lu's here."

"Almost?"

"He's like me, not happy unless he has his entire family around him."

"Aw, that's sweet. Do you think Lu will stay until you move home?"

"Hope so!" He looked up as Greg appeared beside him. "Daddy?"

"Yes, son, but Victoria's too little to go with you and Davey might not want to go and that's all right. We'll be right behind you, you know the rules."

"Thanks!"

He ran to his siblings to tell them. Davey stopped, looking at his parents, who smiled. He shook his head and Greg brought him back, "He's not ready yet. Maybe when we come back from Greece."

Davey nodded and then watched as Greg ran back to his siblings and they ran a little way. Jimmy noticed that Tim and Artie worked their way to the front of the group, where they could better see their kids. At a blind curve, Tim whistled, and the kids stopped, waiting for them to catch up. They were laughing because Papa's whistle confused the sheep and the dog who minded them was working to bring back order. Tim felt bad and looked for the shepherd, but didn't see him.

They took it easy over the next few days, sleeping, eating and seeing what they could. When Davey Palmer got over his shyness with the McGee children, he and his sister stayed in Brambury and played while their parents went sightseeing in London. Jimmy and Breena were thrilled and excited, they'd never thought they'd be able to swing the costs of traveling to Europe at this stage of their lives. However, Donald Mallard was a very persuasive man and they really did want to see more of the world. It seemed almost a crime, really, not to make the effort to visit Tim and his family while they were in England. Tony and Ducky's photos of the previous summer and Abby and Tony's of their stays in the spring finally convinced them. They wanted to be in those photos, having fun and seeing more of the world.

Rob joined them for dinner their first night and again the night before their flight to Athens, staying over. A caravan of Uber minibuses arrived to take them to the airport the next morning, picking up the Porters and the Fornell group on the way. As a group, they'd voted on the Uber rides to the airport, much easier with 6 children and all the luggage.

The flight to Athens seemed short after the transatlantic flight, and they were all smiles as they entered the terminal, Dad leading the way to passport control/Customs for residents of non-EU countries. Ducky, Artie and James waved to them as they headed for passport control for EU residents.

When they reconvened at Baggage Claim, they hauled their luggage to another set of Uber minibuses waiting to take them to the ferry. Once at the dock, the McGee children cheered and their adults grinned when they spotted Mimi, Susannah and Ian waiting for them. After greeting and introducing them to the others, they moved the luggage onto the ferry, with help from the deckhands. Evander, the rental agent, had made the transportation arrangements here and on the island, where the largest shuttle on the island, from one of the hotels, would deliver the group and their luggage to their rentals.

Before they dispersed to their vacation homes, the group made plans to meet in an hour for a walk on the beach. For the next 10 days, there were a lot of walks on the beach, swimming in the warm water, ferry rides to the mainland for sightseeing, communal lunch and dinners on the beach, with a couple of special events and a few surprises.

The first surprise was the arrival of James' parents, George and Edith Powell. After Sarah sent them a photo of the beach with most of the group in the water that first day, they arranged for time off their jobs, found a hotel room close to where their kids were staying and booked a flight. They arrived two days after the others. After checking into their hotel room, they changed into their bathing suits, slathered on the sunscreen and took the hotel shuttle into town where they were directed to the path to the beach.

Sarah had escorted Marissa to the hidden restroom right off that path and as she and her niece opened the door to leave, they nearly walked into the Powells. Marissa giggled, saying "Excuse me!" while Sarah blinked several times, "Edith, George? Am I seeing things?"

They laughed, this was fun! "Not if you're seeing us, Sarah. Surprise!"

With a happy cry, Sarah grabbed both in a hug, a damp hug as her bathing suit was wet under her cover up. "Wow, this is great! Wait until James sees you! We've been saying we wished you could have come and here you are!"

She pulled back, "You're staying on the island, right? Or are you staying in Athens or…?

"No, we're here on the island, we remembered the rental houses were pretty full so we got a hotel room."

"Wonderful! Oh, this is going to be fun!" She turned to her niece, "Rissa, this is Mr. and Mrs. Powell, James' papa and mama."

Rissa smiled and held out her hand, "Hello, I'm Rissa McGee."

"Hello, Rissa, it's very nice to meet you." They each shook hands with the little girl.

Sarah smiled at her, "This is a surprise for James so don't tell anyone, all right?"

"Not even my mama and papa?"

"No. I hope James will see them as soon as we walk onto the beach, so we won't have to keep the secret for long."

"Good!"

The four of them walked through the archway of scraggly bushes framing the path's entrance to the beach, James' parents following their future daughter-in-law and her little niece. They felt a little silly but once they saw that photo, they'd regretted passing up the opportunity to get to know Sarah's family on an island in Greece. They'd wanted to save time off for a Christmas holiday, hoping to go to the States with Sarah, their son and his future in-laws. Then they saw the photo, threw aside all caution and here they were.

When they were fully on the beach, they followed Sarah's gaze, off to the right where they saw a mass of beach umbrellas and what looked like dozens of people. Sarah looked at them and laughed, "There's not as many people as it seems! Only 31."

She grinned as James, who'd been playing with Greg and Andy in the water, turned his head toward her. He smiled and then his mouth dropped open. The boys followed his look and then looked back at him. Greg said to Andy, "The man looks like him."

His brother nodded, "He's not saying anything, must be really surprised."

Realizing this meant the adult with them would be leaving the water, they turned to go, they'd find another adult or play closer to shore with Kyle. They paddled through the water until they reached their brother as James pushed through the water toward the shore and then ran down the beach, shouting, "Dad, Mum! You're here! I can't believe it, you're here!"

Hearing the shouts, Tim and Dad looked up, both laying in the water, only their t-shirt covered shoulders and hat covered heads showing. It was hot! They looked at each other, grinning and Tim said, "Looks like the senior Powells are joining the family!"

He sat up and Dad followed, huffing, "Good! They're here, we're here, let's hope there's an announcement!" He clapped Tim on the back, "C'mon Timpa, let's go meet our new in-laws."

The first special event came that evening as they sat on the beach enjoying the last of their dinner and lingering daylight. Victoria, Davey and Marissa were curled up on parents' and grandparents' laps, dozing. Kyle was still awake, although fighting yawns.

Sarah and James stood and asked for everyone's attention. The littlest littles continued to sleep, while Kyle fought harder to stay awake and the adults smiled at each other, having an idea what was coming.

The pair looked at each other and then at their parents, "We're engaged! We're getting married!"

The happy couple was congratulated and then toasted by their family and friends, with whatever there was left to drink.

Another surprise crept up on them. At first no one paid too much attention. Everyone was settling in, Artie's Greek family getting to know Tim's American family and friends. Artie noticed something at their first group lunch on the beach but didn't think anything of it, except that it was nice that her yaya was getting acquainted with someone new. On the beach the next day, Tim noticed his friend was frequently by the side of his yaya and that was good, Ducky was a good soul with a lot of interests; he was happy the two were getting acquainted.

When her yaya told them that night that she was having breakfast in town with Donald the next morning, Artie knew there was something special happening and Tim agreed. Although they talked about it, neither said anything to anyone else until Greg mentioned it. His parents nodded, saying it was nice that Granducky and Mimi were becoming friends. The kids took it in stride. In the meantime, Breena and Jimmy had also noticed, and Ducky also mentioned his breakfast with Mimi to them. It took a few days but gradually their respective families saw the growing friendship and were happy for them. They were vacationing on a Greek island, who knew if anything would happen beyond that?

The next special event happened two days after Sarah and James' announcement, at lunch on the beach. Laughing, Ian and Susannah stood and announced their engagement. After congratulating them and drinking a toast, the couple motioned to Sarah and James, who stood with them. Ian and James grinned at each other as their fiancées explained they didn't have their wedding dates selected yet but would work together so their weddings wouldn't overlap.

Bec was there that day, one of several she and Geordie spent together, either on the island or at her place, and smiled when he invited her to both weddings. "Do you even know where they'll be?"

"Pretty sure Susannah's will be in Athens or Varkiza and Sarah's will be in Brambury."

"Then I hope Sarah's is in the spring, in your back garden! It'll be beautiful, so lush and green. And yes, sweetie, I'd love to go with you!"

Once again, the family celebrated Jethro and Ducky's birthdays on the island, 3 days before they had to leave. Tobias, Mimi and Tony made dinner while Tim and Artie made a large sheet cake. Tim remembered the bakery where they'd bought the cupcakes the year before and while he was buying mezethes, purchased some of the fun cake toppers they had.

After dinner on the designated birthday night, gifts were handed out. Most were fun things, cards or treasures from the island or Athens. Ducky opened his gifts first, loving the seashell photo frames his grandchildren made for him, their names and ages written on the back of the frames. Jimmy took vacation photos into town and had them printed for the frames.

When it was Dad's turn, he laughed at the funny things his family and friends found for him. When Sarah handed him a small flat box, very nicely wrapped with a bow on top, he couldn't figure out what it was. Once the wrapping was off, he saw the name and grinned. His kids had given him a DNA kit! They'd been talking about this off and on for nearly 2 years now, since before he'd adopted them and he'd encouraged the siblings to explore their ancestral makeup. When they'd asked him about his, he'd shrugged, "English, Irish, and Scots, maybe some German, what's to know?"

Now, he chuckled as he looked at each of them, "I'll do this if you do!" They nodded, the siblings already had their kits. They'd given Tony his before they left for Greece.

Tony thought it would be fun to do them all at once and his siblings agreed. He was sure it would be interesting to see what came up, especially with his Italian family coming from Sicily, where many Greeks settled around the 8th century. While there was still a small Greek community there, called 'Griko', most of the emigrants had eventually assimilated into the existing culture.

The second surprise came the next day, their second to last full day. Tim, Andy and Dad had been out sailing, Dad teaching the two how to sail. After several wonderful hours swooshing through the waves, they returned to the marina, Dad taking the wheel from Tim. As he maneuvered the sleek little boat into a berth, they heard the ferry, and looked up as the big boat pulled into its own slip. Although there was a large expanse of dock between them, it felt like the ferry was looming over them. Tim and Jethro both looked up as a familiar voice called, "Ahoy there, Gibbses!"

Andy grinned, "Uncle Leon!"

Indeed, it was Leon Vance, with a friend. When they met the Gibbses on the dock, Vance was chuckling, "Good to see you out on the water, McGee. We watched you bring the boat around, nicely done!" He smiled at Andy, "Was it fun?"

"Yes sir! I've never been sailing on the ocean before. A lake in Chile but no oceans. That was fun!"

Gibbs grinned happily, "Got 2 sailors now! This is a surprise, Leon, didn't know you'd be on this side of the world."

Vance nodded, "A last minute decision. Like you all to meet Dani Vasko. Dani, this is Jethro Gibbs, his son Timothy McGee and grandson Andy McGee. Jethro and Tim both work at NCIS."

They smiled, shaking hands. Vance continued, "Needed a break and the kids wanted to come here. Congress is recessed so I decided I could run the agency from this office as well as from DC, and here we are."

Jethro nodded, "Glad to see you taking a break! Although the way I understand it, the Athens office is…" he pointed, "that away."

Leon chuckled, "Eh, they have great cell service over here. And Dani needed a break, too."

Tim's phone chimed, and he looked, "Forgot, my turn to cook dinner, crowd's getting restless."

"Crowd? How many people do you have with you this year? I heard the stories about the villa for 9 of you last year."

Tim started laughing, "31, Leon. We started out with 31 this year and then James' parents showed up, so 33."

Leon laughed with him, "Piece of cake for you guys, didn't we have that many at Christmas last year?"

Jethro shook his head, "Nope, 32. Know that because we have 32 place settings of the family china."

Andy added, "Papa's cooking on the beach and we eat there too."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!"

"It is, want to join us?"

"We have reservations, thanks anyway. Maybe we could stop by afterward, say hello?"

"Sure, we'll be there until dusk."

That was how Mimi, Susannah, Ian, and the senior Powells came to meet Tim, James, Ellie, Bec, Tony, and Maggie's boss.

Saying goodbye to Mimi was difficult, especially as Susannah and Ian were flying home with them, they'd take a connecting flight from London to Edinburgh. Mimi's family felt better when she promised to join them in Brambury for the January Christmas. Ian's parents would also be with them.

On the flight home, George and Edith said they'd like to join them for Christmas in the States. That was a huge relief to Sarah, she'd have one more Christmas at home with her family before her wedding.

They missed their friends and family when they left for home a few days later. However, they knew they'd see them all in a few months and the Porters were again joining them for Christmas.

With beautiful weather in Brambury, the family spent the remainder of the summer enjoying their surroundings. One of the last weekends of the summer, the McGees, Dad, and Lu took the train to Edinburgh, a big treat, having lunch with Ian's parents and a lot of fun in one of their favorite cities.

After that trip, they started getting ready for school. With Kyle now registered for his first year of school, called Reception, all 3 boys would need uniforms. Kyle wasn't sure he wanted to wear a uniform but then he remembered Greg and Andy wore them too. Then it was all right.

When school started, they took pictures the first morning as they had last year. Then Papa walked Kyle to his new class while Greg and Andy joined their friends in their new year. Marissa went back to her adventures at nursery school, a little sad that Kyle wouldn't be with her. That week the McGees celebrated their first year together as a family.

Tim's classes started a couple of weeks later and his father took more photos of him in his academic finery. He'd enjoyed his summer, he'd worked for Joel and enjoyed that and now he was glad to see his students again. It was strange to think that this would be his last year at Bedford, time seemed to be moving faster than ever.

In October, they celebrated Marissa's 3rd birthday. Susannah and Ian came down to help celebrate and Mimi arrived to spend several weeks. The little girl had a wonderful time at school, home with her family and at a party with her special friends.

In the meantime, Tim, his siblings and their father were still waiting for DNA results. Because he was in the U.S., they'd thought Tony's might come in first, although he'd sent his in the same week the rest of them had. But there was nothing yet.

It took nearly 9 weeks but finally the results showed up, all in the same day, in everyone's email accounts. Tim spotted his notice while he was grading exams at home in his office and gave himself a break to look, sending texts to Dad, Sarah, Geordie and Rob. It was too early to text Tony; he'd wait a few hours.

Rob replied he was at work, would look at break or later, while Sarah reminded him she was in town with Artie, Lu and Mimi, shopping. When Dad didn't reply, Tim figured he was in his workshop and he knew Geordie was at a doctor's appointment. He had a few more treatments left, he'd finish in December and then would have 2 evaluations, one here with his British doctors, the second at Bethesda with the doctors he'd originally seen.

Tim opened his results and grinned. He was Scottish, Irish, English, German, French, Iberian and Eastern European. That was interesting! He blinked in confusion when the site immediately started sending him matches and showing him that he had an increasing number of hints, which he thought were probably historical documents, things like birth and death certificates. He smiled as he saw a 'close family' match with Sarah and was surprised when he also saw 'close family' matches for David, Greg and Kyle Hart. The matches made sense, his surprise was that there was a Hart family tree. He supposed Kathy had been building it before everything fell apart. He made a mental note to tell Greg about the Hart Tree, no doubt his son would want to take a look.

Sarah and Patrick/David were his half siblings, Greg and Kyle were his nephews or half…no, he wasn't going to split hairs, especially as they were now his and Artie's sons. There were more matches, he saw a grandparent match for a Maisie Stirling Hubbard and 'close family' matches for a James, Ainsley and Callum Hubbard. There was also a link to a Hubbard family tree. Tim clicked off and resolutely went back to grading his students' exams, overwhelmed by the matches and family trees.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs finished fastening the wheels on a toy truck and put it aside for painting. Stretching, he decided that was enough for today. The truck 'fleet' was done except for the painting and he'd already finished most of the other toys. Best of all, he'd finished the Christmas things he'd made for the boys, Rissa and his grown kids. This morning he'd put the finishing touches on Tim's birthday present, coming up next week.

He did a cursory wash in the big sink in the basement before walking up the stairs to his room, intending to take a shower. He shook his head when he noticed his phone, still on his nightstand and laughed when he saw a text from Tim, who he knew to be working upstairs. This house needed an intercom!

Figuring he would need help with the website and his results, he replied to Tim, asking if he could take a break from grading papers and if so, he'd be up in 7 minutes.

Tim smiled when he saw Dad's reply. He had three more exams to grade, but he could do those later. A quiet house, no kids or interruptions, yeah, now was good. He logged back onto his laptop and opened his office door as Dad raised his hand to knock.

He pulled a chair next to his, "There you go." Then he laughed as Dad put a thermos on a corner of his desk. "7 minutes, enough time for a fresh pot of coffee."

"That's right, Elf Lord. Figured we might need liquid sustenance."

Tim reached into a drawer, pulling out two mugs, souvenirs of their travels. "Stashed these up here after I washed them, figured I'd need them sooner or later."

Coffee poured, he logged into Dad's email, found the notice, opened it and clicked on the link. Tim moved the laptop closer to Dad, who put his reading glasses on and leaning forward, peered at the screen. "Knew about the Scots, Irish, English and German. Did not know about the French, Iberian and Eastern European, wow!"

Tim sat very still in his chair, hearing his adoptive father list the same ethnicities as his. He'd been amused at the Scots, Irish, English and then the German. When Dad recited the rest of them, he froze. He could see them having one or two of them in common but all those? And Eastern European? Firmly telling himself it was normal to have common backgrounds with a percentage of the world's population, certainly in something as fundamental as DNA, he finally looked at the screen. Dad had gone ahead a page, he was looking at maps and the specific percentages. As Tim looked up, Dad clicked back on the page with his list of origins and sat back with a smile.

"I thought you kids were crazy for spending the money, but this is really interesting. Had no idea! Iberia's a peninsula with Andorra, Portugal and Spain, different countries and cultures, wonder why they don't specify? The Basque are on the peninsula, too. Any or all of them are pretty cool."

Tim nodded mutely, and his father smiled, "There was an explanation below the map about the Eastern European bit, guessing there's something for each designation. I'll read them later. Let's look at yours."

"Eh, I already looked." Oops, wrong answer. Gibbs might not be Boss anymore, but he knew his former agent and adopted son very well.

"What's wrong?" Yep, he'd used the wrong tone and words, he was out of practice in deflecting.

"When you have your DNA tested and access your records, it searches for matches and then displays them. Remember we talked about whether to just see the matches or to be able to contact matched people, have them see us?"

"Yes, I do, and we decided we want to see matches but not have any contact, you said that's changeable, nor can they see our names, just that there's a match. Oh. Timson, did you get a match from a relative – someone you don't want to contact?"

Tim nodded, and Dad continued, "Let's look at it together, maybe it won't be so stressful. Not like they're going to bite!" Tim nodded again and brought up his page. It listed his results and Gibbs looked at it, frowning. "Timothy, that's the same as mine. Not the percentages but the ethnicities. But no Greek, sorry kiddo."

Shrugging, Tim clicked on the button to view the McGee family tree. When it opened, he saw more hints and matches. Selecting the matches, he again saw the _James and Claire Hubbard Family Tree,_ and now there was one for _The Brill Family Tree,_ which surprised him. Brill was Rob's original surname, but Rob had used McGee since Tim became his legal guardian, had even legally changed it. Must be some relatives of his who were alive and coherent. It certainly wouldn't be Ellen! Dad saw it and frowned, "Isn't that Rob's birth name?"

"Yes, he's on our tree as adopted, guess it automatically attached members of his birth family. Kind of weird, huh?"

"Yeah. The Hubbard Tree - is that the match that's bothering you?"

Tim nodded and then noisily sucked in his breath when another match appeared, this one for _The Jackson and Anne Gibbs Family Tree._ Dad frowned before saying, "Why is there a family tree for my parents? I didn't put it in there! Maybe my dad did it. Why is it popping up under your name? Oh, because of the adoptions. Sure, Geo and Rob are on yours and mine and you and Sarah are also on mine. That must be why there's a leaf."

It took two tries before Tim could get words out. "You're right, your dad must have built it. The only way we're going to know more is to click on the leaf." He shivered, and Dad put an arm around his shoulders. "Ok, kiddo, let's just do this. Better to know, right?"

With a weak nod, Tim pressed Enter and they watched as the match was revealed. Jackson and Anne Baxter Gibbs were listed as 2 degrees distant, each a grandparent of Timothy McGee, while Leroy Jethro Gibbs was listed as 1 degree distant, his father. This wasn't anything about adoption; Sarah, Rob and Geordie weren't showing with the same information. Tim sat there staring at it, finally turning to his dad, who was really his dad!

Gibbs' mouth opened and closed before he turned to his son, his flesh and blood son!

"Tim, I…this is awesome! We really are father and son!" He grabbed Tim, pulling him closer and Tim went willingly. Several minutes later, when happy tears had slowed a bit, his father sat back and looked at him. "This sounds trashy, but I'd like to know who your mother was."

Tim nodded, suppressing an almost hysterical laugh. "Her name is Lily and I'm guessing her maiden name is Hubbard."

Dad frowned, "You were born in November of…'77, right? I was in Advanced Training that year, from January through May, in San Diego. Shannon and I weren't together, she was a senior in high school and, well, we weren't together, and I was told we never would be. I dated a girl named Tori, I think her last name was Howard. We were intimate, but I called her after I got back from a deployment in August and she never said she was pregnant. And she wasn't called Lily either."

Tim nodded, "Maybe Lily was her middle name. Let's look at Sarah's information."

Moving over to the McGee family tree, Tim clicked on Sarah's name and saw her parents. Her mother was listed as 'Lily Victoria Hubbard McGee' and the date of her death corresponded with what vague memories Tim retained of Puerto Rico. At least he knew his mother died before he turned 3, when they moved to Japan. He looked at the name, still no Tori. Frustrated, he opened a search bar, asking for the origins of the name Tori. Beside him, Dad nodded, good question.

They read the results; apparently Tory was a Japanese female name, but Tim didn't have any Asian DNA and Dad said the Tori he'd dated was a natural blonde with green eyes. At the very bottom of the search result they'd been reading was a note that said Tory was also a nickname derived from the name Victoria.

Triumphant, father and son exchanged high fives and hugs. Then Dad frowned, "She lied to me. She was pregnant with you when we spoke."

Tim tilted his head, "The story I remember being told was that Lily and Dan met at a 4th of July party and married within a month but I don't think the year was mentioned. Or I've forgotten if it was. I know I was premature, I was due in January of '78. So, she would have been about 3 ½ to 4 months pregnant when you called. It's possible she didn't know."

"Or she'd met and married McGee and wanted him to be your father."

"Or that. Was she gung-ho Navy and not so much Marine?"

"Yes, although it was more like she'd never thought about the Corps. She was a romantic and dreamed of meeting her officer and being whisked off her feet."

Tim shook his head, "Sounds like she found the right guy for that, not that it did either of them much good." He smiled, "I'm thankful she met you first! Thanks, Daddy!"

The two hugged some more, eventually going back to the Gibbs tree to look. Dad pointed out his grandparents, Tim's great-grandparents, and talked about them. Dad's Gibbs grandfather was a character, a railroad man, miner, and farmer who made more profit from his still than his farm animals, crops, railroad salary or wages from the mines.

His uncle, Tim's two times great uncle, willed the farm to him along with enough money to keep him afloat his first couple of years. When great-grandpa Gibbs died, his widow, Tim's Irish great-grandmother, sold the place, made a lot of money, the still and corresponding business continuing to operate profitably and retired to Bloomberg to live comfortably for the rest of her days. She gave her only child Jackson half of the profit from the farm and that was how Jack had been financially able to purchase his share of the store, including the building.

Tim's paternal grandmother Anne had a Scottish mother and an English father; there was a family tree with their descendants. Tim smiled when he thought about being added to that.

The two men poked around a little more, looking at Sarah and Patrick's paternal side. There was a grandmother named Penelope along with her deceased husband and two sons. She was the only one who showed with DNA. Tim knew his stepfather died before DNA was collected and the dates the husband and second son had died were also before DNA collections. Tim felt guilty when he looked at the sad tree, "She doesn't know she still has a family. Sarah, Patrick, Greg and Kyle. All of us, I guess. Me, you, Lu, Andy, Marissa, Artie, Rob and Geordie. Rob, Geo and I are Sarah and Pat's siblings, that's gotta count, right?"

Dad agreed before they moved on. They looked for matches to a Perry or Reed family tree, Geordie's parents' surnames but there wasn't anything. Gibbs hoped Geordie would someday have his own family for a tree, sooner rather than later, he was already in his 40's.

Deciding to keep their big news quiet until dinner when the family, except Rob, would be there, the newly discovered biological father and son went on with their afternoons. Tim graded those last 3 exams with a huge grin on his face and Gibbs whistled his way through his shower.

Sarah, Lu, Mimi, and Artemis reached home to find the two men in silly moods. Everyone but Mimi had experienced that with Tim before but never with Gibbs and weren't sure what to do. They were relieved when the two left to retrieve Marissa and the boys.

Sarah looked at her results, which shocked her. She expected the English, Scots, Irish and wasn't terribly surprised to find Welsh. However, she did not expect to see that she and presumably Patrick and possibly Tim were also sub-Saharan African and Southern European. She grinned, that was interesting! She'd always thought they were mostly from Ireland and the British Isles and that was that. To know she had an African ancestor was exciting and presented more mystery than she'd expected. The Southern European ethnicity, according to what she found, could be either Italian or Greek. She smiled, sure that in their case it was Italian.

After she'd read everything on the site about her ethnicities, she took a look at their family tree, finding new links. When she followed the link to Jackson Gibbs' tree, she was so excited she started yelling, luckily the kids weren't home yet, and Artie and Lu came running. Instead of telling them why she was yelling, Sarah came to her senses long enough to realize this was news that Artemis should hear from Tim, not his sister and Lu from Dad, not her daughter. No wonder the men were being so silly! She apologized for being so dramatic as she pointed to her grandmother's family tree. "We have relatives!"

When the men returned with the children, they were laughing at something while Andy and Greg looked worried. Tim grabbed Artie's hand and they disappeared into the playroom. Sarah gave her brother's father, her adopted father, a big hug and kiss and he laughed, hugging and kissing her back. Andy decided to take his sister and brothers upstairs and call their uncles, something was going on with almost all their adults! Grandma was the only one acting normally, although Mimi was resting so they didn't know about her.

They had to leave a message for Uncle Rob, but Uncle Geordie said he was on his way home and not to worry, relatives were often silly. They knew their papa was, but not Grandpa! While they were discussing whether to call Granducky, their father knocked on the door, "Hey, are you all in there?"

Since it was his room, Greg opened the door and his father looked at him. "What's wrong, son?"

"Are you all right, Papa?"

He smiled, "Were you worried because your grandpa and I are so silly?"

When the children nodded, he smiled and walked into the room. "We had wonderful news this afternoon, a big surprise for both your grandpa and me and we're both very happy, that's why the silliness. We'll tell you about it later, but we thought we'd have a special treat for dinner tonight. We'll order it and then go pick it up, so we don't have to change our clothes."

The kids smiled in relief and happiness at that. Going out to dinner was nice but you couldn't wear your favorite clothes or shoes or in Kyle's case, wear your engineer's cap or keep your favorite train car with you. And you had to behave like you did in church, no talking or laughing loud or interrupting.

"How does Italian sound?"

They cheered, Italian was always a favorite. They loved it all, from the antipasto, the soup, the bruschetta, flatbread or good old garlic bread to the pasta, risotto, polenta, the meat, fish and seafood, the pesto, alfredo, the different sauces and toppings, the cannoli, gelato, pastries. Tim hadn't yet found any Italian food that his kids didn't like.

While they were talking, Sarah took the van to pick up Geordie. He was fine walking home now, but she wanted a few extra minutes with him. The whirlpool at his physical therapy wasn't working properly and he'd had no chance to soak the aches away. He'd do that when he got home, Dad had a soaker tub in his bathroom.

His shift finally ending, Rob checked his messages and didn't know what to think about the strange messages from his family. However, the one from the children worried him. He called Andy, who answered right away. He said things were all right now but if Uncle Rob could come, that would be good. Uncle Rob headed for the nearest tube station. Halfway to Brambury, he texted his sister to tell her he was on his way. When he reached the house, Sarah and Greg were just pulling up with their meals. Sarah grinned at him, "We ordered your favorite, glad you showed up."

"Yay! So, is everyone crazy here today?"

Greg nodded, his eyes wide while Sarah smiled, "C'mon inside, see for yourself."

Rob helped them carry in the bags of entrees, the combined smell was heavenly, and his stomach was growling before they walked in the door. Going straight to the dining room, Rob's eyes widened, and his eyebrows climbed his forehead at the streamers gracing the light pendants. He looked at Tim, then Gibbs, then Artie. His brother and father looked very pleased with themselves, almost smug, while Artie was grinning from ear to ear. Ok, so something to do with Tim and Dad and Artie already knew what it was. Geordie walked into the dining room after him; from his relaxed stance, Rob guessed he'd come from Dad's soaker tub.

After they placed the entrees in front of the right person and everyone had a beverage, they sat down. Before anyone could pick up a fork, Dad stood, holding a glass of sparkling cider in his hand, "Before we start eating, Tim and I have something to share. Rob, Geordie, you probably haven't had a chance to look - we got our DNA results today! Tony's are in too, but he won't look at them until he's off work tonight. Sarah's been awfully quiet so I'm guessing she saw what Tim and I did. Weird how it happened.

"Apparently, my father, whose name was Jackson Gibbs, built a family tree on the same online site where Sarah built the McGee tree. After Tim helped me look at my ethnic makeup this afternoon, we went to look at his and…well, I'm a bottom line kind of guy so I'll just say it. Tim is my son, my flesh and blood son, half his DNA comes from me. And yes, he, Sarah and Patrick have the same mother, although she used a different first name when we were dating."

Although Rob and Geordie were shocked, they cheered along with the others, and the kids followed although they weren't quite sure they understood. When the adults were quiet, Andy looked at his father, "You and Grandpa are father and son, like Mama and I are mother and son?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't know that before?"

"No, we chose to be father and son and last year your grandpa adopted my sister, brothers and me."

"Okay. But now you found out that he's always been your papa?"

"Yes, Andy." Tim looked at Greg who was clearly thinking about it and Kyle who was watching his brothers. Marissa was enjoying a piece of bruschetta, unconcerned.

Tim smiled at Greg and Kyle, "Sweeties, it means Grandpa has always been my daddy, we just didn't know it."

"Even when he was Boss?"

"Yes, even then."

"Oh!" Andy was already smiling and now Greg did too, and Kyle followed. He understood that Papa was still Papa and Grandpa was still Grandpa and that was all that mattered.

Tim laughed as Rob, Geo, Greg and Andy, quickly followed by Kyle and Marissa, got up and went to him and Gibbs, hugging and kissing each one. "Thank you!"

Looking at Sarah, Tim saw she was fighting tears. "Sweet Pea, what's the matter?"

"I saw the results, Tim; I'd been hoping that lab was wrong. Now there's physical proof. But it's good you've found out, I know it's bothered you. And Dad, you thought you were alone, but you never really were."

More hugs and kisses followed, with Artie standing for a toast, "I'm very happy that the love and respect you have for each other and share with us goes even deeper than your DNA. Tim, Cyndi Porter told me that she loves the way you gather family. That goes for me, too. Patrick and Sarah came naturally, then despite your fear and desperation or perhaps because of it, you gathered Geordie and Rob, along the way Lu, the guys and Nate became part of your family and then when you were almost grown, you added Mrs. Ferguson, the Porters and me.

"Next came Jethro, who unbeknownst to either of you has been yours your entire life, a special gift. And then came Granducky, Tony, Abby, Jimmy, the family you've gathered as an adult. I think next time you tell someone about your early life, you may no longer claim to have been a poor orphan with 3 siblings. You are the richest person I know! Congratulations, my love!" She kissed him, remaining in his arms while the kids swarmed them.

Later, after the children were in bed, Sarah asked for an adults only discussion. She'd already questioned Tim about contacting her paternal grandmother Penelope McGee and their maternal grandmother Maisie Hubbard. Tim's answer was that he had mixed feelings, that since their abandonment, he'd blamed them for not looking for them. Granted, he had no memory of their names or even that they existed, but they should have come looking or had them listed on the milk carton missing children program. Now, seeing the full names of his uncle James Hubbard's children, Ainsley Sarah Victoria and Callum Timothy Patrick, led him to wondering what these people had been told about them.

As the adults gathered in the living room, Sarah shook her head at Tim, "You didn't look any further, at the Hubbard tree?"

He shook his head and she sighed, "We're on there as deceased, all of us show as dying the year of the hit and run. Lily's is different, of course."

He frowned at that, confused. "Why would they think that? I was in the hospital for 2 ½ months, so was Pat." His forehead knotted even more, "Pat was a foster child before Ms. Blair could adopt him. CPS must have looked for relatives."

He shook his head, it was 11 months since he'd submitted their inquiry to the Freedom of Information Act site, with no word yet.

Although Rob and Geo sympathized with the woman who had the one-person family tree, they both felt the decision to contact her or the other people should be Tim and Sarah's. Rob was just thankful nobody was pushing him to look at the Brill family tree or the leaves that kept popping up.

Gibbs was also disinclined to push. He knew that Tim was as stubborn as he was; if he was pushed, he'd never change his stance. He just hoped Sarah knew that about her brother. While he was glad he and Tim had discovered their connection, he thought about the Hubbards and the lone survivor of the McGee clan. It didn't seem right but then neither did the 9 years his kids spent on the street. Feeling like a hypocrite, he decided to ask Vance if there was anything to be done about the lack of FOIA response.

The following weekend, they celebrated Tim's birthday and he laughed at the huge pile of packages on the dining room table. "Where did all these come from?"

His family laughed, the children giggling, and he looked at them, "Ah ha, my children know something, will I have to tickle it out of you?"

They laughed even harder and Tim's dad stood. "I'm the master conspirator. I've missed many of your birthdays and I'd hoped to catch up. But one week wasn't enough! So most of these…well, you'll see."

As Tim was handed the first package, Geordie grinned while Rob and Sarah giggled. He looked at the card, which was for a 1-year-old and was signed, 'Love, Daddy'. Tearing off the tissue paper wrapping, he found a photo of A.A. Milne's "The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh". The next package had a card for a 2-year-old and was also signed 'Love, Daddy' and the gift was a photo of a wooden train. Kyle grinned when Papa held that photo up, that was his idea!

The third package, handed to him by Artemis, was a different size. The card was for a 3-year-old and said, "I'm sorry I can't be there to help you celebrate your birthday, Timmy. I love you very much, Daddy". The gift was a framed photo of Gibbs in full uniform. Blinking back tears, Tim looked at his father who smiled. "I was deployed from August through December of 1980. I wouldn't have been home for your birthday."

The rest of the packages followed the same premise, a card for Tim's age and a note from Daddy when he wasn't home or a photo of something Dad thought young Tim would have liked. There were photos of paint sets, books he'd liked as a kid (thanks to his sibs for remembering), roller skates, a bicycle, a sled, a sweater, VHS tapes of Disney movies, all kinds of things Tim never had on the street. He realized he'd mentioned the Disney movies the weekend they were in Prague with the old VCR.

When the packages got into his adult years, he unwrapped a real telescope that made him very happy, he kissed Artie, knowing that had to have been her suggestion, and real socks and slippers for another year, he laughed at that one, explaining that he'd grown 2 inches one year and had to buy all new pants, socks and shoes. That suggestion came from his siblings and Artie.

He was surprised at the photos of gifts he would have received during his 20s and 30s, when he was Gibbs' probationary and junior agent. They were very much in line with what he'd wanted – and some of them he'd had although he mostly purchased them for himself once Sarah and Rob were in college.

His dad grinned when he said that. "I did some research, Sarah helped me and she, Rob and Artie remembered a lot, especially when they saw photos of what was popular in what year."

His present for this year, which his dad said everyone helped him make, was a wooden typewriter table on wheels, complete with a fold down tray. It was considerably taller and wider than those sold commercially or in antique stores and Tim grinned, "Thanks, this is perfect, more room for my legs and feet underneath!"

"Sarah gave me the idea, she said you'd stretch your legs out over the crosspiece and then forget about it when you pulled your feet and legs back. Tony was my test subject when he was here."

The crosspiece under the table was customized so there was open space for the bottom half of the legs and his feet, there was no danger of either hitting anything.

"Yes, and this design will save me a lot of shin and ankle bruises!" While he wrote his rough drafts on his laptop these days, he still liked to type his final manuscript, the one he sent to his publisher, on his typewriter.

Artie gave him a card, inside she'd written that she'd give him his gift later. He smiled at that and then had fun opening his gifts from everyone else, thanking his children, siblings and later writing thank you notes to his overseas family.

Alone in their room, Artemis handed him a small box. He opened it to reveal a Celtic dragon ring worked in shades of blue and amber topaz, his birthstone. She smiled as he put it on his right ring finger, telling him in Greek, "I found this in our 'Camel' shop in Amzida, my love and decided to hold onto it. And then I thought of your birthday and here it is. It fits you perfectly, you will always be my dragon." He smiled, kissing her, pleased she remembered that. The first time she'd told him she loved him, back at MIT, she'd told him he was her dragon.

When Tim displayed his ring the next day, Andy's eyes nearly popped out, "I didn't know you like dragons!" Sarah looked at it, remembering something about dragons from years ago and smiled at Artie and her brother.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Between Tim's birthday and Thanksgiving, the Gibbses, father and son, sent out an email showing their DNA results and the Gibbs' family tree, now updated with Sarah, Rob, and Geordie as his adopted children, Marissa, Greg, and Kyle as his adopted grandchildren with Tim and Andy as his biological son and grandson. The message included several emojis of animated fireworks, rockets flaring and little figures jumping up and down. They'd thought about a Skype call, but they'd do that on Thanksgiving, soon enough.

This year, the London office worked on Thanksgiving, so the Morrises' ex-pat brunch was moved to that Saturday. The McGee-Gibbs family would celebrate the American holiday that day as well, as most of the family had work or school on Thursday. In the meantime, they had their Skype call Thursday evening with the rest of the family as they celebrated, with Tim and Jethro the stars of the day as congratulations poured out to them. They took the good wishes and the teasing in stride, happy to spend time with the family.

On Saturday, they bundled into the van and drove to the Morrises' home. Although Dad hadn't seen her, he'd been informed of the presence of Susan Grady and knew she'd be at the brunch. With Lu, Tim, Artie, the kids, Sarah, James, Rob, and Geordie along, he wasn't concerned about seeing her. What he didn't understand was how she'd come to be a federal agent after the stunts she'd pulled on Tim and at her other employer's. He'd given a report for each incident to Director Shepard and he knew Fornell had done so for the second incident, copying his director.

The brunch was delicious, light but filling enough to keep them from snacking their way through the day until their feast. Afterward, Jethro showed Lu around while Tim, Artie, Lydia and Marty had fun talking about their favorite Greek artist, an American who'd lived in Greece for many years, the wife of NCIS Agent Pete Russell. Marty said they'd returned to Greece for their vacation again this year and bought another painting. With a grin, Tim pulled out his phone and showed them the Trina Russell painting he and Artie purchased during their August vacation.

Artie noticed another woman skirting around them, looking as if she wanted to join the conversation. The woman said something, Artie didn't catch it, and Lydia replied with a smile, "Sorry, Susan. Artemis, like you to meet our newest team member, Susan Grady. Susan, this is Artemis Galanis. She's married to Agent McGee."

Susan smiled, shaking hands with Artie, who felt her husband's tension. She asked polite general questions while Marty, sensing something had changed, continued to engage Tim in conversation, drawing him away to look at another Russell painting.

Tim almost laughed when Dad approached Artie and Susan, "Daughter, have you seen Train Man?"

Artie knew he was hiding behind his grandfather. She shook her head, "No, Jethro, sorry. Maybe he's looking at his favorite train picture, or he's with his papa."

"No, he's not with Tim, don't know where Kyleyboy has gone!"

A giggle gave Kyle away and Artie smiled, "Kyle Timothy, are you hiding?"

"No, Mama, I'm just walking behind Grandpa. He's bigger than me so you can't see me."

"That's very clever, Doodle bug."

Kyle peeked out from behind his grandfather, smiling at the lady he knew. "Hi, Ms. Worden!"

"Hi, Mr. McGee. Have you met Ms. Grady yet?"

Kyle shook his head and Lydia introduced them, "Susan, I'd like you to meet Kyle McGee, the 3rd eldest son of Tim and Artemis."

The woman visibly gulped, managing a smile, "How do you do?"

Kyle smiled as he shook her hand. She said, "Third eldest, that's a great place to be in the family, Kyle. I'm the second eldest in my family."

"I like where I am, I'm the youngest boy but I'm not the youngest of everyone anymore. I used to be but now I have a little sister and 2 big brothers. I like all of them, they're fun and nice."

He looked around, "Where's Papa?"

"He's over near the train painting, sweetie."

"Oh. Excuse me." He smiled at his mama and grandpa, making a beeline for his father. Artie excused herself to find Rissa and Jethro looked at Grady. Lydia looked back and forth between them, wondering what was going on. She knew Gibbs and Tim well by now and trusted them.

Susan smiled, "Excuse me, I just uh, need to find…"

Lydia nodded, "Down the hall, first door on your right."

When Gibbs started to move away, she snagged his arm. "Both you and Tim have problems with her."

"Yes."

"Something I should know."

"SRB." Lydia was Navy, she'd know what he meant.

"Then we can't talk about it."

"Right." He gave her a little smile and she relaxed, whatever this was, she thought he would handle it, somehow. In the meantime, she wouldn't worry.

Artie found her daughter playing with a little girl they'd met at their Fourth of July party. The girl's father was watching them, and Artie wandered away again, this time toward Tim and Kyle. Their train engineer was in his father's arms, taking a closer look at the Morrises' train painting. Although he knew not to touch, his nose was about an inch away from the painting, inspecting the wheels and track.

Walking up to her husband, Artie spoke in Turkish, remembering what Tim knew. "You and your father don't like her."

He nodded, "Can't tell you why, not here."

She leaned in to kiss him and he smiled happily, the two of them squishing Kyle, who laughed, "Mama, Papa, you're squishing me!"

"Sorry, son." Laughing, the couple pulled apart.

Home after the brunch, they checked the turkey, basting it and Tim set the timer to take the turkey out and put their side dishes in. Once they were done, the pies would go in. This year, he and Artie made 2 pies, and Lu had also made apple crisp. While Tim still had the little tart pans he'd used last year, he'd decided it was less trouble to make full size pies. His father and brothers heartily approved, and everyone was excited about Lu's apple crisp.

They'd invited 4 guests, the 3 American students who'd started at Bedford last winter and a 4th one who'd started this term. They arrived together, Tim glad to see the 3 who'd been here for nearly a year had taken the newest arrival under their wings. As those 3 had been to the house before, they knew everyone and felt comfortable, which in turn helped the newbie.

Tim knew the students, 2 of them not yet 20, were homesick. He, Lu and Artie had decided to serve a special dish for each of them, one they'd have at home. With the help of the students' advisors, each family had been contacted and asked for a special Thanksgiving dish their student would like, explaining he or she would be dining with an American professor and his family.

The responses were quick, full of love and gratitude. The young man from Washington State would love anything with apples or a salmon dip, a recipe was enclosed. The young man from South Carolina was raised in Florida and would love Key Lime pie or cranberry salad, his mother sent her recipe for both. One of the young ladies was from New Hampshire, her parents said fresh cranberry relish and pearl onions in cream would make her feel at home, sending the recipe for the relish. The fourth one, the youngest, was from Minnesota; her father replied that they traditionally had a wild rice stuffing and enclosed his recipe.

Artie was amazed at the differences and her eyes grew wide when the three of them wrote out their menu. For appetizers, they'd have fresh salmon dip with slices of fresh vegetables and crackers for dipping, along with their own favorite mezethes. At the dinner table, they'd have the 2 cranberry dishes, pearl onions in cream, the wild rice stuffing instead of the sweet potato infused stuffing they'd had last year, mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes, sautéed mushrooms - another suggestion from the Washington family, green beans sautéed with onions and garlic and cornbread, which they thought everyone would like. After consulting the rest of the family, they changed the dessert menu, eliminating the planned pumpkin pie in favor of Key Lime pie. Dessert was now Key Lime pie, apple pie and apple crisp.

Now, Tim, Artie and Lu got busy with some of their side dishes, the cornbread, potatoes and sweet potatoes. The sautéed mushrooms, pearl onions and the green beans would be cooked in the last few minutes before they served. The salmon dip, cranberry relish and salad were in the refrigerator, all 3 covered, fresh vegetables for dipping had been washed and sliced, the Key Lime pie was already made and hidden, along with Lu's apple crisp, in a cooler, locked in Dad and Lu's suite. They'd bake the apple pie while they ate, in case they wanted that tonight too.

When they'd started this process, Lu had been a little concerned about finding fresh cranberries, but they were not a problem. The only problem they'd had was finding the specific flavor of Jell-O™ for the cranberry salad. Then one of Tim's office mates at Bedford told him about the American Food Store in North London. Finding their website, Tim was able to order the particular flavor they needed and Rob picked it up before his next trip to Brambury.

As the family and their guests gathered in the family room, a crackling fire in the fireplace, the boys brought in plates and napkins while Rissa carried a basket of crackers and Sarah the plate of sliced veggies. The salmon dip and hot mezethes came next along with beverages for everyone. They'd decided not to have any alcohol tonight and were serving spiced hot cider, cold sparkling cider, mineral water, lemonade, tea and coffee.

They'd kept the special dishes as a surprise, they hoped, knowing the salmon dip might reveal the secret. When the young man from Washington spotted it, he smiled, "That looks like salmon dip."

Artie nodded, "It is."

"Ah, my favorite!" He helped himself as the others followed, trying the dip and the mezethes. The cooks were in and out of the room as the green beans, onions and garlic were sautéed and the pearl onions in cream were heated. The cornbread was baking with the turkey, the potatoes, sweet and regular, were ready to be mashed. James and Dad excused themselves to help in the kitchen while Andy made sure the table was ready. Finally, Dad reappeared, "Dinner will be on the table in 5 minutes. Kids, time to wash up."

The McGee kids went to wash up, amazed when their guests followed them. Back in the kitchen, Dad chuckled, "It worked, all 4 of them followed our kids."

He carved the turkey in the kitchen, piling it onto a big platter, which would be put on a side table with the other hot dishes, for people to serve themselves. When they were all seated, they held hands and Lu said grace. With the cranberry relish and the cranberry salad on the table, the students started looking at each other. When the young man from Washington saw the sautéed mushrooms and the young woman from Minnesota spotted the wild rice stuffing, they looked at their fellow students, who'd already found their treats and then all four turned to Professor McGee. He smiled at them, saying, "Matty, Seth, Jo, Chip, Happy Thanksgiving from us and your families. We wanted each of you to have a bit of home today."

"How?"

"Your advisors helped us contact your families to ask for a favorite Thanksgiving dish. I think everyone sent a recipe along with the name of the dish." He smiled at the South Carolinian and the Washingtonian, "There are also treats for dessert."

Each of them thanked him and the other cooks and conspirators. The McGee kids giggled, they'd had fun knowing about the secret and helping to look in the stores for the ingredients. That was a special Thanksgiving and as Tim and his father said later, their second and probably last one in Brambury.

The McGees were touched in the following weeks when they received thank you notes from the students and their families. Dad clapped his son on the back, "Timothy, that was a wonderful idea. Those kids may never have you as a professor but they're going to remember you forever for this Thanksgiving."

He nodded, "People were kind to us, Dad. The first year in Cambridge, Mrs. Ferguson cooked Thanksgiving dinner for us, although she was Canadian and had to ask around to find out what was traditional. Not that we would have known the difference. The next year, the Porters invited us over, including Mrs. F., and we learned more about American traditions. I feel like this was paying their generosity forward and I hope the students do the same."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Andy's 13th birthday was the next week and they combined his Name Day on November 30th with his birthday on December 3rd. Andy, Greg, 1 of Andy's friends and Tim had an overnight at the British Museum, having a blast. The family celebrated in person or via Skype calls, the next day, with some of his favorite foods, cake and presents. The big box from the U.S. had been hidden in Grandpa and Grandma's spare room for a couple of weeks, joined by gifts from Mimi, Yaya, Aunty Susannah and Uncle Ian, Aunt Gaia, the cousins, and Uncle Nikolas and his family.

The rest of the month sped by as the family prepared for their trip home. This year, they decorated the house before they left, putting their new artificial tree up and decorating it. That way, they wouldn't have to scramble when Mimi, Ian's parents, Susannah and Ian arrived for the Orthodox Christmas shortly after their return from the States.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Their Christmas trip was different this year. They left for home later than they had previously, to accommodate the school holiday and Geo's last treatment. Last year, they'd had the wedding the day after Christmas as well as hosting Christmas Eve lunch and Christmas dinner. This year, James' parents, George and Edith Powell, were traveling with them, joining them for the holidays. They'd already met the entire extended family, either in person in Greece last summer or via Skype calls. Tim and Artemis found it amusing that the senior Powells already knew Mimi, Susannah, Ian and Geordie's girlfriend Bec.

Another difference was that the Timothy McGee family would not be staying with Grandpa this year. Gibbs' neighbor Hank and family were away again this Christmas and the McGees were staying in their house. Although it was only a few steps away, Tim wasn't sure how he felt about it. But it would give Dad and Lu more room downstairs and the senior Powells would be in the master suite, with their own bathroom.

And finally, this would likely be the last Christmas - for a while - with all of Jethro's children gathered in one place. By next Christmas, Sarah and James would be married, living in London and likely to celebrate in Castleton with his parents. And with Geordie close to returning to a new version of active duty, probably a desk job, he could be posted anywhere.

With the treatments and special exercises, his legs were at 100% mobility, although his left leg would never be as strong as it was before the attack on him. He knew he was better off than he would have been without the treatments. And he'd spent an incredible year with his family, which had grown from the 4 siblings to 5, 6 with Abby, with 2 parents, in-laws and his wonderful niece and nephews. He felt the time he'd spent with them this past year had forged bonds that would last their lifetimes and it had brought Bec and him together.

This year, Ducky would host Christmas Eve lunch as Thanksgiving had been at the Palmers. With 2 toddlers, it was easier to have everyone come to their house than for the Palmers to load up their van and haul everything to Ducky's. Anyway, there was certainly more room for people to move around in Ducky's home than in Gibbs'.

Jethro was amused at people thinking his house too small. For nearly 2 decades, he'd rattled around in it by himself, wondering why he kept such a large house when he had no intention of having more children or a family of any kind. It seemed the universe had had other ideas about that!

On a Skype call, when he heard Breena commenting about there being more room at Ducky's, he chuckled as he said, "It's not the size of the house, Breena, it's the size of our family. My place used to be big enough, but people want to be part of our family, they just keeping showing up! Look at this year, we've added Davey, James, George, Edith, Ian and Artie's cousins. Last year and the one before were truly banner years, lost track of how many joined us. And Sarah's got all those little green leaves on Ancestry that mean there's more family out there. Although I suppose they're only relatives at this point."

They'd laughed at that; the family did keep expanding and changing. Tony and Maggie were engaged, Jose and Chelsea had finally set their wedding date and Abby and Freddie were still together, big steps for all three couples.

As they walked off the jet into the airport in DC, Tim nudged his dad, "Last Christmas to do this! Next time we arrive at Dulles, it'll be for good!"

His father nodded tiredly, "Sounds great! Otherwise, we'd really need a transporter beam!"

Laughing, they turned and waited for the rest of the group before splitting into two groups, the U.S. citizens and the Greek citizen with the 3 British citizens.

They'd been home for a few days when they decided it was time to get their tree. While cold, it hadn't snowed since they'd arrived, although there was snow on the ground. The McGees had purchased an artificial tree with the lights already on, to be displayed in their temporary quarters. The kids had been busy making ornaments for their tree and Grandpa's while their parents also bought a few boxes of decorations.

They returned to 'their' tree farm where they enjoyed their 3rd annual sleigh ride, once again finding the perfect tree in the same hollow where they'd discovered the previous beauties. Kyle remembered having to stop decorating while he took his afternoon nap and grinned at his sister when Mama and Papa said she could skip her nap if she wasn't tired. All four of the kids were happy when they realized they'd have three Christmas trees to decorate this year!

They'd already decorated the first one, the tree for their Greek Christmas that they'd put up before they left home. When Greg asked Grandpa if it was all right if they moved their photo ornaments of his birth parents to their 'other' tree, Grandpa said yes and helped him carry them next door. One day when the children were shopping with their father, they bought a nativity scene for their tree, complete with an angel, shepherds, three kings and a sheep, goat and camel.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs woke slowly, smiling as he felt Lu's warm body curled up next to him. Not wanting to wake her, he carefully slid a pillow between them before getting out of bed. He was starving, man, he hated jet lag! This was their 3rd day home.

Putting the coffee on, he paused in thought and then filled a saucepan full of water, putting it on to boil. Sarah and all three Powells preferred tea in the morning. He was sure his grandkids would arrive soon, excited about their own new tree; he'd offer them hot chocolate. Artie seemed tireder than usual, he had his suspicions about that. Of course, he'd had them before, in Portugal last June, and been wrong. Searching through the cupboards, he found a box of herbal tea and put it out, just in case.

Tim, Artie, and the kids were staying next door. They'd gone from borrowing Hank's refrigerator for the turkey last year to borrowing the whole house. When the Powells decided to join them, the family realized it meant too few beds, and rooms for beds, at Dad's place. He'd included Hank and his wife Florence in the email he'd sent when he and Tim discovered their DNA connection. Now he wrote them again, asking for a huge favor, that part of the family sleep at their house during the Christmas holidays. Florence answered almost immediately saying yes and that it would probably be easier to place Tim and his family there as their house was set up for children. She offered the use of her car and any of the snow toys they wanted to borrow.

That was working out well although Gibbs didn't like his McGees under another roof. Lu and Jethro had the downstairs bedroom, Sarah and James the third bedroom upstairs, Rob and Geordie were sharing what was usually the kids' room and the senior Powells had the master. Tony and Maggie had decamped to Ducky's for the duration and Gibbs didn't like that either, although Tony had also done that the previous Christmas.

He was grateful for his friends' generosity, but still wished they could stay under one roof. That would take some serious renovations to fit everyone. However, with the way his family grew, adding on would be a never-ending process.

Maggie's father, Colonel Richard Barnes, was also joining them for Christmas this year, but as he'd recently purchased a small condo in the area, he didn't need a place to stay. He'd told Tony that he'd spent so much time in DC the last couple of years that it would be more cost effective to buy or rent something here and stay at motels or with friends when he visited his old haunts. Tony agreed with him but had to resist a strong urge to beg him not to mention it to Senior, who occasionally made noises about finding a place in DC.

Gibbs found the teapot Ducky loaned them and scooped the tea into the infuser. Then he counted coffee mugs, he smirked to himself, it might be easier to put all of them out, placing them on the counter. He measured hot chocolate mix into 4 mugs and set them aside.

He was enjoying the first sips of his dark brew when his phone rang. He gave it a dirty look as he answered it, although looking at the time, it wasn't that early after all.

"Good morning, Leon."

"I'm on my way over, got something to talk about."

"With me?"

"Little bit. More Timothy though."

"He's not here."

"He's…not there? They didn't come home?"

"No, they're here, but they're not in the house."

"Ok. They can't be at Elaine's without you or is that where you are?"

"No, I'm at home and as far as I know they're not at Elaine's. Although that's a great idea. We brought extra people home with us this year, means we're full up in my house. My son and his family are staying next door at the neighbors."

Leon grinned at the 'my son'. "Good. Any chance you can wake them for me, please? At least Timothy and Artemis."

"Sure. Drive slowly, might take me awhile."

"Will do."

Jethro started to turn the burner off when he heard footsteps behind him and saw his youngest reaching for a mug. "Morning, Robbie. I'm gonna go wake Tim and his crew up. Watch the water for me? It's for tea and hot chocolate." He smiled as he patted Rob's face.

"Sure." Rob poured coffee into the mug, making an appreciative noise as he had his first sip.

Shrugging into his parka, Jethro hurried across the lawn to Hank and Florence's house. He rang the doorbell, smiling as his oldest grandbaby looked through the peephole.

The door opened, and he went in, glad to be out of the cold. Kissing Andy good morning, he chuckled as the young man exclaimed, "Uh, you're freezing, Grandpa!"

"Sorry, kiddo. Your parents awake yet?"

"Yes, Dad's on his way downstairs."

"I'm here, thanks, Jammer. Morning, Dad!"

"Morning, Junior." That was the newest nickname, since the DNA results. Tony commiserated with him although he pointed out that at least Tim wasn't named LJ Gibbs, Junior.

"Vance called, he's on his way over. Wants to talk with you and Artemis."

"Did he say Artemis, or did you do that?"

"He did, also called you Timothy. That's a good catch, son. I wonder who's with him?"

Tim shrugged, "Guess we'll see in a few minutes. All right, Artie's in the shower, we'll get dressed and come over. Although, if it's just the 2 of us, be easier here."

"Point. I'll steer them over here then." He smiled at his grandkids who'd gathered. "All right, how about you four have breakfast next door with your grandmother and me?"

They nodded, they'd had cereal earlier, but they were hungry again.

Gibbs kissed his son and gesturing to the kids, left the house. Tim chuckled as he watched the kids following his dad like ducklings. He bet that's what he, Tony, Ziva and then Ellie looked like all those years. Wondering what Leon wanted with them, he ran upstairs to tell Artie and to put some clothes on.

The kids were enjoying their hot chocolate in the living room, planning their annual trip to the mountains for a day in the snow, when Andy spotted several dark SUVs stopping in front of the house, strung up and down the street. "Grandpa! Come look!"

Everyone came, and Grandpa frowned, "He could have told me!"

"Who told you, what?" That was Lu.

"Leon. That size motorcade, he's got someone pretty high level with him. Or he's with them. Higher than SecNav, she has about half that many escorts. Looks like cabinet level to me."

Lu gasped as she recognized the tall woman climbing out of one of the SUVs with Leon and another woman she vaguely recognized. "Jethro, that's the Secretary of State! And we're in our bathrobes!"

"Too late, hon, don't worry about it."

Geordie came downstairs just as Dad was opening the door for their visitors. He stopped, firing off a sharp salute as the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of State and the Director of NCIS walked in. They acknowledged his salute. The rest of the group stood in clusters, surprised and not quite knowing what to do.

Lu decided she'd be hostess, they couldn't all just stand around staring at each other. "Good morning! I'm Lu Morgan. We have coffee, tea and hot chocolate ready if you'd like a hot drink?"

Secretary McCord reached over and shook her hand, "Happy to meet you, Ms. Morgan, and yes, I'd love a cup of coffee, please."

Gibbs poured 3 coffees while Leon introduced the group to the 2 secretaries. He stopped when he came to the Powells and then smiled, "We met last summer, on Aegina. You're the Powells, James' parents, Sarah's future in-laws."

"Yes, we're George and Edith Powell, joining our new family for the holidays."

They were welcomed by both Secretaries. When Gibbs returned to the living room, delivering their coffees, Leon wrapped an arm around him, a one-armed hug. "That's your congratulatory hug!"

Jethro chuckled, "Thanks, Leon." He turned to the others, saying, "They're ready next door. Bring your coffee, I'll take you."

Nodding at the family, the three followed Gibbs next door. As the group walked in the door, Tim was walking down the stairs, having decided to take a shower before dressing. Artie came in from the kitchen as she heard steps on the front porch. She gasped at the group walking in and Tim, as surprised as she was, grinned, blurting, "Mrs. Bess! Wow, I didn't…" He didn't have a chance to finish as Elizabeth McCord wrapped her arms around him. "Timit! Look at you, all grown up. And you and Artie, I'm happy for both of you! Part of this hug is from Henry."

She let go of Tim and held her arms open for Artie. "Doc G, so good to see you after all these years!" She stepped back, looking at the couple, "By the way, your children are beautiful."

"Thank you. How are Doctor Henry, Stevie, Allie and Jase?"

"Wonderful, all of them. Henry's doing government work, Stevie's finished an internship at the White House, Allie's studying to become a fashion designer and Jase is a sophomore in high school."

"Wow, that sounds wonderful! Jase was just learning to walk when I saw him."

"It has been a few years! Now, I'm sorry this can't all be social, but we do have something to discuss."

Nodding, Tim turned toward Secretary Porter, greeting her with a smile, "It's good to see you, ma'am." He introduced Artie to her, the women shaking hands.

He turned to Leon, holding out his hand for a shake and was reeled in for a one-armed hug. Leon patted his shoulder as he let go, "That's your congratulatory hug."

"Thank you, uh, did you hug Dad too?"

"I did. In front of witnesses."

They laughed at that and Tim looked at his dad, who nodded. He knew at some point he'd hear the story regarding his son, daughter-in-law and the McCord family.

Artie led them to the living room. "Sorry, it's a mess. Because we're only sleeping over here, we've relaxed our 'pick up your stuff' routine."

"That's all right, we understand."

They sat and after a sip of coffee, Secretary McCord began. "We have what we believe is good news and some other news. My office was contacted yesterday by the office of the Turkish Ambassador to the United States. Artie, the baby you rescued at the Amzida airport last April, was the subject." At the alarmed looks on their faces, she smiled, "She's fine. However, her aunt has had a change of heart. After meeting you in London, she realized she'd been duped, lied to, although it took her a few months to gather her courage to come forward. I'll tell you what happened in a minute, for now, I have a question for you. Would you be willing to take baby Umut back, raise her as your own, without any further interference from family members or governments?"

Artie was holding Tim's hand so tight, it hurt. They looked at each other, smiling through happy tears, answering in unison, "Yes!"

"Great! Leon was certain that would be your answer, but we couldn't take it for granted. As soon as we let the Ambassador know, Umut will be put on a plane to DC, I believe she'll be on a diplomatic flight. We'll let you know when she's due to arrive, so you can be there. It's an 11 ½ hour trip so you won't see her until tomorrow.

"Now, because of the haphazard way the baby's reclamation was handled and a few other reasons I'll tell you in a minute, the Turkish government will finalize your adoption of her as soon as they hear from us. And yes, I'm aware of the fun you had in Greece while adopting Gregory and Kyle. You will not have that situation with Umut. The Greek courts have already been notified and have readily approved her adoption and dual citizenship. She'll be a citizen of three countries, although the U.S. won't officially recognize anyone but us. She'll have citizenship in Turkey, by nature of her birth parents, Greece and the U.S. by nature of her adoption. For now, she'll enter the U.S. under a Turkish passport. As soon as the adoption is registered, which will be all you need to do, you can apply for a U.S. passport for her. In the meantime, we'll work with my British counterpart to ensure your daughter will be allowed in and out of the United Kingdom. I'm told your family has a lot of fun trips around Europe." She smiled, "Must be nice, traveling for fun."

Tim nodded, thanking the trio. Then he looked at them, "The other news?"

"Yes. Umut's aunt, the woman you met in London, didn't know the baby existed until she was approached, via a phone call, by a 'mysterious' foreigner. He offered her a substantial amount of money if she would claim the baby and eventually she agreed and met with a man who paid her the promised money. Umut's father is, was, her much younger stepbrother. She was already grown and on her own when her father married his mother. She says now that she only met the stepbrother once. He was estranged from what is left of his family, none of them knew he had married, much less had a child or was one of the leaders of the rebellion."

Secretary McCord leaned forward, "The Turks are outraged at what happened with you losing custody of the baby and the way it happened. They were quite happy that she was out of the country and were serious about waiving your year of care as they believe saving her life and protecting her as you did was enough to prove your sincerity. They've had a difficult time subduing the rebellion and didn't want Umut to become a symbol of her martyred parents. To be fair, those with a conscience also didn't want her to grow up with that stigma. When the aunt's own conscience started to bother her, she contacted the diplomat who was with her in London. He went to his superiors and with help from the aunt, they were able to track down the man who delivered the cash which led them to the man who'd paid it."

Tim swallowed, God he hoped he was wrong. Artie had her eyes closed, he thought she was praying. "Who are they?" He wrapped his arms around his wife.

Dad moved closer to his kids, hoping he was wrong and knowing from Tim and Artie's demeanor that they'd guessed the same people that he had.

"The man who delivered the cash is Dimitri Galanis and the man who paid the money is his father, Kosmos Galanis."

Artie sat up, tears running down her face. Holding onto Tim, she said, "I disown them, they are no longer my blood." She buried her face in Tim's shoulder. He closed his eyes, then opened them, looking at his dad. "I got complacent. He included the boys, was civil to me and that's all it took to put me off my guard. And that whole thing with Ian was too weak a comeback."

"Me too. There was no way we could see this coming, son. Nothing to tell us he would go to this length. It sounds desperate to me. The spying on Ian, that seemed the act of a man who knew he could no longer get to one daughter, so he focused on the other. When he and Dimitri were busted, I thought that would be it for a while and really, although it was annoying, you're right, it was a weak play, far too obvious to be effective.

"I thought he'd come up with some other manipulation and that there was nothing you and I wouldn't recognize. I never considered he'd do something to actually hurt Artie and you. Although I should have, he'd done it before, by keeping you and Artie apart, keeping Andy away from you. I'm playing armchair shrink again but I'm guessing he was desperate to regain control over his daughters and he could do that by taking away Artie's child – and her good deed. He must have been outraged when she was recognized for saving the baby."

They looked at McCord and Tim asked, noticing Artie was listening, "What will happen to them, can you say?"

"Yes, it's not classified. They're both on administrative leave without pay, pending an official inquiry. They're facing criminal charges in Greece and Turkey. The Greek Ambassador called me yesterday, outraged. As you know, the Hellenic Republic's relationship with Turkey is frequently…delicate and this has potentially done far more harm than their usual issues. During our conversation, he mentioned the adoption process and how you'd recently gone through that. When he said your names, I knew it had to be our Timit and Doc G. My staff found Tim's employers. I then contacted Secretary Porter and from there we spoke with Director Vance."

Tim spoke slowly, thinking aloud, "Then the reason the Greek courts greenlighted the adoption so quickly was to pacify the Turks, as much as to help us."

"Yes and it was an effective apology, a good start. They've also assured the Turkish government and ours that they won't interfere with the men's extradition to Turkey for trial." McCord leaned forward, "It also helped that the Turkish government official who notified the Greek Minister of State about the bribe heard his reaction, which was, from what I heard, quite explosive." She smiled, "And that the Greek Minister of State and his Turkish counterpart grew up on Cyprus together. They're still friends, when they can be."

Tim nodded and felt Artie moving. She finally looked up, "I'm so sorry, he…I knew he had no heart but I had no idea he would go to such lengths to hurt us, to manipulate an innocent baby's life, to try and force me back under his control and retaliate against Tim. Thank God Umut is all right, that her aunt took care of her."

"That's the last piece. The aunt realized very quickly that she didn't want to be a mother, especially to a baby. Umut has been in a foster home for the last 3 months. Since learning all this, she's been tested and is healthy, right on target for development with her age. However, she's had a difficult first year."

"And the foster family?"

"Took good care of her but the stigma I mentioned meant they had no interest in adopting her."

Porter looked at Artie and Tim, "Artemis, what did you mean about Kosmos retaliating against Tim?"

"I was only able to stand up to him with Tim by my side and he knew it. When he met Tim at our wedding, we believe he was prepared to cause problems, but as soon as he met Tim, he knew he'd met his match. He was deceptively pleasant during the time they were in Washington, even going so far as to include Greg and Kyle in a dinner with Andy and Marissa."

"Ah, I see."

Gibbs shook his head, "Your grandmother warned me, Artie. I told Tim, we've been on alert since the Athens adoption. Never dreamed he had anything to do with us losing Hope."

Tim nodded, "The day we went to court in Athens, Mimi told me she was so worried about Kosmos doing something that she called his boss, a Mr. Caras. He assured her he'd be too busy to interfere."

Porter thanked them. McCord asked if they'd bring their kids to her place after the holidays and the couple looked at each other, Tim responding, "We don't live here, we come home for Christmas for 2 weeks every year. That's about all I'm willing to risk. We wanted to move home next year, but it doesn't seem like anything's been resolved, that it'll be safe for us to be here."

McCord frowned and Leon stepped in, "Tim, I've been told there's been a development but I haven't had a chance to speak with Sailes. We're scheduled for late morning today."

McCord held up a hand, "What do you mean, safe to be here and what's the FBI got to do with it?"

There was dead silence until Porter said, "It's classified, I'll read you in on as much as I can."

Leon looked at the two secretaries and then spoke to the one he reported to, "Ma'am, Sailes implied there was good news."

"It's about damn time." That was Porter.

Tim decided to throw his 2 cents in and to use his personal relationship, "Mrs. Bess, would you be willing to wait to talk again until after the directors meet? The FBI, NCIS, and Secretary Porter have been on this with us since the beginning."

McCord looked at him for a long moment, remembering how hard it had been for the Timothy McGee she'd known to speak up for himself. For his kids, for Artie or any of his friends, absolutely, he had no problems, but for himself, it was tough.

She smiled, "Yes, Timit, of course I'll wait. All you had to do was ask."

A chuckle startled her, she'd forgotten Tim's father was there. He said, "Tim's actually much better at speaking up for himself now, ma'am." She smiled, "That's good to hear."

She nodded to herself at the affectionate amusement on Vance's face and in Porter's eyes. Now she trusted that they really were on the case. Whatever the 'case' was. And she was remembering stories from friends in the CIA about Gibbs and his team.

As the trio left, McCord touched Gibbs' arm, "Walk out with me?"

He smiled when the first questions she asked were, "Is he really all right? Safe?"

He nodded, "FBI has details on us when we're home and London Metro and MI-5 do the honors in London and the town we live in. When we travel, Tim lets our FBI contact, we call him our coordinator, know and they arrange for details wherever we're going."

"That's huge! Who's paying for all this?"

"That's the classified part. The people who want to silence Tim are also the ones paying for his protection."

"Huh?"

"Exactly. And yes, he's all right. Ups and downs but with the exceptions of being unable to live in our own country, the brother he believed dead being alive but comatose, the loss of baby Hope and now the news about Kosmos Galanis, he's good. He's a wonderful father and son. Can't speak for husband but Artie's happy."

She shook her head, "They waited over a decade to marry?"

"They weren't waiting, they weren't in touch at all. Kosmos had Artie well under his thumb. Got her away from Tim and MIT, then when they ran into each other in Seattle, they conceived Andy, and the buzzard kept her from telling Tim. He missed the first 12 years of his son's life. Artie saw Sarah on a sidewalk in London last year and they recognized each other. Andy was having some problems, Artie was worried enough to get past her fear of her father and tell Tim. He met him the same day; Tim told me Andy flew into his arms, said he'd been praying he'd come."

"And then you adopted him."

Gibbs grinned, "Adopted all 4 of them, Tim, Sarah, Rob and Geordie."

"Never met Geordie."

"You saw him this morning, he's the one who saluted when you and Secretary Porter walked in."

"Oh! Was Rob there too? Or Sarah?"

"Yes but they were upstairs and Sarah was still asleep, as was James, Sarah's fiancé."

"I'd like to see them."

"You asked for January, we'll be back home by then, we're flying out the 2nd. If you have time before then, they'll make time. We have family gatherings for lunch on Christmas Eve, dinner Christmas Day and I host lunch or dinner for my grown kids on New Year's Day. Otherwise, we're in and out. "

"All right, we'll make it work. Uh, who has more room?"

Gibbs chuckled, "We had 32 people for Christmas last year and seated everyone at one very long table. We have 8 staying in the house plus Tim's brood, 6, 7 now with Hope's return. That's something, can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces! Unless you're bringing a big crowd, we have room."

"There's 5 of us, we'll fit! Let me check everyone's schedule, it's harder now that our 2 oldest are grown."

Gibbs grinned, "Wait until you add grandkids into the mix. Lu and I live with Tim and the family in Brambury and their schools are within walking distance but some days it does get crazy. Sarah and James also live with us but James works in London, I do consulting work there, during the summer Tim works there too. Artie works at home, but she's often in meetings, Sarah works from home but like Artie, can't always be disturbed, which leaves Lu. Although if there's an emergency, Artie and Sarah will drop everything and Geo and Rob aren't too far away, can pitch in if needed."

"You all live together? In one house?"

He chuckled, "Rob and Geordie don't really. Rob has a flat in London and Geordie's in and out of the hospital, he comes home to Brambury or stays with Rob. We live in an old Manor house, huge! We started out with 5 of us in 10 bedrooms, now we have 11 bedrooms and 15 people. More when Tony, my oldest son, stays, Artie's grandmother visits or family and friends visit. Last summer, we had 19 people for a few days." He paused, "And we never did decide on a room for the baby. Marissa will be happy to share, though."

"You mean Umut, right?"

"Yes although we call her Hope." He smiled and she saw the twinkle in his eyes.

He shook hands with each of them as they climbed into their SUV. Leon patted his shoulder, "I'll let you both know what I can."

"Know you will, Leon, thanks."

Tim and Artie were still in the borrowed house, alternately squeeing over the return of their baby and decrying Kosmos' cruelty. They were also making lists of what they'd need, for here and at home.

There was no doubt Hope would be sharing a room with her big sister; they'd have to do a bit of rearranging but both girls would have plenty of space. They'd probably need to redo most or all of the babyproofing Tim and Jethro did before Marissa moved in. As big as that house was, it would take some time and effort. At least the baby gates were still in place!

The crib was in the attic and there were other baby items still in the house. Her toys and clothes were gone but she would have outgrown them all by now anyway. They decided to buy enough diapers to get them through the first day and night, a changing pad and probably a couple of changes of clothes. That, sippy cups, bottles, formula and some of the foods she should be eating now would be enough. They'd order other things online and have them shipped to their neighbor in Brambury.

At that point, they realized they hadn't told the kids yet! Tim sent a text to Andy, asking him to bring his siblings back to the house, they had a surprise for them.

Andy smiled at the text. He didn't know what those people said, but Grandpa was really happy when he came back. Gathering his siblings, he told Grandma that Papa and Mama wanted to see them. With their grandmother watching, he and Greg held hands with Kyle and Marissa as they walked next door and into the house.

When they were told Baby Hope was theirs forever and would arrive tomorrow, they cried and cheered at the same time. Rissa and Kyle jumped up and down and everyone joined them. When they stopped, Rissa said, "Now can we share?"

"Yes, sweetheart, you and Hope can share."

Greg asked, "Is her name Umut or is it Hope?"

"We'll call her Hope. If she likes Umut better, she can tell us when she learns to talk."

"What about her middle name?"

Their mother smiled, "She already has one, I gave it to her at the airport in Turkey. It's Luella, for your grandmother."

"Oh, that's pretty! Grandma's gonna like that!"

"Is she McGee?"

Tim nodded, "Yes. When we change our last name to Gibbs, then she'll be Gibbs."

"Daddy, can she play with us now?"

"A little bit, Kyleson. She's probably crawling by now, she might even be walking but she's still a baby so we'll be very careful with her."

Rissa, who vaguely remembered napping twice a day, said that as a baby, Hope would need naps twice a day.

"Is she going to wake up really early, like before?"

"Probably not, we'll see. Kids, we haven't seen her since you did so we don't know much more. Now, Grandpa already knows but let's go tell everyone else. And then your father and I need to go shopping so Hope will have diapers, clothes and food to eat!"

"Are you going ice skating with us?"

"We'll take the car from here and do all our shopping. Then we'll meet you at the ice skating rink. Grandpa, Grandma and whoever else is going will take you and then we'll join you after we get our shopping done. That was our plan anyway, remember?"

"Oh, I forgot!" Kyle giggled, smiling happily when Mama ruffled his hair.

When they told the others, there were cheers and tears of happiness. Then they called the NCIS'ers and the Baltimore Uncles to tell them their good news. After that, they asked for a Skype call with Mimi, Susannah and Ian. By now, they would have been told of Kosmos and Dimitri's actions. When they were seen on screen, Artie could see that Susannah had been crying but was calm, while Mimi was very angry.

There were happy tears when they were told about Hope returning to them, with her adoption already approved and finalized. They'd see them for the Orthodox Christmas, in 3 weeks and Mimi joked that she would have a sheep sheared so she'd have a coat warm enough.

After that, Tim and Artie finally had breakfast! Double-checking the ice skating plans, the couple kissed their children, were kissed by Dad and Lu before leaving to go shopping. As Artie drove, she said she needed to practice driving in the States, Tim chuckled, "If anyone compares you to Ziva, slow down. Otherwise, don't worry, you're a good driver." He looked sideways at his wife, "With everything going on this morning, I didn't have a chance to tell you. Geo's come up with a new nickname for Lu, see what you think."

"All right, what is it?"

"Mamalu."

"Oh, that's sweet, she'll love it! Do the guys know and approve?"

"Yes, Geo and Rob were with them when he came up with it. You like it ok? Don't think it sounds too silly?"

"Not at all, she really will love it. You don't like it?"

"I do; I like having a mom name for her. I guess it does sound a little too something to me. Who's famous for singing 'Babalu'?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea. Is that what it sounds like to you?"

"Yes but Mamalu is new to us. Maybe it'll just take getting used to it." Tim Googled Babalu on his phone. There were plenty of references but it took him a few seconds to find the one he wanted. "Found it! The character was Ricky Ricardo on the old TV show, "I Love Lucy". That was his signature song, oh this is interesting, the song is really about a Santería deity _Babalú_ _Ayé_. The actor was Desi Arnaz, a bandleader in real life."

"Interesting, but I think you're right, it's just a matter of getting used to it."

Tim nodded. If Lu didn't like it, she'd let them know and that would be the end of Mamalu.

They turned in at Walmart and groaned. They'd forgotten it was the week before Christmas and many people were off work. Tim shook his head, "Last time I had to shop late, I avoided this place by going to a craft store. But they won't have diapers and baby clothes."

Artie thought about that, "Won't smaller stores have them? Even if we have to go to 2 stores, we'll be done sooner than if we shop here."

"Good point. I'll check." Looking on his phone, chuckled, "There's a baby store two miles from here. And it's close to that craft store. We can get the baby stuff and then go buy the wrapping paper and stuff."

"All right. Point me in the right direction."


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

While the adult McGees were shopping and the junior McGees ice-skating, Leon Vance was in his office, thinking. With the McGee-Gibbs family in London, he was happy to have both McGee and Gibbs back at the agency, when they were available. However, it had been more than 2 years since the murder of Kathy Hart and the subsequent separation of Tim from the agency. It was 18 months since the FBI had to literally smuggle Tim, Greg, Kyle and Jethro out of their own country, admitting they couldn't adequately protect them because of IPF's seemingly limitless resources.

He shook his head, he was now certain this had nothing to do with Hatman's trial, which had either already happened or would never happen. It had nothing to do with the other governments that wanted Hatman's head. This was personal, a vendetta against Tim, for reasons unknown. For all that McGee and Gibbs stuck to the party line about the trial, Vance was sure they would agree with him.

He sighed, looking at the time, 30 minutes until he needed to leave for the meeting with Sailes. He hoped the man would have some good news. Resolutely, he picked up the next file on the pile that needed his approval.

Finally on his way to the Hoover Building, he was frustrated when he received a text from the FBI Director, telling him the meeting had been moved to Langley. He told his driver and sent Pamela a text so she'd know.

He disliked going to Langley, the CIA's headquarters. In his experience, good things never happened in meetings there. Either he had his butt chewed for something NCIS did, and in the past, many of those accusations had included Gibbs' name, or he was doing the yelling about yet another of their rogue agents. Kort, Cruz, Rinnert, Carver, Choyce, the list went on.

On the other hand, Sailes sounded hopeful when they spoke about this meeting. Shrugging, Leon pulled a file out of his briefcase, he could get through a few more files on the drive to and from.

Once at Langley, he was escorted to an area he'd never seen before and took an elevator several floors down. As he'd entered the building at ground level, he was now definitely underground.

Walking down a well-lit hallway, he entered a room, still following his escort, and was glad to see Sailes there. Then he was surprised to see Geoffrey Peterson, the United States Attorney General and Sailes' boss. He'd met Peterson a few times, once during the Parsons' witch hunt. He shook hands with both men, pulling out a chair to sit.

The door opened again and Beau McKinley, the director of the CIA, entered. Leon had always found the name perversely amusing. It sounded so light-hearted, debonair, perhaps the carefree son of wealthy aristocrats. In reality, the man had a cloudy background and a deadly reputation. Back in the day, there'd been a fantasy pool at NCIS Leon wasn't supposed to know about, pitting Beau McKinley against Leroy Jethro Gibbs in a stone cold, 'who blinked first' contest.

McKinley nodded to each of them and sat. Peterson took a deep breath, "Director McKinley, thank you for allowing us to meet here. As I explained, the call I had left me a bit unsettled."

One of Vance's eyebrows rose as he waited. Peterson continued, "I was in my office, working late last night when I had a request for a video call. The number was local. I alerted Security, just in case and when they were ready to trace, I accepted the call. There was a shadowy figure and a disguised voice. I would have laughed, but what he or she said stopped me. Said he was the new head of IPF and was calling about Commander David Hart and his brother Timothy McGee. He said, and I still think this is funny, that the two of them were bleeding his agency dry.

"You know that IPF is paying the bill for all of the protection details for the McGees and Harts. That includes the FBI, London Metro, MI-5 and law enforcement in the UK, Turkey, Greece, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, wherever the McGees have been."

McKinley said, "Italy, France, and the Czech Republic. We've been brought in, too, sir."

"Yes, Director Sailes briefed me."

Vance sighed, "Everyone but us. His own agency."

The others nodded and Peterson continued, "I told him it was ironic that he was complaining as his agency is the one targeting Commander Hart and Agent McGee. That set him off. He claims that the men who attacked McGee in Cambridge 2 years ago were rogues, no longer attached to the agency. That rogues are still on his case now because Hatman went into his house and hasn't been seen since."

Vance frowned, "That's not true. I was there, he walked into the house with us and I saw him walk out of the house, right after McGee threatened to physically throw him out. There was a shot on the BBC, we have a clip in file, of Hatman being removed from an SUV in London and walked into booking."

"Shadow man said the rogues don't believe that was Hatman, that it was a decoy."

McKinley twisted his lips, "How? Hatman has a unique physical structure. My understanding was that the transatlantic flight was more or less spur of the moment and there wasn't a plan to arrest him, that was McGee's deal. How would a double have been arranged so quickly?"

Vance nodded, "I was on that flight and I saw who disembarked in London. The same person was in McGee's house and walked out to be arrested. For this to be true, Hatman's double would have already been in place when Secretary Porter confronted him in his lair." He frowned, "Is there any evidence, even anecdotal, that Hatman ever used a double? Can anyone outside of IPF confirm that was Hatman? Or is this just more BS from them? What's their endgame?"

"He claims they don't have an endgame, that they're being forced to pay for the actions of a few rogue operatives." He held up his hand as all 3 directors protested.

"Let me finish!"

When the others sat back, he continued, "I had the same reaction but decided to ignore his tantrum. Instead, I asked him what it would take for him to get those rogues reined in, to allow McGee and his entire family to live without fearing for their lives. He said that's why he'd called. He's been in contact with the former operative who leads the rogues. He wants a meeting with Hatman, says most of his people think Hatman is dead, murdered either by McGee or at the request of McGee. Shadow man said he wants amnesty for these rogues, if Hatman is indeed alive. He also said that if Hart ever wakes up, he'll be joining Hatman in prison."

"For what?"

"Treason, for one thing."

McKinley shook his head, "I can refute that and Leon, I'm sorry as hell I've never been able to divulge this before. It was highly classified, but with Mr. Peterson's help, it's been re-classed to Director level. We're working on getting special permission to tell McGee."

Vance had to think about that, "Without that permission, how long will it be until it's reduced to need to know?"

"Ten to fifteen years."

"Then thank you for all your efforts but let's leave it. I'll take the hit with McGee, if it comes to that and anyway, he could be running NCIS by then. I know Timothy McGee and I believe he'd rather not know something about a family member than have knowledge and not be able to tell, in this case, Hart's sons. With their adoptions finalized, they're both McGees now and any rumors floating around about David Hart won't be easily connected to them." He shook his head, "I'm off track; Beau, what's the intel?"

"Hart was working with us when he was first approached by IPF. He told our agent then and again when IPF stepped up the pressure. When I heard, I updated then Secretary Jarvis and we helped Hart, who continued to work closely with us. Until the explosion that knocked him into a coma, we believed he was safe from them."

Vance sighed in relief, "Thank you. Then do you believe the cartel struck back at Hart or was it IPF retaliating because he refused and told his superiors?"

McKinley gave him a look and Vance nodded, "Same conclusion McGee's reached."

"A hunch, like his mentor?"

"Acorn didn't fall far from that tree. Probably should have figured it out years ago."

"Huh?"

Sailes started laughing and McKinley made a face, "I'm not following. I was referring to Gibbs as his mentor, God help McGee."

"I know, so was I."

"But acorns…that's a father-child metaphor."

"Yup."

"Thought McGee's an orphan."

"He thought so, too. Until he discovered he wasn't and that his daddy sat across from him at work for over a decade."

The look on McKinley's face was priceless and Vance wished he had a photo. Sailes told him later he'd wished the same thing.

"He's Satan's spawn?"

"Aw, come on, Gibbs isn't…" Leon stopped at the glare from McKinley. "I was going to say he isn't in charge of Hell."

"Nice save. You're just yanking my chain, right? I've met McGee, seen him in action. Great agent, smart as a whip and a decent guy."

"Not yanking your chain. I've seen the DNA results, they're definitely father and son. McGee's a lot tougher than most people know. Grew up on the streets and raised his baby sister and brother there. Killed a man with a shiv when he was 10 years old. I've talked to the detective who investigated. At the tender age of 10, McGee threw a homemade shiv 6 feet with such force that he killed the guy."

"Self-defense?"

"Creep was a child trafficker and had cute little Sarah, age 4 and cute little Robbie, age 3, wrapped in one arm, a gun in his free hand. Big, ugly and mean. And very dead, shiv went right into his heart."

Sailes cleared his throat, "Which explains why he was able to work for Gibbs for so long. Tough. Back to Hatman, Shadow Man and their merry rogues, what do we want to do, if anything, with the demands? Or requests."

"Has anyone run this by the Brits?"

Sailes shook his head, "I'm just hearing about this, same as you two. If we agree that it's worth it to get McGee and all his family members their lives back, then I'll get in touch with my contacts. When's the family going back?"

"Red-eye, Jan. 2nd."

"Doesn't give us much time but then an operation like this, that might be a good thing. Sir," he addressed his boss, "is Shadow Man in close enough contact to get to the rogue leader when we're there? We'll have to play this very close to the vest. As widespread and resourceful as IPF is, they'll have IDs for every law enforcement agency in the UK if we give them too much time."

"I asked him that and he said yes but he won't do it unless we're in. Says getting the McGee family off their payroll is his number one priority."

Sailes leaned forward, "We need to plan and execute this as soon as possible. Beau, you in?"

"Yes, we're in."

"Leon?"

"Yes."

"All right; first of all, are all the McGee-Gibbses here?"

Vance shook his head, "No. His wife's grandmother lives near Athens and her sister and fiancé live in Edinburgh; I believe they're with the fiancé's parents for Christmas, also in or near Edinburgh. The brother's wife and children are with her parents in northern Greece, where I'm assuming she's filing for divorce. Tim's mother-in-law is persona non grata with his wife and her sister but she is living in Athens. There's an aunt, uncles and kids, one set in northern Greece, the other set lives in Sorrento, near Naples. Beau, your folks in Athens work pretty closely with my folks in Athens. I've got 4 agents available."

"And I have 2, yes, good idea. Let's partner them in protection details. Do we need to stretch to northern Greece and southern Italy? I've got the resources."

The others looked at Vance and he thought for a minute. "I'd rather we cover them than risk them. We don't know how many rogue IPF operatives are out there or how well organized they are."

"Anyone else in England?"

"No. Tim's future brother-in-law and his parents are here with the family. The only thing I can think of there is the house. It's an old Manor house, historically valuable and they rent it."

"How many agents would you want?"

"5. Front, sides, back, and outside the back gate – there's a popular walking path. The gates are locked and have security cameras on them; McGee has eyes on all the windows and doors, which are also alarmed to the local PD. I've got 4 agents in London."

McKinley nodded, "We'll have 1 or 2 to work with them."

Knowing they would likely have to revise the plan once British law enforcement agreed, they decided to get as detailed as possible now. That way they'd tweak the plan where necessary and move quickly. The last contact, if the Brits bought into this, would be Shadow Man.

McKinley showed Vance and Sailes to private offices to contact their teams. Sailes' first call was to his main contact in the UK, wanting to speak with her before they went any further. With Peterson's permission, he told her of the Shadow call and the message. He had a sneaking suspicion that she'd be just as happy as he would be with the McGees free to live their lives free of IPF and/or rogue operatives.

She was glad to hear there'd been some development, not so happy about the proposed prison visit. Nor was she happy when she heard the timeframe, as soon as they could get everyone in place, within the next 2 days. Sailes told her the rest of their plan and that got her attention, now she was on board.

He was sweating in the air-conditioned office when he finally disconnected, but the Brits were in. 'Operation: Free Us All', the very unofficial, never to be said outside the conference room, name of the mission, was a go.

Vance contacted Secretary Porter and read her in. She agreed to the plan and understood when he turned down a SEAL team. They still had no definite count of who in the Navy or Marines might have been, might still be, compromised and there was no way he'd risk compromising the mission. He decided if they came up short, he might take her up on it, but wouldn't say so until everyone was in place.

By the time Peterson contacted Shadow Man and told him the prison visit was happening, everyone was in place, either on protection detail in the U.S., Greece, Italy or in the UK, outside the prison and at the house in Brambury.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Nobody in the McGee household got much sleep Tuesday night, too excited about their baby returning to them in just a few short hours. Tim and Artie's phones buzzed with texts about 0700 Wednesday morning, the Turkish flight was beginning their descent into DC airspace, their ETA at the gate was 30 minutes.

They were dressed, fed, had a new car seat for the baby already installed in the rental van, ready to go, Grandpa and Grandma with them. With Christmas only a few days away, traffic was light this early and they reached the airfield in 20 minutes. Waiting inside, they watched, covering their ears as the jet landed. Jay Whitman, a policy advisor from the State Department, waited with them and when his phone beeped, he looked up with a smile, "They're disembarking, the baby and her minders will be off first."

The family waited inside at the gate, cheering when they saw a woman carrying a little girl. The girl turned when she heard the noise, smiling and waving. Tim kept telling himself she was just waving at people, she wouldn't remember them. They'd told the kids that, not to expect her to remember them.

Passport control was right there and checked the woman and child through quickly. The woman, her flight nanny, handed her to Artie with a smile while Tim took the suitcase from a flight attendant. He and Artie were both crying and kissing their little girl. Safe in Artie's arms, Hope looked at them, looked at her reclaimed mama and squealed. When she transferred to Tim's arms, she patted his face and laid her head on his shoulder, making happy noises. Greg was so happy, he yelled, "She remembers us! She does, Papa, Mama!"

Hope looked up and giggled. Whether she remembered them or not, she seemed to know she was home and most definitely loved.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While the family reunion played out, several of their protectors gathered in the United Kingdom, ready to execute their plan, while others continued their various protection details. Timing was tight, especially when the number of rogue operatives who'd be in the area was still unknown. They'd told Shadow Man no more than 3 of the rogues and he'd agreed. Since his initial call to Peterson on Monday night, his call had been traced, his location was known and his phones had ears on them. He made a call to a number in Belgium that lasted nearly 15 minutes.

By the time he disconnected, the party who'd spoken with him had his own shadow. After years of living off the grid, so to speak, that man, calling himself Rogue1, the leader of the IPF rogues, was too arrogant to believe anyone could track him. While he was excited about the possibility of seeing his boss, he was wary. He'd come to believe Hatman was dead, but insisted on following one of the last orders he'd been given, not to kill the McGee family.

He'd witnessed what happened to his colleagues who'd mistakenly attacked McGee, witnessed and participated in the attackers' takedown, boss's orders. No loose ends, although that was what those 2 kids were, loose ends. Boss was clever when he took care of the wife but then, inexplicably, stopped the mission that would have cleaned up the whole mess that David Hart created by refusing to carry out his patriotic duty, to join the best of the best in making sure their country's enemies were silenced. Hart had signed his death warrant when he squealed like a little pig to the CIA.

When he didn't die as planned, they'd watched his hospital bed, easily installing cameras. When they saw him starting to emerge from the coma, they were ready with the drug. Why his boss hadn't let them kill him, Rogue1 didn't understand. Once they were accepted as part of the medical team and Hart sank back into the coma, the cameras were removed. Too bad they'd ultimately had to lose 3 more operatives when the medical team finally figured out what they were doing. Luckily, their backstories held up to scrutiny and gave Hatman an excuse to destroy 2 cartels. It was a shame the 3 had to be sacrificed in the takedown.

Now he made a few calls. IPF's new head said he could take 2 of his operatives with him. That was fine, he'd have 2 with him and 2 more outside, watching. They didn't need any more than that and frankly, he couldn't afford more than 4 of them.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By the time they got back to the house, Hope and her siblings were hungry. She squealed at the borrowed high chair and giggled at the music she made pounding on the tray. She had a sippy cup with formula and used her hands to eat the bits of fruit, toast and a few round pieces of cereal.

When they took her from the high chair, she wanted down and dropped to the floor, crawling around the room, examining everything. They'd covered all the electrical outlets with tape, the baby gates were closed and the front and back door handles were too high for her to reach.

Sarah's babyhood was too far in Tim's past to remember how fast a crawling baby can go. Artie and Andy remembered and Tim, Greg and Kyle learned fast. While Marissa watched, she was a little young to understand the dangers and mostly thought it was funny. However, she was very good at letting the bigger people know what Hope was up to, including her crawl under the couch and opening a pantry door that wasn't closed all the way. When it was time for her nap, most of the family were also ready for a rest. The 4 older kids went to Grandpa's to hang out with them while their parents laid down. When Tim asked if it would get easier, Artie laughed at him. "Was Kyle difficult for you?"

"No, but he was almost 2 ½. Baby gates, outlet covers, locks on the toilet lids, those plastic things on door knobs, drawer latches, we were good to go. And Marissa wasn't even 2, she was fine. Or did you take care of everything?"

"You and Jethro helped me, you just don't remember. She was a little scamp on the stairs and we would have had to call a plumber a couple of times if your father hadn't caught her trying to see if Kyle's train cars would float."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. When we get home…"

"She'll be fine, we'll be fine. It will take some adjustment but we'll survive crawling. And then she'll learn to walk. Did you know babies don't have brakes? They learn to walk and then to run and crash into just about everything until they figure out how to stop themselves. We'll have a few weeks to cover everything in foam padding."

"Are we covering her in foam padding too?"

"No, she'd have it off by the time we finished putting it on her, or worse, she'd eat it. However, there are kits we can buy to keep her from opening doors, drawers, etc."

"You said a few weeks. That's how long she'll crawl?"

"We don't know how long she's been crawling but she certainly looks like an expert to me. Once she figures out how to stand and stay standing, balancing on her feet, she'll be on her way. I think we should baby gate the kitchen too."

"I know we'll need to wait for the outlet covers but can we buy other things online here and have them sent home? Will they be right for the UK configurations?"

"I believe so. However, there's no one at home and our neighbors are in Switzerland for the holiday. We'll be back before they will."

"Oh. Yeah, everyone's gone. We could ask the Morrises, they've said to ask if we need help with anything."

"That's a good idea, honey."

"I'll send an email later."

Artie laughed, "Better do it now. We'll be busy chasing little Missy once she wakes up."

"How are we going to do this?"

"There are structures, called baby corrals, that will give her a secure area to play in and give us a break. That's one of the first items we should order, maybe even 2 of them, one for upstairs, one for downstairs."

"Good! And more toys."

"Nothing noisy, please. No drums or squeaky things. Books with animal noises are fine, nothing more than that."

"Okay." Tim sat up and grabbing his laptop, sent an email to Joel and Carol Morris. While they waited for a reply, they started shopping, leaving everything in their online carts until they knew where to send them. When they had an affirmative and congratulatory reply from Carol, they completed their orders, shipping it all to the Morrises' home address.

They'd had lunch and cleaned the kitchen when they heard a little voice on the baby monitor. They grinned as they watched her on the screen, she was singing something to herself, playing with her toes. Artie said they could wait a few minutes, not to rush to her all the time, unless something was wrong. Then they looked at each other and ran upstairs.

When she saw them, she smiled and said 'merhaba', hello in Turkish. They said it back to her and then said hello in English. Artie said she'd start teaching her Greek once she knew English. When Hope looked at Artie and said 'anne', the Turkish word for mother, Artie pointed to herself saying 'mama'. Then she touched Tim, saying 'papa'. Hope made a noise and held her arms up. After Tim changed her, he cuddled her in his arms. She put her head on his shoulder and said quite clearly, 'bapa'. He held her up, giving her a kiss and then set her on his hip. With one hand, he tapped her lightly, saying, "Hope".

She looked at him with a frown, saying, "Umut".

"Yes, Umut and Hope."

She watched his mouth this time, smart girl that she was, and then echoed him, "Hobe".

He said it again, slowly so she could watch his mouth, "Hope."

"Hopah." She almost had it but over pronouncing the 'p' resulted in the 'pah' sound.

Tim tried again and she got it right this time. "Hope?"

"Yes!" She laughed as they clapped their hands. Then she frowned again, "Umut?"

"Yes, you are Umut and Hope." When she heard both names she was happy again and they left it at that. As he carried her downstairs, she practiced her new words, 'Mama, Bapa, Hope, Mama, Bapa, Hope."

By the time the kids brought their grandparents over, Hope had repeated her new words several dozen times, throwing in 'Umut' every so often. She stopped for a while, more interested in exploring again and now when she touched something, they told her what it was. "Sofa, lamp, chair."

When Tim wondered aloud whether they should replace their lamps with battery operated lighting fixtures, to avoid electrical cords, Artie shook her head, "Theoretically it's a good idea, but she needs to learn what's safe and what's not. Outside of our house, there will be places she'll go with electrical cords, she needs to know. Same with the oven and stove top, we'll put a lock on the oven door and a shield at the edge of the stove, but she'll still need to learn the concept of hot and dangerous. For her, that will be the word 'no' for a couple of years, until she's old enough to start to understand why."

Little Hope clapped her hands, squealing when her siblings and grandparents came in. Safe in Mama's arms, she leaned forward to kiss each person as she was told his or her name. Then, to Tim's delight, she pointed to him and told her new people, "Bapa". The boys grinned, "Papa, that's what she called you before!"

"Yes. The Turkish word for father is Baba, so she's probably melding them now."

Greg smiled, "She remembers us."

Hope squealed again, pointing to her mother, "Mama."

"That's right, sweetie! Very good!"

Grandma became 'Gwama' and Grandpa was 'Gwamba', which was fine with Lu and Jethro.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joel Morris squared his shoulders as he and his partner, a CIA agent called Mulligan, at least for today, joined 3 MI-5 officers. Each wore the latest and best protective gear available. After a quick briefing, they were joined by the 3 IPF rogue operatives and their escort, who handed them over and quickly left.

Once inside the prison walls, they were led to Hatman. He'd been told he had a visitor and was expecting the usual court appointed lawyer who arrived every 3 months for his court mandated visit.

When 2 federal agents and 3 British agents entered the room with 3 of his special rogue operatives, his eyes lit up. He stood. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Americans, Brits and my own people? Is it my birthday?"

The man calling himself Rogue1 smiled, this was his boss, he'd know that voice anywhere, in his dreams and his nightmares. "Happy early birthday, Boss!"

One of the Brits stepped forward. Hatman mentally scoffed, of course they'd insist on the lead, he was their prisoner. So unimaginative!

"These men are here to confirm you're alive. In exchange, they will cease the vendetta against the McGee-Hart-Gibbs family."

"The what?" Displeased, Hatman turned to his men. "What have you done? Have you disobeyed my final order?"

"No, sir. Nobody's been killed, per your order. But we've had them under surveillance."

"Why?"

"Because you went into McGee's house and were never seen again. We thought you were dead."

"And?"

"We follow them, everywhere. All of them."

"All of whom? McGee has a sister and 2 brothers. Are the boys still with him?"

"Yes, sir. He's adopted them. He's married now and his former boss adopted him and his siblings. McGee and his wife have 4 kids." Listening, Joel realized their connections weren't as great as feared, they didn't know about the baby and that was now 3-day-old news.

Hatman made a disgusted noise, all that sentimentality, such a waste of energy.  
"Number 1, I gave you access to my personal funds to continue our fight for our country, not to harass our own people. Hart has been sufficiently punished, justice has been done as far as he is concerned. But his brother did not betray us, you know that and you know what happened to those sadly mistaken attackers.

"McGee and Gibbs are patriots too, serving in their own ways. Neither one, nobody in that house, laid a hand on me. You were in the basement with me, you know I openly consented to coming here with the Secretary. It was my choice. Did you think I walked into this blind? How dare you second-guess me, I'm most disappointed in you. Is that all you've accomplished?"

"No, sir. But we haven't been able to do much more. Our surveillance is blocked by law enforcement wherever the McGees go."

"Wherever?"

"They travel around Europe a lot. And home, once a year. They're there now."

"You're done, that is over with, to be stopped immediately. Do you understand me? You three? Officers, who's paying for this?"

"Paying for what?"

"The Bureau removed McGee, his brother, the Hart boys and Gibbs after that ill-conceived attack. As these idiots here have not harmed them, they must be in protective custody."

His man spoke again, "They have protection details, 24/7, everywhere. The whole family. The Marine, the one who's still in DC, the people in Greece, Scotland and Italy. We can't get at any of them."

"Shut up, you idiot! Officers, who is paying for all that?"

"IPF."

"IPF is paying to protect the McGee family against rogue operatives of IPF? Oh, that's wonderful, whoever came up with that deserves congratulations."

Hatman was laughing and laughed so hard he had to sit down. When he stopped, he stood again, addressing the rogues: "These are my orders. 1) Cease and desist any and all surveillance, harassment, anything toward the McGee-Gibbs family, including Hart and his sons, the McGee extended family and friends, immediately and for all time. 2) You're fired, all of you rogues, from whatever organization you've made up. I order you to dissolve it, now, immediately and for all time. Find shelter and new ways to make a living, no more punishment, killing, maiming, harassment or surveillance, you're done with that business. 3) There will be no revenge taken out on any of the McGee-Gibbs familyor anyone connected to them in any way, shape or form because of my orders. All and each of you are to stay away from all and each of them. In perpetuity. 4) Number #1, you're cut off from any funding. You've wasted every penny and all of your time. You should have been tracking our real enemies. I'm disappointed that I ever trusted you. Dismissed."

He looked at the Feds and Brits. "If someone will give me a piece of paper and pen, I will write this down and you Feds can get it to whoever is running IPF now."

"What makes you think it's still in operation?"

Hatman scoffed without saying a word. When he had paper and pen, he wrote out his orders with an additional order to use extreme prejudice on any IPF operative, rogue or active, who tried to follow, harass, attack, maim or kill any member of the extended McGee family and their friends. He signed it, Marvin Lee Hatman and asked for the date before adding that.

When he finished, he looked at the lead Brit. "No extradition orders have been mentioned, have you not yet told the others about my trial?"

"We will now."

He nodded and as they left, called out, "Hold up. One more thing. Let McGee know all that was unauthorized? Except Hart, of course. He deserved his punishment for turning down the opportunity to join IPF and then tattling on us."

"He won't believe you any more than we do. Everything you've said to him has been a lie."

"Yes, that is true. Then go." Making a dismissive gesture, he summoned his guards, who waited for the others to leave.

As they left the super maximum security prison, they put their headgear back on, only to take it off again when told to stand down. The rogues outside the prison had been taken into custody by MI-5.

Part of the deal the U.S. Attorney General made with Shadow Man, real name Avrit Coffey Sifts, was that the rogue operatives would not be arrested by his agents. Sifts never said anything about British law enforcement. Nor had he acknowledged the warrants in effect for the rogues, in the UK and the same 6 other countries who wanted Hatman. Sifts wasn't ignorant, he knew this would mean the end of Hatman's special Rogue program and the arrest of the remaining members. He looked good to his new operatives, who knew little about Hatman, and the operatives from Hatman's time understood he'd made the best of some tough choices. In any event, the vendetta against the McGees was over.

The head of MI-5 updated the Prime Minister, who agreed to postpone the press conference until they had confirmation that the McGees had been informed.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episodes for CIA agents: Choyce (the former CIA agent who gave the phone number/address to bad guy) in Designated Target; Roy Carver, Faking It; Rinnert: Ex-File; Trent Kort: Blowback, Brothers In Arms, etc.; Ray Cruz: Two-Faced, A Desperate Man, etc.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

On Thursday, while Sarah took James and his parents sightseeing, the uncles, minus Tony who was working, took the boys and Rissa for a fun day of holiday activities. That gave Lu, Jethro, Tim, and Artie several hours for themselves and the baby.

Tim and Artie had their own wheels this Christmas, Mrs. Hank's car, and today, they had a few things they needed to do. One was shopping. While they'd shopped on Tuesday, that had been for baby things and Christmas wrap. They'd since realized they were lacking a few things for the Gibbses, as Tony dubbed Dad and Mamalu, Ducky, the Baltimore gang, and they needed groceries.

Their shopping trip also had another purpose, they wanted to look at neighborhoods. Although they still had no idea if they'd be allowed to move to the U.S. next year, they decided to think positively and start doing their homework. They kept their timeframe in mind: If a move was possible, they'd have 3 weeks between the end of Andy and Greg's term in Brambury and the start of the school year in Virginia or Maryland. Finding a rental large enough for the 7 of them and then moving overseas in those 3 weeks was going to be a Herculean task and they did not want to have to move twice.

They'd researched private schools, with zero history of gun or any other kind of violence, in the greater DC area and decided to look within a 6 mile radius of their favorites, all situated within a two block area. One was a K-6 elementary school, with a middle school across the street and a high school nearby. All 3 were Catholic schools and were recommended by the local Orthodox churches as well as the Catholic parishes in the area. As members of either the Orthodox or Catholic congregation, they'd be given a small discount and with multiple children attending, they'd qualify for a family discount.

Hope looked out the window, sang to herself, talked to them and played with a few toys as they drove to Costco. She cooed as they bundled her into the daddy pack Grandpa gave Papa two years ago so that traveling would be a little easier with 2 little boys. There was a piece they'd never used before, a little seat reminding them of a baby swing seat, that attached securely to the inside so baby could sit if she wasn't walking yet. She spent some time in it before they left that morning and, as with her brother and sister before her, loved being up high.

The only drawback, especially in a store with tall shelves like Costco, was that baby could reach out and grab things off the shelves. Her parents quickly learned that the wearer of the daddy pack needed to stand away from the shelves while the other person pulled whatever was wanted. They smiled at all the cooing and baby talk total strangers engaged in with their daughter. They beamed when two people commented that she looked like a perfect blend of them. Hope's hair had lightened over the past 6 months so that it was now a beautifully soft medium brown with a few lighter strands. Her skin tone was about the same as Andy and Marissa's and her eyes were still hazel. Mama and Papa didn't think her features looked at all like them but if other people thought they did, they certainly wouldn't disagree.

As they shopped, Tim noticed an older man who always seemed to be in the same vicinity as them, although never too close. He patted his badge, yep, it was there, on his belt. Dad had reminded him that now that he was working for NCIS again, he was required to wear it, at least here at home. Hope was in her daddy pack and quite content to play reach and grab while her daddy murmured something to her mama. Baby shook her head no when Bapa moved away from Mama but then spotted new things to reach for.

Tim left Artie and moved to a different aisle, curious to see what the older man would do. Looking at tire and car parts, he took Artie's compact mirror from his pocket and used it to watch the man. They were four aisles away from Artie now, this man had followed them. Tim waited a minute or two and when he had a clear view, snapped a photo of the man with his phone. He took 3 photos before he and Hope returned to Artie.

After that, he ignored the man, who continued to follow them. As a precaution, he'd sent the photos to Tony, who was working today. When he and Artie finished their grocery and gift shopping, they headed for the cashiers. To Tim's amazement, the man followed them. Once Artie and their overflowing cart were in line, they swapped and she wore the daddy pack with Hope while Tim caught the eye of one of the store security guys, showed his badge and did a head tilt toward their stalker. While the security guy didn't join him, he came closer.

Tim walked up to the stalker. "You have something you want to say to me? Or do you always stalk people?" He pulled his jacket back to reveal his badge.

The man's eyes widened. If Tim was really the good judge of character his father said he was, he'd say this guy was genuinely horrified and embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stalk. You look remarkably like my godson."

"Lucky me."

"You don't understand, he died when he was a child, years ago."

"So I look like a dead child? That's pretty ghoulish."

"No, no…look, I'm sorry, I guess I got carried away. I don't mean you or anyone else any harm."

"Apology accepted. But watch yourself, taking too much of an interest in anyone, especially anyone with a baby, could get you into a lot of trouble these days."

"You're right. Uh…I need to find my wife, who's shopping."

Tim nodded to him, nodded to the security guy and rejoined his wife and daughter. As they left the store with their boxes of goodies, he told her what had happened and she shook her head, "You believe him?"

"Yeah, when I got a good look at him, he looked military, either retired or close to it. While that doesn't excuse him, I believed his emotions, he was horrified when I said he was a stalker and very embarrassed." He smirked, "I have photos, just in case. Sent them to Tony."

She chuckled, "You're reverting to your law enforcement persona more and more here."

He smiled, "True, although it's always been there."

It was cold enough that their frozen and perishable items would be fine in the trunk of the car while they went neighborhood shopping. What they said they were doing was inspecting the neighborhoods. What they hoped was that they'd see something that was available and in their price range. Each cautioned the other not to get his or her hopes up, but they couldn't help being excited about this. In a follow-up phone call after Hope's arrival, Leon had said things looked better and that he'd know more in a few days.

So they wandered, in and out of neighborhoods, up and down streets, finding themselves going in circles a few times. They saw a few houses for sale and pulled the sales sheets for each one. After a couple of hours, all 3 of them were hungry and they decided to take a break. Using Tim's phone, they found a local café and following GPS directions, headed for it.

Easier said than done! They'd admitted they were lost when Artie spotted a sign for an 'Open House'. They looked at each other, smiling. The baby was dozing, having already had enough formula to keep her tummy happy for a while, and the two of them could wait to eat.

Turning onto a driveway just beyond the sign, they saw the pavement had a little curve to it, partially hiding the house from the street. There were outbuildings in the back, off a bit to the right along with what looked like a graveled parking area, and there was a cottage farther right of the buildings.

The house itself was three stories with a wide front porch that ran the entire length of the front, with two chimneys emerging straight and tall from the roof. The building looked a bit forlorn, they thought it was probably empty.

Surrounding the house and the outbuildings was a heavily wooded forest. They could see pines, fir, cedar and spruce along with deciduous and currently leafless trees. Tim sighed, "I'm already in love with this place."

"I know, me too. Can't you just see the kids exploring?"

He snorted, "Carrying Hope, and Marissa will be leading the pack!"

"Oh yes, she is her mama's daughter."

They parked next to the wide front porch of the house. Gently removing Hope from her car seat, they maneuvered her into the daddy pack on Tim's back.

Walking in, they admired the front door and the foyer as they entered the house. They were greeted by the real estate agent, who welcomed them. "Thank you for stopping in! As I'm sure you noticed, this is an older property, a large family home that sits on 5 acres. It has been renovated with new plumbing, wiring, windows and the furnace is about 4 years old. Other than any cosmetic changes you might want to make, there's nothing that needs doing, you can move right in."

"Great, thank you."

"I'm Kathi, let me know if you have any questions. And here's my card before I forget. I live down the road and have known the owner for years."

Artie smiled, "I'm Artemis Galinis and this is my husband Timothy, happy to meet you." They shook hands.

She gestured to the area they were standing in, "This is the foyer, lovely, isn't it? Nicely decorated and well-lit without being fussy. The owner's late husband was a high ranking Navy officer and the foyer was meant to make an impression on Navy Brass when they entertained here. To the right is the formal living room, there's also a large family room off the kitchen. To the left is the staircase to the second floor. You may not be able to see it, but there's a coat closet in that wall."

She showed them, it was nearly seamless and invisible. And a good size inside. "There's also a powder room and storage closet underneath the highest part of the staircase."

When a man came in and waved to her, she smiled, "My husband, now I can show you the upstairs without missing anyone."

They walked upstairs, Tim mentally adding carpet. While hardwood was wonderful, carpeted flooring was very welcome on chilly mornings. And less slippery on little feet. He looked at the top of the stairs, mentally measuring. Yes, a baby gate would fit.

Kathi said there were 6 bedrooms and 4 baths up here, including an en suite in the master bedroom. One of the first rooms they looked at was a playroom and Tim made a beeline for the bay window seat. Turning, he smiled at Artie and she nodded, their bookworms would love this room! Next to the playroom was a room set up to serve as a nursery and Kathi confirmed it was one of the 6 bedrooms, easy enough to return it to its original purpose. There was a fireplace in there and Tim smiled, "We live in a house now that dates from the 15th century and several of the bedrooms have fireplaces. And we love them. What year was this one built?"

She chuckled, always happy when potential buyers showed this kind of interest. "Hundreds of years younger than your current home! Records show the original house was built during Thomas Jefferson's presidency, in 1806. The woods you see outside were tobacco fields then, this was a tobacco plantation, although the property would have been much larger. The house was occupied by either the plantation manager or the plantation owner, the records aren't clear in that regard. It's been renovated and updated several times; luckily each owner has retained the style of the house." She added, "The antebellum plantation owners had slaves. We also have records that show the owner at the time of the Civil War freed his slaves before the Emancipation Proclamation."

Artie didn't say anything, she didn't know much about America's colonial history although she thought slavery barbaric and inhumane. She also knew it still existed in the world. Tim nodded, thanking the real estate agent for the information, tucking that away to think about before deciding whether or not to purchase. There might be something they could do to honor those who'd been forced to work and live here. "When did the current owner buy the property?"

"1952. Most of the acreage had been sold off over the years, leaving a more manageable parcel. They spent a few years working on the house, with professional help as needed, until it was repaired and modernized. They had the exterior restored by professionals. Both their sons were born and raised here, at least whenever their father the Navy officer was posted anywhere close."

After peeking up into the partially finished attic, they looked at the rest of the bedrooms. The rooms were good size, needing cosmetic work, paint, flooring, new lighting fixtures. One of the things Artie noted was that each bedroom and the playroom had ceiling fans that matched the décor very well. She approved of that, remembering blistering hot nights in parts of the world where air conditioning was nonexistent and ceiling fans were rare.

Tim held his hand in front of a window and nodded, "No cold air coming in, that's good!"

"Yes, the owner had the upstairs windows, including the attic, replaced about 8 years ago and the downstairs windows were done 5 years ago. They're wood and if simple repairs are done when needed, they'll last as long as 40 years, perhaps longer with storm windows. But that's not something you'd have to worry about for years!"

Tim grinned, "Get the kids through college, then replace the windows."

Kathi smiled, "How old are they now?"

"13, 8, 4, 3 and our sleeping baby here is a year this month."

"Lovely! Are you picturing them in the rooms here?"

Artie nodded, "Oh yes. Our 2 oldest are bookworms and they'll love the bay window nook in the playroom, they each have one in their rooms now. And we may fashion something for them in their rooms wherever we end up. Our 4-year-old loves trains and has a train track his father and grandfather built for him in his room. That will come with us as we're renting now. Our 3-year-old was the only girl for her first 2 years and while she likes pretty things, she tends to like whatever her brothers like."

"Oh, that sounds like fun! And a lot of work."

They laughed and Tim said, "We're lucky, we have a lot of help. I'm a visiting professor at a university right outside of London and when I accepted the job offer, my dad and younger brother decided to come with us. My sister was already there, in grad school and our older brother joined us last year. Between us, we haven't had any problems with child care!"

"All of you live in _one_ house?"

Artie laughed, "Not really. Tim's younger brother is completing his residency in London and has a flat there, he comes over when he's off for a couple of days. And their older brother is also in and out. The rest, yes, we do all live in the same house, but it's huge, an English manor house. There are 7 bedrooms, a library and 2 offices upstairs, and two suites downstairs, with 2 bedrooms apiece, so 11 bedrooms in total."

"My goodness! Will they be living with you here?"

Tim shook his head, "No, my dad has a home in Alexandria, my younger brother will probably live in Baltimore, my older brother is in the Marines so he'll live wherever he's posted and my sister is marrying a Brit, they'll live in London. It'll just be the 7 of us." He chuckled, "That does sound funny, 'just' the 7 of us!"

"Will this be enough room for you?"

Tim thought about it, "Are there bedrooms or extra rooms downstairs?"

"Yes, I'll show you those. You're thinking of a room for guests?"

"Yes, Artie's grandmother, her sister and my sister will visit. And we have close friends in Boston who will come. However, a more pressing need is space for 2 offices, 2 separate offices. We both work from home. Artemis is a civil engineer and will need room for extra equipment. I'm returning to my career as a federal agent and will occasionally work from home. And for that I need someplace very private and secure."

Artie smiled at him, "He's also a writer so his office will have multiple purposes."

"I believe we'll find just the spots you need downstairs."

Before they returned to the main floor, they looked at the master bedroom suite and smiled at each other. It was separated from the other rooms by a laundry room on one side and a walk-in storage closet on the other. They liked that!

The bedroom was a little bigger than theirs in Brambury with a sitting area and a walk-in closet, perfect for their needs. The floors were old hardwood, in beautiful shape. Windows flanked where the bed would likely go, with drapes that would do until they settled in. The bathroom was quite large, with two vanities, each with its own sink, lighting and mirrors, plenty of storage, a bathtub large enough for the two of them and a large separate shower. Tim smiled when he noticed the height of the showerhead, glad to know he wouldn't have to hunch over to wash his hair.

Artie commented on the tub and Kathi smiled, "The owner loves her baths and insisted on this tub and the double sinks when they renovated the bathroom. She was ahead of her time, this was back when her husband made Admiral. They had to attend a lot of social functions and she wanted, as she says, "her own space to put on the paint".

They laughed and Tim pointed out the multiple electrical outlets, on each side and in the middle of each vanity. That would be handy, it was the only problem they had in their current home, one electrical outlet in their bathroom.

That led to a discussion of the plumbing and electrical systems in the house and Tim was relieved to hear, again, that both had been upgraded within the last decade. "The owner's been thinking of selling for several years and worked gradually through the most important items to be done before she had it listed."

"How long has it been on the market?"

"Off and on for 4 years. It's a large property and a large house. The idea of having such a large place is daunting to most buyers. She's said all along it would take the right buyer. And of course the economy in the last few years hasn't helped."

They smiled at her and each other. Tim nodded, "If I may, I'd like to have my father take a look. He's a master repairman and will be able to tell us what to expect."

"I'll have to clear it with the owner but I don't foresee a problem. Will you be moving home soon?"

"We won't be moving until the first week of August. My contract with the university is up at the end of May but our boys' school won't be out for the summer until late July. Their system is quite different than it is here.

"Anyway, that gives us about 2-3 weeks to move from the UK to here and find a place to live before the boys' new school starts in mid-August. We don't want to start them in Alexandria, staying with my dad, and then move them again when we find our own home.

"Our thought was to buy now and we anticipated a fixer-upper would be a good match for our price range. We have friends nearby who are plumbers and a master carpenter and they could get started on the repairs, depending on the house. My eldest brother just got engaged and they're looking for a place. They could live here while they look, save some money."

"And will you be visiting at all between now and then?"

"We hadn't planned on it, but it's certainly possible."

"Good. The city of Arlington has been pressuring the owner to either occupy, sell or rent the house. They don't like vacant houses, even though the caretaker lives in the cottage. He plans to retire when the property is sold, so the cottage will also be vacant."

Tim nodded, "With my experience in law enforcement, I can understand that, they're an attractive nuisance. I'll talk with Tony, my brother. They might be happy to live here until we get home."

Artie said, "Not Tony – Jimmy and Breena! They're cramped with the two children but can't afford to move yet. Six months with no house payments would really help them." She looked at Kathi, "Jimmy works at the same federal agency as Tim and Breena works in her parents' business, I believe she owns part of it. They're wonderful people."

Kathi smiled, "Two good possibilities, all right, I won't worry about it then. Let's head downstairs, there's still a lot to see!"

On the main floor, they walked through the living room, Tim remarking on the large covered object over the fireplace. Kathi nodded, "It's a portrait of the owner and her family, when her sons were about the ages of yours. She lost both sons and her husband all in the space of a year. Now when she's home, she lives in a cottage on the property of her older son's brother-in-law in Maryland. Her late daughter-in-law's family made her part of the family when her husband and the boys died. There's no room for the painting and she doesn't want to put it into storage, so here it sits. She keeps the heat and air on and pays for an alarm system just for that painting."

Artie took Tim's hand, saying, "That's so sad."

Tim nodded, "I understand. My sister and I were orphaned when we were young, lost our whole family. If I had anything left of theirs, I'd hold onto it as long as I could."

"I'm so sorry. You've also made a new family, with your brothers and father?"

He smiled, "Funny story but yes. My dad was my boss for over a decade. I took a leave of absence when I got custody of the two younger boys, they started out as foster children, and he and I became pretty close, the boys asked him to be their Grandpa. Then a little over a year ago, he adopted me, Sarah, my sister, and our chosen brothers. Recently, we had our DNA tested and found I am, in fact, his biological son!"

"That's amazing! And you already knew each other quite well. That's a story that needs to be written."

"Someday, if and when I have time."

Moving through the living room, they peeked into a large dining room that Artie said was large enough for the current extended family. Turning back toward the left, they saw the kitchen and both smiled. It was a good size, not too big, but a good size for the two of them to work together. There was plenty of counter space and a peninsula/breakfast bar that could also be used. It was open to the rest of the downstairs and Tim pointed out that along with the breakfast bar, there was room for a table big enough for the seven of them. Kathi showed them the alcove once used for a separate freezer and smiled to herself when she saw Tim's thoughtful expression.

They walked across the house from the kitchen, passing a door to the back of the property on the way, and went down a hall where she showed them two nicely sized guestrooms, a hallway bathroom and the two rooms she thought they could use for their offices. They were plenty large for their purposes.

When they returned to the main part of the house, Kathi asked them what they thought and the couple exchanged looks. Tim said, "We'd love to live here. What's the asking price?"

She told them and wanted to cry when she saw the looks of disappointment. "That's too much of a stretch."

Thinking fast, she said, "Why don't we do this? Have your father come over and take a look, then make an offer based on his estimation of repairs." Kathi liked these people and was sure her client would too. She felt this was the family they'd been waiting for and she'd stress that. She also thought of another way that might work but wasn't at liberty to mention it to the Galanises.

The couple called the father who said he could be there in 20 minutes. Kathi was fine waiting, she was not giving this up without a fight! She called her client, leaving a message and receiving a call back from the woman, who said she trusted Kathi's judgment. The two of them quickly discussed the possibility Kathi had in mind and her client agreed. She was also fine with a lower selling price but they'd have to stay somewhere close to the appraised value or the buyers' mortgage loan wouldn't be approved.

Tim and Artie went back upstairs while they waited for Dad. Artie had been adamant that they use their 'house' savings and none of Tim's writer's funds. They'd received money as wedding gifts and they'd put it all in their house fund, as well as regular amounts from their paychecks. Now that they'd fallen in love with the house, Artie was willing to compromise and use some of Gemcity's offshore funds to buy the house.

In that case they would pay cash, which made Tim happy. Although he knew it was commonly done, he hated the idea of a mortgage, paying interest for years on end. He'd been saving portions of his Zubin Cai and Gemcity advances, royalties and resell profits since he'd started writing. When he'd received his back pay, it had gone into his house fund, before he reconnected with Artie, and then when he and Sarah had finally been given the support money from the Navy, he'd put half of his portion of the support money into their house fund. He'd used the other half for family fun, including their travels. Depending on Dad's inspection, this might be a great way to afford the house and property.

When Artie expressed concern about not participating in the purchase, Tim grinned, "Don't forget the renovations and furniture! And we'll need two cars here."

That settled her worries and the two started making notes of what furniture they'd need and what changes they'd like to make. When Artie wondered if the owner had sold all of the furnishings, they wrote that down as a question. They didn't like the location of the dining room, it was too far from the kitchen but didn't yet have a clue what to do about it. The downstairs hallway with the guest bedrooms and their offices felt narrow and dark, they'd like to do something about that and wondered if there was room for a half bath between their offices. Both office rooms had closets and Artie quickly drew a sketch of a half bath, with doors from each office, in place of the closets.

They also discussed adding en suite bathrooms for each guest room. In that case, their half bath would also be accessible from the hallway. They discussed turning the former nursery into a library/study room for the children. Andy and Greg loved their library in Brambury and they hoped Kyle, Rissa and the baby would love to read as much as their older brothers did.

They also revisited an idea they'd discussed previously, becoming foster parents for other children without families. In that case, the nursery would revert to a bedroom and they'd think about finishing the attic for Andy and Greg.

Hearing a doorbell, they hurried downstairs to find Kathi welcoming Dad with his tool box. Hope had been quietly singing and amusing herself. Now she gave a little squawk when she saw her grandfather. She gave him smooches, giggling and patting his face. Back upstairs again, she fussed until Artie took her out of the daddy pack and watched her, turning her away from the stairs. They'd closed all the doors so she only had the hallway to explore with Mama watching her every move.

Tim showed his dad around. He knocked on walls, looked for cracks or peeling paint, shined his flashlights into corners, at baseboards and ceilings, inside closets and the bathrooms. Tested each electrical outlet, taking off face plates to check the connections underneath, and the light fixtures.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While Tim and Artie were falling in love with a house they couldn't afford, the man who'd stalked Tim at Costco was telling his wife what he'd seen. "Liz, I saw this man and stopped dead in my tracks. He's a younger, taller version of Jim. I, uh, followed him around the store, I guess a little too closely because he confronted me before they left. He had a badge on his belt and there was a Costco security guy there, too. I really messed that up! But, when he was talking to me, I got my first clear look at his face. Honey, he has a scar, right here," he pointed to his face, "just like Tim's."

Liz was horrified, "David Crane, are you insane? Tim's been dead for 30 years and he was 9 years old, not a grown man! Was that what you were thinking? You know everyone's got a double somewhere."

"Liz, if you'd only seen him." She was quiet, thinking while she picked through the produce. None of them had been present when Dan and the kids died. They'd been buried before they were even told, Natalie told them it was a Russian custom to bury the dead as quickly as possible. Liz had never thought to check to see if that was true and wondered if anyone else had.

She sighed to herself. Lately Maisie, the maternal grandmother of Liz and Dave's 3 dead godchildren, had been obsessed, complaining about hints and leaves on the site she'd used to build her family tree. Liz and Claire, Maisie's daughter-in-law, had tried to help, even going as far as calling Customer Service for the site to ask if there was any way they could help. They explained to Claire that people on their site had the right to remain private, anonymous, while building their family tree or registering their DNA. She thought about that now, and turning to her husband, asked, "Did he seem to recognize you at all?"

"No, nothing. Except he had that little crease in his forehead Tim would get when he was annoyed."

She shook her head at him. "Honey, let's pay and get out of here. There's something we need to discuss, but not here."

Nearly 30 minutes later, they were in their car, sitting in the Costco parking lot with the heater on to keep them warm. Liz took a deep breath before telling him of Maisie's problems on the Family Tree building/DNA site. "Here's how it works. I build my family tree and because I want it to be complete, I include everyone I know that's related, living and dead. Your grandmother for instance, and my aunt Connie. Those two would be on the appropriate branches of our tree with their names and dates of birth and death.

"Let's use Connie as an example. I input her and someone else also has her on their family tree, maybe her husband's niece. If the name and date match up, each of us will get a leaf, meaning there might be a match – or the leaf could be some other type of hint, a formal document, like a census, with that person's information. Anyway, in our example, the niece and I would both have leaves. If I'm a paying member of this site, I can click on my leaf and see her name, the niece's name, _if_ she's agreed to share her information. If she hasn't agreed, we'll both still get leaves but when I click on my leaf, I'll get a message that says she wishes to remain private, or something along those lines.

"Maisie has her entire family in there, dead and alive, with birth and death dates. If you saw it, you'd be amazed, she's related to what looks like an entire town in Scotland, her mother's brothers' descendants. And she's been in touch with them, whoever put their data in agreed to share. These last few months, she's received new leaves, new hints but whoever is behind them wants to remain private. And it's not her relatives in Scotland, she's already checked with them. They confirmed they also have new leaves but don't seem to care about not being able to see who it is. You know she can't stand to leave a puzzle alone or a mystery unsolved and this is driving her crazy. Claire and I have tried to help her," she told her husband about their chat with the site's Customer Service, "so there's nothing anyone can do. And now you've seen someone who looks so much like Jim and with a scar similar to Tim's. I guess we can ignore it and hope she forgets about it or…what? There must be a report somewhere. Wasn't NIS involved?"

"With the crash? Yes. I don't know if they ever found the other driver though. Everything seemed to happen at the same time and so quickly, losing Dan and the kids, then Jim's dad, then Mark and Nelson McGee. I don't know if Jim, Maisie or Penny were ever told. Jim and I never talk about those days."

"I'm certain Penny wasn't told and if she wasn't, neither was Maisie. It would have been up to Jim. And as I remember, the 3 of us were awfully busy keeping the two women with us."

"Liz, that's a good point. What if there's something in that report?"

"Would you still be able to see it? Do they keep reports this long?"

"Yes, it's probably archived, but I'm sure it still exists. But it can't be us, hon, we're not legally related to them."

"Oh, then I guess it would have to be Jim."

They looked at each other and finally Liz said, "I'll call Claire, she knows about Maisie's problem. I'll tell her what you saw today."

He nodded and she pulled her phone out, calling her friend.

"Hi, Liz, what's up?"

"Hi, Claire. Dave and I are in Arlington, at Costco and something a little strange happened." She told the younger woman about the man Dave saw, including the scar and continued, reminding her of Maisie's mystery leaves and the fact that they didn't know if anyone in the family had ever read the NIS report of the hit and run that had killed Dan, Tim, Pat, and Sarah McGee 3 decades ago.

She heard the other woman take a deep breath and it was another few seconds before she said anything. "Wow, that's…Liz, we're going to have to find out. You know Maisie isn't going to give this up and Dave didn't imagine the man, you said a Costco security guard was there, too. I'm glad the kids are with my folks for a couple more days. I'll talk to Jim, he's working on one of his models. Are you two on your way home?"

Liz opened her mouth to say yes and then heard her husband's stomach growl.  
"We're eating somewhere first."

"All right, I'll let you know what Jim says. Or he'll call. Something."

They were eating in a nearby café when Dave's phone rang. He looked at the ID, "Jim."

She nodded as her husband accepted the call. "Yeah, I know but if you'd been there, Jim…" He listened and then nodded, "All right. Let me ask Liz."

He looked at her, "He wants to go to NCIS headquarters, aboard the Navy Yard, to see the file, wants me to go with him. Do you want to go?"

She did but she also knew that, cold as it was, their groceries still needed to be taken home. "I need to get the groceries home."

"Oh geez, forgot about those. Yeah, you're right." He raised the phone, "No, she's not going, we have groceries. Ok, the café where we're eating is right on your way." He told him the name and address of the place, listened, said, "Thanks" and hung up.

"He's going to pick me up here, he's already on the road." Dave grinned, "Might have that piece of pie after all."

She smiled, "Then I'll head home after I'm done."

After she left, Dave had his pie, another cup of coffee and paid their bill. When he saw Jim's car pull into the lot, he left.

He looked at his friend as he climbed in, "How are you doing?"

"I don't know. Have a million questions that should have been asked 30 years ago."

"It was a horrible time, Jim."

"I know, been telling myself that. I think we should call ahead, might save some time."

"Good!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Aboard the Navy Yard, Leon was pacing in his office. The mission to free the McGees from the IPF Rogue Operatives had been underway for more than 2 hours now and he was waiting to hear from someone, at this point he didn't care who. Sailes, McKinley, Morris, MI-5, someone!

Deciding he needed to do something useful, he left his inner sanctum, telling Pam he'd be in the squad room. She nodded.

He was still in the squad room when the call came in. He was talking to Carter when the man's phone rang. Rick's junior agent picked up the call, listened, wrote something on a notepad, said something into the receiver and put the call on hold. Handing the note to Rick, the junior returned to his desk. Looking surprised, Rick showed the note to Vance: _"_ _A Capt. Hubbard on the line, wants to see the report for the_ _Cmdr._ _Dan_ _iel_ _McGee_ _hit and run_ _."_

Vance told Rick he'd take the call, much to the agent's relief. They asked security to ask the caller to hold while they got the file. Leon was glad he'd put an alert on the case name and number, determined to cover as many bases as possible to keep Tim and his family safe.

Entering his office, Vance unlocked one of his file cabinets, pulled out the McGees' file and then, using the cell number, did a quick check on Captain Hubbard. Finally, he sat down and took the call off hold. "Captain Hubbard? I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I'm Leon Vance, Director of the agency. How can I help you with the McGee case?"

"Director, thanks, I figured someone had to dig it out of a dusty box somewhere."

"Actually, we digitized most of our old files a few years ago."

"I see. I'm calling because my elderly mother has a bee in her bonnet that we have some unknown relatives and then a family member saw someone today who looked very much like a lost relative. My mother has accounted for everyone she knows of. When we started looking for something we'd missed, I realized I've never seen the report on the crash that killed my brother-in-law, niece and nephews. Would it be possible to email it to me?"

"I'm afraid not, Captain, that's not something we ever do and much of the file is classified. Are you in port?"

"Yes, I'm in Virginia with a friend right now, just passing Fletcher's Cove. I live in Annapolis."

"Then you're fairly close to the Navy Yard, Fletcher's Cove isn't far. If you'd like, come into the office and I can go over the file with you. However, unless your friend has the same level of security clearance you do, he or she won't be able to view it."

Vance swore the man snickered, "Well, he's my boss, Admiral David Crane. He and his wife were godparents to all 3 of my sister's children. And yes, we'll come in."

"Good. Do you have an ETA?"

"As soon as we can get there, Director. I had no idea there was anything classified about this and now I need to know."

"Understood. We'll alert the gates to expect you."

"Hope driver's licenses will do for identification."

"That's fine."

After telling Pam, who alerted the Marines at the gates, Vance sat down to re-familiarize himself with the file. He flicked the security camera toward the bullpen and saw that DiNozzo was there, he could use his help.

He estimated about 10 minutes before the Captain and Admiral arrived. When DiNozzo walked into the Director's office, Vance quickly updated him on the call. The agent's eyes widened. "That's…they'll want to know where they are, Tim, Sarah and Patrick."

"Yes, that was my thought too. Do you want to stay for the meeting, representing your family?"

"No, thanks. I'd like to warn Tim and Sarah."

"Yes, good idea. With the Hatman situation still as ugly as it is and Tim's wishes to remain private, I won't reveal their location. However, yes, they should know, give them a heads up."

Tony thought about it, looking at his watch. "I think Geo, Rob and the guys were taking the kids today, Tim and Artie have the baby. They were going grocery shopping and then drive around to look at neighborhoods, in case it's safe for them to move home next summer. I could call Tim or Sarah."

"That's good. I'll go through parts of the file with them."

"Would you be able to show them recent photos? And what if you told them they're living overseas?"

"Yes, if you have photos that don't give any clues as to where they are, would you please send them to me? I don't know about revealing they're overseas, although that's vague enough. I could point them in Patrick's direction."

"Not without letting Sarah know, she controls who's allowed in. Names have to be submitted to her, from her they go to someone in the FBI who vets that person. No one is allowed near his room without being vetted. Ultimately, the decision for the person to be allowed in or not is Sarah's. And a phone call from the hospital won't help, might bring the FBI down on them."

"Good, tight security. Yes, then if you could call one of them, that would be great. Is there any chance the staff at Restful Havens would let slip information about Tim and Sarah?"

"No chance, because they don't know where they are."

"Well done!"

Tony was pleased, "Thanks! Fornell and I set that up."

"Great job, Agent DiNozzo. Now, we'd better get ready."

DiNozzo nodded and left the office. Back at his desk, he called his sister, who answered after the first ring, "Tony, is everything all right?"

"Yes and no, Sari. Those people on the family tree Tim's been avoiding are about to walk into NCIS to see the report on the car wreck."

"Who?"

"A Captain Jim Hubbard and an Admiral Crane, didn't get his first name. Vance says Hubbard is your uncle, no idea if Crane's related."

"Wow. They're going into NCIS?"

"Yep, they'll be here…uh, there's the elevator now." He'd been speaking softly, this wasn't anyone else's business but now dropped the volume even lower, "Sarah, the younger guy, must be the Captain, looks just like Tim! I mean, wow! He's shorter, about Geo's height but he's definitely related to Tim. Other people are noticing too, hope he doesn't notice people staring."

"Were you calling to give us a heads up?"

"Yes, sort of. Vance will not reveal your location and he'll alert the FBI to the Hubbards' interest in you, with an explanation, of course."

"But they're about to find out we're alive?"

"Yes."

"Can you get word to Vance that it's all right to let them know we're in Europe?"

"Yes. And Sarah, you need to update your FB profile immediately! Remove your funny location and delete your photos, geez, sis, do you not understand the word security? They'll find you there in about 3 seconds, I just did."

"I'll remove the photos and change my location right away but it's all right if they find me. Makes things a little easier if we start by communicating online. Tim will have time to get used to the idea. I wish that information would get here!"

"What information?"

Sarah told him about the FOIA inquiry and he sighed. "Nothing you can do to hurry that along. It'll get to you when it gets to you, or not."

"All right. Do you have to be in on the meeting?"

"No, it was optional and I chose not to stay."

"Thanks for calling, Tony. Are you coming for dinner tonight?"

"Both of us, unless either of our teams lands a case. Gotta go, see you later."

When he disconnected, he sent a text to Vance with Sarah's ok to reveal their presence in Europe. And asked if he still wanted photos. That was followed by a call from Pam Cook, asking him to bring the photos to the director's office. In the meantime, Vance had made a quick call to his boss.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When the Naval officers were escorted into the director's suite, Pam had to use all of her professional training and experience to keep surprise off her face and out of her body language. The younger man could well be an older, shorter Tim McGee. She managed a smile as she ushered them into the inner office.

In the few minutes he'd had before his guests' arrival, Vance had looked at Hubbard and Crane's IDs and current ship assignment, the Baton Rouge. Unlike everyone else who'd been surprised at the Captain's resemblance to McGee, he was prepared.

Welcoming the men, he gestured to his conference table while he poured 3 cups of coffee and 2 glasses of water, eyeing the Scotch as he did so. "Probably easier if we sit here." After handing out the coffees and water, he brought the file from his desk and put it on the table. The Captain commented on the size of it, "I believe that's the biggest file I've ever seen."

Vance nodded, "It's really several files that I keep together. Part of it is current but we'll get to that in a bit. First, I have a question or two. In your own words, please tell me about Commander McGee and his family, any personal details would be good."

Hubbard nodded, giving him a summary of his sister's marriage, the births of her sons, her death. The Admiral interrupted him, adding in Lily's frozen eggs and the birth of her daughter years later. With a nod, Hubbard continued, both of them talking about Dan, the kids and then Natalie. When Vance had heard enough, he held up his hand. "Thank you. Now, I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but tell me how and what you were told about their deaths."

The two men told him and this time there was a little new information. Inasmuch as it filled a gap, he stopped them again. "Thank you again. Next question, do you know why or when your mother started looking for lost or unknown relatives?"

Hubbard explained and Vance nodded. "In this day and age, we tighten security as much as we are able but we can't lock down everything." He took a breath before saying, "Your mother's right. You do have relatives, I'll call them long-lost rather than unknown. You were lied to all those years ago. We know now that Commander Daniel McGee was the only one who died in the hit and run. Your niece and nephews survived; Sarah wasn't even with them, she was on a play date. Tim and Patrick survived. Although both were badly injured, they survived. Tim and Sarah were eventually reunited, but Patrick was separated from them, in a different hospital. He was told they'd both died and that the rest of the family didn't want him. Similarly, Tim and Sarah were told Patrick died. Tim suffered serious head trauma, and memory loss which we know now was permanent brain damage."

He paused while the two men stared at him, their mouths open. Vance pushed the water glasses closer before continuing, "The person responsible for all this was Natalie McGee, real name Svetlana Stacevyko. She was sent to _Guantánamo Bay_ as a former covert operative for the Soviet Union and later a radical Middle East group, as well as being a murderer several times over. From piecing together her story along with Tim and Sarah's, she made 2, possibly 3 attempts on their lives, failing each time. She's dead now, her last employer discovered she'd talked and silenced her. That's classified."

Eventually, they blinked and the Admiral drank some of his water, pushing Hubbard's glass even closer. "Drink, Jim."

Hubbard took a few sips before his questions started spilling out, "They're all right? It's been so long, where did they go, who raised them, have they been reunited? And if they're alive, are you sure Dan's not?"

"Yes, unfortunately, we're certain Commander McGee died in the hit and run. As for your niece and nephews, Tim and Sarah are fine. Sarah's engaged and Tim's married with 4, excuse me, 5 children, they just adopted a little girl. They became aware of Patrick in September of 2014.

"After the hit and run, Patrick was fostered and then adopted by one of the pediatric nurses who cared for him in the hospital. By the way, Natalie was the one who called 9-1-1 for him. She visited him in the hospital in the guise of the concerned motorist who'd rescued him, although he knew who she was.

"What I'm about to tell you comes from Patrick's wife's journals as well as Natalie's. Natalie was able to convince Patrick that Sarah was in the car and died with Tim and their father. She was further able to convince him, as I said, that none of the rest of the family wanted him, that they wished Tim or Sarah had lived instead.

"His adoptive mother raised him in Monterey, CA. After graduating from high school, he went to Cal Tech. He graduated from there with honors and joined the Navy. Eventually, he became a SEAL and that's when he met his wife, in Singapore.

"She wrote that he was there on temporary duty, they met, connected and he returned several months later. They married during his second visit. By this time neither of them had any family. Pat's adoptive mother, Hope Blair, died shortly after Pat and Kathy, his wife, first met. Kathy, whose surname was Hart, had been raised in an orphanage there. Of English descent, her father was the last of a long line of distinguished Brits in Singapore. He and his wife were killed in a boating accident, leaving Kathy an orphan.

"She was vetted by the Navy before she married Patrick. Because Pat had no family and was still bitter about what he'd been told by Natalie as a child, he took Kathy's surname when they married. Because of her family heritage, he also changed his first name, becoming David Hart. Over the years, they had two sons, Gregory and Kyle, both born in the U.S. This is a complex story and to make it a little easier for the 3 of us, I'll continue to refer to your younger nephew as Patrick.

"The next part of this is also classified, very sensitive. Secretary Porter has authorized me to tell you. At some point, Patrick was approached by the Intelligence Protection Force. I have information from a credible source that he turned them down and told the people he was working with, the CIA, about them. The former head of IPF, Marvin Lee Hatman, tells a story about Commander McGee's own involvement with IPF that we'll get to a bit later, but I will say there's absolutely no evidence to prove that and Tim's been told as much. He doesn't yet know that Patrick's been cleared of any involvement with the shadow agency.

"Pat's younger son Kyle was 6 months old, about 4 years ago, when Patrick was badly injured by a car bomb. Until then, the CIA believed they had him adequately protected from IPF and various entities he'd worked to bring down. He'd been the lead in bringing down the head of a cartel and was the key witness for the man's trial and until recently, I believed the cartel was responsible. While Patrick survived, he's been in a coma ever since. Now that I know he wasn't involved with IPF, I believe the bomb was IPF's punishment for him refusing their offer and telling his CIA team and superiors."

Vance paused to drink his coffee before continuing the Hart family story, ending with Kathy and the boys losing their home and staying in a homeless shelter in Baltimore. His last sentence really shook them "As it happened, this was the same shelter where Tim and Sarah lived for a few years."

He paused again, Hubbard and Crane looked like they needed some time to absorb all that. He almost laughed when Captain Hubbard rolled his shoulders, oh yes, this man was definitely related to his agent. Picking up the narrative again, he told them the McGees' story of abandonment, Geordie's help, rescuing Rob, their years at the shelter, the attack on Tim and their move to the transient camp for the rest of their childhoods.

Hubbard was in tears and Crane wasn't far from them himself when Vance finally stopped, saying, "It gets better from here."

They nodded and Vance, after pouring more coffee, continued, telling them of Geordie becoming their legal guardian, Tim's scholarships to Johns Hopkins and MIT, Sarah's to Waverly and Rob's to Johns Hopkins.

With a half-smile, he told them how they'd moved on from living on the streets, Geordie getting his degree and joining the Marine Corps, Sarah a graduate student and bestselling author, Rob a 3rd year pediatric resident.

When he reached Tim, Vance let his smile out, "You have every reason to be proud of him, I certainly am! He joined this agency in 2003 and within a year was selected to join the Major Case Response Team, MCRT, our top team in the agency, here aboard the Yard. He served with that team for a decade and would still be with them if it weren't for IPF."

He held up his hand as the others protested. "No, no, he was not compromised by them! Here's what happened." He told them about Kathy Hart going missing from the shelter, the shelter manager's call to Tim and the basics of the Hart murder case. "That's when Tim and Sarah discovered that Patrick had not died in the hit and run but was nearly as lost to them now. Sarah became legal guardian of Patrick while Tim became legal guardian of Greg and Kyle."

He smiled at them, "Your niece and nephews may have grown up without your loving influence but it's clear they had plenty of good influences when they were young; the McGees are a distinguished family. Now, there's one more piece of information I need to give you and this may be as much of a shock as everything else. When Tim had his and Patrick's DNA tested, he discovered that he is not Dan McGee's son. As he and his team leader, Jethro Gibbs, had grown close over the years, the news was not quite as painful as it might have been. Also mitigating that was Tim's becoming Sarah and Rob's legal guardian when he turned 18. He had family, he's always had family.

"Although Geordie had become the trio's legal guardian 3 years before, he had since graduated from college and been accepted to OCS. The two older boys were afraid Geordie would not be available in an emergency. So Tim became Sarah and Rob's legal guardian."

He chuckled, "Made sense as he'd been their parent all along. Back to the more recent discovery of his mystery father, Tim adjusted and as he said, had bigger things to worry about. Now, I'm stepping out on a limb telling you the next part. I don't believe Tim will mind as it explains what I need to tell you.

"Kathy Hart was murdered in September, 2014. The same day her body was identified, the MCRT, Gibbs' team, was told about her comatose husband, Cmdr. David Hart, at Bethesda. During the investigation that morning, Tim and Gibbs learned that Hart was Black Ops and not knowing if the murder was part of the cartel's retribution, they assigned a protection detail to Hart. When the detail arrived they found 3 suits, sorry, that's agency slang.

"They found three unidentified men in suits lurking around Hart's room at the hospital. Because the suits left when they saw our team, no action was taken, although it was reported to the MCRT. I should also tell you at this point that Timothy had the lead on this case. Gibbs' team had some unique rules and because the call about the missing woman came directly to Tim, he had the lead."

He continued the report of Kathy Hart's murder investigation and Tim's involvement, adding information he'd never shared with anyone outside of the SecNav and his children. "Shortly after Tim left my office, I received personal news that took me from the agency and stopped any contact with anyone but Secretary Porter for several months. Subsequent to my leaving, 3 things happened. One was the head of our Legal Department contacting my Assistant Director, requesting an extended leave, citing a family emergency. The second event was the Assistant Director actually approving the leave without due diligence. The third event was the Legal Department's second in command, now in charge of Legal, contacting Gibbs.

"He told him that Tim and the children could not stay with Gibbs, they'd planned to do that until they found their own place as Tim had a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. The attorney also said that McGee, because of his connection to the Harts, could not work on the MCRT or even speak with anyone involved in the case. There's more to that but it's internal and absolutely incorrect. As federal agents, we take an oath when we're given our badges. After more than a decade on the job, McGee certainly knew the ropes and could be trusted, hell, any of my agents could be trusted, not to act irresponsibly with a case! There was no reason for the restrictions." Vance stopped for a drink of water before continuing, telling them of Tim's resignation and the forms Vance had signed in anticipation. "What Tim received from the agency was not what I'd prepared for him. When all this came out, we determined that both members of the Legal Department and my Assistant Director had been compromised by IPF. They effectively cut Tim off from all his support. Or thought they had. In the meantime, he and the boys were living in Tim's tiny apartment."

He went on to tell the men of Tim's job offer in Cambridge, how he and Gibbs had decided to ignore the restrictions, the increasing presence of the 'suits', Tim's involvement with the FBI and finally the attack on him. "By that time, Tim and Gibbs realized that whatever spook agency they thought Patrick worked for must be responsible for following Tim. Why, they didn't know and the FBI didn't get much further. In April of 2015, Tim was attacked by 4 of those 'suits' in downtown Cambridge. He fought off 2 of them but took a knife hit," Vance pointed to the area where Tim was injured, "before a local shopkeeper came to his rescue, injuring one of the attackers.

"At that point and with other considerations, the FBI realized they could not guarantee Tim or the boys' safety anywhere in the U.S. He, Greg, Kyle, Tim's adopted brother Rob and Gibbs were flown out of the country. I can tell you they are safe, he's now married to his college sweetheart, the mother of his son, and Tim's adopted her daughter. He and his wife have also adopted Greg and Kyle. Gibbs retired from the agency and is a very happy grandpa; he adopted Tim, Sarah, Rob, and Geordie last year and continues to live with Tim and his family. And that, gentlemen, is nearly the end of our story."

"Where are they?"

Vance shook his head, "I'm not authorized to reveal their location, to anyone."

"Because of the spook agency?" Crane's forehead furrowed, "It must be IPF. But they've been disbanded and that Hatman guy is in prison, awaiting trial." Then he realized he hadn't given his part of the story, "Director, part of the reason we're here is that I saw a man in Costco today who looked like a grown up version of my godson, of Tim. Including the scar from Natalie."

Vance looked at the 2 men. "As I said earlier, when Tim was thrown from the backseat during the hit and run in 1986, he suffered, among other injuries, memory loss that was later diagnosed as permanent brain damage. He retained general knowledge and knowledge of his immediate family, father, sister, brother, Natalie, but no one else. Tim wouldn't know you, wouldn't recognize your names.

"There are still very real security issues surrounding Tim and his family. Tim will never forget or forgive his stepfather, Cmdr. McGee, for failing to protect his children. His family comes first, above all else. His wife, children, siblings, father and their extended family – Sarah's fiancé, his wife's sister and grandmother, for instance."

"So we can't know where they are?"

"I do have permission to tell you they live in Europe. If you'll wait, one of Tim's former teammates has recent photos he will share. He was going to send them…" Not finding any new photos on his cell, Vance poked his head out the door. "Heard anything about those photos?"

Pam smiled, "Yes. DiNozzo's team was called out. On the way to the crime scene, he sent several photos to Natalie who made paper copies for your visitors."

Vance smiled, loving the team work, as he took the envelopes she gave him, "Great, my thanks to all three of you!"

He turned to his visitors, "The good news is I have photos for you. The bad news is Agent DiNozzo, who is part of Tim's family, caught a case and had to leave. He took over the MCRT when Gibbs retired."

Crane looked up, "Thank you, Director. You've given us a lot of information, a lot to think about. Just knowing they're alive is wonderful and heart-breaking. Is Patrick still at Bethesda? Even though he's comatose, I know Jim, the kids' grandmothers, my wife and I will want to see him."

"He's no longer at Bethesda. Until the situation with Hatman and IPF is finally resolved, security is very tight around Patrick. If you'd like, make a list of names, full legal names, and contact information of those who'll want to see Patrick, along with photo IDs and I'll submit them for approval. No one is allowed access to him without that approval and ultimately, once would-be visitors are vetted, the decision is up to the family."

Jim held up a photo, "This has to be Pat."

"Yes. Tim says he looks very much like Cmdr. McGee."

"He does, yes."

Crane grinned as he held up a photo of grown up Tim, "This is the man I saw today! They're here? Jim, look, your little buddy still looks just like you!"

"Taller though, although I guess that came from his biological father. How tall is Tim, Director? Do you know offhand?"

"He is 6 feet, 1 ½ inches tall. Admiral, I haven't spoken with McGee, my McGee today, but it's very likely that was Tim. They come home for 2 weeks a year, at Christmas."

"He was wearing some sort of backpack with a baby in it. His wife has dark hair, olive skin, maybe Italian?"

Vance smiled, "She's Greek. The baby's name is Hope or Umut in Turkish. You may have heard about her last spring, when she was rescued from the rebellion in Turkey."

"That's…that was Tim's wife? The woman who rescued her?" At Vance's smile, the two men looked at each other, "That's amazing."

"You said he and Sarah had their DNA tested and that's how our questions started, we're using the same company they are. Has Tim found out any more about his biological father? Although I guess it doesn't matter with Gibbs adopting them."

Vance nodded with another smile, "You're right, but he has. When Sarah, Tim, Geordie, Tony, and Rob had their DNA tested, Gibbs did too, it was a birthday gift to him from the family. They all got their results back the same day. Turns out, when Gibbs was a young Marine he was sent to San Diego for advanced training. He and the love of his life had just split and well, he met a girl from Ohio at a USO dance. She'd recently split from her high school boyfriend. The two of them hit it off for the few months they were together."

Captain Hubbard's eyes were wide in surprise, "Ohio…high school, boyfriend…San Diego, are you talking about Tori, my sister Tori?" At Vance's nod, Hubbard shook his head, "Gibbs was her mystery guy? All those weeks and she'd never tell us his name. Wow! That's amazing!"

Crane was laughing and Vance chuckled, glad to end the meeting on a happier note.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Upset with themselves for even looking at a house they couldn't live in, Tim and Artie took Hope and their groceries home. When they pulled into Hank's driveway, Artie leaned over to kiss her husband, "You know, that house hasn't sold in 4 years. It might still be for sale when we're allowed to move here. And by then, we'll have more money in our housing fund!"

He smiled as he reached for her. From the backseat, Hope said, "No, no, no, no!" Laughing, they took their daughter and their groceries inside.

The kids weren't home yet, Tim was amazed to see it was only 2:00 PM, so he, Artie and Hope had lunch, although Hope had had more food after her bottle of formula in the car. They let her free and she squealed happily, crawling around the house. A few minutes later, they smiled as they watched her curl up on the floor. Quietly, they took her upstairs, and changed her, putting her in the crib for a nap.

Still obsessing about the house, the couple sat with Artie's laptop, working on a projection of income for the next 6 months. Both jumped when Tim's phone rang with a call from Sarah. She told them about the call from DiNozzo, including giving her permission to tell them they lived in Europe. Tim shook his head, looking at his wife, "We do live in Europe, but I have a feeling the person behind this is the guy who was stalking me in Costco this morning."

Quickly he told his sister, who sighed. "Then we're busted, Tim. We tried but it still happened."

He huffed, "Sweet Pea, thank you for holding back, I know you've wanted to contact them. We're in it, now. Have any ideas?"

"Can we get contact information for them? I mean, besides the site?"

"If I call Director Vance, I'm sure he'll give it to me."

"And that's okay with you? I know we're busted but they don't know exactly where we are."

"True, but let's move forward, Sari. I've kept you and them waiting long enough although I'm going to be very curious to hear what they have to say. I'll get the information and then we can decide what to do, all right?"

"Yes and thanks, Timpa."

After they disconnected, Tim looked at his wife, "We're busted, the unknown relatives know about us."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know yet. Relieved, in a way. But I still have questions. I need to call Vance for their contact information."

He picked up his phone, jumping when it rang. Artie burst out laughing, leaving the table. Tim shook his head as he answered the call, "Director? I was just picking up the phone to call you. Sarah just told me about our relatives."

"Yes. One of them saw you in Costco this morning."

"I might be a little rusty in law enforcement lingo, but I believe the term is stalk. One of them stalked me in Costco this morning."

"Oh geez, Tim."

"That's okay, if he's a decent guy, whoever he is, I'll tease him about it for years. I was calling you for their contact information."

"Which I have with me. I'm calling you because we're about to descend upon you again."

"The same 'we'?"

Vance chuckled and Tim relaxed, that didn't sound forced. "No, this time we're 3 Directors."

"Uh…ok. We're at the neighbor's house, not at Dad's. The baby's asleep."

"All right, no doorbells and we'll speak softly."

"Thanks, any hints?"

Leon chuckled, he'd had a text from Sarah thanking him for the warning and saying she'd told Tim. "Haven't you had enough of hints already today?"

"Got that right!"

"We're about 10 minutes out."

"See you in a few, Director."

Tim went looking for his wife. "More company on the way, but not relatives. Vance and 2 other directors. Probably Sailes from the FBI, don't know who else."

"Is your father home?"

Tim looked out the window, "There are no vehicles in or around the driveway. It's just the 3 of us and about 7 minutes to spare." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughed as she handed him a dirty dish. "Time enough to load the dishwasher!"

Dishwasher loaded, there was still time for a kiss or two before they heard car doors slamming. Hoping it was his father, Tim peeked out the kitchen window, seeing Sailes, Vance and a man who looked vaguely familiar. When he realized who it was, he wanted to hide his wife and child, glad the rest of their family wasn't there.

"Tim, what is it?"

"The freaking head of the CIA."

"Oh! Perhaps I'll wait upstairs. I can do a little work."

"Good idea, honey." He forced himself to calm down, he'd survived being cut nearly in half, he'd survived 9 years of homelessness, he'd survived Hatman, he could survive Beau McKinley. And have bragging rights. He was a federal agent, for heaven's sake!

Squaring his shoulders, he opened the door, shaking Leon's hand, then Sailes, and then finally McKinley, who stopped to introduce himself. Tim nodded.

Leon looked around, "No kids today."

"They're with my brothers, except for the baby – and Tony." He smiled, that sounded weird.

"Artemis home?"

"She is but she's working."

Sailes smiled, "Relax, Tim, for once we have good news." Tim wanted to know why, if they had good news, they'd brought McKinley with them but reminded himself, again, that he was indeed a federal agent reporting to Director Vance.

Tim offered them beverages, which they declined. He sat down and looked at them. McKinley smiled and Tim suddenly understood why Gibbs smiling in the squad room scared people.

"I asked to come along because I have information about your brother Patrick that I hope will clear up some misconceptions."

Tim looked at him, blank-faced. McKinley took a deep breath, "He was never a part of IPF, Agent McGee. He was approached by them more than once and turned them down. He was working with us, freeing hostages and he told his CIA officer. He was, is, a good man, one of the best. As I've learned more about you, I've realized how alike you are, two peas in a pod, really. We thought we had him protected well enough but obviously we were wrong. We know now that when he told us, he signed his death warrant with IPF. The car bomb was not the cartel's doing but Hatman's, in retaliation for telling us about them.

"When he didn't die, Hatman planted people in the medical unit. Directors Vance and Sailes have told me that you suspected those 3 started giving him the Midazolam when he began to emerge from the coma.

"I believe you're right about that and we do know that those 3 were not with any cartel. They were moles in the cartel who did Hatman's dirty work with your brother and then were killed for it. The same with the men who attacked you. The 2 who eluded the Bureau were later murdered by Hatman. We're told, however, that was punishment, it was against orders."

"How do you know all this? I get the CIA involvement with Patrick and thank you for telling me. I never got to meet my brother as an adult and it's always been difficult to imagine him as one of Hatman's soulless shadows. One of my few childhood memories is of the two of us playing Batman and Superman, we were always the good guys, never the Riddler or Lex Luthor."

He sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, overwhelmed. Then he heard Artie's voice in his ear. "I believe that was supposed to be good news and Leon says there's more."

She looked up, "Go ahead, he's listening. This week has been a bit overwhelming. Good, with our baby returning to us, but still overwhelming."

She held her husband's hand as he sat up straight, rolling his shoulders and Leon knew his agent was ready for what was next. He pulled his chair over. "Tim, it's over."

That got his attention and he looked at Leon and Sailes. "The…all of it? We can come home?"

All 3 of the directors grimaced, appalled that one of their fellow citizens, one of their own, had been in too much danger to live in his own country. This wasn't the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany!

Leon had his hand on his shoulder, something he remembered Gibbs doing to ground his agent. "Yes, you can come home. There were 2 things involved. One was all the questions you asked during the case. They followed you, harassed you, in an effort to scare you into shutting up, to stop asking questions and expecting answers. As Director McKinley said, the attack on you was unsanctioned. The second part was that Hatman had a separate unit made up of rogue operatives. We don't yet know how, when or why that happened, but that unit is the one that your European details have protected against.

"The rogues' problem with you is that they saw Hatman go into the Manor but never saw him come out. They claimed the clip from the BBC was faked. In Europe, that's been a personal vendetta, Tim, by the rogue operatives. They believed you were responsible for killing Hatman. And they knew where you'd been, they named every place you'd visited. If the CIA, MI-5, London Metro and all the local LEOs hadn't been there, you would have been in trouble."

Tim looked at McKinley, "Thank you again. I figured your agents were involved; to tell you the truth, it felt good to know there were Americans on my side." He held out his hand and McKinley shook it. "I haven't answered your last question, how I know all that about your brother."

Tim nodded, looking at him and McKinley smiled, "We turned the tables on them. Once you got rid of Hatman for us, we owe you a debt of gratitude for that, we planted our own mole in IPF. It was chaotic for months but gradually information began to come forth. Not only did we get the truth about your brother, we were able to close 63 cold cases."

"From the same undercover agent?"

"No, we're careful about not leaving them in too long. We're on our 4th mole now."

Tim turned to the other two. "May Artie also hear what happened?"

"Yes, it's not classified. the Prime Minister of the UK will have a press conference as soon as we verify you've been told. We're telling everyone everything."

Artie sat down, not sure she wanted to hear all this. As Sailes opened his mouth, Dad walked in, a little breathless and stone-faced. He relaxed when his kids smiled at him. He looked around the room, "Directors."

"Jethro, perfect timing. Sailes, McKinley and I were just about to tell Tim and Artie about a special operation that took place in the UK earlier today…their day."

The three directors told them the whole story, from the Shadow Man's creepy call to the USAG to their wild idea about bringing the whole thing to an end to Hatman's last orders and comments to his rogues and his last attempt to play the agents.

Tim listened, enthralled and wishing he could take notes. Leon noticed and, his eyes twinkling, said, "Not allowed to use real cases, McGee, you know that."

Tilting his head, he said, "You'd never recognize it, Director."

He stood with the others, shaking their hands, "Thank you, each and all of you, for keeping us safe, for treating us with care. From my first call to Tobias Fornell, when Ron Sacks came to my rescue, to the over and above work of Agent McCaughey and his agents, to the CIA's diligence overseas, thank you. I've been, excuse me, _was_ a civilian for 2 years and I can and will say that our federal agents are the best! During that time, while your agents and others were watching over us, my family has grown, our children have thrived, we've been able to travel, secure in our safety." He smiled, "I don't know which makes me happier, knowing that we're free or that you are!"

Dad said the same thing, "Managing a protection detail is a whole lot different than having one. Gotta tell you, looking up, in some strange city or a familiar street corner and knowing your detail is there? That's a good feeling, every time."

Artie smiled, "He's right, although we would come home from somewhere and I'd say to Tim, no detail this time? He'd smile and say, oh yes, there was. I learned to stop looking and enjoy knowing we were safe."

Tim shook his head, "Thinking about all the work your agencies can get done now. We've pretty much done what we've wanted while you've had to…well, thank you. I wish I knew how to repay you. Happy freedom to all of you!"

McKinley smiled, "You could write us software to eliminate _all_ paperwork."

Tim blinked and then smiled, "If I knew how to do that without causing a war between the legal wonks, the form wonks, the database wonks, and armed federal agents _and_ someone wanted to pay NCIS for my time, I would."

All three of the directors laughed and McKinley pointed at him, "Gonna hold you to that."

Finally, they left and Tim grabbed his wife and father, "We're free! YES!" He laughed, "I just thought of a way to show my appreciation."

"Other than the software?"

"Yes, because that would bring down the entire federal system. Help me look."

"For what?"

"Their flag. Gonna raise Old Glory, because I can. Because I'm an American who's allowed to do that, whenever I choose."

His father smiled, "You're right, let's put them both up, Hank's and mine. After all, I'm free too!"

"Dad, we have so much to tell you!"

"Now or after our flag raising?"

"After."

They put both flags up and were still admiring them, when Tim's phone chimed with a call from Tony. Tim answered, remembering the photo he'd sent his brother earlier, of the stalker guy.

"Tony, sorry I never followed up on that photo I sent you. Turns out he's all right, he's my godfather!"

Tony chuckled, "Wow! That's awesome, although pretty weird the way he went about it. Vance indicated he was somehow connected to you, in a good way, and then we got called out and I never had time to let you know. Abby was starting to run facial recognition for me when the director told me you had long-lost relatives showing up here. I saw them come in, recognized the taller one as the same one in your photo and Vance felt they were all right, so I didn't go any further, except to call Sari to warn her. Then we were called out and I never heard any more about it. Thought I'd better check in."

"Are you and Maggie coming for dinner?"

"Yes, our case turned out to be Army's, so we're done except for the paperwork. Turns out there's even more paperwork to transfer a case between NCIS and Army CID than there is between NCIS and local LEOs. And Carter's team closed their current case, so we'll be there! Abby's coming too."

"Yay! All right, I'll see you then, it's been an amazing and very strange day, actually week."

Over the next hour, the rest of the family began straggling home. When Hope woke, her parents put her jammies on, wrapped her up in her warmest coat and took her to her grandparents' house.

Tim had forgotten that he and Lu put the ingredients for tonight's dinner in the slow cooker early that morning, which seemed days ago. When Abby came in, she handed Tim a manila envelope and he laughed when he opened it. "Thanks, Abby!" It was the photo of his godfather along with the information she'd found.

Tony and Maggie were the last to arrive and once they'd shed their coats and greeted everyone, Dad whistled to get their attention. "Tim, Artie, Sarah, and I have things to share with you."

Sarah motioned to Tim and Artie, who looked at each other. Finally, Tim stood, saying, "So, today. Took our newly reclaimed daughter to Costco to grocery shop, picked up a stalker inside the store, took a photo, sent it to Tony, confronted the stalker, drove around to look at neighborhoods, got hungry, saw a sign for an Open House, found the house of our dreams but couldn't buy it because not allowed to live here, finally fed ourselves, came home, had a call from Sarah, found out who the stalker is, gained a godfather, an Admiral no less, gained a few other people, had a visit from no less than 3 Directors of Federal agencies, who gave us, all of us, our freedom, FREEDOM, and then we called the realtor with an offer for the house, which has been accepted. Happy Thursday to us!"

After his family stopped laughing, they started asking questions. Tim said Sarah would answer all but one of the questions about the new relatives. "Leon told me about our godfather, he and his wife belong to Sarah, Pat, and me. Vance showed me a photo and I recognized my stalker and Abby just gave me a copy of the information she found on him, at Tony's request. Thanks to both of you.

"Seeing someone who looked like a grownup version of his long-dead godson in Costco apparently precipitated a visit to NCIS to ask questions that should have been asked 30 years ago but hey, you know, same lifetime, better late than never. The rest, the house is awesome, needs some work and we're gonna ask Bill to be our general to get that done. More on all that later.

"As far as our freedom, that will be in the morning news cycle, especially in the UK as that's where it all happened. Basically, it worked out that IPF got tired of paying every law enforcement agency in the U.S. and Europe to protect us from their own agents. Those of you over 21, see me after hours for the whole story. Kiddos, your mom and I will tell you tomorrow. What I will say now is that we won't need to have any more 'friends' watching over us. We're safe now. Rob, guess that means no more late night rides from the Tube to the house."

He looked at James' parents, "George, Edith, I'm glad you're here with us. We all had protection details here while the operation was in play, but if you'd been home, you would have had your own detail in Castleton. They had details in Sorrento, Thessaloniki, wherever Cassie and Matthaíos are, Edinburgh, Varkiza, and Athens. As I said, everyone here was covered. Tony, Maggie, don't know if you noticed a few extra 'lookie loos' at your crime scenes today, but they were your details."

He took a breath, "One of the directors who visited gave me some information about Patrick. He was clean. He resisted Hatman. The director had personal knowledge of that."

"That's good news." Around the table, there were smiles of satisfaction and a little relief. Greg and Kyle nodded, his parents had already told them, although Kyle wasn't sure he understood and Papa said they'd talk about it some more tomorrow.

Sarah was next and she filled them in on the new relatives. "Tim got their contact information from Director Vance and sent it to me. I called Captain Hubbard, who is our mother's brother, that is, our birth mother's brother. We have 2 grandmothers, Penny and Maisie, who is called Gram or Grammie, 1 godfather, the stalker, who is indeed an Admiral, and his wife Liz, our godmother, Uncle Capt. Jim Hubbard, his wife Claire and their 2 children, Ainsley Sarah Victoria Hubbard and Callum Timothy Patrick Hubbard. Our godparents have 2 grown kids, don't know what their names are. They'd really like to see us all, meet everyone, before we go home." She looked at Tim and Artie, "Have you signed papers yet?"

"On the house? No, not yet. Why?"

"Because you're buying it from our grandmother, Penelope Langston McGee."

Tim's mouth dropped open and he sat there staring at his sister until Maggie, sitting next to him, reached over and tapped his jaw. Artie was laughing too hard to help.

That caused another uproar but Tim finally blinked and came back to earth. "Ok, that'll be interesting. It's a really cool house and there's a pool!"

The kids cheered at that and Hope, not one to be left out, squealed and pounded her spoon on the high chair tray.

They'd finished dinner by now and were waiting a few minutes before dessert. Tony looked at their dad, "Dad, you're up next!"

"I am, _we_ are." He and Lu stood, grinning, "We're getting married, on New Year's Day!"

There were cheers, shouts of joy, congratulations, back slapping, hugging, kissing and tears. When everyone calmed enough so Lu could be heard, she told them Ducky would officiate for them, they'd be married in his library, with their extended family and friends witnessing. She smiled, "Nothing fancy, just us. When we get back to Brambury, we're leaving on our honeymoon. We looked for the warmest countries in January and first thought of going to Cape Town, South Africa. However, South Africa is having a horrible drought and we didn't want to use water that people there should have. Instead, we're spending a week in Morocco and a week in Malta."

After the resulting hoopla died down, Kyle looked up, "What's a honeymoon?"

Grandma explained and Kyle nodded. Greg and Andy looked at each other.

When they were next door, Marissa and Kyle in their jammies, Hope playing happily in the kiddie corral on loan from the Palmers, Greg and Andy joined their siblings and parents.

Tim smiled at them, "Hey guys, what's up?"

"How come you and Mama didn't have a honeymoon?"

"We had a couple of days and then more time to ourselves in Amzida. Didn't do any longer because we didn't have time to plan."

"But it's your anniversary, you could go now. After Christmas."

Artie looked at Tim, they smiled and turned to the kids, Artie speaking, "Remember we'll be away for a night next week. And we've been talking about going away for a week by ourselves, that will be our honeymoon."

"Here?"

"No, honey, in Europe. We're going to Paris in the spring. Our original plan was to go last year but with me being away in Turkey every week, I didn't want to be away from you any more than I already was. Now, we're all in a good place and by April, Hope will be a little older and settled in with us."

"Yay!" Tim and Artie laughed as their kids hugged them, happy they were going to have a honeymoon.

When Tim checked his email for all the forms that required their signatures, sent by their realtor, he noticed she'd asked if they could come by the house Friday at 9 AM, the owner wanted to meet them. She added that bringing the children would be a great idea. As Friday was panic shopping/wrapping presents day and he and Artie had everything but what they'd bought yesterday already wrapped, they said they'd be there and then asked if the owner would like to meet their entire family, copying Sarah on that.

Sarah called, laughing. "Claire Hubbard called 2 minutes before I saw your email, asking if it would be possible for all of us to meet at 'Penny's old house' tomorrow. I was writing you a text when I saw your email. Everyone here is saying yes and Tony can come but Maggie and Abby can't. We're going to bring pastries, juice, coffee and chocolate. And chairs. Dad says he's bringing his camp stove so we can have hot water for tea, chocolate and you know, coffee."

Tim thought about that, "The power is on in the house but there aren't any appliances so the camp stove is a good idea. We'll stop at the Greek bakery and bring pastries and mezes, too. I'll order them tonight, I'm sure they'll be crazy there tomorrow. And we'll bring whatever chairs we can find here. There are bean bag chairs and big throw pillows, we'll bring those for the kids. Better bring blankets, it was chilly in there yesterday. There's a peninsula in the kitchen to put the food on. Uh, transportation, we'll need the van and the Challenger for all of us. Chairs and supplies in the truck?"

"Yeah, Dad says, hang on…"

The next voice was his father's. "I wish you were over here. Don't like all these great things happening when I'm not there."

"I guess we're spoiled, but we'll have to get used to that, unless you and Lu move in with us."

"In the new house? Where?"

"You'll see, Artie and I have been talking about it. We think we can make you a suite as big as the one you have now, although without the guest bedroom and bathroom. Maybe even have a little kitchen so you can have your 5:00 AM coffee and Lu's late night snack."

Dad chuckled, "We are creatures of habit. Can't wait to see this place! Is it as big as the Manor?"

"No and it's not as old. We figure we'll have fewer overnight guests than we do at the Manor. Sarah, James, his folks, Mimi, Susannah and Ian, the Porters, maybe Artie's cousins, aunt and uncles, but not all at once. Reminds me, we need to talk to the Palmers."

"About what, the house?"

"Yes, we need someone to live there until we get home and Artie says they're desperate for room but financially aren't ready to move. We're thinking they can pay us $1 a month, we have to prove we're renting, and live there. Be doing us a favor, too."

"That's wonderful!"

"Guess we'd better sign the papers first. Didn't mention this earlier but Gemcity and Cai are kicking in some funds. We're paying cash, no mortgage."

"Smart decision, son. You know we'd be happy to help. All right, Sarah's giving me looks, guess she wants her phone back. Love you all, see you in the morning."

"Night Dad, love you both."

After Tim and Artie printed, signed or initialed what seemed like a hundred real estate forms, they scoured the very cold garage for folding chairs, finding a long thin folding table and an additional camp stove with propane canisters that could be used outside the house. There were 6 folding chairs, 2 stools, 2 low sitting beach chairs, foam pads and 3 huge bags of blankets. Artie rummaged in the box marked 'camp kitchen' and pulled out 6 metal or plastic coffee mugs, a saucepan to heat water for tea and chocolate, and an old- fashioned coffee pot. Back inside, they took photos of everything they were borrowing and sent a text to Dad with the number of chairs they had along with the news that they'd found another camp stove and coffee pot.

The last thing they did was email the Palmers, asking them to hold a lunch or dinner open at Hank's house after Christmas. Once the real estate paperwork was finalized in the morning, they'd be more comfortable telling them about the house.

They didn't think they'd sleep that night, as excited as they were about the house and everything that had happened, but surprised themselves by sleeping soundly.

Friday morning, they had a quick, light breakfast. Tim moved the pickup to their house and with the boys' help, loaded what they had into the back with Dad's supplies. Tim, Andy and Kyle would take the truck to the new house, moving Kyle's safety seat to the pickup, which would help ease the crowd in the van. Sarah would drive the Challenger with the Powells, which would also help. Although the rental van was rated for 14, the kids' safety seats took up room and the family found the best number for comfortable seating was between 10 and 12.

The 2 vehicle caravan left with Tim in the lead, Andy and Kyle loving their ride in Grandpa's truck. They stopped at the bakery for Greek pastries, and then had to smell without touching all the way there. When they drove onto the property, Tim laughed to himself and Kyle counted cars, "Papa, there are 3 cars that aren't ours."

"That's right, Doodle Bug. They belong to your new great-grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins."

"Kids?"

"Yes, Ainsley and Callum. They're a little older than Andy. I don't know if they'll be here today."

Andy grinned, "Cousins!"

Kyle looked at him, frowning and then smiled, "That's okay, we have Davey and Victoria."

"That's right and don't forget Cassie and Matthaíos."

"Oh, I did forget! We have lots of cousins."

"Yes, and two more in Italy we haven't met yet."

Andy helped Kyle out and then the Challenger pulled up. Sarah smiled, "Hey, Hope needed a sudden diaper change so they're a little behind us."

"Okay, I guess we should just go in."

The 7 of them stepped onto the porch, Tim holding Kyle's hand, Andy next to him, and knocked on the door, smiling at the calls that it was open.

Sarah took Timpa's other hand as they walked in, and he squeezed it, saying, "I'm glad we're doing this, Sweet Pea."

They walked in and George Powell closed the door behind him. Andy pulled Kyle to him while Tim and Sarah stood motionless, neither sure what to do next.

After a few seconds, Tim squared his shoulders and looked at the older woman who looked most like him. "Hi, we're Tim and Sarah, 2 of your mystery leaves."

That woman and another older one approached them, wrapping their arms around him and Sarah. Tim sighed happily, remembering how good it felt the first time he met Mimi. This felt the same. Now he had 3 grandmothers. Somehow other people, one of the other women and the stalker guy joined the embrace. Tim heard water running and a door close and he looked up, his mouth dropping open at a man who must be his uncle. He looked just like him.

While they were being reclaimed, the fourth woman, later they knew she was Aunt Claire, Uncle Jim's wife, introduced herself to Andy, Kyle, James and his parents. The boys were polite and very happy Uncle James was with them. Eventually, Papa and Aunty Sarah were allowed to breathe and Tim turned to his boys, introducing them to the others. They were given gentle hugs but nobody kissed them. The hugs from Papa's grandmothers felt like Mimi's and they liked that. The boys and Tim stood next to Jim Hubbard, that is Uncle Jim, and the others nodded at the resemblance.

James and his parents were warmly welcomed and then the van pulled in, with Tony right behind it. Tim tilted his head toward the front door, "There's the rest of the immediate family. Excuse me." He returned with Artie, Greg, Marissa and Hope. His parents and brothers followed behind. He introduced everyone and then the stalker guy introduced all of them.

After the introductions, Dad said, "We're missing some folks, Tony's fiancée Maggie, my surrogate daughter Abby and the Mallard branch of our clan are at work. There are a lot of us when we're all in one place, didn't want to overwhelm you."

Jim Hubbard chuckled, "You have a clan? Any Scots in you, Gibbs?"

"Yes. However, in our bunch, our original Scotsman is Donald Mallard, of clan Buchanan."

"Great! Mum, Tim and Sarah's Grammie, is Scots too." The Captain took a breath, "How did you and Tim meet and Tim and Artie and Sarah and James? And…all of you?"

They laughed at that. Tim looked at the gathering, "If you want to know what happened, we'll tell you. But before we begin, I have some questions that will really help me. They're serious questions, so, kids," he looked at his brood, "If you want to look at the house, go ahead, better leave Hope here though."

"Ok, can we go upstairs?"

Artie answered, "Yes, be careful on the stairs. Marissa, Kyle, your brothers are in charge, stay with them."

"Ok, Mama."

Hope wasn't sure she was happy about them leaving her but then Grandpa took her and she decided that was okay.

The new family nodded their willingness to talk and Tim asked them the sequence of events. Jim replied, "We talked about this for hours last night. You know Dave and I met with Director Vance yesterday?"

Tim nodded, again squeezing Sarah's hand. She relaxed a little more.

"We didn't look for you because we believed you were dead. When Natalie called Mum, Dad, and Penny to tell them about the crash, she said all four of you were dead and that she'd already buried you, that it was Russian custom. None of us trusted her and Penny immediately started calling hospitals until she found the right one, Children's; she spoke with someone there who verified your death. She also contacted the Alameda Police Department, NIS, and the Alameda County coroner's office and was given the same answer by all of them, four deaths resulting from the crash and explosion.

"Those of us in the Navy were at sea, moving the Enterprise Carrier group from Alameda to Norfolk. The news was withheld from us until we reached port. Your maternal grandfather, my dad Andrew Hubbard, had a severe stroke when he heard the news and died a month later. Mum hung on only with the help of the rest of us, me, Penny, Dave and Liz. Penny's care was reciprocated a few months later when first her younger son, Lt. Mark McGee, was killed in a shipboard accident and then her husband, Admiral Nelson McGee, died of a heart attack shortly after Mark's death. It was a horrible time, horrible."

Tim had been standing, leaning, against a wall and now he slid down the wall, landing on the floor with a soft thump. Sarah and Artie sat next to him, Artie pulling him into her arms. Holding one of her brother's hands, Sarah looked up, tears streaming down her face. "We tried to get help from the Navy, Tim wrote every month for years. We never got any answers. We thought we'd been abandoned by everyone, not just Natalie. No one ever looked for us, we checked milk cartons to see if anyone had reported us missing, but we never were on them. Rob and I were safe because Tim sacrificed everything to make sure we survived. He had to kill a man who was trying to kidnap us. He had to be our parent, our only parent. He was 9 years old."

Tim finally looked up, tears still pouring out, "I hated whoever was out there who'd abandoned us, who let Natalie do that to us. I 've been bitter and angry, all these years." Dad sat next to him, taking Sarah's place, while Sarah stood.

"I've been bugging him for years about trying to finding out who we are, who else might be out there. It wasn't until recently that I finally understood. He's been carrying us, Robbie and me, since he was 9 years old. He didn't want to know who any nameless faceless relatives might be. It was easier to just go forward."

Tim sighed, holding onto Artie and leaning against his father. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you suffered, grieved for us all these years, like Sarah and I grieved for Patrick and he must have grieved for us."

Wiping his face on a tissue from his wife, he held his arms open to Kyle, who had come back downstairs when he heard his father. "It's all right, Doodle Bug. You know it's okay to cry and be upset, sad sometimes."

Kyle nodded as he buried his face in his father's chest and Tim hung on. The other kids appeared and joined Kyle. There was silence and then Hope said her new favorite phrase, "No, no, no, no."

She shook her head and her family laughed. She grinned, that's what she liked. She wriggled until Grandpa put her on the floor and then she crawled to Uncle Jim, sat back on her haunches and looked up at him. With a chuckle, he leaned down and picked her up.

"Been a while since I've held a baby. She's a year?"

Andy answered, "She turned 1 last week, before she came home to us." He looked at his parents, "Where was she for her birthday?"

"Probably with her Turkish foster family."

Greg shook his head, "I bet she didn't even have a birthday party. Mama, when's her Name Day?"

She thought, "I'm not sure, Greg. Let's look it up when we get home."

"Okay. Can we have a birthday party for her before we go home?"

"Yes, sweetie, that's a very good idea."

Claire was playing with Hope's fingers, "She's from Turkey? An international adoption?"

Artie nodded and Tim managed a watery smile, "Artemis is being modest. You may have heard about my wife last spring, when she rescued a tiny baby who'd been abandoned in an airport during the rebellion in Amzida, Turkey."

Liz's eyes widened, "I read about that! You had to walk more than 30 miles to get to the airport."

Artie tilted her head, "I rode a scooter for part of it, but it was too noisy and there were…dangerous things happening. I had help. We left the scooters behind, one lost a tire when it was shot out and we needed to hide. When we finally got to the airport terminal, I saw this little tiny baby on a blanket by itself." She smiled, "I didn't know if the baby was a girl or boy yet. I scooped her up on our way to the ticket counter. The woman at the ticket counter asked her name and I said 'Hope Luella McGee'. I thought I'd just change the name if I found out t the baby was a boy.

"In Greece, it's customary to name a baby after a family member, especially grandparents and Luella is our Lu, the children's grandmother. I was terrified someone would take her from me if they knew she wasn't mine and so didn't tell anyone. No one on our plane had much with them, we'd all made a run for it so no one thought it odd that I didn't have any food for her. The ticket counter woman gave me a box of milk and diapers but no bottle. Someone gave me an eyedropper, so I poured the milk into a coffee cup and then fed her with an eyedropper. She was 4 months old."

Tim took up the narrative. "Two Christmases before, Dad made a cradle for friends of ours who were expecting their first child and Artie remembered that, just from hearing what kind of things he sculpts from wood. When she was able to call us, from the plane, she still didn't want anyone to know the baby wasn't hers, they were on the ground in Athens by then. So she asked my dad if he remembered what he'd made our friends and he said yes. She said she would need something like that, only bigger. He asked how soon and she said immediately. From that, Dad and I figured out she might have a baby with her, so we bought a crib, some clothes and diapers. When Lu told us babies move to cribs when they're about 3-4 months old, we knew the baby wasn't a newborn. When they got home, we contacted the International Red Cross…" He told them the rest of the story, about the baby being 'given' to them and later reclaimed, only to be told this past week that she was on her way back to them, for good.

"Geordie says this is the week for reclaimed family, first our baby and now all of you."

Greg grinned, "She remembers us. She knew Mama was Mama and she called Daddy Bapa, which is what she called him before they took her away."

When Geordie announced that coffee and hot water were ready, everyone moved toward the kitchen peninsula. Dad hooked an eyebrow at Geo, "Which one's ours?"

"The one on the red napkin. Folks, that one is Marine coffee, or as brother Tony calls it, liquid tar. Regular strength is on the white napkin. Tea drinkers, we committed a tea crime and brought tea bags instead of loose leaf. We will try our best not to do that again. There's sugar, sweetener, cream, powdered cream and packets of hot chocolate."

Taking his turn, Tim pointed to the pastry boxes, "In this box, pastries, bear claws, cinnamon rolls and whatever else Sari brought. In the green box are Greek pastries, made by the gods, small 'g'. I highly recommend all of them."

Rob had cut each pastry in half and there were plenty of napkins. Maisie, known as Grammie, smiled, "Claire and I made a coffee cake, with sour cream. Help yourselves!"

Lu smiled, "Thank you! Next time, I'll make my apple crisp."

As they helped themselves, Dave asked what they were doing later that day and Dad grinned, "In the Gibbs-McGee family, this is known as…" he stopped suddenly, realizing he couldn't mention wrapping presents without possibly outing Santa Claus.

Sarah quickly stepped in, "This is usually the day we panic, when we realize we have 19 people coming for lunch tomorrow and 32 for dinner the next day."

Greg nodded, "Last year, we had a really long table for Christmas. It's a good thing, too, because we didn't know Uncle Geordie would be home and Uncle James was a surprise, too. And then he went home right after the wedding! Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Larry were there, Grandma, Grandpa, the aunties, the Baltimore Uncles, Uncle LJ, the Palmers, Uncle Leon, Kayla and Jared, Granducky, Uncle Tobias and Emily," he smiled at Uncle Tony, "And Uncle Tony's other father, Mr. DiNozzo. Who else, Daddy?"

"I think everyone else was us, Scooter Bug. Aunt Maggie was with Uncle Tony and you counted Uncles Geordie and James."

"My goodness, that sounds like a crowd. Do you have a big house, Gibbs?"

He laughed, "I used to think it was big but clearly we've outgrown it! Did the kids tell you about our home in Brambury?"

They shook their head and the kids told them about their ginormous (Greg's term) Manor house with 11 bedrooms, 2 offices, a playroom, a workshop, and a huge garden with a back gate that they hiked out of all the time.

Tim clarified, "Our home backs onto a walking path that meanders through the countryside. There are sheep, a sheepdog and a shepherd, and hiking trails that branch off."

Greg nodded, "There's this one hill we hiked to last year, uh, before the wedding? Oh yes, it was still warm out. Andy and I were climbing trees and Mama and Papa were talking and then Rissa and Kyle were covered in butterflies! It was really cool! Andy and I got there in time to have butterflies on us, too. We call it Butterfly Hill."

Sarah pulled her phone out and brought up the family online photo album, "Here are the butterfly photos."

While the others looked at the photos, Penny looked at all of them, "Whose wedding was that?"

Artie smiled, "Ours. Tim and I were married the day after Christmas. We had the wedding at our friend Ducky's house, he's the kids' Granducky, and then we renewed our vows in Brambury when we got home so my sister and grandmother could be with us."

"Wonderful!" Penny decided to wait for the full story, she knew from looking at Andy that he was the son of Tim and Artie and he'd said he was 13. While the Hubbards, Cranes and Penny were looking at the McGees' photos, everyone else was looking at photo albums with little Timmy, Pat and baby Sarah with their McGee father.

Claire asked, "You said Brambury? Is it near London?"

Gibbs nodded, "Yes, it's close enough to London to be on the Tube, train and bus lines but far enough away that the countryside is right outside our back gate."

"You're there full-time? What about your house?"

"Yes, Lu and I have our own suite in the Manor. Tim, Artie, and the kids have the upstairs and Geo and Rob have a room up there, too. The rest of us live downstairs. Tony and Maggie have been living in my house here while we've been away."

"Is it very different, living over there? We've been posted in several places but we always live on base. We do things locally but we don't really get to be part of the culture." That was Claire.

Greg answered his new aunt. "School's different, we have a week off almost every other month, two weeks at the end of March and now. We don't get out for the summer until almost the end of July and then classes start in early September. We wear uniforms and some of the words are different. And people sound different."

"You sound a little different."

Greg and Andy grinned as they exchanged fist bumps.

Tim had to think about the differences. "I remember living on base in San Diego and Alameda and there's a real difference living off base. Where we're living, we're part of the town, the kids go to school and nursery, that's what they call day care in the UK. We attend services in local churches, shop there. The university where I'm teaching is in town. We know our neighbors and other people in town. We can get almost anywhere, including to the Continent, without a car. To get into London, it's the Tube, also known as the Underground, or buses and I suppose you could take the train too. To get to the rest of the island and across the English Channel, there are trains, buses, and ferries and the service is great. The train service is also good everywhere we've been on the continent, I should say everywhere we've taken a train on the continent. We bought a used van from Artie's sister because there are a lot of us and sometimes it's less expensive or faster to drive.

"Our first adventure was to a cottage on a beach in Cornwall. We took the train and that saved us a lot of time going down and back because the traffic looked horrendous. However, we rented a vehicle while we were there so we could explore. Before we bought the van, we also rented a vehicle to drive to Salisbury so we could see Avesbury as well as Stonehenge. We drove the van to Wales for our aqueduct adventure but Ian, our brother-in-law, took the train to and from Edinburgh to go with us. We took the train to Scotland 2 or 3 times soon after we moved overseas, those were fun trips! We've done that more than once, Artie's sister Susannah and her fiancé, that's Ian, live in Edinburgh and it's become one of our favorite places.

"Last year, at the boys' half term week holiday in February, the kids, Dad, Geordie and I flew to Turkey to stay with Artie for a long weekend, and to get warm. At their winter term holiday at the end of March, we flew to Greece, spent several days there with Artie's grandmother, then flew to Paris and met Sarah and James who drove Big Blue, our van, onto a train for the ride over. Susannah and Ian flew in from Edinburgh and we all went to Disneyland Paris. And then we rode home in the van, on the train. That's a great way to travel.

"We've also flown to several places in Europe on trips. Dad, Greg, Kyle and I flew to Prague our first summer, spent a long weekend there. We're planning a few more European adventures before we come home and we may end up driving on at least one."

Sarah, Lu and Artie were having a quiet sidebar conversation, and soon drew Dad and Tim in. Rob, Geo, and Tony were also consulted and everyone agreed. Sarah and Tim approached Claire and Liz, Tim speaking softly, "We had this wild idea…would you all like to join us for Christmas dinner? Tony, Lu, Artie and I will be the cooks and we have plenty of food. And we only have 29 people this year, with your 8, that's 37, but 7 of them are children, and Hope rides a high chair."

The women beamed at them, "Yes! We've been trying to figure out how we could have all of you over. It'll be easier to fit in with your crowd. What can we bring?"

Tony joined them, thinking for a moment, "We're having my lasagna again, Bill's bringing his chopped salad, our brothers, the guys and Abby are chipping in for the lasagna and the chop, and Lu's making her world famous apple crisp. Bill and I made double of everything last year but the kids are getting bigger, maybe we'll make triple. How about drinks?" He turned to Tim, "Abby _is_ coming, right?"

"Maybe. Her brother wants her to go with him to his girlfriends' parents but Abby's pulling the 'I only see my family once a year' card, so we'll see."

"He ditched her and us last year for the girlfriend."

"Right, forgot about that. Let's remind her."

They looked at Claire and Liz, who were amused by their conversation about Abby who they thought was somehow related to Jethro.

Tim said, "Appetizers and drinks would be great. There's maybe 5 or 6 wine drinkers, but those of us who grew up on the street don't drink alcohol. We like sparkling cider, lemonade, iced tea. Hot tea, if you bring the loose leaf kind with a diffuser."

The women laughed, "Maisie won't drink it any other way."

Tony grinned, "Good! Tim, are you making your garlic cheese bread?"

"Yes. And plain loaves too if anyone's avoiding garlic."

Artie laughed, "We can eat it this year, hon, we're not getting married the next day."

"Yay for us! Uh, don't bring gifts, please. The kids get enough as it is and we also celebrate the Greek Christmas on January 7th, with more gifts and food."

"How about this, no gifts from the adults for the adults. We have no control over your grandmothers."

"I'm assuming Ainsley and Callum will be with you?"

"Yes, but please don't worry about them. They make out like bandits at Christmas and they'll open gifts with my father and his wife tomorrow."

"Will they be joining us on Christmas?"

"No, thank you for asking. My dad isn't well and has a lot of medical equipment, too much to haul around. They live near Richmond, Jim took the children down on Sunday to spend the week with them. We'll drive down this afternoon, have our Christmas tomorrow morning and then drive back for church services tomorrow night."

"That's a great way of doing it."

"How do you celebrate the 7th?"

Artie smiled, "It was a little confusing last year. In the Orthodox church, we call January 7th Christmas Day and the 6th is Christmas Eve, same names, just different dates than the Western churches. We put a tree up, we have an artificial tree at home, and decorate it. We don't have all the elves, Santa Clauses and garden decorations, but we do have festive decorations.

"This Christmas, my grandmother, sister, her fiancé and his parents will join us. As Tim said, my sister, Ian and his parents live in Edinburgh. His parents haven't been to our home yet and we're excited about that. We go to church Christmas morning and then we'll have a big dinner that afternoon. There's more fasting done, are you familiar with Lent?"

The ladies nodded and Artie continued, "What's called Advent here, is similar to the Easter Lenten season for us. We treat it much as we do the Easter Lent, although Easter is the biggest day of the year in the Orthodox church."

"I bet the kids love having 2 Christmases!"

"They do but they don't get extra presents, we just divide them up. Because anything they get here has to fly back with us or be shipped home, they get the lighter things here and the bigger things at home." She leaned in, whispering, "This year, we got snow saucers and ice skates for each of them. Last year, we had to borrow sleds and saucers and rent ice skates. Now we can only hope it snows as much!"

"Wonderful, where do they skate?"

"We have a family membership at the local fitness center. They have an indoor rink during the winter and a heated indoor pool year round. During the winter, we can skate on the ice and swim on the same visit!"

Tim's grandmothers approached him, wrapping their arms around him and he smiled, kissing each of them. He looked at them both, "I'm so glad you two and everyone else showed up instead of those nameless, faceless people I've been so angry with."

"Timothy…"

"I have a big favor to ask of you, all of you." His uncle, aunt and godparents drew closer. "I was just saying to Grammie and Penny that I'm glad you all showed up instead of the faceless, anonymous people I've been demonizing all these years. What I hope and I know Sarah feels the same way and Patrick may also, is that none of you assume any fault in this. All of us were victims of a very clever and powerful enemy, Svetlana Stacevyko, whom we knew as Natalie McGee. Most of her file is classified so I can't say more than that. We tried to get information through the Freedom of Information Act last year and got nowhere. I told Sarah if we got the information requested, we could talk about looking for people, meaning you. We got nothing; however Uncle Jim answered my questions today, without any prompting. Thank you and the heck with the FOIA! Don't take this on, please. It's too big, it can become too powerful, believe me. We'd rather move forward, enjoy our family and let the past be the past."

He grinned as his uncle reached up and ruffled his hair. "We'll do our best to move forward with you."

Lu kissed his cheek, "I'm so proud of you!"

A few minutes later, Penny motioned her reclaimed grandson and her new granddaughter-in-law aside to tell them the house was theirs. While she couldn't give it to them, none of them thought that would be fair to Tim's siblings, she would carry whatever part of the purchase price they were short. Her name would remain on the deed along with theirs. She explained, her eyes sparkling, that having her name on the deed would entitle them to a number of financial advantages with the property.

Their response was that they'd moved some money around and could now meet her offer, that they would be paying cash and would absolutely love to own the property with her. She said she couldn't take all that money from her family; they negotiated the price up and she negotiated the price down, a reversal of normal proceedings. In the end, they reached a compromise and Tim discovered just how stubborn Penelope Langston could be.

Penny called Kathi, who arrived in minutes with a few papers to sign. During the McGees' chat with her after hearing they could move home, they'd explained their reworked plan. The real estate agent faxed a stack of forms to Hank's printer and the McGees had completed all the areas she'd marked, including signing and initialing nearly every single page.

Now Tim grinned as he handed the stack to Kathi. She smiled, "Thank you, I'll finish up this afternoon, amending the final price and will fax those pages to you to be initialed. Fax them back to me and I'll get copies of everything for you. The documents will also have Penny's name on it with the proper legal wording for her ownership – and yours, of course. With a cash purchase, you'll have the keys on Tuesday, because of the holiday on Monday." She hesitated, "When do you think you'll have a chance to speak to your temporary tenants? And by the way, you should have them pay you something every month, that way the city council can't get snotty about 'squatters'."

"We've asked them over next week. We thought about rent, is a dollar a month enough?"

She smiled, "It's rent, that's all that matters as long as you send them a receipt every month and emailing that to them is fine, no need to waste an envelope and stamp! Now, the power and gas is on for the furnace, which is natural gas and needs power for the heat pump and the water is already on, so your utilities are set. What else, oh, satellite dishes are fine as long as they can't be seen from the street. And if you and your friends could set a time to meet the caretaker while you're here, that would be very helpful for everyone."

"We'll do that. Does he need to meet everyone who'll be in and out? We hope our friend the master carpenter will be our general contractor, he's licensed, and will sub out the painting and some of the other work we want done."

"Steven, the caretaker, only needs to meet your general contractor."

"Great! Thanks Kathi, you've been a huge help!"

She chuckled, "It's not every day I get to sell a house and reunite a family!"

"Once we're in and settled a bit, we'll have an open house and you'll be our star guest."

While the others mingled, Gibbs sat, smiling as the Admiral joined him.

Gibbs tilted his head at the man. "Never thought I'd be related to an Admiral, I was an NCO, Gunnery Sergeant."

"Wonderful! I never thought I'd be an admiral, always thought they had sticks up their backsides and to tell you the truth, most of them do. Jim is my captain, our ship is the Baton Rouge." He grinned, "You know, you're pretty much his brother-in-law and Maisie's your mother-in-law."

Gibbs tilted his head, thinking about that, "It's been a few years since I had a mother-in-law. The first one was, _is_ , a real witch." He looked at his son's godfather. "My first wife and I had a daughter, Kelly. When she was 8, she and Shannon were murdered while I was in Kuwait during the first Gulf War. Their murders are what led me to joining NIS. After that, I married and was divorced by 3 women who each reminded me of Shannon. After #3, I figured out the problem and stopped the cycle. Now I'm involved with Tim's surrogate mother, who's known him since he was 9. I'll let him explain all that. I'm glad you're joining us for Christmas. This year is better, last year was crazy with Tim and Artie's wedding the day after Christmas."

"They've really only been married a year? I thought maybe they'd renewed their vows."

"No, that was their wedding. They met as teenagers at MIT, at orientation. Tim was 18 and there for his Masters while Artemis was 16 and had never lived away from her parents, who are in the Greek Diplomatic Corps. Tim being Tim, he took her under his wing and eventually they fell in love. She left for Japan a few years later, when her father ordered her to join them. Two or three years after that, they ran into each other in Seattle and reconnected before again going their separate ways. Long story short, she eventually figured out she was pregnant and fled her autocratic father's house to her grandmother in Greece, where she had Andy.

"Her father had never met Tim in person but thoroughly disapproved of him. but I've seen photos of our boy from that time and he does look unkempt although not dirty. His hair is badly in need of a trim and his clothes are too big. In his defense, the kids looked better than he did, he obviously spent money on them. And he was a teenage boy, unless he was interested in a girl, he probably never gave much thought to his hair or clothes. He and the kids, Sarah and Rob, had just left the homeless camp for the first time, they'd continued living there while he got his undergrad at Johns Hopkins, and hadn't had time to buy new clothes, get a decent haircut, etc.

"A friend of theirs told me that days after Tim met Artie, his hair was cut and he'd purchased newer, better fitting clothes from the thrift store. But anyway, Papa Galanis disapproved of him, he wasn't Greek, didn't have any family, didn't even know who they were and knew nothing about his background while the Galanises know their ancestors back to the 12th century, at least. Tim didn't belong to any church, plus his looks, he'd been homeless and had what Galanis assumed were two other runaway kids with him. The living embodiment of his fears for his daughter.

"He was terrified she'd marry the bum and until last year, assumed Tim had defiled his little girl when she was so young. Tim said it was the longest 2 years of his life but they waited until the day after Artemis' 18th birthday.

"Because of her father's disapproval, threats to disown her and the baby, and his manipulative, controlling ways, Artie was afraid to tell Tim about their baby. And now that I've met the man, I see why. Tim outmaneuvered him within 5 seconds of meeting him at the wedding but he's something else. About as controlling as I've ever seen. He was behind the baby being taken away from them last summer; I believe he's now facing criminal charges, bribing a Turkish woman to take the baby.

"For years, Artie's fear of her father remained stronger than her need to find Tim and tell him about Andy. Then things changed. While working in New Zealand, Artie met and married an Australian man, mostly because he reminded her a lot of Tim, and they moved to London. In the meantime, Tim had almost as bad of a track record as I do with women, although he was certainly nicer than I was and didn't marry any of them.

"When Artie discovered she was pregnant with Marissa, she told her husband who panicked, leaving her and Andy and returning to Australia. They'd moved to London for his job, luckily Artie was also working. Susannah, her sister moved in, staying after the baby was born.

"But Andy was having a hard time and nothing Artie did was helping. He knew about his father, even had a photo of him but had never met him. About 5 months after we'd moved to the UK, Tim, Sarah and the boys were in London one Friday, visiting their favorite bookstore and bumped into Artie.

"Tim met Andy that afternoon, the boy literally ran into his arms, he was so happy. Said he'd been praying for him to come and there he was. Tim took him to the British Museum the next day, with a sleepover with his new brothers that night and he never left. Within 2 weeks, Artie, Marissa and Susannah, moved in with us. That was actually my idea, easier to co-parent from one location and Tim wasn't letting go of his son.

"It took them a few weeks to work things out but Tim was determined they marry and as soon as possible. Part of Andy's problem was not having a father and Tim was mortified that his son was essentially the dictionary definition of a bastard. The other thing is that Artie's a civil engineer who works all over the world. Up until their marriage, she'd taken Andy with her, but with baby Marissa, that was going to be very challenging.

"By moving in with us, the kids wouldn't have to go with her and she'd have a home to return to. And she did. Three weeks after their wedding, she left for a job in Amzida. She had to leave when the riots started but her project was nearly complete and it's been finished since then. She hasn't been away from the family since." He smiled, "That's their story, so far."

Hope crawled over to her grandpa and he picked her up, bouncing her on his knee and playing with her fingers. Gibbs asked the Admiral a few questions about Tori and Dan and learned the Cranes had always known her as Lily. Crane shook his head, "They had one month shy of 3 years together. They met at a party in 1977, married within a month, had Tim as you know, then she got pregnant with Patrick, found out she had cancer but delayed treatment until the baby was born. He arrived in February of 1979 and she died in June of that year. Tragic."

Jethro tilted his head, "Tim's been angry with McGee for most of his life, since he, Pat, and Sarah were left with Natalie after she beat the boys half to death. And I have a bone to pick with Tori. We were involved but we knew it was temporary. We were also careful and when I returned from my deployment, I had a letter from her that she'd met someone. She also included her phone number and I called her, as my dad taught me, to make sure there hadn't been any consequences of our relationship. She said there hadn't been, flat out lied to me. Tim did the same thing with Artie but she'd had some bleeding and didn't think she was pregnant. Then she had a miscarriage and later found she was still pregnant, carrying a second embryo, our Andy."

Crane thought about all that before saying, "When we met Lily, Tori as you knew her, in Puerto Rico when Tim was finally released from the NICU at Bethesda, she and Dan were head over heels in love. And he loved Tim, no doubt in my mind there. I'm sorry you didn't know…and then the same thing happened to Tim."

"At least he'll be able to spend the rest of Andy's childhood with him – and be in his life for Tim's own lifetime and the same with us. Strange he found out about Andy before I found out about him."

"Maybe it's all come full circle now."

"Hope so! This is a weight off his shoulders. For a while, Sarah was pushing him to let her do some research, that's how the whole ancestry thing came about. She didn't want to do it without his approval.

"He said the only way he'd do it was if they could find out if Natalie had falsified the records. The case is classified, that's why he sent the inquiry to the FOIA asking about the records. We figured that part wouldn't be classified. But he never heard a word. Then my kids gave me a DNA testing kit for my last birthday, and bought them for themselves too. Tim was hoping to find out more information about his biological father." He grinned, "And he sure did! Today, when Jim said that Penny was told they were all dead and named the specific entities she contacted, Tim's questions were answered. Now he can let that go, that bitter anger against unknown people who could have saved them from the misery and poverty of the streets."

"I'm glad, but I don't know how we'll deal with the guilt, no matter what he said."

"Then listen to him and don't take it on. Way he sees it and I agree, you were just as much victims of Stacevyko as Tim, Sarah, Patrick and McGee. This is classified but she was a mole, a spy for the Soviet Union. She was trained to deceive and she did it very well. Commander McGee is another story but that's still not any of you, there was no way you could have known. And believe me, if Tim's satisfied with that, you should be too."

Crane huffed, "There's a family burial plot at Golden Gate Cemetery outside San Francisco. We'll all been there, Jim had his sister's remains moved there and Penny and Maisie go almost every year. They've paid for upkeep, all these years."

"Not wasted, Admiral, with Dan and Lily buried there. I imagine their children will want to visit at some point."

"You're right. Think you could call me Dave?"

"Sure and I'm Jethro." The two men shook hands.

Before the gathering ended, Sarah said there were a couple more things to talk about. She looked around the room at their new family, "Do you want to visit Patrick? I'm his legal guardian and everyone that visits has to be vetted first. If one of you will give me a list of those who want to visit, full legal names, middle names included, birthdates, and a photo ID, I'll have our security folks go through it. If there are any problems, I'll let you know."

"How long does that take?"

"Usually about 3 days, but with the holiday, I don't know."

Claire said she'd coordinate the list. Sarah nodded her thanks. Then she and James smiled at each other as she said, ""We'll also make a formal announcement tomorrow and on Christmas; however, since we're all here, James and I have set our wedding dates. We're going to follow Tim and Artie's example and have two celebrations; the second one will be a big party.

"Our actual wedding will be in the UK, June 3rd, the first Saturday. Susannah, that's Artie's sister who is also getting married next year, and I have coordinated so there's no overlap; we'll be at their wedding and they'll be at ours. Tim, you'll be done with classes, the boys will be on holiday and Tony, I'm hoping you and Maggie can hop over for the weekend or longer. Artie, I'd like you to be my matron of honor. I'd like Maggie to be one of my bridesmaids if you can make it and Tim, Dad, I want you two to walk me down the aisle and Lu, you are, of course, mother of the bride. We'd like Rissa and Kyle to be our flower girl and ring bearer and Greg and Andy for our junior groomsmen. If Hope's walking by then…oh, she can be a junior flower girl but not walk in the procession. James is still figuring out his groomsmen so he'll be in touch.

"Penny, Grammie, everyone, if any or all of you are able to be with us, that would be wonderful but we understand it's an expensive trip."

James looked at them, "We want our second celebration here in the States. Maybe in Ducky's backyard, someplace we can be outside, have music and dancing. We're thinking we'll fly over with you McGees and Gibbses when you move home, give us all a few days to get over the worst of the jet lag and then have the party, probably the next weekend." He grinned, "We've already spoken with Jenna in London and Sheila here, your wedding planners. Jenna will handle the Brambury wedding and Sheila will handle the party here."

Tim looked at Artie, who looked back and then her eyes widened. He was thinking of offering their place, the one they didn't have yet and would have been in for days! Then he smiled, noticing her near panic. He'd been thinking they could talk about it, not offer it now! Once again, she'd forgotten how much he liked to tease. She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled.

His uncle noticed the little tease and smiled, it was wonderful to be here with them, to see them interacting with each other, although it was still surreal.

The gathering lasted 4 hours, long enough for everyone to learn names and essential information and for Tim and Sarah's reclaimed family to allow themselves to start believing their lost children were really here and alive. Knowing they'd see them on Christmas made it easier and, as Penny said later, they'd be back in a few months to move into the old house.

The McGees, Jethro, Lu and the Powells went home to relax until it was time for ice skating. They had a fun couple of hours on the ice before heading back home for their 'panic' wrapping. Hope napped while the kids played in the backyard, the adults rotating supervision while gifts were wrapped and hidden. That was a little easier this year with the children staying next door. All the bedrooms could be used to hide things and the Powells had fun hiding several packages for Jethro and Lu.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Tim and Artie were so excited about their house, they barely slept that night. Artie was determined to change the location of the dining room and they spent a few hours looking at the photos they'd taken, finally falling asleep before they had a resolution. They woke the next morning to find the house empty of children and a note from Dad. "The kids are with us, come for breakfast when you're ready."

Showering and dressing, they hurried next door. While they ate, they talked about their Christmas Eve lunch at Ducky's. The Palmers and Ducky wouldn't be with them Christmas Day, the Slaters wanted their grandchildren and their parents, with them, and they'd included Ducky in the invitation.

After breakfast, they called Jimmy and Breena, asking if they'd seen the email, they had, and when would be a good day for lunch or dinner. Then they laughed, asking for Tuesday as they'd be away for their anniversary on Monday. Breena asked if they could do lunch as Jimmy was also off on Tuesday and they had a babysitter for Monday night. That was fine and they set a time, between morning and afternoon naps.

Then they called Bill, told him about the house and asked him to be their general contractor for the renovations. Bill would have jumped on it anyway, but earning a paycheck this time of year was a bonus. They planned to meet at the house Tuesday afternoon, hoping the Palmers would join them to see the place before making a decision.

This week, one of the staff at Restful Haven had agreed to handle the phone as there was no way Tim and the boys could get there and back in time for lunch today or dinner tomorrow. They'd see him in person on Wednesday and again before they left for home, probably on Saturday, New Year's Eve, when they'd change all the drawings and photos, put new ones up and take Pat's Christmas tree down. The boys talked about the new house and new people, telling their sleeping father that he knew most of them and that Papa and Aunt Sarah had cried with happy tears. Between the two boys, they remembered all of the names.

After the boys finished, Tim gave his version, telling his brother that this was incentive for him to wake up, to meet the people who'd mourned them for 30 years. He told him that what Natalie told him about the family not wanting him was a lie, that Uncle Jim's children were named for the three of them. Even though there was a lot to say, the call didn't last long, Tim didn't want to tie up the volunteer staffer's personal time.

In the meantime, Artie was driving herself crazy about the dining room. Lu sat next to her and looked at some of her rejected designs. "What do you plan to use it for? Will you have formal dinners?"

"No, I don't think so. Family dinners and we want enough space to expand, have multiple tables if necessary. Oh! Lu, thank you!" Impulsively, she kissed her mother-in-law. She took her master sheet, where she'd drawn out that part of the house and quickly making a new copy, took out the walls of the dining room, bringing the back wall forward. "Look, now we can open up that hallway and," she was madly sketching, "the dining table will go here, along that blank wall. Which should be a slider or perhaps it will be a wall of glass and will open all the way. That way, we can have a terrace right outside to eat there when the weather's nice. And there's plenty of room to add more tables."

Lu smiled, liking the design. She'd tell Artie later about the insects that would drive them insane with a wall that opened to the outside.

Finished with the call to his brother, Tim watched over her shoulder and cheered when he saw the design. "Honey, that's perfect! Yay!" He kissed her soundly as their family laughed.

While they were getting ready, Artie said, "Do you remember what we thought about the guest bedrooms, I mean beyond the en suite bathrooms?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, expanding them into real suites?"

"Exactly. What if they were each a suite? And what if there were 3 of them?"

"What about our offices?"

"Do you like the location of those?"

"From a work standpoint, yes, they'll be quiet. Otherwise, no, it's too dark back there, at the end of the hall. I know we have overhead lights but it's still too dark and too separate."

"What do you do when you work from home and need a break?"

She shook her head at the look in his eyes, "In this example, I am not home."

"Phooey. Ok, I head to the kitchen for coffee and/or a snack, say hello to whoever else might be home, and if the weather's nice, I'll sit on the terrace for a few minutes, helps me to refocus."

"Exactly. I do much the same thing. And I don't like feeling so cut off from the rest of the house. What if we added two offices off the back of the house, where we would have light, privacy and access to the terrace?"

"Where did you have in mind?"

"Off the family room. We could build it at a 90 degree angle and you would have the office farthest from the house. That way if you're working a case when the children are in the family room, there won't be any noise. A doorway from the family room into a nice bright hallway, with either windows or skylights. My office is first and then yours. And we can have a sliding door out to the terrace. And a half bath between us."

"I like that idea! That brings us back to what we were talking about earlier, the guest bedrooms. We could expand them into real suites, with a living area, but no second bedroom."

"Yes and I think, by moving the offices, we can add a 3rd suite back there. So each has an enclosed bedroom with en suite bath and we can situate those so the bathrooms would have a second door from the sitting area in the suite, for their guests. You and I can figure out the angles. If your parents move in with us, we could even put a terrace off their suite, then they'd have their own outdoor space. Large enough for a couple of Jethro's grills."

"How about including a small kitchen? A sink, one or two sets of over and under cabinets with a countertop, small refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker, maybe a small oven with enough room for cookie sheets. So Dad can have his 5 AM coffee and Mamalu her late night snack."

"Yes, I like that idea and the other suites will have kitchenettes but no oven. If we have 3 suites, then there will be room for Mimi, Susannah and Ian or Sarah and James and his parents when they come for Christmas. Rob and Geo when they want to stay over. And when the Porters and the Biros-Santos' visit."

He smiled, "I love this! Another thought I had but it's far too soon to mention it is that Penny might want to visit or even live here."

Artie thought about that before saying, "We'd better buy a pull-out sofa for the family room and maybe for the playroom upstairs!"

"Reminds me, with the price so low, we have the money to do what we want now, wouldn't it be easier to do everything while we have Bill and before we move in? What about going ahead with finishing the attic? Think there's room for 2 bedrooms and a full bath up there?"

She thought about that and then nodded, "Yes and possibly a 3rd bedroom, or make the 2 large enough to share. Are you thinking for Andy and Greg?"

"Maybe but I have concerns about that. I don't know if either one will want to be that separated from Kyle and the girls, or us, and I don't know how Kyle and Marissa would feel. I was thinking for our possible foster children. If we have older ones, that could be good for them or maybe we mix up the kids. They'll have a playroom in that huge area next door to the pool, so we can use the upstairs playroom for something else, maybe a library? And that's another thing I thought of, a whole house fan, if there isn't one."

"Oh yes, those are wonderful and will help keep the cost of air conditioning down."

He grinned, "We have a house, our very own house!"

"Yes, we do!"

"Too bad we can't transport the walking trail…" He looked at his wife who nodded at him, saying, "That's a wonderful idea. Let's see what's there and see what paths the children make and then work on making established paths. Maybe wide enough for bikes and roller skates? There's a creek back there, we'll have to make some rules about that."

"Rules about the property as a whole. Did we talk to Bill about the locked door hallway between the house and pool?"

"Yes, I think it was the second thing we mentioned. What about a stack-able washer and dryer for your parents' suite? Our laundry room is upstairs, remember."

"We're going to have storage closets in that hallway, can one of them be a laundry setup? That way, Mimi and our other guests can use them too. Maybe Freddie and Joe can use the plumbing from the existing bathroom."

"Great!"

Andy knocked on their bedroom door, "Mama, Papa? Hope's starting to wake up and it's almost time to go!"

With a laugh, they grabbed their coats, scarves and gloves, changed the baby, dressing her in a Christmas outfit from Grandma and Grandpa, got her jacket and hat on, made sure the older children, it was strange to think of Marissa and Kyle as part of the 'older children', were dressed appropriately for the weather, grabbed the appetizers they were bringing and hurried next door. All the gifts for today were already in the van. Once again, Sarah and the Powells took the Challenger, while Geordie and Rob had the pickup truck, their parents riding in the van with the children, Tim and Artie.

They smiled when they arrived at Ducky's. As planned, he'd had Sheila the wedding planner do his holiday decorating, and it looked like the decorating was catching on. The townhouses on either side of him were also decorated.

Sheila added 'candy canes' at the border of his shrub garden in the front and the fir tree in the front had lights on it. It would be dark by the time they left and Tim bet it would look spectacular. He thought they'd drive around a little on the way home, look at more lights.

Inside the house, the 'fairy' lights as the kids called them, were in the common areas, living room and dining room and the Christmas tree was professionally decorated. Those decorations were lovingly enhanced by the decorations made by the McGee and Palmer children, even Hope with some help from her siblings.

The Palmers were already there and the kids greeted Uncle Jimmy, Aunty Breena and their cousins enthusiastically. They found Granducky in the kitchen and gave him plenty of love too. When Tim noticed the childproofing that had been done, he smiled at Jimmy and Breena, that was a good idea.

Breena laughed at him, "We did that when Victoria started to crawl! You just never noticed last year."

He grinned, "Might have had a few other things on my mind!"

After inspecting the presents under the tree, the kids disappeared into the Palmer kids' playroom, the room the kids had used last year during the wedding. Since Victoria's birth, the glider chair made by Uncle Jethro and changing table had been joined by toddler size bean bag chairs, a small bookshelf with favorite books, a large stuffed giraffe, a few stuffed baby ducks, other animals and toys. Davey had a little train set here that he and Kyle played with.

Marissa, Victoria, Greg and Andy found the box with the blocks in them and dumped them onto the floor. Wooden blocks of many shapes and colors tumbled out; they could be used as buildings, boats, even people. They didn't connect at all, it was up to the child to decide what they were, using his or her imagination.

Breena found them online and remembered her mother talking about playing 'blocks' when she was a child, before Legos. Gibbs remembered too, his blocks were scrap pieces of wood between 5 and 8 inches 'tall' and some of them became people that he'd named. One of the 'ladies', a slim and smooth yellow piece of wood, was always named Rosemary when the wood was being a person and one of the men, a stocky piece of rough wood, was Gary. Sometimes they lived in a house, most of the time they lived on a houseboat and sometimes they were part of the houseboat. This generation of children hadn't named their block people yet but Victoria and her brother had been discussing doing just that.

LJ was spending Christmas with them, they'd see him tomorrow. Fornell was last to arrive and as he walked in, the group applauded, "Yay, you're here, we can start!"

Before they started presents, they had a few appetizers, more mezethes, and other mouth-watering treats, with their beverages of choice.

They were having a beef roast this year, with their favorite green bean casserole, crescent rolls, a green salad and mashed potatoes. By request, Tim was again making Yorkshire pudding.

Between appetizers and the beef roast, they opened their gifts. The adults had each pulled the name of one of the other adults and there was a set dollar limit. That made it more fun and a little challenging. Ducky gave all the children, big and small, gifts from the Smithsonian while Tony and Maggie gave Ducky a button down shirt in blue to match his eyes. Over the pocket, in very small cursive, were his initials. Fornell gave Tim and Artie a framed world map with three big red circles, one around London, one around Athens and the third around Washington, D.C. Jimmy and Breena gave framed photos of Victoria and Davey along with festive containers of homemade baked goods.

When they finally finished eating their feast, all the grown Gibbs' kids turned to their parents, each with an eyebrow raised. Gibbs rolled his eyes at them while Lu started laughing. Finally, they stood and Lu started by saying, "We told the kids yesterday and Ducky already knows." Gibbs grinned, "We're getting married! New Year's Day, here in Ducky's library. Nothing fancy, just us, hope you can make it."

After worrying about it for the rest of the day Friday, he and Lu had called Abby last night. She was happy for them and not in the least bit surprised. Ellie and the Palmers were also happy and not very surprised. Fornell also knew and was happy for his friend. He and Gail, the woman who'd gone to Greece with the Fornells and her daughter, continued to see each other although neither were in any hurry to formalize anything. Em was with Diane and Pauley with her father tonight; Em would join the clan on Christmas, while Pauley and her mother would spend the holiday with Gail's parents and siblings.

After the hoopla died down, Sarah and Tim played a silent game of 'you go next' until Geordie said, "One of you or I'll be happy to do it."

They laughed and then Tim and Artie stood, "We bought a house yesterday! It's in Arlington, originally built when Thomas Jefferson was president and renovated many times. It was a tobacco plantation back in the day, and, unfortunately, several of the owners had slaves. We were told the owner at the time of the Civil War freed his slaves before the Emancipation Proclamation. Most of the land has been sold off over the years, there are 5 acres left, with deep woods and a creek running through it. We'll get the keys on Tuesday."

"Wow, so fast?"

"We paid cash and there's more to the story for later."

Sarah shook her head, "No, go ahead."

"Thanks, Sari. Thursday morning, Artie and I took Hope to Costco and then we planned to go neighborhood shopping. While we were at Costco, this guy started following me around, an older guy. He wasn't following Artie or the baby, I tested that, it was definitely me. When we got in line to check out, he was there and I confronted him, showed him my badge and he apologized, said I looked like someone he used to know and had been trying to figure things out. I'd caught the eye of a Costco security guard, he didn't get too close but stalker man saw he was there and apologized. He was pretty embarrassed. We left and went looking for the neighborhoods we wanted to drive through, they're all close to the Catholic schools the kids will eventually be attending. I didn't realize this until last night and told Artie. It never occurred to me that this guy might have been a Gemcity fan. Duh!

"Anyway, we're driving around, got hungry and were trying to find a specific café, sort of between one neighborhood and the next when Artie saw a sign for an Open House. We went in and loved the house, even had Dad come over and do an inspection. In the end, we realized it didn't make sense to buy it because we didn't know if we would be allowed to move home next year.

"In the meantime, Vance gets a call that someone wants to look at Dan McGee's file. That's Sarah and Patrick's father, my stepfather. He tells them to come in to the office, there are 2 of them, gets their names and looks them up, they're legit. He calls Tony and they decide how to approach this. Tony called Sarah to give her a heads up and Sarah gives him, or Vance, permission to tell these people that we live in Europe. Cutting to the bottom line, sort of…my stalker is our godfather, Admiral David Crane, who couldn't get over how much I looked like his long dead oldest godchild. It bothered him so much that he told his wife, our godmother Liz, and she reported that Maisie, our maternal grandmother, had been going crazy because the family tree and DNA site she's on kept saying she had new matches, but wouldn't give any names or contact information. The Cranes called the Hubbards, that's our mother's family, and that's how Captain Jim Hubbard, our uncle, and Admiral Crane, ended up in Vance's office.

"While that part was happening, Artie, Hope and I went home. We were both upset at ourselves for looking at a house we knew we couldn't buy but the truth was, the minute we drove onto the property, we fell in love with it. At the house, Sarah called to tell me our unknown relatives had surfaced, the word was out. What I still think is funny, because I've been resisting for so long, is that I was unwittingly the catalyst!

"Anyway, while I was digesting that piece of news, Vance calls and says 'they' are on the way over to see us – again. I asked if it was the same 'they', because Tuesday, he showed up with the Secretary of State and SecNav to tell us about Hope. He said no, it was 3 directors. When they got there, it was Vance, Director Sailes of the FBI, who's spearheaded our protection details for the past 2 years, and Director McKinley of the CIA. When I saw him, I wanted to grab Artie, the baby and run. Then I remembered I'm a federal agent again.

"So they come in, and then Dad arrives. The directors tell us 2 things: McKinley says our brother Patrick was not part of IPF, that he resisted. That was one of Hatman's lies, that Pat had worked for IPF. And the other thing and this affects every single one of us here, is that we're free!

"What happened is classified but I can say that the people who were paying for all of our protection details got tired of it and let someone know and the 3 directors put their heads together, came up with a wild idea, contacted British law enforcement, got it approved and the operation took place Thursday, UK time. Think of that, three agencies of the US Federal Government agreed to a plan, without fighting about it for years, and executed that plan within 2 days. I think that might qualify as a Christmas miracle.

"On this side of the Atlantic, everyone in this house and several others, had protection details that day, even the feds. The Bureau handled that while Vance and McKinley had teams covering Artie's family and our house in Brambury.

"After they left and we stopped jumping up and down with joy, we called the real estate agent and made an offer on the house. The owner accepted and we're all happy, great day, right? And then Sarah, who'd been talking with our new aunt, drops a funny bit of news on us, we'd just purchased the home from her grandmother, Penny Langston McGee!

"So yesterday morning, almost all of us met almost all of them, at our new house and got acquainted. The end."

Laughing, he bowed at the applause and sat down while Abby, Ellie, Ducky and the Palmers started firing questions at him. Dad finally whistled and nodded to Artie who said, "Thank you, Jethro. There are some details still to be ironed out with the house. When we know more, so will you. And for any more on what happened in the UK, you'll need permission from Director Vance or Director Sailes to find out." She smiled, "And now it's Sarah's turn!"

Laughing, Sarah and James stood and told of their plans, causing more uproar. Ducky immediately took out his phone to look at his calendar, making a note for June 3rd and the Stateside party in early August. Tony said he'd spoken with Vance and the agreement was that his team would be off rotation for a few days around the 3rd. He told Dad later that Rick Carter had already said if Fuller wanted to swap teams again for the week, then Maggie could also go. And that meant Ellie and their probationary agent, Matt Watson, would also be able to take time off if they wanted to, the MCRT would be off those days. They'd done it a couple of times before, when Gibbs still had the team. Vance had given them all personal leave.

As they left Ducky's that evening, they formed a little caravan. The Palmers had the same idea about driving around to see decorated houses as the McGees, so the McGees' rental, the Challenger and the pickup followed Jimmy and Breena, who'd mapped out several neighborhoods. Eventually, Geordie and Rob peeled off from the group and went home, they had more wrapping to do.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Christmas morning was the usual chaos in the Gibbs' household and became even livelier when Tony and Maggie arrived. Abby would arrive later, she'd compromised with her brother Kyle by spending Christmas morning with him.

They opened presents, ate breakfast and opened more presents. The senior Powells sat back and watched with laughter and a certain amount of awe. Both noticed that the children's presents included educational and practical gifts.

After they cleaned up the morning mess, they pulled the china and Rob's Christmas dishes out for their dinner. As there would be more than 32 people, they'd decided to mix and match with Rob's dishes. The Rourkes' grown children were home for Christmas this year, so they weren't joining the Gibbs clan. When LJ called to tell his godson he'd be there, he said he couldn't wait to meet little Hope and to see how much the kids had grown. He'd sent a wonderful card and photos of Anne and Jack to Tim when told the younger man was the couple's biological grandson. He looked forward to telling more 'little' Jethro stories and meeting Sarah's future in-laws. He'd been invited to his godson's wedding on New Year's Day and was excited about that. He'd been curious to see what would happen with Jethro and Ms. Luella and overjoyed when Jethro called him. He hadn't yet been told about Tim and Sarah's reclaimed relatives.

While the adults worked on the food and getting the table moved, the kids made name tags for everyone. First names, with their relationship to the Gibbs' kids in parentheses. Jethro's grown kids had decided to tag themselves as 'Gibbs' kids', easier than writing, "McGee-Perry-DiNozzo-Sciuto". They felt Abby had finally declared herself as one of the siblings last spring when she'd visited them – and she'd agreed. Each tag had a little Christmas tree drawn on it, courtesy of the children, along with the name and relationship.

Sarah and Geordie went through their online photo album, printing out several pictures of them at the shelter and camp. They made sure to print the photos of all their graduations, with Lu in most of them, and a couple with Nate. There was a photo of the clinic on a day when Ducky, Jimmy, and Dr. Hannah were all working as well as a photo of a meeting of the non-profit group. They wanted the new family to see what happened after they left the camp as well as while they were there.

Tony's freshly made pasta was ready, he'd prepared the meat and by 1:00, was assembling the pans of lasagna, with Tim and Artie once again his sous chefs. They'd follow the same pattern as yesterday, appetizers and drinks, followed by gifts and then dinner.

Abby came in with LJ and both were greeted affectionately. LJ liked Sarah's in-laws, George and Edith, right away and was happy to answer a few questions about the Gibbs family.

The Porters were the next to arrive. They'd driven down last night and once they heard about the wedding, decided to stay through New Year's. The Baltimore Uncles came in after the Porters, Jose's fiancée Chelsea accompanying him. They'd met her before but this was the first Christmas she'd joined them. What they noticed today was that she was shy in groups. One on one or even with a couple of people, she was fine but more than that, she didn't have much to say. Rob privately wondered if she had a hearing problem. Listening to one or two people and correctly comprehending their words might be fine, but it was possible more of a crowd than that could be a problem.

He missed Ellie, she'd flown to Oklahoma to her parents' ranch after the party at Ducky's yesterday. He didn't mind being single so much in this crowd, Geordie's girlfriend Bec was an ocean and continent away and neither Barry nor Bill was currently seeing anyone. Ellie would be back in time for the wedding next Sunday, they were going together. He hoped she'd be able to visit him in London next fall; he was staying on after his parents, brother and family moved home. Edith Powell had already invited him to Castleton for Christmas next year and he was grateful for that. His study program would be done by February and then he'd come home, although he already had 3 job offers from hospitals in the UK.

Geordie was also thinking ahead. His last evaluation would take place after the first of the year and then he'd wait for his orders. He'd requested posting to Quantico, teaching new officers. He and Bec Skyped yesterday and she said there were rumblings that Vance was about to move people around. With more than 4 years in the Athens office, she felt she might be one of those people. They'd all taken a survey a few months ago, indicating where, besides their current posting, they'd like to work.

He smiled as the Vances arrived, boy, would he like to pick Leon's brain about transferring his agents! Kayla and Jarod entered first; when their father walked in the door, the family broke into applause and cheers. He smiled happily and made a little bow.

Looking around, he said, "Not as much traffic on this block today." Artie, Sarah and Lu kissed him, while Tim and his brothers gave him one-armed hugs. Not to be left out, the kids each gave him hugs and last was Jethro who reached for a shake and then pulled him in for a hug.

LJ looked around, "Someone going to tell us what that was all about?"

Tim and his father looked at Leon who grinned. "Guess that's up to me. LJ, how was your day last Thursday?"

He thought about it, "Pretty good. Bowled in my league in the morning. Didn't bowl a perfect game but I did roll above my average. Went to my Pilates class and then had lunch out with a couple of friends, same as we do every Thursday."

"You didn't notice anyone different around you, cars or anything?"

LJ nodded, "I did see a couple of dark cars, looked like government cars, but I didn't think anything of it. Why?"

Leon looked at Tim, giving him a subtle nod. Tim looked at his father's godfather, who'd asked to be called 'Uncle LJ' by the children, first Greg and Kyle and last year including Andy and Marissa. Now Tim added himself to that list. "Uncle LJ, for the past 2 years, ever since Greg and Kyle came to live with me, we've been in danger. That's why we had to move to the UK, to be safer. Wherever any of us went, we had people protecting us, even when we traveled in Europe. One of the strange things about the situation is that one American agency was responsible for the danger; once they were identified, the other law enforcement agencies started billing them for our protection details.

"After 2 years, the new head of that agency got fed up and called someone to complain that our protection details were bleeding them dry. That someone gathered Director Vance and 2 other directors of federal agencies and between the four of them, they came up with a wild plan to put an end to the danger and then they did it, they carried out their plan three days after the responsible agency complained - and it worked. The day that happened was last Thursday and everyone here right now had a protection detail, even Tony and Maggie, who are armed federal agents, and Barry, a police sergeant!

"Those government sedans you saw were your protection detail. Artie's family in Greece, Scotland and Italy also had protection and if George and Edith had been home instead of here, they would have had one there. They did have one here. None of us knew about it until the 3 directors came to the house to tell us it was over, we're free – and so are they!"

LJ digested that for a moment before turning to his godson. "He's definitely your son, gets in trouble just like you!"

Tim laughed as his father wrapped his arms around him, "Nah, he's more level-headed than me. Although he is a papa bear, anyone threatens family, he'll fight to the end. Been a family man for a long time, made me one again, too."

LJ turned to Vance, "Thank you for protecting my family, Leon, all of my family."

Tim cleared his throat, "Uh, about that, Uncle, we added more family last week, after Hope was returned to us."

Quickly they told him the story and he shook his head, "Wonderful, just wonderful. It's sad, horrifying what happened, Timothy, but it's come full circle now, son."

"Yes, sir. One more thing. The home Artie and I bought was originally the main house on a tobacco plantation, built in the early 1800s and the owners had slaves. During the Civil War, the owner of that time freed his slaves before Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Most of the land has been sold off over the last century, there are 5 acres remaining. We've been talking about a memorial to the people who labored there without having any control or choices."

"I think that's a fine idea, son. Would you make it public?"

"If we can find a way to do that without jeopardizing our security, yes. The acreage runs along the road and then back off the road. Our resident engineer hasn't drafted it yet, but we think we could add another driveway that will lead to the memorial."

Vance nodded, "There are precedents, Tim, here in Virginia. There's at least one other old plantation, reduced much as your new place is, where a replica of slave quarters has been built. Another thing is that, after being emancipated, many former slaves took the owner's surname. If you can find that and the name of the plantation, you can be more specific. Say the owner was named Moore and it was the Moore plantation, any advertising or signage you do should include those names. With genealogy being such a hot topic right now, people are very interested in finding anything they can about their family, their ancestors."

Kayla nodded, "There's a show on PBS called "Finding Your Roots" and it's helped a lot of celebrities with gaps in their family history. There was also "The Genealogy Roadshow" on PBS that did the same thing for regular people."

Tim started to say something when Greg said, "Excuse me, Papa, the new people are here. There are 2 cars."

While they'd been talking, the Fornells had arrived and were warming up with hot beverages.

"Thank you, Greggers. All right, everyone have your name tag on?"

Most of the group said yes, while a few people hastily peeled off the covering on the back and stuck his or her tag on.

Dad opened the door, welcoming Penny, Maisie (Grammie), Dave and Liz Crane and lastly Jim and Claire Hubbard and their two children, Ainsley and Callum. When they were all inside and their outerwear had been put in the downstairs bedroom, they were first given their name tags by the McGee children, who happily welcomed the cousins they hadn't met the other day, and then were greeted with a kiss and hug each by Sarah and Tim. Then Tim introduced them to the crowd, including the relationship.

That was the easy part! Next came introducing the crowd to the new family. Tim and Sarah again did the honors but this time they had a little fun with it, adding a little quip or light tease for their friends and extended family.

When Sarah finished, Tim looked around. "We're missing people today. Our friend Ducky, that's Dr. Mallard, and his immediate family, Jimmy and Breena Palmer and their kids, Victoria and Davey. They went to the maternal grandparents' home today. We had them last year so I guess that's only fair. And Ellie Bishop, a friend, co-worker and Rob's girlfriend, is in Oklahoma at her parents' today, we also had her with us last year. And lastly, Geordie's lady love, Bec Childers, who also works for NCIS, has never spent a holiday with us, although he met her over Easter last spring, in Greece while we were visiting Mimi, my wife's grandmother. Bec lives and works in Greece."

Jim was counting in his head and looked at Jethro, "You have 6 kids."

"Yes. Tony, Abby, Geordie, Tim, Sarah and Rob."

"How many work for NCIS?"

Thinking he knew where this was going, Gibbs grinned, "3."

"And of the remaining 3, how many are involved with NCIS employees?"

"3." Gibbs chuckled and the others laughed. Then Gibbs said, "You asked the wrong question. It should be of all my kids, how many are involved with employees of NCIS. And that number is 4 because Maggie works at NCIS and is engaged to my son Tony, who also works at NCIS."

Jim shook his head, looking at the grown Gibbs' kids. "How did you meet your significant other?"

They answered in the order Dad listed them. Tony said, "I met her when I transferred her to my team after Dad retired and I became Team Lead."

"She works for you?"

Maggie shook her head, "No, when it became obvious we wanted to be more than friends, I switched to a different team."

Vance smiled at them.

Abby was next, saying, "I met Freddie here, through Tim. Two years ago, Tim, Greg and Kyle came down from Cambridge over Thanksgiving weekend and we had a big dinner here. That was the first time the NCIS family met the Baltimore family and that's when Freddie and I met."

Geo nodded, taking his turn, "We were in Greece, on a little island for the day, to meet Artie's rental property guy and his wife was with him. She works at the local NCIS office, her co-workers were with her and that included Bec. So, yes, I met Bec through Artie and Tim."

Rob laughed, "I met Ellie through Tim and Dad. I've known her since…oh, since Tim threw out the restrictions on talking to his NCIS family and had everyone here at Dad's to tell them about our history. That was over Thanksgiving in 2014, the same dinner Abby mentioned. Ellie was with someone then. Last year, Dad took us to brunch before Christmas, she was single and we decided to be each other's dates for Tim and Artie's wedding. Then we spent New Year's Eve together, we Skype when we can and she went to Greece with us, also spending a few days in the UK in August. We're officially dating."

Sarah smiled, "I met James on a train coming back from the beach in Cornwall the first summer Tim, Dad, Rob, Greg and Kyle lived in the UK. Kyle and I had been walking through the cars and he discovered he'd dropped his engineer's cap. We turned back to look for it when this tall, good looking guy appeared with the cap. So I met my fiancé through Kyle, which means through Tim. And he works for NCIS, in the London office."

Tim grinned, "We're missing someone here. Mamalu?"

She chuckled, "Oh, all right. I met Jethro through a case, a case I called into Tim, at NCIS. I knew about his boss, Tim talked about him often enough. We clicked and here we are, introduced by Tim, Special Agent Matchmaker."

Vance was laughing, "I might have to add that to our next recruitment brochure. Join NCIS and find your mate!"

Fornell shook his head, "Not just mates, Leon. I've worked for the FBI all my adult life, met Gibbs on a case and eventually we became friends, although my team and his team didn't know for a long time."

Tony grinned, "That pretty much ended the day we were waiting for the elevator, heard laughter and then the doors opened on our floor and you two stepped out, looking as angry at each other as usual. You played that wrong if you didn't want us to know, we're investigators!"

He and Tim fist bumped while Gibbs and Fornell looked at each other, chuckling. "Busted! Thanks for not ruining our reputations back then, guys."

Vance shook his head, "They figured it out before I did."

"You weren't there yet."

The new family watched them all, entranced by the interactions. Penny remembered Artie saying a friend named Bill would be their general contractor and now she asked this Bill. He smiled, "Yes, that's me. I'll do most of the carpentry work but I also have an assistant I've trained and I'll have subs for the other work. Freddie and Jose here are our plumbers."

The pair bowed in tandem and Penny grinned, "Wonderful!"

Maisie wanted more hot cider and Tim went with her to the kitchen. She smiled at him, "I still can't believe you're really here, it's so wonderful!"

Tim nodded, "I know, when I woke up Saturday morning, I was sure it had all been a dream."

"You mentioned a friend named Ducky, a Dr. Mallard. By any chance is his first name Donald and is he from the UK?"

"Yes, his proper name is Donald and he's from the UK, Scotland to be exact. I believe the last place he lived over there was London. Year before last, on his first visit with us, he took us to the address of his old bedsit, and found a new modern building."

"Oh, this is wonderful! If he's who I think he is, he was one of your grandfather's best friends. In fact, the night I met Andrew, Donald was with him at an invitation only Robbie Burns' Night in London. Drew and I started seeing each other immediately and several months later, Donnie, that's what we called him, had an offer from Doctors Without Borders and went off to save the world. I'm not sure we ever heard from him again. Oh yes, we did. Drew wrote him before we married, to tell him that and that we were moving to America. He wrote to say best wishes and good luck."

"Great! You'll see him…oh, they haven't said anything yet! They'll talk about it when we're all at the table, but I'll tell you now. Dad and Lu are getting married on New Year's Day, at Ducky's house, in his library, in fact, he's going to officiate. That's where our wedding was last year and he officiated for us, too. So you'll not only get to see him and meet his 'kids', you'll get to see his home and his treasure trove of books."

"Will you…are you going to tell him about Drew and me ahead of time?"

"Sure, I can do that. If he wants your number, to call you, is that all right?"

"Yes, that's fine. That's probably better than surprising him on your father's and Lu's big day. They should be the stars of the show."

"They should be and Lu won't mind the spotlight too much but Dad will. We're guessing he had to be convinced to have an actual wedding, not just go to City Hall." He grinned, "Not that we wouldn't have turned that into a party!"

Remembering to pour more hot cider for her, the two of them returned to the others.

Following their usual pattern, they opened gifts before they feasted. When they were done with that, before they moved to the table that had been festively decorated by the children, they took photos. Starting with the lookalikes, Uncle Jim & Tim, they quickly added Andy and Kyle and when they were sure they had enough of those, paired Greg and Sarah with Penny. After that, they made sure they had a group photo with everyone there.

Eventually, they sat down to dinner, the newcomers exclaiming over Tony's lasagna and the accompanying dishes. By 6:00, they were working on cleaning up the kitchen and within another hour, the Maryland folks, which included the new family as well as the Baltimore Uncles, were on the road home. They'd all be at the wedding on New Year's Day and Sarah thought she'd have their security to visit Patrick in place by Tuesday or Wednesday. With IPF off their backs and freedom declared for the family, she wasn't sure if vetting was even still necessary but sent the list in anyway.

Although their celebrations had been fun, the Powells were relieved to find Sarah's family as exhausted as they were. She and George teased that they'd have to go back to work to rest up from their vacation. The Porters laughed at that, saying they had a whole week to sleep between today and New Year's Day.

Taking the kids next door to put them to bed, Tim asked Dad and Lu to join them for coffee. Once the baby and the littles were in bed, Greg and Andy reading until their bedtimes, Artie showed her in-laws her draft of the renovated suites. They admired all the space, Dad remarking that each was the size of the suites in Brambury, sans the guest bedroom and bath. His son and daughter-in-law smiled when he said that.

Tim tilted his head, looking at Lu, "Mamalu, what do you think?"

She smiled, hoping she was right about where this was going. She and Jethro were dreading being so far from the family. They'd be in separate towns that sometimes had heavy traffic between them. As much as Lu liked the Alexandria house, Jethro had lived in it with each of her predecessors. While certain of his feelings for her, she really wanted a fresh start and this would give them that, along with a sense of continuity and of course the family. The indoor pool and the woods were another big plus.

"I love the plans, the suites look quite spacious and will be quiet, I'm sure. Besides the pool, the future playroom and Penny's storage, what else is in those outbuildings?"

"There's a big workshop at the other end of the pool building. When Bill builds the enclosed walkway, he's also going to add a corridor that runs the length of that building. When you enter from the walkway, you'll turn into the corridor. There will be a door to the pool, another security point, a second door for the current indoor tennis court/future playroom. Next to it will be a half bath. Then another door will open into what was an office. Fairly large with power, heat and at least a ceiling fan; we don't know what we're going to do with that yet. The fifth and last door is the workshop. The other buildings are storage, one's a former barn, and of course the cottage."

Dad pursed his lips, "The walkway and the hall with all the doors will be finished before we move home?"

"Yes, Bill will work on that after he finishes with the upstairs. That walkway will have an alarm that triggers if someone enters it without using a key. That will help Breena when she's home alone with 2 curious toddlers."

Tim took a breath and, smiling at Artie, said the words. "We'd like you to consider moving in with us, you'll have your own suite, with laundry and as big or as little a kitchen as you want. Move in, stay permanently or come stay as long as you want. We have all kinds of reasons and arguments but it's your decision. Oh, we forgot to mention, the suite will have a sliding door or French doors, we haven't decided yet, to the side yard and its own terrace, large enough for chairs, a table and a grill. We haven't talked about landscaping yet, but I bet that would be a great area for a garden."

Artie said, "I think the sliding door, Tim; that would work better with that retractable awning we were discussing." He nodded.

Lu tilted her head, "Do you think the office in the pool building would do for a craft room?"

Artie nodded, "Yes, absolutely. There are cabinets in there for supplies and it would be easy to remove the desk, put in the same cork flooring we're installing in the workshop and play area, and bring in craft tables and a sewing machine, whatever would be needed."

Tim moved restlessly, "Why don't you have a look at the building this week? Bill's starting work on Thursday, they're doing the upstairs first; if you went while he's there, you could ask him any questions you might have."

Jethro looked at Lu, who smiled. He nodded, "Thank you. We'll take a look and talk about it."

They moved on to other topics, enjoying spending some time together, until all four of them were yawning. Saying goodnight, the Gibbses walked next door and Tim smiled, "They'll go for it, I'm sure. Lu's question was pretty specific."

"Yes and she told me she'd rather not live in the same house as her predecessors."

"Oh, good point." He shuddered and Artie laughed at him. He looked at her, "Think of it. If Dad raised me, I would have had almost as many stepmothers as Tony has. I've met all the past wives but Shannon and I know I would have loved living with her and my little sister Kelly. There's no way I would have liked living with Diane or Rebecca. Stephanie might have been all right but I might have had to go to Russia with them. Huh, that would have been really interesting, now that I think about it."

"Have you ever been to Russia?"

He nodded before saying it was classified. She rolled her eyes, they laughed and went up to bed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Monday morning, Dad and Lu rang the doorbell at 7 AM, nearly pushing Tim and Artie out the door for their anniversary date. They'd booked the Waterfront King suite at the same resort on the Chesapeake where they'd stayed last year.

After leaving the house, they first had breakfast at Elaine's before heading east. They took their time, meandering through several of the small towns they'd seen last year. They bought a few things for the new house, tucking them under the shell of Dad's truck bed. The great thing was, they could store them in the outbuildings on the property and discover them all over again next summer. Wandering through eastern Maryland, they stopped for lunch on the shore. Again, they both had crab, crab cakes, soup, splitting a crab salad between them. From the restaurant, they continued to the resort and checked in for their night to themselves.

After a relaxing spa in their in-room hot tub, they took advantage of their time away. Later, they got dressed up and went for dinner and dancing. Back in their love nest, eventually they fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

Tuesday morning, they had an early swim, followed by a few minutes in the hot tub before their breakfast arrived. Relaxing after they ate, they eventually roused themselves, got ready for their day and checked out. On the way home, they picked up 2 rotisserie chickens, the makings for salad and roasted potatoes for lunch. When they entered the house, they found a note, "Took kids to Holiday Train show, back by 11:00. Lv Mlu." They laughed, happy to know that Lu really did like her new nickname, 'Mamalu'.

They'd no sooner put the groceries away and taken their overnight bag upstairs than they heard the kids come in, "Papa, Mama? We're home, we missed you!"

They kissed each of them, taking the baby from Mamalu, kissing her and Dad in thanks.

When the Palmers arrived, Tim was at the door before Breena could raise her hand to knock. Once they were inside the house, Victoria, now 23 months old and Davey, 3, went to play with their cousins, Davey no longer the least bit shy. Neither was Hope, fresh from her nap. She quickly renewed her acquaintance with the Palmer children and gave her Aunty Breena and Uncle Jimmy a kiss each.

Breena got a little distracted, playing with the little girl and then Tim and Artie were saying something about their house. Her mouth dropped open as they showed the photos of their new old house. And then they asked if the Palmers would be interested in living there for 7 months, for free. Breena and Jimmy looked at each other, speechless.

Then Artie said, "It can't be totally rent free or the city council will complain. A dollar will be enough, though. As long as we send you a receipt every month."

Breena's brain finally kicked back in and she looked at their friends. "Why? I mean, that's wonderful but why aren't you renting it out for real money?"

"A few reasons. The biggest one is that we trust you and we need people living in the house until we get home, you'd be doing us a huge favor. We're fine without any rent, Gemcity helped with the purchase, and the property taxes are, well, we got a really good deal." Artie hid a slight anxiety, they'd need someone here until they moved home and she hoped her suggestion would turn out well.

Tim smiled at her, telling their friends, "There will be some renovations going on during the day, weekdays only. Bill Colter will handle them, he's agreed to be our general contractor. You know him, he knows you, so a comfort level there. He'll prepare the work site so it's completely covered, keep the dust out of the rest of the house and he always cleans up his job sites before he leaves for the day. And he'll run a fan on the stairs to keep anything from drifting upstairs. Once the demolition is done, there won't be a lot of noise, but as I said it'll be during the day and weekdays only. If you're home for a day or week, let him know and he'll reschedule.

"As for the renovations, we're losing the formal dining room and reworking a hallway and rooms in back of it, adding a sliding patio door and terrace off the kitchen. The new dining area will be open to the living area and the terrace dining area will be sort of mirroring the inside dining area. We're also finishing the attic, splitting it into 2 bedrooms and a full bath, and building 2 offices off the back of the house for Artie and me."

"Upstairs, Bill will have people cleaning everything, painting and installing carpet in the hallways and staircase. He'll put up baby gates before you move in. Downstairs, he's going to make some sort of a faux door in the alcove where our future standalone freezer will go.

"He's figuring he can get it all done in 6 weeks. He'll have subs for the upstairs work and the carpeting and he'll do most of the renovation work downstairs with his assistant and a couple of builders he likes to work with. Oops, I forgot the laundry room! There are currently two guestrooms and two offices off the downstairs hallway. Those will be renovated into 3 suites and he'll turn the current hallway bathroom into a laundry room for the suites. Our main laundry is upstairs. Freddie and Jose have already signed on to do the plumbing work."

"Wow!"

Artie smiled, "He'll get the upstairs done first, that will take less than a month. We thought you could move in when that's done. The kitchen won't be touched. Oh, there aren't any appliances but Penny still has them and will have them moved..."

She stopped when she saw them look at each other and Jimmy said, "A dishwasher and microwave would be great, but our oven, refrigerator, washer and dryer are ours, we'd move those, thanks. Oh, I guess we'd need a range hood, you know, an exhaust fan."

Tim nodded, "Penny gave us a list of the kitchen stuff she has and there is a dishwasher on there as well as a range hood. It was apparently custom built for this house."

"Cool! Uh, can we have a day or so to think about this? It's a wonderfully generous offer, we just need some time to let it soak in."

Tim nodded, "Of course. Remember you're doing us a favor - you'll be our caretakers for the house. Would you like to see it before you decide? Easier than trying to imagine where things would go. We're meeting Bill over there this afternoon if you have the time to join us. Or if you'd rather do it after work Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, that's fine. There are a few outbuildings with plenty of room for storage and a cottage where the current caretaker lives. I know he's retiring but don't know when. If you'd feel better about having someone else there when you're not home, we'll ask him to stay on."

"Also, there's an indoor pool, in a separate and very securely locked building, I checked that. You'll have the keys, swim whenever you want. It's a saltwater pool, easier to maintain. Bill's building an enclosed walkway with locked doors at either end, from the house to the building that houses the pool. And there will be a separate playroom next to it, with no access to the pool, and a half bath nearby."

Jimmy and Breena just nodded, both in a bit of a daze. When the timer rang, Artie started plating their hot lunch, which smelled delicious, while Tim brought the kids downstairs. Hope squealed happily when she saw her siblings and the 2 new kids again.

The next morning, Breena called. "We're in, under one condition."

"What's that?"

"We pay the utilities."

"Are you sure? Neither of us has any idea how much it'll cost to heat the house. And this means you'll have to move twice."

"We know, that won't be a problem and yes, we're sure. Jimmy will be eternally grateful; we were seriously entertaining an offer from my parents to help with finances or even worse, live in their basement until we had enough money."

"Uh…"

"Yes. Our delay was only because we were so surprised and excited that neither of us could think straight. When would be a good time to see the house?"

The answer was late that afternoon after Tim and the boys returned from visiting Patrick. Once the McGees had the keys, they met the Palmers, Bill and the Gibbses at the house. Bill had had another idea to help the Palmers through the renovation and they discussed it while they were touring and the Gibbses were exploring the pool building. He proposed they move the kitchen upstairs for the duration of the downstairs renovation, saying the nursery would be a good room for the refrigerator, microwave and oven. Artie thought a table they'd seen in the storage building would make a decent countertop.

With a laugh, Bill said that to make the temporary kitchen complete, Freddie and Jose had a portable dishwasher in their bunkhouse they'd loan the Palmers if they wanted. It would have to be run in the bathroom and the faucet would need an extension but the guys had the piece needed and would either show Bill how to install it or come put it in themselves. They wouldn't have a garbage disposal and would have to make sure no food went down the bathroom sink but those were the only restrictions. Bill added that he and his crew would move everything upstairs and hook it up for them and then move it down to the kitchen when they were finished with the downstairs renovation.

While they were talking, the McGees told the Palmers that Bill had decided to stay on site during the upstairs renovations. That would eliminate a 3 hour commute for him and provide extra security for the house and property. He'd stay in one of the downstairs guestrooms, beginning that day. He'd also pay a dollar's rent for the weeks he'd be there. That way, the house would be occupied immediately.

The Palmers loved the house, the property and were excited about moving in. After they left and Bill started moving things around, getting ready to start upstairs, Tim and Artie had a discussion about furnishing the house and that led to questions about what furniture was available in Penny's storage. She'd stored as much as possible in the outbuildings on the property and also had an offsite storage unit. She'd already told the Gibbs' kids to help themselves, to just let her know. They decided to survey the onsite storage on New Year's Eve day.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tony hadn't been sure what to do about the furniture survey. He and Maggie were looking for a bigger place, she wanted a guest room so her father could stay with them if he didn't feel like driving to his condo or eventually moved in with them. But they didn't have that place yet. They decided to tag what they wanted and leave it in storage until they were ready. He'd also talked with his dad about Maggie moving in with him, to Gibbs' place, and the man looked at him like he was crazy.

"She hasn't already?"

"Well, yeah, unofficially. Most of her stuff is here, but her lease isn't up for another couple of months."

Gibbs smiled and wrapped an arm around his eldest, bringing him closer. "So proud of you, happy for you! Yes, Anthony, I approve of Maggie moving in with you here."

"Thanks! That gives us more time to find a place of our own."

"Know what you're looking for?"

"Preferably a condo so I don't have to do any building maintenance."

"How big?"

"Two-three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms so her father can visit and maybe one or two of the kids can stay over now and then. As close to the Navy Yard as possible."

"Good! So…being nosy here, asked Tim a similar question about Artie and him and I know we talked about this last spring. Are you going to marry or is this enough commitment for the two of you?"

"Uh, would that be all right with you and the family? I mean if we didn't get married?"

"It's your business, your life. As long as you two are happy, I'm good." Gibbs snorted, "Not like Senior or I have a right to an opinion on that, not with the number of our combined divorces! I don't want you to get married because you feel pressured or think you should. If you do, fine, if you don't, fine."

Tony smiled, "Thanks, that helps! Right now, we're happy where we are."


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Wednesday night, the McGees were eating dinner with the rest of the family when Jethro looked at Lu and they smiled, looking at Tim and Artie. When the pair looked their way, they said, in unison, "Yes!"

Shouting "Yay!" Tim got up and kissed them both. When the others wanted to know what was going on, their father told them, adding that Tony and Maggie had agreed to stay on here for at least another year. Maggie and her father, Colonel Barnes, were there while Tony had been called out.

Maggie smiled, "That will give us more time to save for a place." She grinned, "Our only condition is that Dad Gibbs do any maintenance or repair work."

Dad nodded, "I would have insisted on that anyway, Maggie. Once we move home, that is."

The Colonel smiled, "I won't mind staying overnight if I don't feel like driving home, if the weather's bad or the streets haven't been plowed."

George Powell leaned forward, "You and Lu are going to live with the kids? Where?"

Lu smiled happily, "Those 2 guestrooms and the rooms at the end of that hall will be made into 3 suites. They won't have 2nd bedrooms and bathrooms like ours in Brambury, but we'll have a lounge area and a kitchen. Oh and the bathroom that's in that hallway now will become the laundry area for all 3 suites. And, I'm so excited about this, Jethro will have a workshop and I'll have my very own craft room, in the pool building!"

When Edith heard about Lu's craft room, she turned to Tim and Artie, "Three suites? Will the other 2 be occupied full-time?"

Laughing, they told her she and George were always welcome. George looked thoughtful, he'd never thought of building a craft room for her. He believed he could do it easily enough and resolved to talk with Jethro about it, maybe on the flight home. Although he and Lu would have just been married,…well, he'd wait and see.

Rob was also thinking of the future. He and Ellie were moving steadily forward in their relationship, it had certainly picked up steam during her visit and now during his visit. if it weren't for the ocean separating them, they'd probably be living together by now. As it was, since they'd arrived home for the holidays, he'd spent almost every night at her apartment, when she wasn't working late.

He'd talked to Tim about it, concerned that after his and Ellie's slow start, they might now be moving ahead too fast. Tim asked him a few questions and then told him that he personally believed Rob was ready to move forward and that he should talk with Ellie about it. He cautioned his younger brother that every relationship is different and he shouldn't compare his and Ellie's to anyone else's, including the previous relationships of either one of them.

When Rob had talked to Ellie last night, pillow talk on her first night home from Oklahoma, he brought it up, telling her he liked the turn their relationship had taken and couldn't wait to move home so they could be together. However, he was concerned about her feelings. She nodded, "I've thought about it, too, concerned how you might be feeling. For me, it feels right, the rightest I've ever felt. I'm in love with you, Rob, and I know you are with me. Yes, we haven't been together in person much and I'm looking forward to more. This has been wonderful, this time we've had together. It feels natural to me."

Rob kissed her and eventually they returned to the topic as he said, "I'll talk with my advisor, see if there's a way to do the study program in the U.S. That way I'd be able to move home sooner."

"Or you could stay over there and I could see if there's an opening in the London office. I hear their INV, that is their Investigatory Agent is transferring out in August."

Rob's jaw dropped, "That, he…you know that's a desk job?"

"Yes. I'd be willing to do that and I'm good at the searches, not as good as Tim but I've learned a lot since he left here and I'll bet he could teach me more. I know him, how he works, I'm sure he'd be comfortable with me taking over from him. And with him returning to the Navy Yard, Vance might be amenable to the change."

"Eleanor, are you serious? That would be a huge change for you."

"It would but you mean more to me than my job. And I believe I'll love the job, I like the electronic hunts more than being out in the field. Tim's told me about the multiple cases for the 4 European offices and that sounds exciting and satisfying. Practically speaking, Vance will need to add more Investigatory agents soon, one person can't handle everything for long, nor can a pilot program be evaluated on the strength of one person's work and as I said, Tim knows me, this should be pretty easy."

She made a very happy noise as he showed her how appreciative he was of her idea.

They talked again before she left for work in the morning; Ellie saying she would discuss the change with Tony before she asked to speak with Vance. Knowing Thursday was meant to be a paperwork day, Ellie asked to meet with Tony and booked one of the conference rooms after he set a time for their meet.

When she told him her idea, he sat, looking at her for nearly an entire minute. Finally, he blinked before saying "I had no idea what you wanted to talk about but I sure wasn't expecting this. I'll meet with Vance as quickly as possible. Ultimately it's up to the director but how soon were you thinking?"

"If this happens, I'll need time to be trained and Agent McGee will return to work at the agency sometime in June, I imagine when he's finished at Bedford and after the wedding. I wanted to get my name in with the director, I'm sure he'll be looking for more Investigatory agents. At least one for the European offices, anyway. I hope that gives you enough time to find another qualified agent for the MCRT." She paused, "I've been happy here, Tony, with one major exception. Losing Qasim and the way that happened has made me rethink my priorities. Rob and I are serious about our relationship and our future and we're also a bit frustrated with having an ocean between us. This was my idea, not his, he was shocked when I brought it up, shocked I would leave the MCRT and the field. But I won't be leaving the cases, I'll still be supporting our mission and that's the important thing."

He nodded, "I'm sure the director will have questions for you. Until we know the answer, I prefer to keep this between you, me, and Rob of course."

"No family or bullpen talk, got it. Uh, I will need to tell my parents at some point."

"That's fine, unless the Federal Agency Grapevine extends to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, I'm not worried."

Back in the bullpen, both agents returned to their paperwork. Within an hour, DiNozzo had a call from Pam Cook, Director Vance could see him now.

When Tony walked into his office, Vance nodded to him, "Agent DiNozzo, what brings you to me voluntarily?"

That startled the other man so much he couldn't hold back an involuntary chuckle before he said, "I was approached by Agent Bishop earlier about a change she's interested in making." He told his boss Ellie's idea, leaving out all but one of the personal remarks. That one concerned the death of Qasim Nassir. That she'd make a change based on his murder didn't surprise either man. Although she'd passed two psych evaluations since his death, Leon knew from his own nightmares about his wife's murder how horrifying it was to watch someone you love die violently and how much it could change everything. Her actions afterward, forcing Chen's death, were just as concerning. Although Vance wanted his wife's murderer, Ilan Bodnar, to die and would have been satisfied to pull the trigger himself, he didn't know if he would have had it in him to force the man to commit suicide.

When DiNozzo was finished, Vance nodded. "I'll put her on my candidates' list. Need to make a decision fairly early next year as those already on teams will need to be replaced and a move overseas isn't easy to do." He smirked at his agent, "Unless, of course, you have family to pack up your life for you."

Tony acknowledged that with a smile before asking, "What are the qualifications?"

Vance read him what Tim said would be needed and Tony nodded. Leon continued, "McGee and I have discussed this, but keep this between us for now. He'll be the lead Investigatory agent here and will also have a list of candidates to hire more. We've analyzed how often our teams aboard the Yard have cases coming in as well as their severity and need for electronic work. As you know, that need has been increasing steadily for over a decade. I hope that by the time he's back to work here in August, he'll have interviewed and selected the additional INV agent for here.

"Because you're not legally a Gibbs, I can place McGee within the MCRT. He'll report to me while handling your electronic work and the 2nd agent will report to him, although the 2nd one will likely float between teams. Any INV agent aboard the Navy Yard will report to McGee. He'll get a head start with that by training and managing his replacement in London. Do you think that would work?"

Tony looked at him, understanding the question was really whether McGee and Bishop could work as Manager and Employee. He remembered training Ellie back when she was the somewhat eccentric transfer from NSA. Tim was more patient with her than he was; he'd been a little afraid Boss had slipped up in hiring her.

"Yes, that will work fine. After all, when any of us are at work, we're at work, period. He'll be a great team leader."

"Good, that's my belief too. All right, well, this gives me the impetus to get that list together. Thank you! Uh…"

"I've asked Agent Bishop to keep this between us and Dr. McGee. No bullpen, lab, autopsy or family talk from any of the 3 of us."

"Excellent, thank you. As I said, this will begin in the first quarter."

"Sir, I know yours is the final decision but will McGee be part of the decision making process?"

"Yes, absolutely. Mine will be the final decision on paper but unless we disagree strongly, it'll be his choice. This is a dynamic program, Tony, and it'll be as much his as we can make it."

DiNozzo smiled, he hadn't realized that. After a few more minutes of conversation about the program, he thanked the director for his time and left the office. Tim hadn't told them much about the program, possibly because it was a pilot and would likely have some changes, and he hadn't realized how much responsibility would fall on Tim's shoulders. He knew about the promotion to SFA rank, that was overdue and well deserved; however, he hadn't known that all the INV agents here and possibly wherever they were stationed, would report to his brother.

That would be somewhat like the Cyber Crimes units only the INV agents would also be a part of the field teams, without being field agents. It would mean some adjustments for current field agents and their Team Leads but it would be worth it. Tony suspected Bishop wouldn't be the only Navy Yard field agent leaving the field for an INV job. He thought about O'Brien's SFA, Race Piro, who now had a toddler and a newborn at home. He imagined the man's wife would prefer he not risk his life every day.

His mind segued to thoughts about Tim selecting his agents, and smiled, proud of his former probie. Then he thought about Ellie, their brother Rob's girlfriend; Rob, who still called Tim 'Timpa' on occasion, and his girlfriend as one of the candidates on Tim's list. He shook his head, that was a tough situation but he trusted Vance to handle it.

He smiled again, this time at the stack of files on his desk. If they caught up to the end of October, they'd have Friday off. He looked at his watch, 0930, and the files he had on his desk were a mix of August and the last of July's. Two months to go and they could have a 4 day weekend. If Carter and O'Brien's teams finished, they'd have Tuesday and Wednesday off, respectively; Vance had each Team Lead flip a coin for their anticipated day off.

By 1200, he was approving September cases and Fred from the mail room was nearly running with his cart from bullpen to bullpen, picking up files to deliver to the director.

Deciding to eat at their desks, the team ordered Chinese and then ate in distracted bites as they continued.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Ellie texted him that she had Friday off, Rob gave a small cheer. He was at the new house with everyone who wasn't working, enjoying a swim in the salt water pool. They'd invited the new folks, which made it a little crowded but gave them all a relaxed atmosphere in which to become better acquainted.

Bill came in a little after 5 and laughed at all the people lounging around the pool, drying off from their watery afternoon. He changed in the restroom, and then dived into the pool. "Ah, man, this feels great. Especially after a hard day's work, something you McGees and Perry wouldn't understand."

Tim, Geordie, Sarah, and Rob looked at each other, grinned and with yells worthy of Vikings, dived in after Bill. Gibbs smiled happily, always glad to see his big kids at play. With their busy lives, it didn't happen often and it was fun to watch when it did. Then he stood, "That's 4 against 1, need to even up those odds." He looked at Hubbard, who winced, "Oh man, they've known me less than a week, you know what you're asking?"

"Yep; you with me?"

"Yes!"

The two of them dived in and joined Bill who had been engaged in a fierce splash battle with his friends. Now he grinned as the 2 older men joined him. "The cavalry has arrived!"

Hubbard snorted water, "Wrong service!"

Not wanting to be left out, James joined his father-in-law in the fray, evening the odds while George took it upon himself to referee, finally calling game over and a tie.

The kids, including their new cousins Ainsley and Callum, were in awe, yelling alternately for their father, uncles and grandfather while Penny, Maisie, Liz and Dave had been cheering for Bill the underdog. Hope squealed along with her siblings, loving all the fun noise. Lu, Artie, Edith, and Claire enjoyed the spectacle, Claire loving that Jim was having so much fun while Edith approved of the playfulness James had told them so much about. She also saw good sportsmanship and a warm camaraderie.

When Sarah and the men eventually got out, Artie sent texts to Tony, Maggie, and Ellie, Abby, Ducky, Jimmy, and Breena, inviting them over for swims and dinner. They'd get takeout and eat in here where it was cozily warm. Maggie replied, offering to pick up the takeout, saying Tony and Ellie had another 30 minutes before they'd be ready to leave. Breena replied saying Jimmy, Ducky, and Abby were working a case for O'Brien's team but she and the kids would be there in a few minutes. Abby finally replied, saying she was sorry to miss the fun.

Breena arrived before Maggie and slid into the pool, holding Victoria while Uncle Jethro had Davey. The little boy knew how to hold his breath underwater and kick his legs, with Uncle Jethro holding onto him; Victoria watching him closely. Kyle and Marissa played on the steps with her, telling her about catching fishies and blowing bubbles underwater. When Breena looked a question at Tim and Artie, they explained, saying they'd send her a link to the website they'd discovered. She'd would worry less if they both knew how to hold their breaths and swim.

Maggie arrived with a stack of pizza boxes and her go bag about 30 minutes later. In the meantime, Dave and George made a run to the store for drinks. They were enjoying their first slices of pizza when Tony and Ellie walked in, carrying their go bags with their swim stuff. Claiming to be starving, they ate before they swam.

It was a fun afternoon and evening, perhaps more so because it was unexpected and had nothing to do with any holiday, just relaxation and fun in the pool.

Friday night, Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord and her family joined the McGee-Gibbs family for dinner and met more of the family. Tony and Maggie were missing while Abby and Freddie were there, along with Sarah, James, his parents, Geordie, Rob, Ellie, the Gibbses and of course the McGees.

Since Secretary McCord's surprise visit last week, Tim, Artie, Rob, and Sarah told the others how the Secretary of State came to be known to them as 'Mrs. Bess' and her husband as 'Dr. Henry'.

During their time at MIT, Dr. Henry McCord had been a visiting professor, teaching Ethics. Tim and Artie took his class and the good doctor befriended them. They met his wife, Mrs. Bess, at the time an analyst for a government agency. They didn't know then that the agency was the CIA. The couple's older daughter, Stevie was 5 when Tim and Artie met them while Allie was born during Dr. Henry's second year in Cambridge, the year Artie moved to Japan. Tim met Jason as a 1-year-old when he visited the family in Virginia the year before he was accepted to FLETC and ran into Artie in Seattle.

When Dr. Henry learned the McGees' background, he and his wife had seriously considered making them part of their family. While Tim was appreciative of their concern, he felt that he, Sarah, and Rob were well on the path to recovery. After nearly a decade of wishing someone would bring them into their family, now he wasn't sure he wanted to give up his independence. He and Sarah, in particular, had worked hard to heal their troubled relationship and both were reluctant to make any big changes. Rob, enjoying the peace, agreed wholeheartedly with Timpa and their reformed sister.

In the end, the McGee family, and 'Doc G' as McCords had nicknamed Artie, spent a lot of time with the McCords but remained independent. When the professor's contract was up, the family returned to Virginia. They stayed in touch with Tim and Artie for a few years, with Tim visiting in 2002, but as so often happens with people's busy lives, they eventually lost touch.

Now, when the McCord family arrived for dinner, Tim, Sarah, and Rob were happy to see Mrs. Bess, Dr. Henry and the McCord kids. The gathering was fun as Henry and Elizabeth told stories about the young Artemis and the McGees. Dad ate up every word, always happy to learn more about his children's past and relieved to know there were happy times. Geordie remembered hearing all about the McCord family while his family lived in Cambridge and was happy that they were able to pick right up where they'd left off years ago. The young McGees also hung on every word, giggling at some of the stories about Papa, Mama, Aunty Sarah, and Uncle Rob. Ellie also enjoyed hearing the stories, these were the types of stories no one would tell about themselves, even better to hear from old friends.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday morning, the Gibbs kids, the Baltimore family, the Palmers and most of their significant others gathered at the new place for the furniture survey. Ellie wasn't there because of an appointment she didn't want to cancel and Jose's fiancée Chelsea was also absent. Tim and Artie, Jimmy, and Breena had tags already made with their names on them, for the things they wanted. Sarah had a few blank tags, Rob and Geo had no tags while Maggie also had tags for her and Tony's picks. Taking pity on his brothers, Tim gave Rob and Geo several blank tags each and pens.

They'd expected Abby but she left a message saying she would be too tired, she'd been called in after their dinner and worked until 3:30 this morning. She left a short list of things she might like, which Artie wrote down while Tim made tags for her. When he saw Freddie, he gave him the tags for Abby and a copy of her list. His friend looked at it with a panicked expression. Tim held out his hand. Freddie handed the tags and list back without hesitation. "Thanks, Timmo. We're not there yet, you know?"

"I forgot, Fred, sorry!"

The other man took a deep breath, held it and then slowly released it, repeating the process, finally saying, "That's okay. I'm…we're…we're edging forward slowly. Don't know where yet, too scary to think about."

Tim patted his friend's arm, remembering some of the horror stories Freddie had told them about his biological family. There were strong reasons for his refusal to contact any of them. Sometimes he envied Tim's memory loss.

The kids weren't sure if this was going to be fun or boring but then Andy reminded his siblings that it was always fun and usually funny when their father and his brothers were together, citing yesterday's water fight and last night's stories. Dad and Lu were in the 'new' house with Hope, the baby corral and everything they'd need for her and themselves. The Palmer kids were with their Slater grandparents and would spend the night.

When Tim unlocked the door, they stepped back from the stale air. Tim went in a few seconds later, finding the light switch. They'd expected a few items, had teased about fighting over them and were surprised to find what looked like a furniture warehouse inside, a quality goods, items from all over the world, furniture warehouse. Artie said she hoped they had enough tags and Tim chuckled softly, "I have more."

They'd made a list of priorities: Beds, dressers, desks and chairs, kitchen table and chairs, couches, comfortable chairs, side tables, coffee table, lamps, small appliances - just about everything. They'd decided that as long as they didn't outright hate something, they'd tag it and use it until they could replace it with their own purchases. They split up, quickly tagging enough beds for all the children, including a single bed for Hope's use once she grew out of Rissa's former toddler bed, and the suites. Dressers were next and they fell in love with a set that had an Asian look. Knowing it would look great with their bed and Dad-made nightstands, they claimed it for themselves.

In between tagging furniture, they found lamps, table, wall, and floor, and a few throw rugs. Finding a dining table bigger than the one Dad made, with additional leaves, they started to tag it and then stepped back, having a quick conversation. The kitchen tables were too small, they could eat at Dad's big table or the large patio table they'd tagged until they found a kitchen table big enough for them. That's when they realized they hadn't yet spoken to Dad about the big table he'd made for the family.

Continuing their 'shopping', they tagged 4 recliners, 4 couches, including 2 with pull-out beds, and several desks, big and small. They were furnishing the bedrooms, family room, living room, dining room, playroom, the suites and their offices. Artie spotted a large, beautiful hutch and casually sauntered over to it, tagging it while Tim was busy tagging a couple of filing cabinets and bookcases, for the offices and the house. Then he found more outdoor furniture and had fun tagging that.

While Tim and Artie were furnishing their house, Geo tagged a desk and a rolling chair, a dining table that would seat 4 and opened up to add 2 more places, with 4 chairs to go with it, a queen bed he really liked, a vertical dresser, also known as a tallboy dresser, a recliner and another comfortable looking chair with a footstool, a sleeper sofa with a decent looking mattress inside, side tables, a TV stand, a box of dishes, saucepans, a skillet, and a few lamps. That was enough for now. He'd leave everything here until he knew where he was going.

When Sarah found boxes of china she and James liked, they tagged the boxes and then sat on the floor, counting. There were 4 sets of the same pattern, 16 place settings and everything was in good shape. They smiled at each other, very happy. They'd eventually need furniture but it didn't make sense to pay for shipping from here, there were many antique and used furniture stores in London. China was another matter, they'd probably never find 4 intact sets of a pattern they both liked and shipping would cost less than buying these new.

Spotting a large globe on a stand, James went to look at it while Artie wandered over to Sarah. The two of them had fun looking for drinking glasses, silverware and tablecloths. Artie found 2 tablecloths for Jethro's large dining table and took them both, along with a foam board that would protect the wood. She also found everyday dishes in a Mediterranean pattern she liked and knew Tim would also like. There were 6 boxes of those and she tagged 4 of them, walked away and then went back to tag the other two. Sometimes they had large crowds for casual meals.

Sarah called her over to look at a rectangular wooden case that opened to reveal silverware. While the style wasn't Sarah's, she thought Artie might like it. Artie shook her head, it wasn't her style either. They beckoned Maggie over. She shook her head and then grinned, "Artie, did Abby say anything about cutlery?"

Artie looked at Abby's list and nodded, "She said she was running short of knives and forks, she could use extra. Do you think she'd like this style?"

"Let's ask Tim and the Palmers, they've been to her place."

Summoning the trio, they pointed to the silverware. Tim smiled, "Is that for Abby? She'll love it! It's got a retro feel to it." Breena and Jimmy agreed, so the cutlery was tagged with Abby's name. While Breena, Sarah, Maggie, and Artie were still looking at kitchen items, they found a box of dishes that Breena thought Abby would like and they tagged those for her, too.

Tim and Breena told Artie, who told the others, that anything in a French, Gothic, southern, wrought iron or New Orleans style would appeal to their friend as well as anything pink, red, black, or red and black, connected to New Orleans, skeletons, voodoo dolls, river boats, photos of old cemeteries. He also pointed out that just because they tagged something for Abby didn't mean she had to take it. He said that as he tagged a pink glass lamp for her. Sarah laughed at the lamp, "Maybe Emily will stencil more skulls on it for her!"

In the meantime, Maggie found a boxed set of good silver that she loved and tagged it. She spotted James back at the old globe, and smirked, she'd already tagged it. He laughed when he saw her name and turning to her, called out, "That's fine, too heavy to ship anyway."

Artie was happy with the everyday cutlery she found, again, there was enough of everything for her family and anyone in the suites. She looked around, but Tim had gone to the house to play with Hope so Dad and Lu could have some fun in here.

She sat on a chair with no tag, looking at their list on her phone. Tim had updated what he found; overall they had pretty much everything. There were a few items they'd need for the suites but they'd found everything they needed for the immediate family. They'd have to buy mattresses for Andy and Marissa, but otherwise they were set for their immediate needs. She looked at some of the items left unchecked, pots, pans, a large cast iron skillet, a rolling pin and other baking equipment. Poking around amongst the dishes and glassware, she finally found boxes of cookware. Between what she'd had and what Tim had in storage at Jethro's, they would have enough, but she'd look for the items Tim had listed. Opening the boxes, she went through them, happy to find a cast iron skillet and rolling pin for Tim, pulling out what she wanted and then consolidating boxes so she could tag one box.

Rob was browsing nearby and saw Artie with pots and pans, really nice ones. He came over to check them out. Right now, he had 2 ancient, dented saucepans with no lids and a skillet that doubled as a lid for the saucepans. Pawing through the boxes, he pulled out some great looking pans, found a brand new box of cutlery and at the bottom of that particular box, an unopened box of everyday dishes. As he had 3 plates and a couple of coffee mugs, he tagged those. Following Artie's example, he also consolidated, tagging his box and marking the other one with what he'd stuffed in there. This stuff wouldn't cost much to ship. He could probably fit some of it in his suitcase. He'd been given a new suitcase for Christmas and remembered he could check 2 bags for international flights. He smiled, oh yeah, he bet could get everything home without shipping it! He stopped when he thought about Ellie's idea. If she was selected for London, she said she'd be transferred, which meant they'd ship her furniture. He smiled as he retraced his steps, tagging a few pieces of furniture he thought she'd like.

Bill watched Rob and Artie go through the kitchenware, eventually joining them. While Lu had plenty of pots and pans, her dishes were not to his or Barry's taste. They'd decided as long as they weren't paying for anything, they could look for another set of dishes. They also hoped to find a recliner or two. Barry was off looking for those while Bill went through the boxes looking for dishes, finding a set in blue with no flowers or any print on them. He tagged the box, noting the name on it, "Fiesta".

Barry was having fun looking at the furniture, there sure was a lot of it! He found a recliner in good shape, tagged it and then looked for a second one. When he stopped to help Jimmy maneuver a heavy piece of furniture away from something he wanted to look at, he spotted another recliner. It was a different color than the first, no big deal, and also in good shape. He smiled when he saw the beverage holder, that was nice! Jimmy had decided against whatever he'd been looking at and nudged Barry after he tagged the second recliner. "I saw another one like that, with the beverage holders."

"Do you remember where?"

"Yeah, it's right over…come on, I'll show you."

Following his friend, Barry grinned when Jimmy located the other recliner with the beverage holder. It wasn't exactly the same style but the chair was in good shape, the reclining mechanism worked and it wasn't ugly. He tagged it and then returning to the first recliner, carefully peeled off his tag. They didn't need 3 recliners! When he turned around, Jose was walking toward him, "Did you tag that?"

"Yeah, no. Had it tagged but found 2 other recliners I liked better."

"Great, then I'll tag this one!" They laughed, talking about the fun of free shopping. When Barry asked if Joe had tagged anything for Chelsea, his friend nodded. "She has a china teacup collection, with teapots, sugar bowls and creamers. I found a hutch that will hold everything. It's in good shape and I'll paint it if she doesn't like the color. I also found a couple of teacups and a teapot I hope she'll like!"

"That's great, man!"

"Yeah, she was pretty disappointed she couldn't come today. Hope the hutch will make her feel better."

Barry nodded, "You know Jimmy, Breena, and Bill will be living here. Maybe they wouldn't mind if she came over when she has time. Abby couldn't make it either, maybe the two of them could come in."

"Good idea, thanks!"

Maggie was having a blast. Aside from the silver and the globe, she'd also found 2 full sets of matching china and tagged the box. She tagged sets of wine glasses, one for red, one for white, crystal candlesticks that reminded her of her late mother, a pretty vase, and water goblets she knew Tony would love. She laughed to herself, they needed to start entertaining! There were two club chairs she tagged, knowing Tony and her dad both liked the style, a wingbacked recliner for her and side tables she knew they could use. She tagged a queen bed for their future guest room, along with a dresser and straight-backed chair. Neither she nor Tony had tables they really liked so when she spotted one that would seat 12 with all 12 chairs, she tagged it, smiling happily when she found a tablecloth big enough for it.

Mamalu and Dad joined the group, looking for furniture for their new suite. They'd come to a mutual decision that unless Jethro had made an item, they'd start fresh with different furniture, except for Jack's recliner. They found dressers they both liked, a bed that would do until Jethro made one for them, a couch, a few side tables, a small kitchen table with chairs and a recliner. That would give them 2 recliners. The china the children had collected would also move with them. That may have originated with Shannon but Lu felt it belonged to the whole family. When she spotted a china hutch she liked, she nearly sprinted to it, relieved no one else had tagged it. Her girls later told her they'd deliberately left it for her, thinking she'd love it. She'd always wanted a china hutch! Seeing that, Jethro searched until he spotted a table and chairs that would look nicer with the hutch than the set they'd already picked.

He tagged it and then frowned, thinking about the big table he'd made. He turned as his daughter-in-law approached him. "Jethro, Tim and I wondered if you'd like to put your big table in the dining room here? We'd be honored."

"Great, daughter, thanks. It'll be perfect for the dining room."

"There's another table here that I think I'll tag but leave in here. We can use it when we have overflow crowds." Excusing herself, she went back to it, noting Maggie's tag on the table next to it.

Tony wandered in, he'd met friends for a game of hoops, his eyes widening when he saw how much stuff there was. Maggie took him on a tour of the items she'd tagged and together, they found a few more pieces. When Artie told them the big table would be moving from Alexandria to Arlington, Maggie chuckled, "Thanks, I tagged a table and chairs for us just in case."

"Sorry, we both forgot to ask Jethro beforehand!"

"No problem."

When Geo was satisfied he had everything, he went back to the house to stay with Hope, figuring his brother might want to do more treasure hunting. He found him making a snack for the baby, who was sitting on the counter next to him, swinging her legs and happily babbling to her bapa. There was a little seat next to Tim that looked like it needed to fasten onto a table. Looking around, Geo spotted a small table, grabbed the seat and slid it right on, finding buttons that locked it onto the table. Tim smiled, "Thanks. I'll get her in there in a minute. Did you find anything you wanted?"

His brother snorted, "You're kidding, right? I've got enough to furnish an apartment! Bed, dresser, recliner, another chair with a footrest, side tables, table and chairs, kitchen stuff, dishes and a couch with a pull-out bed. Should be enough, just need to buy a mattress for the bed."

"You can buy a new one if you want, but your mattress from the Silver Spring apartment is wrapped up in Dad's basement. And that's great about everything else!"

"I forgot about that mattress, thanks! Although that's a full and the bed frame I tagged is a queen. I think it's time for my first new mattress! I'll stay with Hope if you like. Thought you might want to go back and it would give me some time with our baby."

"Sure, I'm always up for free shopping! Just let me get her in here, it can be tricky. You sure about the mattress?" He maneuvered his daughter into the chair where she happily got to work on her snacks and beverage of choice. Geo nodded in reply to his question about the mattress and Tim smiled, "Great, that means we can cross Andy's name off for a new mattress, just Marissa for now."

When Hope made a noise, he kissed her forehead, "Hang on, sweetie pie." Looking at his brother, he said, "Dad or Mamalu changed her before I came in. If one of us isn't back in an hour, and I'm sure one of us will be, you might give her a sniff test. If it's bad, text one of us and we'll handle it."

"Ok, thanks for that. Have any idea what else you're looking for?"

"I just looked at our list and just about everything is ticked off. All the big stuff, thank God, we were afraid that would cost us almost as much as the house! Just one mattress, as I said, and I think we still need a big rug for the living room. We're both wishing we'd bought a large one we loved in the 'Camel' shop in Amzida but we didn't know if we were really moving or how big a place we'd end up in. We were figuring 4 bedrooms, the boys could share, 2 offices or one that we'd split and pull-out couches for you, Rob, Dad and Lu. Finding this place…unbelievable!"

"You deserve a break, Timmo, after what you've been through."

"We all deserve breaks, Geo, considering what each of us has been through!"

"I got mine, survived all the years in Special Ops, survived the attack, my leg was saved, found my family and met a woman I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Tim's grin threatened to split his face, "Aw, Geordie, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you, man!" He pulled his brother in for a hug, kissing the top of his head. "Ain't love grand?"

"Yeah! I never expected it, you know? In the hospital after the attack, I imagined going back to school for a double program, like you did. Masters and Doctorate, then I'd be credentialed for teaching college level history classes. Do you remember our senior year history teacher?"

"Rasmussen, the one who did the voices of past presidents and cabinet members? I remember more of what he taught than material from most of our other classes."

"Exactly. I want to teach antebellum America from at least 5 viewpoints, an overall picture of the country at the time, economics, political and societal, then the South, North, slaves and free people of color plus the West and the Chinese immigrants who had so much trouble. When Kayla mentioned that show, "Finding Your Roots", that struck a chord with me. There's so much we don't understand, not just what happened then but why there's still so much crap going on now. Societal changes shouldn't take so long to become routine, normal."

"I agree and I wish I could take that class."

Hope stopped eating and sat still for a few seconds before grunting. Tim huffed, "Good timing, sweetie, thanks for giving Uncle Geo a break. Let's get the kit out and get you cleaned up."

Geo chuckled as he laid the towel and changing mat out on the floor. "With any luck, I'll be doing this for my own kid someday."

"Yeah?" Tim looked at him and they both laughed.

Older brother couldn't help wrinkling his nose at the mess but younger brother quickly took care of it, wrapping the diaper in a pink plastic bag, saying they should be marked "Bio Hazard", gently applying baby wipes which also went in the pink bag, got the diaper and leggings on and Hope was good to go. Tim quickly cleaned his hands and picked her up, handing her to Uncle Geo. "Hang on to her for a minute, ok? I want to spray the floor and the seat."

"Chemicals?"

"No, it's a botanical disinfectant, won't hurt her or us but will kill any stray bacteria."

First spraying and then putting the tied pink bag outside, he sprayed the counter where she'd been sitting as well as her little portable seat, the table, floor, towel and changing mat. "Ok, I'm done."

"You're very thorough."

"Know too much about bacteria and viruses. What I didn't learn from Johns Hopkins during my time there, I learned from our baby brother during his time there."

"Ah, now that makes sense."

Giving Hope a kiss, Tim gave her to her uncle, saying, "Uncle Geo will take care of you for a few minutes, sweetie. Mama and I will be back, with the rest of your minions."

"Minions?"

"You need to see the movie, "Despicable Me"! And yes, we're all her minions at this point in her life. Her very willing, very grateful, happy minions."

He blew a raspberry kiss on her arm and she chortled, music to his ears. "Ok, off to the furniture mart."

"Why do you suppose Penny has so much stuff?"

"Don't know, but that's a great question to ask her!"

Later, when the women of the family were comparing notes, they wondered the same thing. When they asked Penny, she laughed, "My husband loved fine things and collected china, vases, lamps, artwork, anything that caught his eye, wherever he went. At one point, I had 8 different sets of china, with at least 12 place settings each and a choice of 6 sets of good silver."

"We also collected furniture, if you hadn't noticed! We'd find a new style we liked and haul the old stuff in here, in case we decided to use it again or someone we knew might want to use it. My mother-in-law lived with us after Nelson was promoted and transferred stateside; she brought a houseful of her own furniture, some of it was her mother's or mother-in-law's and that's all in storage. When we were posted out of the area my parents, my paternal aunt and her husband, my husband's paternal uncle and his wife, rotated living in the house and most of their furniture is still here. I remember my aunt saying they got tired of moving things back and forth, so each couple had at least two sets of furniture. You'd think they would have shared, but each couple wanted their own. Anyway, it's all here and I think their furniture from their own homes might be here too. The McGees were packrats, the Langstons didn't leave quite as much behind. Still, you've seen how much is there!"

She sighed, "And we have Dan's furniture and things. I haven't looked at it, I suppose I could now. He was like his father, collected things from nearly every port." She paused in thought, "I think the children's things might be here, too. None of us had the heart to do anything with all that, we put it in here and left it."

Sarah rubbed her grandmother's arm, "We're here, Penny, we're alive and thriving. When James and I are here in August, maybe Tim, you, Grammie and I can go through our old things. Neither of us will remember so you two can tell us what things are, what they meant to Dad McGee and us."

"Thank you, darling girl, that's a wonderful idea."

When Sarah told Tim, he looked interested. "I wonder if I'll remember things when I see them. How did they get Dan's belongings? I'm amazed Natalie didn't trash it all."

"Maybe she wanted to keep up the pretense of grieving widow and mother. "

"Ugh. That makes sense, the bitch!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After the group finished 'shopping', several of them went for a swim and then out to lunch, happy when Abby joined them at the café. While she said she was still tired, she didn't want to miss seeing them. Her smile got bigger and bigger as she saw the photos of everything they'd tagged for her. "Thanks, everyone! This is great, I wish I could have made it but you guys did a great job shopping for me!" Breena patted her hand, "Jimmy and I will be living there, we'll have the key, we can go free shopping again!"

"That's cool but is there anything left?" She looked around when the others laughed and then Tim showed her the photo he'd taken when they first walked in. Her jaw dropped and they chuckled again. When she looked at her watch, Tim shook his head, "Abs, there's no hurry!"

They parted soon after as most had plans for the evening and they had a wedding tomorrow!

A/N: The Season 15 episode, _'Willoughby'_ originally aired in the U.S. on January 3, 2017, less than a week ahead of where we are in the story (a weird coincidence that freaked me out a little when I looked up the episode for Qasim's full name), but we're way off canon anyway. I don't think I've ever stayed within the canon timeline, why start now?


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Gibbs' Wedding Day, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 49

January 1st, 2017 was mostly cloudy, with temps in the low 40's, expected to warm up to 46°F. Jethro and Lu were thankful no rain or snow was forecast!

The wedding would start at 2:00, giving the adults the morning to recover from whatever revelry they'd participated in the night before.

When Lu and Jethro told their family the wedding would be small and 'just us', they 'd meant it. But, as sometimes happens, the list grew. In the first place, 'just us' was 34 people and, 'just us' also now included the 8 members of the reclaimed family, bringing the total to 42. With the Porters and their friends Elaine and Jacob Rourke, the number rose to 46. Then Bill, Barry and Tobias asked to bring dates, bringing the total to 49, and that was all family. Breena's parents were invited, 51, and they felt they should invite DiNozzo, Sr., which would bring the count to 52.

Lu invited her friends Marla Hoover and Linda MacMillan, also friends and mentors of the McGee siblings, along with 2 of her former neighbors. They also asked friends of Jethro's from NCIS who were also part of Patrick's volunteer group, including Rick, Jim, Natalie, and Pam Cook. Each of them had a partner, bringing the total to 64. Jethro wanted to invite 2 of his Marine buddies, Pat Cook and Stan Waters, that was 66. At Lu's urging, Jethro also sent an invitation to his former father-in-law, Mac Fielding, although they were certain he wouldn't brave the cold weather. According to Fornell's father, the man lived in Florida until it got too hot, then he traveled north to Delaware where he lived on a beach until it got too cold. Then he'd return to Florida to repeat the process. Jethro smiled when Tobias told him that, guessing Grandpa Mac might still own the tiny beach house in Fenwick. Also at Lu's urging, Jethro invited his cousin Richard Baxter, his mother's nephew. That brought the guest count to a possible 68.

They'd also mailed invitations to Mimi, Susannah and Ian, knowing they wouldn't be able to come but letting them know they were considered part of the whole family, not limited to the UK group. Locally, Nate, Juanita and Big John had received also an invitation that Barry delivered to them. While they wouldn't attend, they looked forward to seeing a video of the ceremony and party.

Once Jethro wrapped his head around a 'real' wedding, that is, not something at City Hall, he and Lu had asked Ducky about being married at his home and then hired Sheila the wedding planner. At the time, she was already booked to decorate Ducky's house and was pleased to handle another wedding in the library.

While the pattern of the lights on the ceiling and around the room would be similar, the couple chose a different style, vintage LED Edison bulbs, a retro look that suited them. The caterer they hired was asked to provide a festive, simple American dinner. To no one's surprise, Jethro wanted filet mignon and roasted potatoes, although he also agreed to 2 additions, risotto cakes and purple potato pancakes. He knew the grandkids would love those! Lu wanted sweet potatoes and the caterer offered a root vegetable bake, with sweet potatoes standing in for butternut squash. They also requested meals for those with diabetic or other dietary needs, gluten-free, vegetarians or vegans. More familiar with Palmer's likes and dislikes, Ducky gave them some ideas for Jimmy and they passed the information along to the caterer.

Although the couple hadn't been sure about extending the ceremony past their vows, their kids wanted to participate in some manner. Joe, Freddie, Barry and Bill asked to escort Lu down the center aisle. As she and Jethro felt their marriage was also bringing the Baltimore group further into the family, Lu agreed. Jethro wanted his boys and girls involved and they finally settled on a roughly oval formation, broken in the middle so their guests could see the ceremony.

Rather than a best man and matron of honor, the groom's 5 'boys', Gibbs included James, would be his groomsmen, while LJ would walk in with him, and the bride's 5 'girls', Sarah, Artie, Abby, Maggie, and Ellie, would be her attendants. The grandchildren would lead them up the center aisle, with Andy carrying Hope. She would spend the ceremony with Breena as she was comfortable with Aunty and her cousins.

The couple admitted to feeling a little silly about their plans but decided they were doing this for their kids and grandkids. They'd wanted a family wedding and that's exactly what they were having.

Jimmy would again sing a solo, a different piece than the one he'd performed for Tim and Artie's wedding, accompanied by Tony, who would also play the entrance and exit music. Tim and Rob would read a poem Tim wrote about the two people who had become their parents, Abby, Joe, and Tony would sing together, accompanied by Bill on his guitar, and then Sarah and Geo would read a prayer.

While the ceremony was set, the participants' wedding attire was not. Jethro had a suit left behind in the closet that had now been cleaned and pressed, although he'd had to buy a new dress shirt and borrow a tie from Tony. Lu, with the help of the women of the family, bought a new dress, with a matching jacket, and shoes. However, the rest of them from the UK only had casual clothes. Tony's suits would fit Tim but that was it. Bill was close to the same height as Rob but he only had one suit and he would be wearing it. Tony, Maggie, Ellie, and Abby could dress appropriately, while Artie and Sarah had only the nicer clothes they'd worn for their Christmas dinner.

That's what they did, wore their Christmas clothes. Tim and Rob both had their cashmere pullovers with them, the sweaters Sarah gave them for Christmas 2 years ago. Dad had a pullover he'd brought with him that Geo could borrow, James had a pullover Sarah gave him for Christmas and Tony had his choice of pullovers. He loaned Geo and James button downs to go under their pullovers. Once Bill, Barry, Freddie and Joe heard about the pullovers, they decided to do the same thing, nice slacks with pullovers, button downs underneath and good shoes or boots.

Sarah and Artie had long skirts with them that they'd bought together on a shopping trip, they were the same style although different colors. Maggie and Ellie also had long skirts, Abby found one on sale, and they all had nice tops to wear with them. The girls decided to wear flats, which sent Abby and Artie shopping, Abby because she didn't own any flats and Artie because she'd forgotten the shoes that best matched her skirt. She almost always wore flats. Sarah, who also never wore flats, borrowed a pair from Ellie.

The children also had Christmas clothes they'd wear. The three boys had dressier shirts they'd wear under their pullovers, just like their father and uncles, nice slacks and their church shoes. Marissa had a pretty Christmas dress she'd wear with leggings and her favorite shoes. Hope was the only one, besides Grandma, who had a completely new outfit, but then most of her clothes were new.

When they arrived at Ducky's, Tim realized he'd forgotten to tell his friend about Grammie, or rather Maisie. He pulled him aside to ask if he had known an Andrew Hubbard and Maisie Stirling in London during the 50's. Ducky was speechless as he looked at his younger friend. Finally, he managed a nod. "Yes, Drew was my best friend and Maisie his lovely girlfriend. I was with him when they met. Timothy, why are you asking me about them?"

"Because they're my maternal grandparents. Their daughter, Lily Victoria, was mother to me, Patrick and Sarah. Drew passed away shortly after they were told we were dead. Maisie lives with her son, my uncle, and his family. She heard me talking about you, referring to you as Ducky and asked me a few questions. And I'm sorry, I meant to ask you that day, I think it was Thursday or maybe Friday."

Ducky stood there, absorbing the news, before he chuckled, "You have had a busy week! I look forward to seeing Maisie. I'm sorry about Drew though, he was a good friend." He smiled, "Now I know who you remind me of! After all these years, Timothy, all these years! You are so much like my old friend." He patted Tim's face affectionately and, shaking his head in wonder, went off to his next task, internally reeling with Tim's news.

As before, the bridal party and the groom's party had rooms set aside for them at the townhouse. Tony and Maggie, who were staying with Ducky, would rotate door duties with the Palmers and the Baltimore Uncles while the others got ready. The children, including Hope, would be sequestered in the kids' playroom until the ceremony, although Andy and Greg had been told they could mingle. Kyle said he and Rissa weren't big enough yet, even though they'd both grown substantially this past year, he was sure all they'd see would be legs and feet. Edith and George had volunteered to stay with them. They knew the boys and Marissa would be fine but Hope was still a baby and probably wouldn't understand what was going on.

Geo was especially happy to be on two stable, healthy, pain free legs today, remembering how miserable he'd been before Tim's wedding last year. He missed Bec, they spent a lot of time together on Skype, but it wasn't enough.

When he'd reported to his acting CO at the U.S. Embassy in London, he'd been asked his preferences for his next post. He listed Quantico, knowing there were several posts he'd be qualified for aboard the base, the U.S. Embassy in Athens and the Embassy in London. Those were his top three, he also included a base in Georgia and Pendleton in California.

He'd listed Quantico first and Athens second because Bec was sure she would be transferred back to the U.S. in the next year. She hoped to be posted somewhere in the mid-Atlantic states, closer to her parents, who lived near Atlanta. When she'd transferred to Greece, she'd been told there was a minimum of 3 years for her time in Europe. While there wasn't a maximum, generally agents were moved elsewhere within 4 to 5 years. Her boss, Agent Russell, told her Director Vance wanted his agents to have varied experience in more than one office, working as part of more than one team. The exception was the Navy Yard in DC but the leading agents there, with rare exceptions, had already worked in more than one office.

Tim said something that brought Geo out of his reverie and he chuckled. Tim had said he loved his and Artie's wedding but it was fun to be here and not be one of the stars of the show. Dad gave him a look that made the brothers laugh harder.

Taking his turn answering the front door, Geo found an elderly man, close to Ducky's age, waiting on the doorstep with one of the wedding invitations in his hand. The gentleman looked cold and anxious. Geo smiled, "Come in out of the cold, please." He stepped inside and Geo led him close to the roaring fire in the fireplace. Catching Rob's eye, he made a gesture for a hot beverage, his brother took one look at their guest and disappeared into the kitchen. Geo smiled again, "When you warm up a little, I'll take your coat. I'm Geordie Gibbs, one of Jethro's adopted children."

The legally adopted Gibbs' kids had decided to introduce themselves to new people today using Dad's surname. Starting the process of legally changing their names was going to have to wait until they lived in the U.S. or in Sarah's case, had time to spend in the U.S., and wait for a court date.

"Adopted children? My heavens, how many are there?"

"6, 2 daughters, 4 sons, 1 daughter-in-law, 1 pending son-in-law and 2 pending daughters-in-law, although I haven't proposed to my girlfriend yet. And 5 grandchildren. Lu, his wife as of today, is surrogate mother to most of us and four of our best friends as well; essentially, they'll have 10 grown kids between them."

Rob came in with hot tea, carefully handing it to the man, "Hello, I'm Rob Gibbs, the youngest of the Gibbs' kids."

"One of the 10?"

"Yes, sir."

The man held out his hand for a shake, "I'm Mac Fielding, his former father-in-law."

He was surprised when both men knew the name, "You're Shannon's dad? This is wonderful, thank you for coming all this way!"

"You know about my daughter and Kelly?"

A voice behind them spoke, "They do. Mac, I'm so glad to see you!"

That was Dad and he wrapped his arms around the older man while Rob carefully removed the mug of tea. He and Geo stepped away as Rob could see both men were crying. Knowing Dad would eventually want to introduce them all, they rounded up their brothers, missing only Tony, who was having one last rehearsal, first with Jimmy and then with Abby and Bill. Tim looked nervous, "He could have been my grandfather, my step-grandfather."

"He might still be, Timmo. We have 3 grandmothers, be nice to have a grandfather too."

When Tony and Abby joined them, they explained and Abby left to pull Sarah out of the bride's room, figuring Dad would want to introduce them all at once.

She was right, or maybe having them all there gave him the idea. "Mac, these are all my kids. Tony, Abby, Geordie, also known as Geo, Tim, Sarah, and Rob. Tony's father is alive, so he's not legally adopted nor is Abby, but I'm their dad."

With a sweet smile, Mac shook hands with each of them, saying, "I hear there are several grandchildren, which ones are the parents?"

Tim raised his hand, "They're all mine, sir, my wife and I have 3 boys and 2 girls."

"Wonderful!" He turned to Gibbs, "You're a blessed man, Jethro, I'm so glad things have gone better for you."

"Thank you, Mac. Do you know how I found you?"

"No and I did wonder."

"You have a buddy whose last name is Fornell. Tobias, his son, is one of my best friends. He'll be here today, with Emily, his daughter, and his lady friend."

"Caesar Fornell's son? Sure, he comes down every winter, hates going back. Brings his little girl sometimes, guess she's not so little anymore."

"That's Emily and yes, she's a teenager now."

"Small world, Jethro. I was sorry to hear about Jack."

"Thanks, Mac, I miss him like crazy, glad some of my kids got to know him before he left us. Don't know if you remember his stories about the store, how he owned it with his friend?"

"Yes, the man you're named for. Isn't he your godfather?"

"Great memory and yes, that's the one, LJ Moore. He'll be here today too. He spends Christmas with us."

"That's wonderful, I imagine that helps."

"Yes, it does. Mac, before you meet my bride, there's something else I need to tell you, something I discovered a few months ago."

Geordie reached out and gently snagged Dad's arm, "Dad, need to take his coat." They stopped while Mac was helped out of his coat, then taking the hot tea again, he followed Jethro into the groom's room. Tim swallowed. "I hadn't thought about him needing to know about me, guess that makes sense."

When the doorbell rang again, Sarah and Abby returned to the bride's room and Tony answered the door, welcoming the Porters. Behind them were two women whose names sounded familiar, he thought from Kathy Hart's case. Tim, Rob, Freddie and Geordie jumped in, "Mrs. H, Linda, great to see you! Come on in!"

Tony smiled, remembering now that Mrs. H was the school secretary who'd helped keep Tim, Sarah and Rob alive during their school years. Linda…he didn't remember who she was. Tim introduced the women to him, as the others knew them. "Ladies, I'd like you to meet our brother, Tony DiNozzo. Tony, this is Mrs. Hoover, the secretary at the elementary school we all went to and Linda MacMillan, who runs the day care near the shelter."

Mrs. H smiled, "I think we talked on the phone the day Kathy Hart disappeared. And Tim dear, I've finally retired. When Lu went, so did I. How are the boys, are they here?"

"Yes, they're in the playroom with their sisters and brother. Would you mind waiting until after the ceremony to see them, other than at the wedding itself? If I let them out, I'll never get them back in and the littles are pretty keyed up."

Linda smiled, "How old are they now?"

"Kyle will be 5 in May and Greg will be 9 in July. Growing up fast, too fast!"

"That's splendid! Will Kyle start 1st grade then?"

"Yes. He's already in 'Reception', the British version of kindergarten."

The doorbell rang again and this time it was their new family. They hugged and he introduced them to the ladies who were quite astonished and very pleased that Tim and Sarah had finally found their birth family. Tim let that go, he was tired of explaining and he'd hoped to just be part of the family today. Uncle Dave chuckled as he saw the look on his face, "Don't worry about it, kiddo, everyone who counts knows the truth."

Everyone moved further into the room while coats and purses were taken and put in Ducky's room. They'd scrounged up several portable clothes racks and were hanging all the coats.

As more people arrived, the caterers started circulating with warm beverages and appetizers. Dad and Mac emerged from the groom's room and Mac shook Tim's hand. "You're my almost grandson! Glad to meet you, son."

Tim smiled and leaning in, said quietly, "You know we have 3 grandmothers and no grandfathers. If you'd like to step in, we'd be grateful."

"Three, huh?"

"Yes, two are here today and the third, my wife's grandmother, who's decided we're all her grandchildren, lives in Athens, Greece."

"Ooh, now that sounds interesting. Do you ever visit her?"

"Yes, last year we visited 3 times. This year, we'll probably only go once, maybe twice if we can squeeze it in. But she also comes to see us, in London. And it's not hot in London in the summer. The bad part about that is it's chilly at the beaches. At least we think it is!"

"Huh. Jethro says you're moving home next summer."

"Yes, at the end of July. My two older boys are through school around the 20th."

"I see. So you'd be open to a visitor before then?"

Tim laughed, "We love visitors! We live in an amazing house in a wonderful town on the far outskirts of London, with countryside outside our back gate."

"That does sound tempting! You know, I live on a beach in Delaware during late spring through fall. Do you know where you're going to live?"

"Yes, we just bought a house in Arlington. We're renting to friends until we move home."

"Smart! That's probably close to a 2 ½ - 3 hour drive to Fenwick."

Tim laughed, "Is that an invitation?"

"Unfortunately, my beach cottage is quite tiny. Technically, it's one bedroom but it's really a studio where someone built a wall instead of using privacy screens or room dividers."

"Ah, that's all right, we wouldn't subject you to the happy chaos of 5 children anyway. We'd look for an Airbnb, that's how we normally handle traveling."

"A what?"

Tim quickly explained the 'air mattress, bed and breakfast' concept. "Only we haven't slept on air beds yet, my brothers do at home but not when we're traveling. It's a lot less expensive, not just for the lodging but also because we can cook our own meals, have snacks and beverages without having to pay restaurant prices. And we're in residential areas, which gives us a better feel for whatever city and country we're visiting than staying in a hotel with other tourists."

"Fascinating."

Finding more people in the living room, he introduced Mac to his grandmothers, uncle, aunt, cousins, godparents, the Porters and almost introduced him to Tobias when Mac grinned, "Ah ha, someone I know besides Jethro!"

"Hi ya, Mac, good to see you here! This is my friend, Gail Tehema. Gail, this is Mac Fielding, a friend of my dad's and Jethro's former father-in-law."

They shook hands and then Emily appeared, looking at him. "I know you, but you're out of context…Granddad's poker buddy?"

"Yes! Hello, Emily, it's been a few years. Look at you, a smart, beautiful young lady."

"Thank you, it's good to see you. Do you know Uncle Gibbs or Aunt Lu?"

"Haven't met Lu yet. Your Uncle Gibbs used to be my son-in-law, he was married to my daughter Shannon."

"Oh! I wish I could have met them, your daughter and Kelly."

"Thank you, that's very sweet. I've just learned about Tim and he's asked me to be his grandfather, grandfather to all of them."

Tim grinned, excusing himself when Andy appeared, "Excuse me, Papa. Is it all right if we come out now? We're hungry."

"Of course, son. Mac, this is my oldest boy, Andy. Andy, this is Mac Fielding, Shannon's dad and Kelly's granddad."

Andy's eyes widened as he held out a hand to shake, "I'm happy to meet you, Mr. Fielding. I bet Grandpa was surprised to see you."

"He was, kiddo, he was."

"Is it a lot warmer in Florida than here?"

"Oh yes, we sometimes wear jackets in the winter and I don't swim in the ocean until March or April but it's much warmer than here."

Andy looked at his father, "Does NCIS have an office in Florida?"

"Yes, but we're not moving there, Jammer."

"Not even during the winter?"

Tim chuckled, "Well _you_ can if you change schools, but I have to work up here."

Andy smiled, "That's okay, we have the pool at the new house. We'll be all right."

"That's the spirit!"

Rob motioned to Tim, Ducky wanted them to do a head count as it was nearly 2:00. James helped and they came up with 67. Tim raised an eyebrow, "Either Senior's here or Dad's cousin Richard Baxter."

James nodded, remembering Tony's biological father from Tim and Artie's wedding, "It's Senior, I remember him from your wedding. He's over there." He gestured to the fireplace and Tim smiled, recognizing the carefully coiffed hair. He whispered to James, "Does Tony know?"

He nodded, "We told Maggie, who told him. The Colonel is hanging out with him."

Tim laughed at that. Maggie's dad was pretty cool, in a retired officer sort of way. He also approved of Tony as the mate of his only child and had grown fond of him.

Asking Andy to take a plate of food for him and his siblings, Tim started to make his way across the room when the doorbell rang again. He was the closest, answering it to find an older man, dressed for the cold. Tim smiled, "Welcome, come in out of the cold!"

Once the man was in, Tim introduced himself, "I'm Tim Gibbs, one of Jethro's kids."

The man looked shocked and then smiled, "That's wonderful, I thought he'd lost his only child. I'm Richard Baxter, his cousin."

"Welcome, thanks for coming today! Kelly, yes, sadly, he did. We came along as adults and he adopted my sister, brothers and me. In addition, there are 2 to whom he's dad but they're not adopted."

"My goodness! How many?"

"6 in total and all of us have significant others. In addition, my wife and I have 5 children, so Dad's also a very happy grandpa."

"I'm so happy to hear that!"

"You're related through Grandma Anne?"

"Yes, she was my aunt, the much younger sister of my father. You know about her?"

"I do, yes, uh, I'm sure Dad will tell you but after he adopted us, he and I discovered we're biologically father and son."

The man's face lit up, "I'm so happy for him – and you too! That makes us cousins, you know. Jethro's my first cousin, that means we are first cousins, once removed."

"That's great!" Tim chuckled, "This is the time for it! Come on in and get something to drink and eat while I hang your coat up. We're just a few minutes from starting."

"I'll do that, cousin!"

Tim grinned, he liked that. After he hung up Richard's coat, hat, and scarf, he knocked on the groom's room door and went in. His father was in there, talking with Uncle Jim and smiled at him. "Come in, sweet boy." He looked at him, "What's happened?"

"Our cousin Richard is here, Dad. I told him about all of us – and me."

"Richard Baxter, hey, that's great! He knew your grandmother when she was growing up, he's a couple years older."

"Cool, he'll have stories – and he can tell us more about Great-grandma Charlotte."

They were still chatting when Ducky knocked and then opened the door to say, "We're ready."

Tim returned to the living room and catching Geo's eye, made herding motions. Moving through the crowd, he passed the word along. He smiled as he saw that Tobias, Emily and Gail were watching after Mac, keeping him with them. He caught Leon's eye as his boss walked with the new family, giving him a big smile. Vance nodded, his eyes twinkling.

When everyone was finally settled, they started the procession. Marissa, Greg, and Kyle, the 3 holding hands, walked up the aisle, followed by Andy carrying Hope, who smiled and waved at everyone she saw. He paused at the first row of seats so Aunt Breena could take his baby sister. She started to make a face but then chortled when she realized she was with her aunty.

The grandchildren stood to one side of Ducky. Rob and Ellie joined them next, standing opposite the children, on the other side of Ducky. Then came Tim and Artie, standing with the children, followed by Sarah and James, Maggie and Tony, Abby and Geo. Tony had pre-recorded the entrance music and it sounded wonderful flowing through Joe's speaker system.

LJ walked in with Jethro, the two arm in arm. The elderly man sat in a chair at the end of one side of the formation. Jethro stood slightly off center, looking down the aisle at Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose, surrounding his bride. When the music changed, the 5 of them walked the aisle, Lu setting the pace. As they reached the front, the men paired off to join their family on either side of the oval. Lu and Jethro joined hands, smiling at each other. As they stood together, Jimmy sang his solo, accompanied by a pre-recorded Tony on piano. Again, it was beautiful.

Ducky then began the ceremony, welcoming everyone and telling them what would happen. Those who had been to Tim and Artie's wedding last year, smiled, and those who hadn't were glad this would be more than a 5 minute ceremony. Before the formal proceedings began, Tim and Rob eased their way to the front and read the poem Tim had written. Although the family had all heard it, Tim didn't want to upset anyone, there were sniffles and chuckles from the guests as he and Rob expressed the feelings of the siblings towards their united parents. In that, he included all 10 of them.

They finished, stepping back into the oval as Ducky began the formal proceedings. While the couple exchanged rings, Tony, Abby, Joe, and Bill, guitar in hand, slipped from their positions. Bill played several chords and then Tony, Joe and Abby began their song, with Bill's accompaniment. From his seat, Senior beamed in pride while tears rolled down his face.

When they finished, the quartet moved back into place and Sarah and Geo stepped forward to read their prayer. When they finished and stepped back, Ducky beamed, "With great pleasure, and by the authority granted to me by the E-Church of Faith and the District of Columbia, I pronounce Leroy Jethro and Luella Rose husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

While they kissed, their children, big and small, cheered and applauded. When the couple turned to smile at the audience, they beckoned the kids forward and click, someone took the first picture of the united Gibbs-Morgan family. Before they started back down the aisle, Tony and Maggie slipped off to the side, sitting at the piano. Tony played while Maggie sang a joyful tune. That was a surprise for everyone and all four of their parents, Mamalu and Jethro, the Colonel and Senior, were thrilled.

Eventually, the wedding party walked down the aisle, Tony and Maggie joining them as they passed the piano. They adjourned to the living room, their guests soon joining them. The wedding party wasn't there long, however, as they were called back to the library for photos. They pulled Ducky, the Palmers, LJ, the Colonel, Mac, Senior, Richard Baxter and the new family in with them. The older men were eager to meet Penny and Maisie and Tim grinned at Ducky, who was in nearly every photo. He still hadn't had time to meet the new branch of the family.

The Slaters were watching the littles, including their own grandkids, with help from Kayla, Jared and Emily. Hope didn't know Ed Slater but she liked the other big people and allowed them to play with her until she decided to join her siblings and cousins.

Done with photos, the family joined their guests in the living room while the caterers rearranged the library into a dining room. Tim and Artie were having fun with this event, so similar to their wedding without the stress of her parents being there or being the stars of the show.

The Powells had fun with the guests, introducing themselves as newer family members whose son's formal entry into the family was the wedding after next. Those who knew the plans for the 2 spring weddings were amused, the rest confused.

Geordie noticed Richard Baxter by himself and introduced himself to him. He was astounded to find out he was a relative! Laughing, he told the older man about Tim's discovery just before Christmas. He was happy to find that Richard lived in Richmond, VA, not so far away. "We all live in the UK right now, but we're moving home next summer. It'd be great to have a family reunion. Do you know about Tim and our Dad?"

"Yes, he told me, I'm so happy for Jethro. He was miserable for so long after losing his wife and daughter."

"He was, that was a terrible loss. Why don't you sit with us for dinner?"

"Thank you, I will!"

Geo caught the eyes of Sarah, Rob, Barry, and Tony, introducing Cousin Richard to them. Eventually, Dad and Lu found them and the bride was introduced. After greeting him, she smiled, "Thank you so much for coming! And I see you've met some of our kids!"

"Yes, Tim answered the front door and knew my name, that was encouraging! He told me about your combined family, extraordinary! And then he told me about your discovery, Jethro, congratulations, I'm very happy for you! And I know your parents would be thrilled."

On the other side of the room, Tim smiled when he found himself standing next to Tony's father. "Senior, glad to see you!"

"Timothy, good to see you too! I heard you had an exciting week, I'm glad you got your baby daughter back."

"Thanks, we are too. That was a complete surprise. It's not every day that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Navy and my director show up at my house before we're even dressed!"

"I didn't hear about Secretary McCord, that must have been exciting!"

Tim nodded, "We hadn't seen her since we were at MIT. Her husband taught an Ethics class Artie and I took and somehow we became part of the family." He laughed, "I was so surprised when she walked in the house, I totally forgot protocol, just blurted out the name we used to call her. I guess I should be grateful I didn't try to hug her, I'm sure I would have been pulled off by her protection detail!"

Senior looked at him carefully, "You look good, Timothy. Despite the circumstances."

"Ah, Tony hasn't had a chance to update you! The situation has been resolved. When my contract with Bedford is completed this summer, we're moving home! And, we adopted Greg and Kyle."

"That's great news! I did hear about the adoptions, I was surprised as I thought you were already legally their parent."

"No, legal guardian, which is pretty much the same but my wife wanted to be their legal mother and the boys were anxious after the baby was taken from us, so we went ahead and made a full adoption, in both Greece and the U.S.."

"Wonderful! Congratulations!"

Tim smiled and Senior chuckled, patting him on the back. "It's good to see you so happy, Tim. Will you be returning to the Navy Yard?"

"Yes, but not to the field. Need regular hours for the kids."

Leon joined them and they chatted for a couple of minutes before Leon excused himself, tapping Tim on the arm, "Excuse us, Anthony, I need to borrow Tim for a minute."

Tim nodded at Senior and moved away with Leon. "What's up?"

"Nothing, didn't know if you needed an out."

"Thanks, no, but Artie and I do want to ask you something."

Joel had told Dad that the director was planning a trip over in May and the couple wanted to invite him to Brambury again. In May, Tim would still be working full-time at Bedford, making the invitation to his boss less awkward. When Artie joined them, she offered the invitation and Vance smiled, pleased to again have the opportunity to spend time with the family at home.

He tilted his head, "The kids will be with me, is that all right? From London, we're flying to Athens and they'll stay with Pete Russell's family while I visit Rota and Marseilles before returning to Athens for vacation."

"Great How about the 3 of you stay with us?" Tim added, "I'll still be under contract with Bedford."

"True and yes, if you have room, that will be great!"

"We do, we will. We'll probably have an empty suite by then, Sarah and James will probably move into their own place before their wedding. If not, we'll still have room for the 3 of you."

"Great. And that reminds me, when you have time for a Skype call in the next month, we need to get the list together for your London replacement and your 2nd INV agent aboard the Yard. Oops, sorry, talking business!"

Artie chuckled, "You have 3 minutes!"

Tim pulled his phone out of his pocket, "My schedule's changed, let me look." Bringing up his new class schedule, he said, "I'll have time Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons, after 1400 UK time."

Leon made a note on his phone, translating the time to 0900 each of those days. "Good, thanks."

Tim tilted his head, "Leon, Bedford doesn't resume until January 23rd; until then I'll be working for the agency as needed."

"Forgot about that, thanks! All right, why don't we just say next Monday, a week from tomorrow? You should be over the worst of your jet lag. Will you have time to work on your list this week?"

"Yes, it's one of my top priorities."

"All right, why don't we exchange lists on Friday so we'll know what we're thinking when we talk on Monday."

Tim smiled, nodding and then chuckled, "My wife's giving me her 'that's enough shop talk' look."

"She's right, I apologize!"

They were still chuckling when Rob tapped Artie on the shoulder, "Food's ready!"

Letting people know, the McGees first headed for the playroom for their kids and then, taking their hands, Tim carrying the baby, they found their places at the tables. It was easy to find with Hope's portable high chair already in place. Richard Baxter sat next to Tim with Geordie on the other side of him. They were sitting close to Rob and Ellie, Abby and Freddie, Jose and Chelsea, Mac Fielding, the Fornells, Powells, Porters, Penny, Uncle Jim, Claire and the cousins. Tim spotted Maisie and Ducky deep in conversation nearby while the Palmers sat with other NCIS'ers including Tony, Maggie and of course, Senior and the Colonel.

The food was delicious and the family and guests relaxed and convivial. The Porters, Mac and Senior weren't leaving until tomorrow, and with Monday a holiday, most people didn't have to work. Even the family's workaholics, Freddie and Jose, were taking the day off. If an emergency plumbing problem came in, they'd send one of their employees out on it. To be fair, they still rotated in with the other plumbers for emergencies, but this holiday, they were off the hook.

Although their guests were relaxed, the Gibbs family had bags to pack, 2 houses to clean and a plane to catch! Before they left Ducky's, Mac had decided to come for a visit before they moved home and Richard and Jethro agreed on a date for a family reunion.

By 7:00 PM, they were in the van and Tony and Maggie's vehicles as they returned to Alexandria. Having ridden up with Barry, Freddie, Jose, and Chelsea drove the Challenger and pickup back to their garage in Baltimore. Abby went with Freddie after saying goodbye to her family, she knew she'd fall apart if she went back to the house with them.

The McGees were mostly packed but there are always last minute items, including the clothes they'd worn for the wedding. They'd already washed and vacuumed Mrs. Hank's car and filled the gas tank. The kids pitched in to make sure the house was clean, dishwasher empty, everything put back where it belonged. The owners would be home Monday so they left the perishables and the leftovers with notes listing the ingredients. Anything more than 3 days old went into the trash, which was emptied into the bin out back. They'd also left a frozen-fresh lasagna in the refrigerator, made last night for the returning family, all they needed to do was heat and eat it. Sheets, pillowcases and towels had been washed and beds made with clean linens, the bathrooms and all the floors were sparkling clean. In their thank you note, they listed all the fun things they'd done as well as all the amazing things that happened. The kids each added a little something and everyone, even baby Hope, signed it.

The borrowed baby equipment had either been returned or was next door where the Palmers could collect it at their leisure. Tony had offered to take it over to the house in Arlington for them, fewer things for them to move.

By 9:00, the McGee household was ready. The boys helped them load the van and then Artie drove it next door with the littles inside while Tim and the older boys walked. With the van only holding 10 with safety seats and luggage, Tony and Maggie were also driving their vehicles with people and luggage. Dad and Mamalu rode with Tony to give them a little extra time together while Sarah, James and Rob rode with Maggie. James' parents were in the van with the McGees.

After delivering his passengers and luggage to the International Departures terminal, Tim drove the van to the rental parking lot, checking for any stray items before catching a shuttle back to the terminal. He'd said goodbye to Tony and Maggie at the house, figuring they'd be gone by the time he returned to the terminal. He smiled as he got out of the shuttle, his brother waiting for him. They hugged tightly, both sniffling. Tim said, "Last time we have to do this. Here, anyway. See you in June?"

"Yes, we'll come the week before, still May."

"Good, love you, love Maggie, take care of each other."

With another snuffle, they let go, Tim hugged Maggie, whispered something to her, shouldered his carry-on bag and headed inside. Leaving never got any easier.


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS STORY THE EPISODES "THE INSIDE MAN" AND "MOONLIGHTING" AIRED BEFORE VANCE BECAME DIRECTOR.
> 
> Thanks to those of you who expressed concern about my absence. Nothing's wrong, just real life demanding my time. I'll try to get another chapter to you this week.

Chapter 50

After the day full of joy and laughter, they were all exhausted, sleeping for most of their flight. Tim and Artie would wake occasionally and check on the children and most of the family woke long enough to eat the food that was served but other than that, they slept.

Stepping off the plane, they went through Customs, made sure they had all the kids and the luggage, and climbed on the train to Brambury. Three Uber vehicles were waiting at the station there to take them to the Manor. When they got everyone and everything into the house, Tim wanted to lay down on the floor in the living room and sleep. But he couldn't, he was a dad and needed to set some kind of example. Besides, the floor was cold.

Somehow, they got the luggage upstairs. They found a crib set up in Marissa's room with a welcome home note for Hope from Phyllis Petrou, the social worker who'd done the home study for Greg and Kyle's adoptions. Her note said she'd been notified by a Mr. Keilty at the U.S. Embassy that Hope was being returned to the McGees, they were in the U.S. and would need a crib for the baby. She'd contacted the McGees' landlord, who'd been listed in the adoption paperwork as a reference and an emergency contact for the family. The landlord met her at the house and helped her move the crib upstairs, putting it in Marissa's room.

That kindness, from the State Department, Ms. Petrou and their landlord, roused them enough to change into their jammies and robes and adjourn to the kitchen for a quick bite of waffles, juice, tea and coffee. Following the pattern Sarah figured out 3 years ago, they forced themselves to stay awake for a couple of hours, then slept for four hours and woke feeling somewhat rested.

The exception to breakfast and staying awake were the newlyweds. They'd disappeared into their suite as soon as they got home and hadn't been seen since. Artie started to say something about it after the children went upstairs and looked up to see her husband and his siblings with fingers in their ears, glaring at her. Edith Powell began to laugh, laughing so hard that her sides hurt. George pointed out to her that as kids, none of the adult McGees had had to deal with discovering their parents had sex.

After sleeping most of Monday and through the night, most of them felt better on Tuesday. Rob would return to work on Friday and Geordie had no orders at the moment. When they retrieved their two weeks of mail, he had the results of his preliminary evaluation.

The doctors who'd examined him and his records, recommended he return to Active Duty in an administrative position. That was a relief, Geo had not wanted a medical discharge or a recommendation that he move to the reserves. With less than 2 years before he hit his 20 years in the Corps, he'd been determined to return to active duty. He would have one more evaluation, this time by the medical team at Bethesda or a medical team at Landstuhl in Germany. The Landstuhl option was new and he immediately sent his Commanding Officer a note choosing Germany. He was not interested in making another roundtrip to the States anytime soon. His CO responded, approving Landstuhl and ordering him to report to the barracks at the Embassy in London on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday afternoon, Tim and Rob took the baby and went grocery shopping. Wearing the daddy pack, Tim remembered to stay in the middle of the aisles so his little daughter couldn't grab everything off the shelves. They filled 2 carts with food for their full house, remembering the senior Powells were leaving in the morning, catching a train to Castleton and Geo would be in London at the Embassy.

The kids bounced back faster than their adults and Hope was hardly affected at all. Her parents, aunt and uncles took turns tending to her as they worked through their jet lag.

Dad and Mamalu joined them for dinner Tuesday night. They were leaving on their honeymoon Thursday. They'd spend a week in Marrakesh, Morocco, and then fly to Valletta, Malta, where they'd spend another week. Artie had been to Marrakesh on a project and gave them a list of her favorite places as well as contact information for people she knew and trusted there.

She'd never been to Malta, but both places were now on the McGee list of places to visit before the move. When Tim teased that they'd have to travel every weekend to see every city and country on their list, Artie took it as a challenge and sat down with the family schedule and her favorite travel and scheduling sites.

The first thing she did was make sure Susannah and Sarah's weddings were on their schedule. Then she entered the children's time off school. Tim's class schedule for his last term had him finishing mid-afternoon on Fridays and starting late Monday mornings.

The week before the February half-term week, when Tim would have Friday and Monday off and the boys could take work for the day they'd miss, they were finally going to Italy to meet Uncle Nikolas, his partner Sergio, whom Artie supposed might also be called Uncle, and their 2 daughters, Katerina and Damaris.

They'd fly out Thursday evening and return late Monday afternoon, giving them 3 whole days and close to a half day on Monday. After a 2 ½ hour flight to Naples, the nearest international airport, they'd take the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. They'd look for Airbnb lodging as Artie didn't think it right to ask anyone to lodge 7 strangers, even if they were relatives, and she knew Mimi's cottage there only had 1 bedroom and a pull-out couch.

The adults-only trip to Paris, postponed last year, was now planned for the week after the April 15th wedding in Greece. As April 7th, a Friday, was a holiday, the family would fly to Athens Thursday evening, arriving at their Airbnb home near midnight. They'd have a week to play before the wedding and afterward Tim and Artie would fly to Paris while Jethro and Lu had already volunteered to stay with the kids, either in Greece at Mimi's or at home with some fun daytrips.

The May 1st Labor Day holiday would take them to Barcelona where the sun would be shining and there were many family friendly activities, including the beach!

Over the Christmas holidays, Tim and Artie, Tony and Maggie had chatted about travel plans before and after Sarah's wedding. They knew the Porters were planning on staying, traveling around Europe after the wedding, returning home with the McGees when they moved. They also figured that at least part of the new family would come for the wedding and stay for a few days afterward. Tony said he'd talk to them about the extra days for jet lag. Penny traveled frequently and would know that, however the men were usually on their ship and they didn't know if Maisie, Liz, Claire and the children had done much leisure traveling.

Maggie's proposal was that she and Tony fly over a full week before the wedding but instead of flying into London, fly straight to wherever the McGees wanted to meet them for a long weekend. The Colonel wouldn't be joining them, he was not a fan of transatlantic flights.

When Artie logged into her personal email on Tuesday, she found a list of cities and countries the other couple wanted to visit. They'd included a few comments about activities for children at each location. It wasn't quite the spreadsheet Abby had created, but it was close. When she and Tim had time, they did their own research and sent their choices to Tony and Maggie.

In the end, they chose Berlin. It was the Cold War history that drew all 4 of them. As a young college student, Tony had had a lifetime of hearing about the evils of communism and felt that the Berlin Wall was a symbol of that evil. He vividly remembered the excitement, seemingly world-wide, when it fell, piece by piece, the excitement of the families being reunited and the crowds celebrating. At the time, it felt like the whole world was celebrating.

For Tim, the event, as it played out during his sophomore year in high school, was so momentous that his history teacher changed their planned studies and had them watch it in class. Beginning November 9th, 1989, the day the East Germans announced that citizens were allowed to cross the border that had been closed since 1961, they watched what was live on the newscasts. Their teacher used her personal VCR to record whatever occurred between classes and they'd watch it during the next class.

She paired the viewing with the history behind the Wall. There were lectures and discussions of the post-World II struggles for power as the Soviet Union took control of East Germany, the blockade, the Berlin airlift, President Kennedy's famous speech, President Reagan's demand that the Wall be demolished, the division of families, the infamous Stasi, those trapped in East Germany versus those experiencing freedom along with the rebuilding of Berlin and the western part of the country.

Tim loved the class, loved the idea of studying history as it happened. If it hadn't been for his overwhelming love for math and science, history would possibly have lured him into its tangled webs of truths and secrets.

Now, the idea of being able to view Checkpoint Charlie in person and see portions of the Wall left standing as a monument to freedom, was too much to pass up. They'd meet in Berlin. The kids would have history lessons before they went and they thought Geordie might also want to go, if he was still in Europe.

That was enough planning for now. Artie knew they'd want time to visit all their favorite haunts in and around London before they left and she was sure they'd want one last trip to Edinburgh.

While she was planning their next adventures, Tim was working on his proposals for his INV replacement here and for an additional agent working with him aboard the Yard. He was also working cold cases and working a case with Marseilles. He laughed at himself when he was relieved to find the Marseilles case was a 'simple' embezzlement of a few million dollars; no one was embezzling this money to fund terrorism or anything besides an undeserved luxurious lifestyle. The motivation was greed and while the suspect may have been smart about taking the money, he wasn't smart enough covering his tracks. It took Tim less than 15 minutes to find him. He couldn't remember the last time something had been this simple and that sent him back into cyberspace to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He hadn't, this one really was what it looked like.

Wednesday and Thursday, they cleaned house and did a little more decorating, preparing for their Orthodox Christmas celebration on Friday and Saturday. Mimi would fly in Thursday night while Susannah, Ian and his parents were taking the train from Edinburgh, arriving Friday afternoon. Susannah and Ian would once again stay in Sarah's guestroom while Mimi would stay in Dad and Lu's extra room and Ian's parents, Alastair and Fiona Clacher, would stay in the 2nd master, upstairs.

Leaving the children with their aunt and uncles, the McGees drove to the airport Thursday evening to pick up Mimi. They timed it perfectly and Artie met her grandmother in Baggage Claim. They were on their way to the van before Tim was chased away. Following the examples of her family, Mimi had shipped everything to them, only bringing a carry-on bag. When Tim commented, she laughed, saying, "I remembered that Sarah's clothes fit me and decided she probably has warmer clothes than I do! I sent her an email and she replied, saying not to worry." While she hadn't sheared a sheep for her coat, it did look quite warm, along with the wool hat, scarf and gloves she wore.

She was happy to arrive before the children's bedtimes, greeting them and little Hope with hugs and kisses. Before they turned in that night, Artie set the coffeemaker and thermostat timers for 5:00 AM, and told her yaya.

Friday morning, Mimi was glad to know about the coffee and she felt the bedroom heating up. She didn't hesitate to help herself to a large mug of coffee and a pastry, retreating to the nice warm suite to enjoy them. There really was something to be said about having a sitting room within the suite!

Before Tim started work that morning, he moved the large box Yaya had shipped from the playroom to Dad's suite. That afternoon, he sent the director his proposals and was pleased when Vance's arrived a few minutes later. He was glad he was in his office with the door closed when he read the list of candidates to train as his replacement here. He was equally glad Rob wouldn't be home this weekend and that Dad, who could always read him, was away. Not sure if he should recuse himself from part of this process, he also wasn't sure if he wanted to ask Vance or anyone else. With a huff, he finally sent an email to Dr. Henry, who wouldn't know who the players were in this situation. When the man replied that he'd be happy to help and had time now, Tim pinged him on Skype.

"Dr. Henry, thanks for taking time to talk with me."

"It's a pleasure, Timit; good to see you again so soon after our dinner!"

Smiling, Tim laid out the situation, keeping it as generic as he could. Dr. Henry looked at him, "You already know the answer."

Tim huffed, "There is no one I know, other than you, with whom I could discuss this. I think that's all I needed, someone who would listen and not try to guess who I'm talking about or worse, know right away."

"All right, good. Are you at home? Any chance of getting a virtual tour of your Manor house?"

With a grin, Tim took his laptop, giving his friend a tour.

"Wow, that is huge! That split office was a great idea."

"Yeah, that's worked out well for Artie, Geordie and Rob. My brothers are usually only here in the evenings or on weekends; there haven't been any problems."

Downstairs, he knocked on Sarah's door. She smiled when she saw Dr. Henry on the screen. "Hi, Doc! Want to see my apartment within the house?"

They showed him her rooms and then Tim quickly showed him the rest of the downstairs. Then they had to disconnect, as both had meetings.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After returning to his office, Tim sent Vance an email, recusing himself from making the decision about his replacement. Vance wasn't surprised and told him so, saying they were going to have to pull names from a hat because their candidates were equally talented. Then he pinged Tim's Skype account. His agent answered and they talked about the situation before McGee said, "If all the INV agents aboard the Yard will report to me, that could also be problem."

"Ok, let's talk about this, the whole situation. If you recuse yourself from the decision, then what about your placement within the MCRT?"

"I'm reporting to you, correct?"

"Yes, ok, got it. The problem is the reporting relationship, in whichever spot Bishop lands. However, I don't think it's fair to block her from a position for which she's well qualified because someday she may be related to you. We've had these kinds of situations before, Tim, yours is not the only NCIS-centric family. I'm good with you not making the choice and I meant what I said about pulling their names from a hat."

Vance paused, "How about we leave the London position open for now?"

"Actually, sir, to be perfectly honest, if I hadn't had to recuse myself, I would have selected Ned Dorneget for the London position. I hoped he would apply."

Vance smiled, very happy that McGee was speaking up, letting him know his choice.

Vance nodded, "Good to know and I agree with your choice. Tim, all the INV agents will report to you. That won't ever be a huge number but eventually, you may need a second in command and that person can do evaluations for anyone you feel is too close."

Tim nodded his appreciation, still absorbing what Vance had just said. He had no idea and didn't really care what his title would be but it sounded something like the SSAIC position where Team Leaders headed a team and had other teams reporting in to them. Although these would be individuals, not teams.

Vance grinned, imagining Tim's thoughts. "Questions?"

"I'm sure I will. We've segued into our Monday meeting, do you have time to do this now?"

"I do if you do."

Tim nodded with a smile and they got to it. He chuckled when the director pulled out a hat that looked suspiciously like Ducky's, and put several pieces of paper in. They had 5 candidates, but there were 'dummy' slips in there as well.

Shaking his head, Tim held up a hand, "Sir, I trust you! We don't need the hat to select."

"All right, who's your pick to work with you here?"

Tim told him his choice was Race Piro, O'Brien's current SFA with the two young children. They'd worked together many times, there was respect and trust between them, and Tim knew and trusted his electronic abilities.

"Agreed. And as I said, I agree with your choice of Ned Dorneget to replace you."

Tim grinned, "Thank you! I have another suggestion." At Vance's nod, he continued, "All the new INV agents should go through a short probationary period after their training. It'll take time for them to adjust, to the new role and to no longer being a field agent. They'll have to change their thinking from field to electronic investigation only. I haven't been a field agent in more than 2 years and I still grab my pack if I'm in the office when there's a call out."

"How long a probationary period?"

"How long can the agency afford to house them on a transfer?"

"Overseas, it's usually 45 days. Because the INV agents will be a limited group, we can stretch that to 60 days. Say 60 days of housing but stick to the 45 days of the per diem."

"Then 60 days for the probationary period, thank you. I don't want to insult them but it will take time. One example, in the States, there might be warrant requests going to different states; in our overseas offices, those same requests will likely go to different countries. They'll have to learn to consult with the office managers for the rules. Actually, that's something I can get started on now, putting together a bible, at least for Europe.

"I also have a suggestion, a big one. If an agent decides, after the probationary period, that the job is not right for him or her, or we decide that, with no prejudice, then there's no penalty with the agency. They'd return to the States and be assigned somewhere."

"Hm, let's talk about that. I'm fine with it being your decision, no harm, no foul. However, I don't want field agents to decide to give it a shot, have a couple months overseas, knowing there are no consequences. That's too tempting of an incentive for goldbrickers. Sadly, we do have them."

"I see your point. Can we play it case by case or no, then we're subject to charges of favoritism. Huh, we're going to have to take a strong line on that, aren't we?"

"Yes. They need to know if they decide they don't like the position, they're stuck there for…let's say a year, less the 2 month probation, so it would be 10 months beyond their decision. During that time, if a field position opens that they're qualified for in the region, in Europe for example, I'll transfer them, but that's just for you and me to know."

"Any chance of narrowing that timeframe? What if I arrive the first of June and by the first of July, I'm miserable, hate the job. Do I really have to wait a possible 11 months when I knew almost right away that I made a mistake, I'm not the person you all are looking for?"

"All right, they have a ticket home during the first 5 weeks, but you'll need to keep an eye on them. And if they do something wrong, if there's a deliberate action, not a mistake, they're on the next flight home and the cost of that flight will be deducted from whatever pay they're owed and they'll probably be met by federal agents at the airport, with a warrant for their arrest, and handcuffs."

"That's fair enough. And I'll be keeping an eye on them anyway. Thanks!"

"Excellent! Now, ideas on telling your new INV agents?"

They grinned at each other before Tim said, "In your office, with me on Skype. First, we tell them of their selection, then we tell them the details, the probationary period, etc. For our first round of this, I'd like to refer to that as a 'burn in' period."

Vance chuckled, "That's appropriate. All right, we'll call it that instead of the 'probationary' period. And then we'll call the others and thank them for their interest. Want to do that on Monday?"

"Yes, Monday's fine. Sir, I'd like to hang on to most of them for the next expansion. However, there is one candidate I would never accept without some very specific conditions."

"Who's the conditional one?"

"Susan Grady. When she handled polygraphs aboard the Yard, she acted unethically at least once, I was her target, and then again during the criminal case she was involved in."

"I wasn't aware of that. I'll need specifics if you have the details."

Tim told him about Grady using company resources to try to determine if he was single, forcing him to retake the polygraph test, failing that could have meant his job, causing him an undue amount of stress before the unnecessary and unethical second test. The second occurrence was a few years later when she was moonlighting. She'd taken confidential files out of the office, to her home, for personal use.

Vance was horrified, "How did she ever become a Field Agent? Did you write up a complaint for the first occurrence?"

"Yes, I did and Agent Gibbs made sure Director Shepard saw it. Don't know what happened after that. I've been hoping she was sent to mandatory ethics training."

"I'll take it from here, Agent McGee, thank you for bringing this to my attention. One last question, she's on your team now, any insight as to how she's doing?"

Tim shook his head, "No sir. I'm a professional co-worker. I haven't had any problems with her but I have no idea how she's doing otherwise."

"Thanks for your input, glad you're handling it the way you are. All right, next big question, Dorneget's report date."

Tim thought about it, "I'll be full-time at the agency from June 12th through July 21st. Then I'm off until August 21st. He'll only have 5 weeks of training, that'll be pretty intense. But Ned's a quick learner and good at thinking on his feet. He's also had plenty of experience in thinking outside of the box when it's needed. He'll be fine. And I'm not dropping off the planet, I'll be reachable by phone. Probably not email." He tilted his head, "I need him in London, in the office and over his jet lag, on June 12th."

"Ok, then his official report date is June 5th. He'll report to Joel and work cold cases, no field duty, for whatever hours he can handle that week, as long as he's 100% by the following Monday."

"Thank you! Then Race's report date will be August 21st?"

"Yes, but unless you two are needed, that's your move-in date and his move-over date. Gives O'Brien more time to find a new SFA."

"Understood. For a solid feel of how the program is working, I propose we work through the end of the year before expanding again."

"Good, I like that. Plus we avoid dealing with holiday vacations for new INV agents. What do you see happening in the expansion?"

"An additional agent for the European offices. We might need one in DC but I know Europe will need a 2nd one."

Vance huffed, "You're right, if I had the resources, there would be at least 2 more teams in Europe. When do you want to start the program in our Australasian and Asian offices?"

"Third quarter next year. I haven't had time to research their statistics yet. And I want the 2nd round INV agents to be fully functional before the 3rd round begins."

"Sounds good. Cassie Yates has the Singapore complex, I'll drop her a note, let her know you'll be in contact. And the Far East Field Office's SSAIC is Richard Owens, know him?"

Tim shook his head, "I don't; however I've heard DiNozzo mention the name."

Vance nodded, "There's a story he can tell you. I'll also drop Owens a note. Next on the agenda, publicity. I've planted a few items about the program here and there and of course the European offices are well versed as to what you're doing for them. I'm planning to wait until the end of the 3rd quarter to announce the first expansion. That gives the 3 of you time to accumulate some statistics. Before we move to the second expansion, we'll have an article about the program and its current agents in my quarterly report to the NCIS community and eventually in Stars and Stripes. Secretary Porter will be given the statistics as they occur. You bust a big one, she's going to hear about it as soon as I do."

Tim nodded, knowing the 'we' for the article really meant him. When he worked full-time, as he would do until Winter term started in 3 weeks, he wrote a report every week, tracking his time, cases, approximately how many searches, warrant requests, etc., he'd done and the outcome of his work. That first went to Joel who added his own input and that of the team who had been involved and then he sent it to Vance.

They finally disconnected, Tim feeling a little off about Rob and Ellie. It'd worked out all right but he resented having to recuse himself. Although Vance was right, Bishop certainly had the right to apply for the job. He worked in his office for a couple more hours before joining his family for dinner. To his surprise, Geo was there and he hugged him as if he hadn't seen him for a year rather than 3 days.

He'd come home to tell them his orders. He was to report to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for his final evaluation on February 1st and then would return to London to continue his 7 month rotation at the U.S. Embassy. Geordie grinned as he told them the rest. "After that, I'll be teaching at Quantico but the next session doesn't start until August. I'm here until then."

"Yay!" The kids were all over him, happy he'd be here as long as they would be. When Andy asked where Quantico was, they pulled up a map of Virginia and showed him. He grinned, "Uncle Geo, that's not far from Grandpa's house or our new house!"

"It's 32 miles from the house in Arlington and 35 from Alexandria. That's less than an hour's drive."

Greg grinned, "Good, then you can come swim, explore with us and stay for dinner."

Kyle looked at his uncle, "Do you have to live there?"

"I won't have to, Kyle, but it will be easier if I do. I'll visit, like I do here. And you can come see me, too. I'll have my own apartment!"

"Ooh, fun! I like that!"

Marissa echoed her siblings' sentiments and Hope squealed. When Artie received a text from Susannah that they were about 10 minutes out from the Brambury station, Tim took the van to meet them while Artie finished getting their dinner ready, with Geo's help, and the kids set the dining room table, complete with festive Christmas greens, a pretty holiday tablecloth and LED candles. Artie told her brother-in-law she wished they had Rob's Christmas dishes with them. He laughed, "I guess you could have brought them home on the plane. Would have had to carry them on, though."

"And put them under a seat. Maybe I don't wish that after all."

"You know, celebrating 2 Christmases, you should get some of your own."

"You're right. I'll look through Penny's stash again before we do that."

"Good idea!"

Putting his work stuff aside, Tim smiled warmly when the train pulled in and he greeted his sister-in-law, almost brother-in-law and Ian's parents as they walked into the station. They each had a bag, he took Susannah's and Ian's mother's and led the way to Big Blue. They were home in minutes and Ian exclaimed at the Christmas lights on the Manor. "Did you have those last year?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, for our wedding. You probably didn't notice them, it was cold by the time everyone else left and we didn't go out to look. And I don't remember what we did Monday night."

"Did you put them up before you left this December?"

Tim tilted his head, "Dad and Rob put them up. I can do heights now, if I look straight out, but I still can't handle ladders."

Ian's father nodded, "I'm not fond of ladders myself, Timothy."

"Good to know I'm not the only one in the family, Mr. Clacher, thank you!"

"You're welcome and we are Alastair and Fiona." Tim acknowledged that with a smile.

They quickly crossed the front garden, entering the house. Fiona smiled, "Oh, it's lovely, just the way you described it, Suse! And now I see what you mean about the size, I couldn't imagine! Yes, it is what would have been a small manor house, although I wonder if it was originally much larger?"

Dinner was served a few minutes later and Tim let the conversations flow over him, contributing when he had something to say but letting Artie, Mimi and Susannah generally take the lead. He, Geo and Sarah cleaned up afterward. When they were done, Geordie followed his brother to the family room. "What's up?"

Tim shook his head, "Work stuff, just things I need to work out with some people."

"You're upset."

Tim tilted his head in acknowledgement, "I am, but it's not the end of the world and I don't know that there is a right answer. Don't want to make a big drama about it."

"Okay."

Tim smiled at him, "I'm so glad you're going to be close! You asked for Quantico, didn't you?"

Geo smirked, "I asked for Quantico and then London with Athens as my 3rd choice. Didn't know we'd be free when I submitted my requests, so I'm doubly happy." He frowned, "I thought Rob was coming home tonight."

"I thought he was working."

"He started his encore program today, guess it's pretty heavy duty. The first section is on Medical Ethics. But he said he'd be done by 1900, take the Tube home." He looked at his watch, it was 1815, Rob wouldn't be here for another hour.

Tim froze, not even trying to hide it. Geo looked at him, "Shit. He's involved in whatever's upsetting you? Or is it the word ethics that spooked you?"

Tim shook his head, "Agency business, Geordie, needs to stay that way."

"All right, brother, I respect your privacy and your business ethics."

He smiled at the look he got from Tim, that was more like it. They both turned as behind them, Rob said, "Turns out ethics can be pretty tricky."

Tim closed his eyes for a second. Geordie turned to their younger brother. "Better take it upstairs to his office, Rob."

Rob nodded and turned to go, stopping at a sound from Tim who was looking at him. Rob shook his head, "I promise you, I never even thought of the way it would seem. I should have listened, should have realized."

"Upstairs, gentlemen." Geo tugged on Tim's sleeve and he moved towards the door, Rob following after him.

Once his brothers were in the office, Geordie closed the door and returned to the family room. Artie, who'd been in the playroom with the littles, looked at him and he shrugged, "No idea what happened."

In the office, Tim was listening as Rob paced. "We're just starting a study of Medical Ethics, right now it's general ethics. Got about 10 minutes into the class today and I realized what I'd done, what _we'd_ done. I'm sorry, Tim, I'm so sorry, it never occurred to me that we were putting you in an impossible position or that you might feel like we were taking advantage. I…I didn't think."

"Rob, I've been thinking about this for hours and I don't think there's a right answer. Ellie had the right to apply for the position but it meant I had to recuse myself from choosing an agent for my own damn program. And that pissed me off royally. And if she were to be selected, there would have to be special arrangements made for her evaluations…all these agents will report to me, Rob. But unless Ellie let me know or told you it was okay to tell me about her candidacy, I don't know what could or should have happened differently.

"I was upset because after the whole ugly IPF debacle, I never wanted my work and my family to cross paths again. But I realized today that with as many of us involved either with the agency or with someone who works there, I guess crossing paths is inevitable. But yeah, it still hurt and I was still pissed, even knowing there isn't a good answer for how to proceed."

"We were trying to think of a way to be together more, that's all. She said she'd give up the field to be with me and then she said, well, it was pillow talk, Tim. And I am truly sorry."

Tim nodded, patting his brother's arm, "I know you are, Rob; I accept your apology." He took a breath, "Any transfer overseas requires a minimum 3-year commitment. Whoever gets the position will be here for at least 3 years. Did you know that?"

Rob shook his head, "No, and I don't want to stay 3 years. I'll be done by the end of this year, Tim, maybe by Christmas, and then I want to move home. Is that 3 year thing widely known?"

"I don't think so." He huffed, "I think Geo told me after Bec told him."

"Oh!" Then Rob frowned, "What if she's offered the job?"

"I'm sure she'd be told then. But Rob, were you thinking she'd be transferred over here for 6 months or were you going to accept one of the job offers here?"

"To tell you the truth, I was thinking 6 months and I remember wondering about that. As I said, I want to move home when I'm done here. It's a wonderful country, I've loved the education, the people and all the fun we've had but it's not home and my family won't be here."

"Sarah and James will be, his parents, Susannah, Ian, his parents and Mimi."

"Yes, but it's still not home. And my goal has always been to help the kids in Baltimore."

Tim pulled him in for a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"For screwing up?"

"Not your name on the list and wasn't your job to let me know. I'm proud of you for the way you've worked toward your goal, so close now! And for realizing how things would appear to me, glad that you came to me as soon as you realized. You're a good soul, Robbie."

Later, when Artie saw Tim, she took his hand, "Tell me."

He told her what happened and she sat on the couch. "She put her name in to replace you, using her relationship with Rob?"

"She put her name in to replace me. I don't know that she consciously used her relationship." He looked up, "It doesn't matter that they aren't engaged or married. They're involved and I feel like she presumed upon my relationship with my brother. I could be wrong, I hope I am. She can't report to me; I can't do her evaluations, either here or in DC."

"She would know that. And this is _your_ program."

"I had to call Vance and recuse myself from picking my own agent. The weird thing is that even if she wasn't involved with Rob, I would not have picked her, not over some of the other candidates." He had an almost amused look on his face and she knew he was beginning to calm down.

"Did you tell Leon that?"

"Yes, and who I would have picked." Now he smiled, "If he accepts, he's got the job here, to replace me."

"And Ellie?"

He shook his head, "I'll have to work with her as a field agent, but I can deal with that."

"What about Rob?"

"He's in a Medical Ethics class that started this week. He said he got about 10 minutes into the class this afternoon when he realized he'd made a huge mistake and left the class. He came straight here, apologizing to me, telling me what happened. Sounds like they were both half asleep when Ellie hatched the plan; however she carried through with it the next day. I've accepted his apology, he owned up to it and was as upset, if not more, than I was."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Friday afternoon, when Ellie got the call to report to the Director's office, she nearly ran up the stairs, hoping this meant good news. When she entered the private office, he was sitting behind his desk. She stood, waiting to be told to sit but that didn't happen. That wasn't good.

"Agent Bishop, tell me your thought process for applying for an INV position?"

"I know I'll be good at it and Agent McGee knows me, likes me and my work."

"Did you have any thoughts about you taking advantage of your relationship with his brother?"

She smiled, "Well, they do say it helps to know someone."

"I'm not sure you understood my question. Think about it."

"I don't understand."

"I got that. You just told me you knowingly took advantage of your relationship with Agent McGee's brother to seek an important position in his pilot program. It didn't work and what you did was unethical."

"How? Sir."

He shook his head, "I don't have time to explain that to you. You're an adult, figure it out yourself. You'll be attending a 3-day course in workplace ethics next week. Attendance is mandatory. See Ms. Cook for the details. Dismissed."

Agent Bishop left his office wondering what she'd done. All she'd wanted to do was transfer to London to be with Rob. Then she'd had the idea, planted by her therapist, to leave the field and remembered that Tim had a program she could do. Then she'd put her name on a list of candidates that would be chosen by her boyfriend's brother. Oh. She sighed, she really hadn't been thinking clearly. She'd better tell Rob.

As she walked down the stairs, she noticed her team's bullpen was empty. Agent Carter saw her look and said, "Got called out, Bishop."

"Thanks, I'll contact them." It suddenly dawned on her that for Vance, or Pam, to have already set up the ethics course, Tim must already know and it was evening in London, so Rob was probably in the thick of it with Tim. Damn! She sent him a text, saying " _I'm so sorry. I didn't think about Tim."_

He finally answered, _"Me neither. He and I straightened things out. He says there really isn't a right answer. Did you know that transfers overseas require a 3-year commitment?"_

_She blanched at that but focused on the immediate problem, "It was my fault."_

" _He's mad that he had to recuse himself from making decisions for his own program. Have to go."_

" _Talk later?"_

" _Maybe. Need to_ _go_ _now. Love you."_

_Ellie smiled in relief when she saw that, replying that she loved him, too._

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

He'd left the house after talking with Tim; he was too uncomfortable to stay over, especially with company. Then he'd stopped to answer Ellie's texts. He hadn't taken more than 3 steps down the driveway when Geordie came after him. "Where you going?"

"I thought I should leave." Rob still felt awful but didn't know what else to do or say.

"Damn, Robbie. Come on, I've got the van keys, you need to keep warm."

Nodding, Rob got in the van, fastening his seat belt. Geo gave him a side glance but didn't say anything until the heater kicked in. "You can take that off."

"Aren't you going to drive me to the station?"

"If I were going to drive you anywhere, I'd take you home. It's too cold out."

Rob huffed, "I screwed up. Tim accepted my apology but I don't feel comfortable staying over tonight."

"And in a few minutes, he'll come looking for you. He loves you, Rob, and you know when he accepts your apology, he means it. Otherwise, he'd tell you about it. What happened?"

Rob told him and Geo winced, "Ouch, that had to hurt."

"I'm not blaming her, I was there too. Ellie kept going on and on about how easy it would be and we'd be together. And well, we'd just had sex."

"Pillow talk."

"Yeah."

"What's her background?"

Rob told him and Geo shook his head. "Her husband cheats on her, she divorces him, dates this other guy, gets engaged and is with him when he's murdered?"

Rob nodded and Geo closed his eyes, "Rob, she's gotta be messed up from that. That's too much for anyone. Maybe she has PTSD. She's been at work?"

"Yeah, but she had to have counseling and 2 psych exams to go back and then more counseling before they'd let her into the field. She's still seeing a counselor."

"She may be seeing him or her, not sure that person is getting through to her. Does she have nightmares?"

Rob looked proud, "Not when I'm there."

"That's good. Brother, she needs some serious help. Does Tim know all of this?"

"I don't think so. It's confidential and Tony wouldn't say anything."

"You're right, he wouldn't and there's no reason Tim would need to know. And Rob, if it's confidential, she told you in confidence, you shouldn't have told me."

"Damn it!"

Geo reached over and ruffled his hair, looking up as Tim ran out the side gate, sighing with relief when he saw them in the van. Geo smiled, "Love you, brother, see you inside."

He slipped out and Tim got in. "Robbie, oh good it's warm in here. Why'd you leave? You can't go anywhere tonight, it's too cold."

"I know you accepted my apology but the problem is still out there, unresolved and I didn't feel comfortable staying."

Tim reached over and pushed the release on Rob's seat belt. "Rob, this is your home. And the problem is resolved. The only thing left is for Ellie and me to talk and that can wait."

"But Tim, it's as much my fault but it just…I don't know, it was right before we were leaving to come home and I'll be here 6 months after you're gone and I've had job offers here, I told her about those. So she…" Rob repeated what he'd told their brother about what happened and then said, "Geo says she might have PTSD from seeing Qasim killed in front of her."

Tim closed his eyes, knowing about her revenge killing of Agent Chen, forcing him to commit suicide. That was classified but was a disturbing part of Bishop's problem, nearly as disturbing as witnessing Qasim's murder. "She needs help, Rob."

"She's getting it but maybe it's not enough."

"Yeah. Come on, let's go inside. You can take a hot bath in Dad's tub."

Rob nodded, exhausted. Tim wrapped an arm around him as they walked into the house where Artie was waiting for them. "Come on, Rob, have some hot chocolate with us and then a hot bath."

He looked at Tim, who hugged him. "We'll talk more later but right now, you need to warm up and get some sleep."

"But I hurt you."

"And you realized it and apologized and I accepted your apology. I know that was heartfelt, Rob, I trust you. You're a good person who made a mistake and made it right as soon as you realized. I really am proud of you."

Rob looked at him, pulling him in for a hug. "I'm still not sure you should be, but thank you."

Artie handed each a mug of hot chocolate and pointed to the table. "Sit and drink." Geordie joined them, kissing the tops of each of their heads as they sat down. Finally, Rob relaxed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When he woke Saturday morning, he hoped it was all a bad dream. He looked at the time and shrugged, Ellie always said to call her no matter what time it was. It was Saturday and he didn't think her team was working today, she could go back to sleep after they talked.

She answered on the first ring. "Are you all right?"

"Better, Tim accepted my apology but then I tried to leave because I feel guilty. He came and got me while Geordie and I were in Big Blue, talking."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry."

"You need to apologize to Tim. I just woke up, don't know if he's awake yet. Have you slept at all?"

"No. I didn't even try. Vance mandated I attend an ethics course before I can go back to work. DiNozzo called me last night, they're pulling me from the field again until the doctors are sure I don't have PTSD."

"Have they said that?"

"Uh, yes and no. One of the psychologists I saw did say I have PTSD but then I moved to another doctor."

"Eleanor, a diagnosis of PTSD is not a sign of weakness. You certainly didn't cause the situations that led to it. it's very important that you be treated or it could have serious repercussions over your entire life, for your whole life. You don't have to keep suffering. I don't want you to and I'm pretty sure Qasim wouldn't want you to either."

She started crying and he wished he was there, that he could physically help her. When she finally stopped, he said, "Honey, when is the ethics class?"

"Wednesday."

"Then why don't you pack a bag and go home for a few days? I know your mom and dad will be happy to see you and, sweetie, you need what Ducky would call cosseting."

"I should be able to handle this myself."

"Really? On top of a possible diagnosis of PTSD, you also think you're superwoman? Because Geordie and Tim are older than we are and they still need parenting and Artie relies on her grandmother for help and advice. I still need both my dads and Mamalu. I don't think it's a bad thing to need your parents. You'd be taking care of you, acknowledging that you need help and don't have to handle everything by yourself. And sweetie, that would be a really strong step toward recovery for you, reaching out to them."

"All right, I'll go. I'm logging on to the airlines right now." There was silence as she looked, "I can catch a flight at 7:30 and be there by 9:00 AM local time. I'll rent a car and drive."

"Why don't you ask them to pick you up? I bet your dad would like extra time with you."

"I hate to bother them…but I will, Rob, you're right. I'll wait to call them a little later."

"Why not call now? What time is it there?"

She told him and he agreed, a 3:00 AM call would probably scare them. "Promise to text me when you get to the house?"

"I promise."

They eventually disconnected and Rob felt a little better. Hungry and smelling coffee and pancakes, he threw on his robe and slippers, the ones Tim gave him for Christmas 2 years ago, and walked downstairs. He nodded to his family and their guests, "Happy Christmas!"

Artie smiled, "Happy Christmas, Rob. Your breakfast is in the oven."

"Thanks." He got his plate and sat down between Geo and Tim. After he ate a few bites, he looked at Tim. "I talked with Ellie this morning, persuaded her to visit her parents for a few days."

"That's good, Rob, great idea."

Rob decided to stop while he was ahead and ate his breakfast. The kids were already upstairs, getting dressed before they started opening presents. Hope was chewing on a bite of toast, giving her uncle a mushy bread smile. He relaxed even further. With her parents, Ellie would have the same comforts he was experiencing, the love of family. He looked at Tim, understanding that's what kept him going, too. Maybe that's what had always kept him going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goldbricking is the practice of doing less work than one is able to, while maintaining the appearance of working" – from the Wikipedia page for the term


	51. Chapter 51

While their kids were recovering from jet lag, planning future adventures, celebrating the Orthodox Christmas and dealing with life, Jethro and Lu were having a wonderful time in Marrakesh.

They were staying in a 5-star hotel and enjoying the pampering. It was a unique lodging, built into singular riads, or traditional Moroccan homes. Jethro told his wife, he loved saying that, that their 2 story suite reminded him of Artie's apartment in Amzida. Although the colors were different, there was the same preponderance of beautiful tilework in the foyer and surrounding every door frame. There was even a plunge pool! Along with the foyer, the first floor consisted of a cozy, comfortably appointed sitting area and a kitchenette, also colorfully decorated. The second floor was the bedroom and bathroom, the beautiful decor of the first floor repeated.

Their first day was spent wandering and napping, catching up with their transatlantic jet lag as well as the flight from London to Morocco. While they were wrapped up in each other, after all, they were newlyweds, they also didn't want to miss anything!

Their second day, they signed up for a 4-hour mid-day tour, and enjoyed all but the last few minutes, when they were holding each other up. Their guide was used to jet lagged visitors and delivered them safely to their hotel. They'd caught his interest as they were newlyweds, unusual at their ages, and Americans, not so unusual. What was different was that the husband had some experience in this part of the world, talking about a stay in Turkey and how vibrant and friendly it was. His remarks were not a comparison but a compliment, finding that the people they met in Marrakesh were also warm and friendly and the city was beautifully vibrant. He gave them a discount card for a full day tour once they were able to stay awake an entire day.

Their third day, they found their way back to some of the places Tareq, their guide, had showed them, proud of themselves and enjoying a second look into a part of the history of the city and country. They loved wandering through the medina again, fantasizing about living here for a few months. They walked through Jemaa el-Fnaa, the central square and marketplace, careful to avoid the snake charmers and other things they'd rather not experience. Entering the marketplace, they quickly found themselves in a labyrinth, which was expected. Tareq had told them which souks, or traditional markets, were the best and to be prepared to be lost, remarking that it was more fun that way. They wandered into one shop, surprisingly large, where Lu spotted a carpet she thought Artie and Tim would love for their new living room. With the owner's permission, another tip from Tareq, they took a photo and sent it to Artie, thinking Tim might be at work in London.

Artie loved the carpet and sent the photo to Tim who was working upstairs in his office. His reply was "YES!" and she forwarded that to her in-laws. They'd been browsing in the same shop, finding treasures for their own new home. When Lu saw Artie's reply, they began the ancient process of haggling for the final purchase price. Tareq had given them a couple of tips and they used those, to the shopkeeper's amusement. He gave them an excellent price as it looked like they were going to purchase several items from him. Everyone satisfied, the Gibbses left the shop having purchased the large carpet for their son and daughter-in-law, beautiful vases, wall hangings, three smaller carpets for their suite, and several other treasures and gifts, shipping everything to Brambury.

They'd finished their transaction and were continuing through the souk when Lu had a text from Tim. He asked if there were smaller versions of the large carpet, thinking they'd go in the other suites. She sent him the photos they'd taken of their purchases and he asked if they'd purchase six additional, mixing up the sizes, designs and colors, for the offices and the hallway in that wing, the other suites and their bedroom.

Laughing, they returned to the store, to the absolute delight of the shopkeeper, and found the items Tim requested, explaining to their new best friend that they were helping furnish their son's home in America. That nearly sent him into orbit and he insisted on showing them furniture, handmade there in the city. They ordered 2 side tables, 2 padded chairs, both with footrests, and 2 nightstands for their suite, knowing the kids had already earmarked furniture for the other suites from Penny's stash. And really, shipping larger items would be insanely expensive.

Back in the labyrinth again, Lu looked thoughtful and Jethro chuckled, "What are you thinking?"

"We'll need to use the quilt during the winter, but wouldn't it be fun to have a Moroccan style bed covering for the warmer months?"

"Yes but let's find another shop! I'm happy with our purchases but we should be visiting other stores too."

Finding a shop that sold linens, fabric and clothing, the couple discovered a bed covering they both loved, Lu also buying fabric with a thought to making a quilt with it. Or clothing. She just really wanted the fabric. Jethro bought a few light weight shirts that would be perfect for summer in hot, humid Virginia. After finding a few for himself, he picked a couple for each of his sons, even if Tony never wore his. When they spotted a scarf with tiny skulls, they bought it for Abby. Jethro insisted they purchase a pretty dress that Lu admired and they bought a few other gift items, again shipping everything home.

Back on the square, they people watched, Jethro making sure they were safe. When they were hungry, they found a café, also recommended by Tareq and had a delicious lunch. Then they returned to the hotel.

They spent the next day with Tareq on the all day tour and saw the Bahia Palace, the old Jewish section, with more souks that were less crowded. They had lunch on a rooftop terrace with wonderful views and again enjoyed the Moroccan food. In the afternoon, they had a tour of the old wall, near the gates, and were driven out of the city to take in the countryside. It was a wonderful tour and Tareq was happy to hear of their discoveries. Lu was glad she'd done some research and dressed appropriately for a visit to Ben Youssef Madrasa, a former Islamic college, founded in the 14th century. It was now a historical site, opened to the public in 1982. They were glad they had Tareq with them as he explained the historical aspects as well as showing them the intricately carved wooden interiors and more beautiful tilework. From there, they walked to the nearby Shrob ou shouf fountain.

That evening, they had dinner at a restaurant recommended in an article Tim sent them. They were both excited about their plans for the next day, a hot air balloon ride! They'd have a bird's eye view of the city, as well as the surrounding desert, the orange groves and the mountains.

The balloon ride was fantastic, neither had been in one before and loved every minute. Jethro said later it was more fun than a helicopter and he loved helicopters! It was a beautiful ride, over the city and the surrounding terrain. Lu said she felt very Zen up in the air, the only noise generated by the burner.

The rest of their time in the city was very relaxing. They found gardens to visit and relax in, more rooftop venues for lunch or dinner;. They even visited a spa, Jethro extracting a promise from Lu that she would never mention it to their kids, and thoroughly enjoyed the pampering. They continued wandering, watching their surroundings and following Tareq's advice. The guide laughed when Lu said no one had bothered them. Gesturing to her husband, he said, "He may not be Moroccan but a cop is a cop anywhere he goes. No one in going to bother you two! Still, caution is best." That was good advice for any city in any country in the world.

Although they were excited about experiencing Malta, they were sad to leave Marrakesh and grateful they'd had the time there.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim and Artie were also sad the newlyweds were leaving Marrakesh and for a few hours thought of cutting into their Paris trip to add in a day or 2 in Morocco. Ultimately, they decided to stick with their original plan. The only thing they changed was their return home. Looking at their schedule, Artie noticed she'd had them returning home from Paris on a Friday, she supposed because they would have been away from the children for 5 days. After she and Tim talked about it, they decided to give themselves a little more time, returning home late Saturday afternoon instead. That Sunday was Easter and they wanted to be with their children for that. They'd make sure they had everything for the kids' Easter baskets before they left for Greece.

Happy with their revised plan, they returned to work, kids and family. As January continued, Tim enjoyed his agency work and was pleased with Dorneget's and Piro's reactions when told they'd been chosen for the new program. Both men contacted him later about their new postings and he had good talks with each of them. The 'letdown' phone calls with the other candidates also went all right with most of the agents being asked if they were interested in staying on the candidate list for the next expansion, cautioned that would have to remain confidential.

Since his Orthodox Christmas Eve conversation with Vance, he'd come up with some pre-training work both his agents could do and sent it to them. He'd contacted the office managers of the 4 European offices and they shared the rules they had for each of the countries in their jurisdiction. He'd started work on an INV agent's 'bible', listing everything he could think of that would help.

Unlike Tim, for the most part Ned would work in the office, only switching to a remote setup when a case ran overnight. While Ned wouldn't be expected to work much after hours, he'd need to check for messages and any warrants that arrived 'off hours'. Working from London for all 4 offices whose jurisdiction covered one continent and part of a second one, Dorneget would have to deal with several time zones.

Piro, on the other hand, wouldn't ordinarily have to worry about international warrants or more than a few time zones. He would have to deal with watching his former team and the other field agents taking callouts. When Tim expressed his concern about that, Race replied that any doubts he might have would be laid to rest when he was home in time to see his children during daylight hours, have dinner with his wife and be there for baths and story time.

The next time Tim was in the London office, he noticed a new junior agent at what had been Susan Grady's desk. Joel introduced them to each other, telling him later that Grady had been recalled to the Navy Yard indefinitely. Knowing he couldn't ask Vance, Tim looked in the agency directory weeks later. There was no listing for Susan Grady. That surprised him as he'd hoped she'd be sent to an Ethics class. As difficult as it usually was to fire federal employees, he thought she probably left the agency on her own.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The Gibbses were having a great time in Malta. They were staying in a former mansion having a second life as a boutique hotel. Situated in Valletta, the capital city, they were within walking distance to several of the sites they wanted to visit. The first day, they visited Upper Barrakka Gardens which gave them views of the ancient three cities of Malta, built centuries ago to fortify the island. That same day, they also visited the Lascaris War Rooms, set in tunnels under the gardens. The rooms were 45 meters or a quarter of a mile underground, used in World War II as strategic headquarters. When Jethro had his fill of the rooms, they returned to the gardens and enjoyed a stroll into the center of Valletta.

The second day, they joined a tour that went by ferry to the island of Gozo. There they had a tour of the Citadella in Victoria, made up of a fortified city designed in Byzantine and Roman styles and from what they learned, an architectural wonder. While on the island, they also visited the Ggantija (Gigantic) Temples that predated the pyramids of Egypt.

They also had time for a walk on a sandy beach, dipping their toes in just to say they did. Although it was the Mediterranean, it was January and not warm!

For the rest of the week, they saw several historical sites on the main island of Malta. They visited Mdina, the ancient capital, still encircled by fortified walls. Once they'd seen the military parts of the city, they enjoyed strolling through the ancient streets and visiting a few of the museums.

Another day, they explored Fort St. Elmo, built in a star formation by Malta's own order of Knights, the Knights of St. John. Looking out over Valletta Harbor, it was the focal point of the siege of Malta in 1565, when some 1500 valiant knights lost their lives.

One morning, they visited the Mosta Dome, built in the neo-classical style, its dome bigger than St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Much of the inside of the church was decorated in gilt and the floors were marble. The building itself was modeled on the Pantheon in Rome.

That same day, they had fun exploring an interactive exhibition of the Great Siege of Malta and the Knights of St. John. During the siege, the Knights battled the Turks; a number of dioramas told the story of the siege through the eyes of a Spanish poet who witnessed the bloody battle.

Another day found them in the quaint fishing village of Marsaxlokk. Along with the pretty fishing boats, painted in bright colors, the harbor had a thriving market. They found a restaurant recommended by the concierge at their hotel and enjoyed the fresh seafood there. After, they went for a long walk along the harbor.

They also explored Valletta Waterfront, home of restaurants, cafes and a shopping complex. Lu looked but didn't buy much, she was holding out for their trip to the Ta'Quali Craft Village the next day. When they arrived there, she wasn't disappointed and they shipped a few handblown glass items home.

All in all, they were pleased with their stay on Malta and while they were enjoying their travels, they were also ready to go home to recharge. They'd had a wonderful honeymoon, exceeding their expectations and had many great memories.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The honeymooners returned home the weekend before the start of Tim's last term at Bedford. Dad teased that it would be the last time to see him in his academic robes, at least on this side of the Atlantic, but Tim reminded him he'd be attending graduation in May, that would be his academic swan song.

Although he was happy and relieved they were moving home, he'd enjoyed his time at Bedford and would miss academia. He certainly would miss the easy walk to the university, being able to walk his children to class in the mornings and then continuing to his own classes. He'd miss the Manor, miss Brambury, miss London, the UK, their trips to visit Mimi, Susannah and Nikolas as well as all the adventures they'd had. With another 6 months before they had to leave, he and Artie decided to relax and enjoy their lives here.

Before they knew it, it was January 31st and Geordie caught a flight to Germany for his final evaluation. He returned the next night, with a tired and relieved smile. His orders would stand; he'd report for duty the following Monday. First, he needed new uniforms, which had already been ordered. As he'd been doing during his TAD duties since their return from the U.S., he'd stay in officers' quarters on the grounds of the Embassy.

The boys' February half-term was the next thing that sneaked up on them. Tim, Artie, the kids, Dad and Lu traveled to Sorrento, Italy to meet Uncle Nikolas and his family. They enjoyed spending time with the Costas, getting acquainted with Nikolas, his partner Sergio and the couple's 2 daughters, Katerina and Damaris.

Sorrento was a small town with a population under 17,000 and they could walk from their Airbnb house to the Costas' home. Friday, they saw the town and Nikolas' restaurant, enjoying more than one meal there over the weekend. On Saturday, the family took them on a boat tour to the Isle of Capri and they had a wonderful time exploring, walking up the winding steep hill from the town of Capri to the town of Anacapri and the Belvedere of Tragara, a panoramic walkway lined with expensive villas. There was even time for a look at the Blue Grotto, a sea cave, although that left them shivering. Tim laughed when he purchased a pair of sandals that were measured and made for him on the spot. In the UK, it would likely be June or July before he'd wear sandals and even Greece in April might be too cool. Lu, Dad, Artie and then the kids all had sandals made for them, that was fun!

Artie and Nikolas smirked at each other while Sergio rolled his eyes when they were told that the first recorded colonists on the island were ancient Greeks. Dad later quipped that as far as he could tell, the Greeks were known to have settled everywhere but the Americas. With twinkling eyes, Nikolas said that was only because the archeologists there hadn't dug deep enough yet.

Sunday, they attended church services together and then had lunch before taking the train to Pompeii. Even little Marissa was in awe of the ancient site, examining the houses and structures buried beneath the ashes of Mt. Vesuvius for centuries. Having grown up in the area, Sergio knew which particular sites were not suitable for the children and he led the tour. That was fun and a friendly tourist took photos of the whole group.

On the train back to Sorrento, Kyle grinned happily at his new uncles, "This is my favorite weekend trip ever, except to see Mimi. We got to ride trains twice, have new uncles and cousins, took a boat to an island and under a rock to a sea cave and see a real live volcano!"

Sunday evening, Artie and her uncle went for a long walk, talking about their family. Nikolas asked if his sister, Artie's mother Sophia, would be at Susannah's wedding and Artie shrugged. "Susannah wants to invite her but is afraid Sophia will see it as an olive branch. I suppose it would be a temporary truce, at least for the day. If Yaya is satisfied that Sophia understands that, then yes, she'll be there. You know she's never heard directly from him?" Artie no longer referred to Kosmos by name, she'd well and truly disowned him.

"Yes, Mama keeps Gaia and me updated. Artemis, I think it's important that you and Susannah forge a new relationship with your mother. Important for her and also very important for the two of you. Sergio's parents and most of his siblings will have nothing to do with him. While we have a wonderful life together, I know it hurts him, it will always hurt him. His younger brother keeps in touch; he and his family have visited us, we've visited them and we spend holidays together. And in recent years, one of his sisters has sent name day cards for the girls, a huge step forward but he is afraid to push for more.

"I know Sophia has a lot to make up for, but just as Timothy understands what happened to keep Andy from him, perhaps you could summon some of that understanding for your mother.

"Those hours you were missing, in transit from Turkey, were terrifying for all of us. Sophia called us from Athens when she arrived. She was terrified and devastated, she kept saying she'd missed every chance with you and was afraid it was too late. When she knew you were all right, she said that was enough, that both her daughters were alive and happy with their loved ones and that would be enough to give her peace."

He hesitated before continuing, "Perhaps this is what I'm leading up to, something that might change your perspective. Artemis, although we have our family tree detailed going back several centuries, I think you and Susannah should have your DNA tested. That's how Tim and Jethro discovered their true relationship and I believe it is important for you."

Artie looked at him, her heart beating faster, "What are you saying?"

He took a deep breath, "When Dimitri was a young toddler, his father was posted to New Zealand. Sophia did not join him for a few months, our grandfather was very ill and she didn't want to leave. Gaia and I believe she was already unhappy in the marriage and that she relied heavily on someone for consolation and support, someone outside the family. When she finally left for New Zealand, she told us within a few weeks that she was pregnant. Two years later, she brought you and Dimitri home for a visit and her husband was nowhere in sight. Again, a few weeks after she joined him in…I don't remember where…she announced her pregnancy."

"How many weeks, Uncle?"

"Three, both times."

"Oh. It is possible, you know, some women know right away that they've conceived. Others are like me, don't realize until our clothes are too tight or we're sick every day."

"Artemis, think about it. Look at our family and his family, are there any tall people? Who do you two resemble, besides each other?"

She sighed, "That has been a topic of frequent discussion between Susannah and me. Why we are so different from Dimitri and his father. When I was at MIT with Tim, I told myself that it was the luck of genetics. His sister looks like our Greg, nothing like Tim, so why couldn't my sister and I have the same situation? As it turns out, Sarah and Patrick, Greg's other father, are Tim's half siblings. It is all about the genes but not the way I thought." She huffed, "And now I will be quite happy if it turns out he is not our father. It also explains a lot, if he suspects."

"Yes, it would. Gaia and I have never shared our suspicions with our mother or yours."

She chuckled, "I'm sure Yaya also suspects, more likely knows." She patted his arm, "Thank you, Uncle. You've given me hope and a lot to think about. And yes, I will speak with Susannah about having our mother at her wedding. After all, she was at mine, with the master manipulator, and he behaved."

"So I've heard. Tim believes he was biding his time."

"Yes, we know that now, although his next play was a weak one, sending Dimitri to spy on Ian! At the time, Tim and I were so happy to be married and so happy that Kosmos included Greg and Kyle in their grandparent activities that we were not suspicious."

"Tim told me last night about the spying, he said his younger brother, his sister's boyfriend, and Ian are much the same height and kept Dimitri guessing the whole time."

Artie laughed, "They did and Yaya had a good time with it too. And Joel, who is Tim and Jethro's boss, figured out something was going on and mentioned it to his staff. That was even more fun, the men joined in the subterfuge, along with my boss, his partner and my former project manager. I have never seen Dimitri so frustrated!" She paused, "I hope Ana and the children will be at the wedding."

Her uncle smiled, "They've visited with Mama several times; she will join them in Thessaloniki for someone's name day, I don't remember which."

"How old are they?"

"Like stair steps, 8, 10, 12, and 14. I know the names and that there are 2 boys and 2 girls but have no idea in what order they were born nor which names are attached to which child. They are Denys, Milos, Tessa and Evanthe."

"Oh, I wish they could meet our children, that would give Greg and Andy cousins their ages. And that's lovely for your girls, too."

"Yes. They've been quite excited about having American cousins. They have Italian cousins and they knew they had Greek cousins they'd probably never meet."

"And now they've met their American cousins, who are Greek-American, Singaporean-American, Greek-Australian and Turkish by birth! And they'll meet their Greek cousins at the wedding, I'm sure of it!"

They laughed at that.

Monday morning, they left on an early train to the airport, Kyle once again thrilled about the train ride. Nearly 5, he was as enthusiastic about trains as he'd been as a toddler of 2.

Their flight home was uneventful and everyone but Tim relaxed when they reached the house. The boys had the rest of the week off while he would return to the Uni Tuesday morning. He didn't mind, Kyle was right, the trip had been one of their best, comparable to their visits to Mimi and to Susannah and Ian.

Artie told her husband of her long talk with Nikolas and Tim congratulated her when she said she might not be Kosmos' daughter. She laughed at that before calling her sister. After a long chat, they decided to ask their mother about their parentage. Susannah wanted to know before the wedding and a DNA test would take several weeks to process. The sisters teased about thanking their mother if what Nikolas suspected was true.

They debated how to approach their mother and finally decided they'd arrange a Skype call and raise the subject. Then they decided they'd better update their yaya. When they pinged Mimi for a Skype call, she answered, all smiles. "Perfect timing, your mother and I were just talking about the two of you, discussing how important truth and trust is between mothers and daughters."

"Yaya, can we please see her onscreen? We have a question for her."

Sophia moved into view of the camera, "Hello, my daughters, it's good to see you!"

They nodded, neither quite knowing what to say. Artie took a deep breath before saying, "Mama, who is our father, our biological father?"

Looking a bit embarrassed, Sophia answered immediately, "His name is Peter Lekkas. Artemis, you met him last year, when you landed in Athens after fleeing Turkey."

"He's our father?" While in shock, Artie could feel happiness bubbling up.

"Yes, we were in school together and close friends. When he joined the Army , I didn't know what that meant for us or if there even was an 'us'. So I married Kosmos when he asked. By the time I had Dimitri, things were not going well between my husband and me. I knew I'd made a mistake but believed I'd have to live with it. When I brought the baby home for a visit, I stayed for several weeks and Peter and I reconnected. He wasn't yet married and I was miserable in my marriage and felt without hope. He wanted me to leave my husband, get a divorce and marry him, but we'd never had a divorce in the family and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Eventually, I gave in to pressure from my husband, and the priest here in Athens, and returned to Kosmos. When I told Peter I was leaving, he…we…well, we conceived you, Artemis.

"Two years later, I came home again, at my wit's end, and Peter and I once again reconnected and conceived you, Susannah. Again I stayed, but this time Kosmos came for me. He was up for a promotion and needed a wife to look good. I don't think he ever suspected, he thought of me as a submissive little mouse, which gave me more freedom over the years, similar to the double lives you two led.

"A few years later, Peter met a woman who loves him dearly and is present in his life, not in and out, and they married. She knows about the two of you and understands that you were conceived years before she met Peter."

Artemis nodded, "That's why he didn't tell his superiors the baby wasn't mine. And we have more siblings!"

"Yes, although I don't know if you'll ever meet them as such. Perhaps when they're grown, the youngest is 2 years older than Andy. Peter and I dropped all contact when he married. Your grandmother keeps him informed of your lives; she says he's quite proud of both of you."

Susannah was all smiles, "Mama, this is the best present you could have given us, thank you!"

Sophia chuckled, "I'm thankful you're happy about it."

"Do you have photos of him and of the two of you together?"

Sophia started to shake her head but Yaya was grinning. "I do! He gave me 2 photos recently, one of him, and one of him with Sophia together during their school years. I never knew, girls, until shortly before Christmas. I took a basket of baked goods to them and met his younger daughter, Zoe, who greatly resembles Susannah and will probably be just as tall. Peter believes at least one of his ancient ancestors came from the Netherlands or Croatia. Those are two of the places in Europe with the tallest men, historically and currently. He's 5'11" while his brother and uncle are 6' each. He has photos of tall relatives going back over a century, to the years when photos were first taken."

Artie was thinking about something and finally asked, "Mama, as I've disowned your former husband, would it be permissible to use Lekkas as my patronymic?"

Susannah nodded, "Me too."

"I don't know, loves, and I can't very well contact Peter."

Yaya tilted her head, "I can, I'll ask. Girls, be prepared for a negative response. His children don't know about you and that could present problems."

Their mother nodded, "I worry about his wife Rhode's feelings. It's one thing to know your husband has 2 daughters fathered before they met but using his name is another thing."

"Yaya, did he know when he offered the use of the pool last year?"

"That was Rhode's idea and no, she did not know specifically who was visiting, other than it was family and one of them was recovering from an injury – Geordie. And of course I didn't yet know about Sophia and Peter."

Artie looked at her sister's image on the screen, "Susannah, are they invited to the wedding?"

"Yaya asked me to send them a courtesy invitation as they'll be in Thessaloniki with her parents."

"Oh, I forgot. He told me that on the plane, that's where they'd been. I wish we could talk with him, but you're right, Mama, that might be a burden for his wife and that's not fair to her or to Peter. I withdraw my request to use his name." Artie smiled, "Suse, we have a real father, one who's been kind to me twice without me even knowing!"

Her sister grinned back at her, "We're not Galanis, we're Lekkas, even if we never use the name! It's wonderful, isn't it?"

After additional discussion, they signed off and Artie ran up the stairs to tell Tim, forgetting he was still in class at the university. She looked at her watch and making a decision, flew back downstairs, finding her in-laws having a cup of afternoon tea in the kitchen. "I'll pick up the children from school, bring them home, will you please watch them for a little while? Then I'll meet Tim after his last class. He and I will be back in time for dinner."

A little bemused, Jethro and Lu agreed to watch Hope and the older children. They smiled as she kissed them both, "Thank you, you're the best!"

When she picked the children up, she told them she would take them home before fetching their father. "I'm taking him to the pub for drinks. Your grandparents are home and we'll be home for dinner."

"All right, Mama. Is it a surprise?"

"Yes, he doesn't know about the pub."

Marissa smiled, "That's fun, Mama!"

"Yes, it will be fun. Have you written your thank you notes to Uncle Nikolas and Uncle Sergio?"

Greg said he had, Andy said he wasn't finished with his yet while Kyle said he had a train drawing to send that wasn't finished yet. Rissa said she was drawing a volcano for them.

"Andy, after you finish your homework, how about finishing your note? Kyle, Rissa, I'm sure they'll love your drawings, why don't you work on them this afternoon?"

"Ok, Mama!"

Satisfied they'd get those done, Artie watched them walk into the house before leaving for the university.

Tim was surprised to see Big Blue waiting for him when he emerged from his last class of the day. Smiling as he saw who was behind the wheel, he kissed his wife as he climbed in. "This is a nice surprise!"

"Good! I have news and wanted to tell you first."

"Ooh, sounds like good stuff."

"It's excellent!"

When they reached the pub, she waited until their drinks came before she said, "I am not a Galanis. Nor is Susannah, Andy or Marissa. Our father's name is Peter Lekkas, the man who let us use his pool last year in Greece. He is also the Army officer who did not tell his superiors about Hope not being mine, even though he knew."

Tim's mouth dropped open and then he grinned, "Congratulations! I know that's a huge relief for both of you. So what happens now, do you get to meet him as your father?"

"No. Although his wife knows he fathered 2 children before she met him, Mama and Yaya don't want her upset and I agree. Just knowing we are not related to that cruel man, don't have his genes, is enough for both of us. We hope when Peter's children are grown, things might change but we will be mindful of his wife's feelings. I don't know if she knows we are Mama's daughters."

"Yeah, I could see that could get dicey, especially with them being friends with Yaya. Does she know?"

"She didn't know until this past Christmas. She took a basket of baked goods to them and met Peter's youngest daughter, who is 2 years older than Andy. She says the girl looks remarkably like Susannah and will probably be just as tall. When she returned home, she called Mama, demanding an explanation."

"Wow!"

"Wow, indeed. I want to tell the children."

"All right. I know the boys will be relieved they have a different pappous."

She nodded with a laugh, "Yes, a gift for them as well as Susannah and me! And you and Ian!"

After they made some plans, they paid their tab and drove home, sighing as it was starting to snow. When they walked in the house, they gathered the children upstairs in their room, telling them of the big discovery. Artie made sure to show them how happy she was, she didn't want the children to feel conflicted. Greg and Kyle grinned happily while Andy had to think about it before he too smiled. "I hope our new pappous is nicer than the other one."

"I already know he is, son. Unfortunately, we won't meet him until his other children are grown and they're only a few years older than you."

"He won't be at the wedding?"

"No, he and his wife will be up north for Easter."

Andy made a face, saying, "Phooey." His brothers gaped at him in surprise, that was the first time they'd ever heard him use their word for frustration.

"It is phooey but for me and your aunt, it's worth it to know we are not the daughters of such a cruel person."

They all nodded at that, looking at Hope who was a little puzzled at the sudden attention, cooing at them anyway.

After their family meeting, they trooped downstairs for dinner and then waited in anticipation for Mama to tell Grandpa, Grandma, Aunty Sarah and the uncles who were home that evening.

Finally, before anyone left the table, she said she had some news to tell them. When she told them what she'd learned, the adults cheered, knowing she was happy to be free of Kosmos.

That night, she sent an email to her uncle and aunt, saying, "You were right. His name is Peter Lekkas. I met him last year without knowing who he was to me. He knows about us, is happily married, he was single when we were conceived. Although his wife knows he has 2 grown daughters, Mama doesn't want us to approach him until his children with his wife are grown. Suse and I agree. See you at the wedding, can't wait to celebrate together!"

Smiling at the happy responses, she forwarded them to her sister.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

March and the first days of April passed quickly. As they packed for the trip to Greece, the wedding, and Tim and Artie's trip to Paris, the couple talked about the changes in their lives, the return of Hope, finding their new house and the new family, the end of the IPF problems, the marriage of Jethro and Lu and now the news of Artie's parentage. They decided that for them personally, 2017 was already a very good year.

They'd had to carefully plan the clothes they were taking. Artie would be her sister's attendant while Tim would be Ian's, much to Tim's surprise and delight. The children were also involved in various ways and had new clothes to wear. The boys had suits, altered to fit them and Rissa and Hope had new dresses. Their parents just hoped these clothes would still fit them in June, for Sarah and James' wedding! They were sure Hope's wouldn't but there was a chance Rissa's dress and the boys' suits would still work.

Once the wedding clothes were shipped, Artie and Tim concentrated on what to take for Paris. Although Tim always looked sharp, his wife wasn't sure his favorite clothes were anywhere near the current trends in fashion conscious Paris. She and Sarah looked online at the latest Parisian fashions for men before picking 2 mix and match outfits in the latest trends for Tim and then one for her. They had the clothes sent to Mimi's, hoping Tim would wear the outfit at least once before they flew to Paris. Both women felt that there was nothing that stands out so much as tourists wearing brand new clothes, no matter how trendy they are.

When Artie said that to Tim, he chuckled, "I don't mind wearing them in Greece. Although I could leave the price tags on, that should mean something! Honey, I know I'm going to love Paris, I like the clothes you bought for me and appreciate your thoughtfulness. However, I refuse to feel less than the Parisians or apologetic because of who I am. I gave that up years ago."

With a smile, she reminded him of the friendly French people, including their temporary landlords, they'd met during their weekend at Disneyland Paris and he promised to hold onto those memories.

The entire UK family was attending the Greek wedding, including Geordie, his girlfriend Bec, Rob, and the senior Powells. Most of the Greek family would attend Sarah and James' wedding in June. With the beginning of the tourist season, Nikolas and Sergio wouldn't be able to make it. Mimi, Sophia, Cassie, Matthaíos, possibly Gaia and her husband, Susannah and Ian and his parents would be there.

The family left late the afternoon of the 6th, a week before Easter in the UK. On their arrival, they picked up their rental minibus and drove to Varkiza, to the Airbnb house Tim found online. Although their apartments had been fine last Easter, this was a modern 2-story home with 6 bedrooms, a den with a pull-out couch and 4 baths, room for all of them. It was also within walking distance of Mimi's home and the beach. Tim remembered seeing it online last year although it hadn't been available for the dates they were visiting. This time, he'd booked it as soon as Susannah told them the date of her wedding.

Carrying the dozing little girls in from the minibus, the luggage was next and somehow ended up in the right room with the right people. As Rob and Geordie thought they might occasionally be out late, they had one of the downstairs bedrooms with Dad and Lu taking another one of them. Geo didn't think he'd be here much but decided he'd better see what Bec's plans were before he expressed that to anyone. Rusty Mayhew, Bec's co-worker, had been in touch with Rob and Geordie about hanging out, possibly going clubbing and experiencing some of the Athenian nightlife.

The next morning, the bright sunshine woke them early and after breakfast, everyone walked, or in Hope's case, rode, to Mimi's. Tim liked that, it was familiar, it almost felt like pulling up to his dad's house in Alexandria. Home.

She was waiting for them, greeting them with open arms and congratulating Lu and Jethro on their marriage. She laughed when they told her they had 10 'kids' between them, saying, "Wait until you all live in the same country!"

Over the next week, they relaxed, enjoying themselves in one of their favorite places. Just a week later than their visit last April, the temperatures were quite a bit warmer and they swam in the Mediterranean every day.

Aunt Gaia, her husband Theo, and the twins arrived on Sunday, and the UK family had fun finally meeting Mimi's other daughter and son-in-law. The couple showed them more of the archeological sites of Greece, telling them about the archeologists' lives during the various digs.

Susannah, Ian, and his parents arrived Tuesday night, staying in another Airbnb lodging. The senior Powells arrived on Wednesday, settling into their guest house, also in Varkiza. Somehow Tim and Artie managed to find time to slip into Athens, taking the baby with them and having a great time at the flea market and some of Artie's favorite shops. As they finished a transaction, Tim shook his head, "We bought a big house for our family and other treasures. If we keep this up, we're going to have to open our own museum!" She laughed and on the way back to Varkiza, they tried out different names for their museum of souvenirs.

While the family gathered, Geo and Bec reconnected, overjoyed to see each other after nearly 8 months of Skype calls. The day after their arrival, Geo told his family he'd be staying with Bec, not a surprise to anyone.

In the meantime, Rusty made sure Rob experienced clubbing in Athens. The young doctor had fun but he missed Ellie. When he'd received Rusty's email about hanging out, he'd forwarded the message to Ellie, not sure if it was okay. She'd told him it was fine, to have fun as long as he didn't have too much 'fun'. He wouldn't, she had his heart and his commitment.

She was back at work but on desk duty, working cold cases for all the teams, while undergoing treatment for her Post Traumatic Stress. Her doctors recommended she not work on current cases, fearing the stress of worrying about her team, the victims or the violence involved would worsen her symptoms.

Happily, she found she loved working cold cases, taking an old, unsolved case and finding new leads, even just updating the information, leaving notes as to her suspicions. She was proud that in 2 months, she'd found information leading to the arrest of a suspect on 7 cases. Seven cases, ranging from 3 to 17 years cold. She found it satisfying, knowing she was still busting bad guys, getting them off the street. One cold case stuck in her mind even after the suspect was brought in and by the time he was arraigned, she'd uncovered more bodies, she'd discovered a serial killer!

That week before the wedding, some of the Greek pre-wedding traditions began and the non-Greeks learned even more about Greek culture, with Artie tutoring them as the rituals occurred. Tim still thought about an Orthodox wedding of their own but his wife hadn't mentioned it since their wedding so he didn't bring it up. He now had copies of his baptismal certificate, courtesy of Grammie, who, like Penny, had never thrown any of their records away. That and his passport were the only documents he'd need to provide for an Orthodox wedding here. He dismissed the idea, maybe they'd do that for one of their milestone anniversaries.

Thursday after breakfast, they were walking to the beach from their Airbnb house when Andy pointed down a side street. "Isn't that the street where we went swimming last year?"

Tim nodded, "You're right, son. The street looks familiar." He nodded at the driver of a car moving slowly down the 'pool house' street toward them. And then went into special agent mode, along with his father, when the car stopped.

Artie looked to see what had Tim move into protective mode and gasped when she saw the driver. Susannah looked at her and then at the man. Her sister took her hand and pulled her forward, to the car.

When the man got out, Tim instantly knew who he was, Artie and Susannah's father, grandfather to Andy and Marissa. He relaxed, watching. The man walked toward them, tears running down his face. "I had to see you. I had to meet you, my daughters, my big girls."

Folding them into his arms, he hugged them tightly, telling them he'd always loved them and was proud of them, thanking them for their patience. When they separated, he wanted to meet Tim and Ian and then the grandchildren, smiling at little Hope, telling her he'd met her before her daddy did. Although they spent less than 20 minutes together, it was a life changing experience for his daughters and probably for him, too.

First asking permission, Lu took several photos of him with Artie and Susannah, then with the grandchildren, then Tim and Ian. Finally, looking sad, he said he had to go. His wife and children had flown to Thessaloniki the night before but he'd had a duty shift and was now driving north, picking up his wife's aunt on the way.

He waved as he drove away, while the family stood still in the street. He was already out of sight when Tim realized they were still standing there. Hope was in her stroller and looking around at them, shook her head, "No! Beach!" That was a new word her siblings taught her.

That shook them out of their reveries and on they went to the beach, still in something of a daze. Artie and Susannah were holding onto each other, crying, although Tim knew Artie's tears were happy. With a look from Ian, the two men walked up behind their loves, holding onto them. Artie leaned back into her husband's arms, "I'm so happy, Tim! That was my father, my real father. And he said he loves me, he's proud of me!"

Tim murmured to her and she relaxed into his arms. "This is one of the happiest days of my life. The children…"

"They're fine, happy to have met their new pappous. I'm so happy for you, sweetie! I know how wonderful it is to find you're loved by a parent."

She smiled at him, "I know you do." She giggled, "We're sort of even now. My horrible stepfather, your lack of a father and now we've both found our real fathers."

"You're right, love. We're the luckiest people on earth!"

As Tim walked down the beach with his kids and Dad that afternoon, he mused about the incident. He didn't think he'd ever forget the look on the man's face when he recognized his daughters. He shuddered, thinking that could have been Dad and him if they hadn't met through NCIS. Reading him as usual, Dad slid an arm around him, pulling him close.

That was the day Greg asked if they could make sand people, like their snow family. Tim nodded, "Sure; the sand needs to be a little wet to stick together, like your clay at home."

"Good, it'll be fun. We can use shells for their eyes, nose and mouth. And we'll make one for our new pappous, too." The kids set to work gathering shells, they had a lot of people to make and needed a lot of shells. While they did that, Tim, Rob and James took the kids' buckets and started wetting the sand. Dad counted people and taking a stick, made circles for each one of the sand people, including Peter Lekkas. James laughed, "It'll be dark by the time we're finished!"

"That's ok, we'll start again tomorrow!" When the kids returned with their shells, they piled them on the sand and got to work molding the sand. With so many, they decided to make them smaller than their snow people. The adults worked on them too, it was fun and they had several sand people done before it was time to return to Mimi's.

She'd joined them during the afternoon and smiled through her own happy tears when her girls told her about meeting their father. "I'm not surprised he found a way to meet you. Artemis, he said it was very difficult not to tell you that day on the plane. He decided it was too big a surprise, that you had been through too much already. Susannah, Ian, I can't help thinking this is a wonderful omen for your marriage!"

Fiona and Alastair, Ian's parents, had been in somewhat of a daze most of the afternoon, between jet lag and the heat, but perked up at that. George and Edith, being fellow Brits, having been around the family longer and visited Greece when it was even hotter, had taken them under their wing, much to Ian's relief.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Friday morning, there were a lot of things that needed doing and Tim quickly understood that the best way the men could help was to take the kids somewhere for the day as the women were in a buzz of activity at Mimi's house.

After a quick consult with Ian, they decided to take the ferry over to Aegina. All the men of the family went, Geordie meeting them at the ferry while Bec was at work. They were told to be back at the McGee-Gibbs' place by dinnertime and to bring dinner with them. There wasn't a formal rehearsal although Ian and Tim had met with the priest earlier in the week and knew what was expected of them. Mimi was the Koumbara, Susannah and Ian's sponsor, and would help direct them. In some things, she would take over from Artie and Tim.

Planting themselves on the main beach, just steps from the ferry slip, they had a great afternoon, taking care not to get burned. They brought their lunches and sat on their towels in the sand to eat, having an ice cream treat later in the afternoon. As they were packing to leave hours later, Greg looked around sadly, "Daddy, is this our last time here? That makes me sad."

Tim nodded, "Me too, Scooter Bug, so let's not think it's our last time. When we visit Mimi and your yaya, we'll come here too."

"But everyone won't come like last summer and the one before."

"Don't know that for sure; we never know what's going to happen in the future. Let's remember how much fun those trips were!"

That cheered them up, the kids chattering happily all the way across the water. Bec was at the ferry slip in Piraeus and from the look on her face, Geo thought she had news. Tim invited her to have dinner with them and she accepted, Geo riding back to Varkiza with her.

As they pulled onto the road, he looked at her, "News?"

"Yes and it's perfect!"

"Great! What is it?"

She laughed before saying, "I've been offered the position of Senior Field Agent on a team in DC, at the Navy Yard."

"Wow, you're right, aboard the Navy Yard, that is perfect and an honor! Whose team?"

"Agent O'Brien's. His current SFA isn't leaving, he's moving to a different position. Pete says he'll be part of a pilot program, I'm guessing the one Tim's leading."

He pursed his lips, "Is this supposed to be kept quiet?"

"Yes, I'm allowed to tell you and my parents. Director Vance will make an announcement."

"Right. How soon are you moving?"

"I report to my new Team Leader on August 7th. That gives Pete and Carla time to replace me and I'm hoping to take some vacation before I report aboard the Navy Yard."

"Awesome! You'll get a transfer package?"

"Yes. I'm a little worried at how expensive it is there, I've been so spoiled here."

Geordie smiled, "I know a place that might be for rent."

"You do? How? Oh, does it belong to one of your Baltimore family?"

"No, to one of my brothers. Actually, two of my brothers, I know of 2 places."

"Good. Although I can't do anything yet."

"Right. I'll give them a heads up anyway, that okay?"

"Better not say anything until Vance makes the announcement. Are these apartments?"

"One of them is, the other one is a cottage. The apartment is in Georgetown and I think Tony's subletting it partially furnished. Tim and Artie bought that big house over the holidays and the cottage is on the property, where the caretaker lives. The one who is there now is retiring and they'd like to have someone living there."

"How big is it, do you know? One bedroom, two?"

Geo thought about it, "I think it might be 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, but I'm not sure. I'll find out without asking directly or mentioning any names."

"And they won't know it's me?"

He laughed, "Okay, I'll ask Dad, he'll know and won't say anything to anyone. He's retired from the agency."

"Thanks!"

They beat the van back to the house, as the others had stopped to buy their dinner. When they returned, Dad made a quick marinade, bathing the chicken in it, while the others cleaned up. Then it was his turn to clean up and Tim partially cooked the chicken. They had one of Mimi's coolers and put the chicken and the rest of their dinner in it before walking to her house. Bec thought that was fun, being able to walk from house to house. She enjoyed spending time with Geordie's family, meeting Ian's parents and seeing James' parents again. When the grilled chicken and the rest of their dinner was ready, they sat down to eat together.

Fiona remarked to her husband that night that it continually amazed her how the McGee-Gibbs family was connected to so many people. Alastair nodded, "Suse says when any of them bring a friend or a date home, they quickly become one of the family. Look at George and Edith! We're no relation to them but they took us under their wings as if we'd known each other all our lives!"

His wife nodded, "Edith told me about Jethro and Lu's wedding, how much fun it was." She laughed, "She said they told people they were the new family before Tim and Sarah's reclaimed family and that 'their wedding' was the one after the next!"

Alastair laughed too, "That's amusing! Not every family has 3 weddings within 6 months."

"Lu told me they didn't have to think too much about theirs. They knew where they wanted to have it, at their friend's house and when, but the 'who' got a little out of hand. She said they started with a list of 34 people and ended up with 68, who all showed up!"

"Good grief! How many people are we having?"

"64, because we're in Varkiza and Mimi's lived here for so long." She smiled, "Of course, 16 of those are Artie's family. Suse's uncles, aunt, cousins and her mother, that's 9, plus the former sister-in-law and her 4 kids, that's 5, that's 30 of the 64!"

"Your siblings and mine, with spouses and your sister's current friend, that's 12 for our side. Cousin Bert and his family, that's another 6, Ian's friends, 4 and he says 2 of them are bringing their girlfriends, so that's 6. That's 24 people, a respectable number considering the length and cost of the flight plus lodgings. And Suse's in-laws have treated Ian and now us like family from the start! Don't worry, love, we'll have fun." Alastair smiled at his wife, "When Tim and Artie move to the States, Sarah and James will be counting on us as well as George and Edith. Rob too, for the months he'll still be in the UK."

Fiona returned the smile, "I like that we'll be their family. Sarah and Suse already seem like sisters. And we know our boy and James think of each other, and Rob, Tim and Geordie, and the one who visits from the States, as brothers."

Her husband nodded, "George says that started because Jethro treats Ian and James the same as his sons, part of the family. I asked Jethro and he said he'd never had sons or grown children at all until he and Tim grew closer over the years they worked together. When Tim brought Greg and Kyle home, the boys asked Gibbs to be their grandpa and that led to Tim and Rob calling him Dad, which led to Sarah, then Tony, that's the one who visits, and Abby, who won't be here for our wedding. Imagine the cost of flying from America to Greece! Anyway, all that happened less than 3 years ago."

"Edith told me about Jethro's first wife and daughter, so tragic and for him to have connected with Tim and the others now, and to have met Lu, almost seems like a miracle."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By the next morning, their group grew considerably as Ana, her children, Uncles Nikolas, Sergio and their girls arrived late Friday night.

Saturday was brighter and warmer than it had been all week. The bride and groom, Ian's parents, Sophia, Mimi and Nikolas, in place of his niece's father, met for breakfast on a sunny terrace in Varkiza.

While they were dining out, the rest of the group met for breakfast at the McGees' Airbnb home, which had a large outdoor table. When the kitchen table was added to it, there was enough room for everyone, although it was a tight fit. There they feasted on a hearty breakfast and planned the rest of the morning. Tim had asked everyone to bring their swim stuff and he, Dad and George made enough sandwiches for a picnic lunch, including plenty of drinks, apples, oranges and a few treats.

After breakfast and clean up, the group headed to the beach; the offspring, from the twins to Marissa, danced their way down the road to the water and Hope squealed along with them. While she was learning to pull herself up and stand while holding onto something, she hadn't yet taken her first step. Her parents hoped that would not happen until they were home from Paris.

While they were cavorting on the beach, the bride's party drove into Athens for spa appointments, including massages, manicures, pedicures and hair styling. Alastair, Nikolas and Ian joined the others on the beach.

With the increased warmth, the beachcombers dipped their feet into the waves. The kids waded and swam with their father, grandparents and uncles. Eventually the Powells and Alastair Clacher joined them. Used to cold ocean water, Alastair was pleasantly surprised with the warmth of the Mediterranean while George and Edith remembered an even warmer sea last summer. Cassie, her twin Matthaíos, Katerina, Damaris, Andy and the 2 oldest of Ana's children swam with Sergio and Nikolas while Greg swam with Grandpa, Uncle Ian, Mr. George and the 2 youngest of Ana's children. Kyle swam with his papa and Uncle Geo. Uncle Rob and Mrs. Edith played with Hope and Marissa as the little girls sat in the water at the shoreline, playing in the waves. When Rissa wanted to swim, Uncle Rob took her out a little deeper, holding onto her while she kicked her feet.

They enjoyed their picnic in the shade of the several beach umbrellas borrowed from Mimi's neighbors and friends, including the Lekkas household. By 1:00, they were back at their respective lodgings, getting ready for the wedding.

The wedding was lovely and a new experience for everyone but Susannah's Greek family and Mimi's friends. None of the others had ever been to a Greek wedding and loved the joy as well as the traditions.

Held in a local hotel, the reception afterward was a lot of fun. The music started with a slow dance for the bride and groom, soon joined by the bride's sister and husband, Ian's parents, Sergio and Sophia, Gaia and Theo, Nikolas and Mimi, the Powells, Sarah and James, the Gibbses and finally Geordie and Bec. A few popular tunes were played and then the DJ started moving into more traditional Greek music.

Ian and Tim grinned at each other, about to surprise their wives and families. For several months, the men had been secretly taking lessons in Greek dancing and when they recognized the music, they hit the dance floor, glad when Nikolas, Sergio, Gaia's husband Theo, friends of Mimi's and the priest who'd married the bride and groom joined them. Neither Ian nor Tim had delusions of being Greek or having grown up with Greek customsbut they made their wives happy and proud that day and that was all they wanted.

Mimi had been in on the secret, she'd given them the names of the dances they should know, now she watched happily, loving the 2 men who'd captured the hearts of her granddaughters. She smiled again when Gaia, Ana and Sophia joined the group and then joined them herself. Eventually, everyone got in on it, whether they knew what they were doing or not.

Tim and Rob took Greg and the littles home when Rissa and Hope fell asleep at their table. Andy wanted to stay and Lu said they'd bring them home in couple of hours. After the kids were in bed, Rob convinced Tim to return to the party and he did. He had a wonderful time with his wife, also enjoying watching Andy interact with his cousins.

By midnight, the dance floor was empty, the newlyweds in the bridal suite, their families and friends asleep in their various lodgings.

Sunday morning, they met for breakfast on the beach, the only place there was room for all of them! They had hot spinach pies, cheese pies, pastries, yogurt, and all the juice, milk, coffee and tea anyone could want. The crowd cheered when the newlyweds joined them. With an abundance of food, they ate off and on for several hours as they relaxed. The cousins hung out and played together, much to the delight of their parents and grandparents. Ana was thrilled to be involved with the group, surprised and happy, after the years of stressful family gatherings, to find herself having fun with her former in-laws.

Sophia was also having a wonderful time, relieved to be with her daughters, enjoying improved relationships with her brother Nikolas, sister Gaia and to get to know their spouses, children, her former daughter-in-law and all her grandchildren.

Although her mother kept her up to date on the McGee children, she was still amazed at how much the children had grown and how far they'd come as a family in the 16 months since she'd last seen them. They were hesitant with her, something she didn't notice until she saw them with her mother and their other grandmother, who she remembered as being 'Aunt Lu' at Artemis' wedding. Clearly things had changed and she smiled when she saw Lu and Jethro's obvious love for each other.

The children's hesitancy was to be expected as their mother, her daughter, wasn't completely at ease with her, and her son-in-law, while pleasant, followed his wife's lead. Sophia knew to expect that, her brother told her Artemis and Susannah saw this as more of a truce than a welcome back. However, he was so proud of what she'd accomplished that she was encouraged, feeling there was still hope. Proof of that was the invitation to Sarah's wedding in June, when she'd finally get to see the huge house Artemis and her family lived in.

She made a point to acquaint herself with Ian's parents, who gushed about Susannah and how happy they were that she was part of their family. Although Sophia didn't suppose she had a right to reciprocate on the part of Susannah's family, after all she was still on the outskirts working her way back in, she did so anyway, making sure to tell her mother later. Her mama patted her cheek, "You did fine, Sophia, I'm proud of you!" That was high praise and Sophia felt more hope.

Most of them ended up spending the day together on the beach. Nikolas, Sergio and their girls left at the same time as Tim and Artie, having flights at roughly the same time. Dad, Mamalu, the children and Geo were staying in Greece until next Saturday, Geo with Bec and the rest here in Varkiza. Mimi and Sophia were thrilled to have the kids around longer. Ana and the children were flying home later that evening and were happy when they discovered they were on the same flight to Thessaloniki as Gaia, Theo and the twins. They all had work and school in the morning. Rob, Sarah, James and his parents would fly home Monday afternoon.

The McGees had a difficult time saying goodbye to everyone. They'd see Nikolas, Sergio and the girls in Barcelona in May, they were joining them for their long weekend and of course the Powells and Ian's family in June. However, they didn't know when they'd next see Ana and her family or Gaia and her family. They invited everyone to visit them in Brambury, as long as it was before July 16th.

Leaving the rental van for Dad and Lu, Tim and Artie took Uber to the airport, smiling when they saw the Costas family just entering the International Departures terminal. They spent a few more minutes with them before heading to their gates.

The flight to Paris was 3 ½ hours and the couple spent the time talking about the wedding, all the fun they'd had with Artie's relatives, eventually segueing to their plans for the week in Paris. Artie spoke enough French to get around and taught Tim several key phrases, working on his pronunciation. This trip, they were staying in a hotel near the Eiffel Tower. Neither wanted to cook or make beds and they did want the services of a front desk and concierge. For a few extra Euros, they'd arranged for a pickup at the airport by the hotel. They already had a city tour booked for tomorrow. Tuesday, they would visit the Louvre. Beyond that, they each had a list of things they wanted to see and do but hadn't made a schedule. They knew they'd end up wandering, that was the most fun and satisfying as they found unexpected places and people.

Going from one EU country to another meant there was no passport control. After retrieving their luggage, they walked through Customs and then saw someone holding up a sign with their name. Rather than use McGee, they'd used Midei, Mimi's patronymic. Artie had been using it since learning of Kosmos' perfidy. She'd already had all her licenses, certificates, passport, visa and other documents changed to reflect the change. Tim had also changed it on his records with NCIS.

On this Easter Sunday evening, the traffic was light, for Paris, and their driver made good time, giving them information about what they were seeing and a few tips about getting around in Paris. He looked in the rear-view mirror at Tim, "You and your wife will not be bothered or scammed here. You may not speak much French but miscreants know someone in law enforcement when they see one."

Tim nodded in appreciation, surprised he'd been pegged as a cop. Back in the day, that had been one of the advantages of his appearance. He didn't look like a typical cop or federal agent and was frequently given more information and less resistance because of that. When he asked the driver, the man chuckled, "You are very aware of your surroundings, more than ordinary people. While you weren't obviously looking, I imagine you could tell me exactly who was in the immediate vicinity of you and your wife at the airport."

With a smile, Tim described those who'd been in his and Artie's vicinity as well as the driver's. Artie laughed to herself. Tim once told her that had been one of the most difficult things for him to learn, obviously it'd stuck with him!

They were pleased with the hotel as soon as they saw it. The lobby was modern without being austere or cold and there were several French elements. Their driver carried the luggage in, a luxury Tim thoroughly enjoyed. Once they were checked in, the driver/porter took the couple and their luggage to their room.

One of the reasons they'd selected this hotel was that they had rooms with King beds and now the couple was happy to see the room was also 'King' sized. Aside from the bed and the two nightstands, they had two comfortable looking chairs, a small table and chairs, a flat screen TV and a beautiful antique four drawer bureau. The bathroom was nicely sized, with a tub, shower, double sinks and commode. They were surprised to find a small refrigerator tucked into the closet. That was good, they could keep snacks or breakfast food in there. Looking out the window, they saw a garden courtyard with benches and a fountain; their room was in the back of the hotel where it would be quieter. The walk to the Eiffel Tower would take about 10 minutes and they knew there were several cafes and restaurants in the neighborhood.

Their timing was perfect as the skies were just beginning to darken when they arrived. After they'd unpacked and washed up a bit, they left the hotel, walking to a small bistro they'd seen on the way in. Happy to get a table on a Sunday evening, they thoroughly enjoyed their meals. They had reservations at a 4 star Michelin restaurant on Wednesday, but on other nights would willingly return here for another meal.

The walk to and from the hotel, in addition to their walks on the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean, gave them enough exercise and fresh air to relax them. Back in their room, they celebrated their long postponed honeymoon in Paris before falling into deep sleep.

They had breakfast in the hotel restaurant Monday morning before walking to the Eiffel Tower to meet their guide and fellow tourists for the tour. Once they'd all gathered, their guide took them up the Tower where Tim followed his new routine, looking out, never down. While they viewed the sights, the guide told them the history of the iconic tower.

From there, they made their way to the **Champs-Elysées, starting their stroll at the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 to commemorate the military achievements of the French armies. It sits in a circular plaza from which 12 avenues fan out, forming a star. From there, they walked down the Champs-Elysées, learning about its origins and history, admiring the architecture and the Tuileries Gardens, where they saw several artists at work. From there, they saw the Louvre, although they didn't go in. When Tim and Artie saw the lines outside the pyramid, they were thankful they'd listened to Carol Morris and had already purchased their tickets.**

Next was a stop at Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral and the couple agreed they would return to view the interior. It would be even more interesting now that they knew the history, including the gargoyles and chimeras. Tim had to restrain his laughter when they were told the practical purpose of the gargoyles, to prevent rain water from ruining the stone. The chimeras, on the other hand, were purely decorative.

On their way to the Bastille, they viewed the charming lle Saint Louis and the Place des Vosges, originally the _Place Royale,_ in the Marais district. The tour ended in Montmartre, the highest hill in Paris. From the steps of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, they had an amazing view of the city. Watching some of the artists at work, they saw a painting they loved and bought it, happy when the artist carefully wrapped it in a mailing tube for them. After the 8-hour tour, they were tired and exhilarated, with a long list of places to revisit. After some time in the hotel spa, they retired to their room. Later, they walked to the same bistro for more delicious food, promising themselves they would absolutely try other restaurants.

Tuesday, they went to the Louvre and agreed with whoever said that it would take months, even years, to even begin to see all the art in the former royal palace. They saw the Mona Lisa and were glad they were tall, able to see over the crowds of other tourists. It was only April, they couldn't imagine what the Louvre would be like in high season! When they finally left the museum, they were a little surprised to find the sun still shining. They again strolled along the **Champs-Elysées, stopping at various sites and shops.**

Wednesday, they returned to Notre-Dame and ventured inside, looking around before sitting quietly to let the atmosphere and the history seep in. That evening, they treated themselves to dinner at a 4 star Michelin restaurant, enjoying every minute and every bite. Artie was glad she'd purchased the Parisian inspired clothes for Tim as he fit right in. She'd also splurged on a new outfit or two and thought that as a couple, they looked stunning.

For the rest of the week, they wandered, sometimes with a set purpose, such as their visit to the Musée d'Orsay with their extensive collection of Impressionist paintings, and sometimes with no firm destination in mind. They strolled across several of the beautiful bridges, purposely crossing **Pont Alexandre III** with its stunning view of the Eiffel Tower, took an evening cruise on the Seine, enjoying the spectacular view of the city lights, taking time to visit Versailles, enjoying a bowl of a wonderful French Onion soup in a small café near the palace. They revisited the Marais, strolled through shops in St. Germain and the Latin Quarter, stopping for coffee, pastries, lunch or dinner, and finding more treasures for their collection. Returning to Montmartre, they took a closer look at the neighborhood, and decided the next time they were in Paris, they'd rent an apartment there. Tim chuckled when Artie proposed the idea, "I vote for that! You do realize it probably won't be for another 17 years – after Hope's graduation from high school."

She nodded, smiling, "We'll be older and the world will change, but we'll still be honeymooners. Who knows, we could be grandparents by then! Andy will be 30, Greg 25, it could happen."

Tim opened his mouth, shut it, finally speaking, "Let's not rush things. I'm not in any hurry to be a grandparent!"

She laughed, pulling his face toward her for a kiss. "We'll still be us."

"Promise?"

"Yes, my darling. I promise not to call you Papa or Grandpapa and please don't ever call me Mama, Yaya or Grandmama."

"Deal!"

While they explored, they enjoyed their time together as a couple and made a pact they would do something together, just the two of them, each week. For their last meal in Paris, they went to a restaurant recommended by Uncle Nikolas, called _Au Vieux Paris_ _d'Arcole_ , in the Marais. In operation since 1594, it was the oldest restaurant in Paris. They loved the romantic atmosphere and décor, with antiques and a tented ceiling. When they asked about wine, their waiter took them to the wine cellar, where they chose their own bottle. That was unexpected and fun! They thoroughly enjoyed the vegetable pancakes and a roast chicken, the special for the night. When they heard there was a rental apartment upstairs, they asked if they could see it and then were surprised again when they saw how big and ornate it was. They decided to stay there for their next trip, the one after Hope graduated from high school.

Saturday, they packed their bags for home. When Tim said they should congratulate themselves for returning home with the same amount of luggage they left home with, they both laughed. They'd shipped items home from both Athens and Paris.

When their flight landed at Gatwick, they went through Customs and then found seats at the perimeter of Baggage Claim. Within minutes, they were rewarded when Andy and Greg entered the large room, followed by Kyle, Marissa, Dad and Mamalu with Geo carrying Hope. The 3 adults smiled at them but didn't say anything, waiting for the kids to spot their parents, a surprise for them.

Hope, high up in Uncle Geo's arms, was the first to see them and squealed happily. Greg was the next to see them and he stopped in his tracks, his mouth open. Then he grinned and made a beeline for Mama and Papa, now standing and laughing at their kids, who each had the same reaction as Greg and Hope. After the happy reunion, they climbed on the train and headed home, glad to see Big Blue and Sarah waiting for them in Brambury.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Before the family collapsed into their beds that night, they made a couple of decisions. First, the McGees and Gibbses would attend Orthodox Easter services in the morning. Second, while they were supposed to be fasting before the service, they'd have a light meal before, just this once. Anything else that might be happening would take place in the early afternoon.

With the exception of Sarah and James, the adults were exhausted from their vacations in Greece and France, happy, not complaining, but very tired. When James volunteered to make their light meal in the morning, they thanked him profusely.

When Tim and Artie appeared in the kitchen with the children the next morning, they found James just finishing preparing breakfast. After they ate, they cleaned up, got dressed and went to church.

While the McGees and Gibbses were gone, Sarah, James, Geo and Rob got busy. As it was a beautiful day, they stuffed colorful plastic eggs with jelly beans and hid them in the back garden, making sure to count how many they had before hiding them and then hid the Easter baskets inside. Then they waited.

Geo smiled when he heard his father open the front door, calling out, "Happy Easter!"

While Hope played in her kiddie corral, her siblings went upstairs to change and the adults gathered in the kitchen. Dad kissed each of his kids, wrapping his arms around Tim and smiling happily, "Haven't had a chance to do this! I'm glad we're back in the same place, we missed you last week! Did you have a good time?"

"We did, yes. Paris is wonderful, you two need to experience it!"

Lu's face lit up, "We're going the week after Barcelona! We've been procrastinating and suddenly realized we won't be here much longer."

"Yes, we had that same thought, leaving is suddenly only three months away."

Dad refilled everyone's mugs, "So, what were your favorite places? Things to do, to see, where to eat?"

Lu nodded, "We'll do our own exploring but it's always helpful to have a place to start."

With a smile, Artie and Tim told them about the hotel, the bistro, the oldest restaurant, the tour they took the first day, the shops, the surprise of finding an American chain restaurant just off the Champs-Elysées **,** the beauty of the city, the architecture, the bridges, the grandeur and the romance.

Tim said, "We took an evening cruise on the Seine. The city all lit up is spectacular! I recommend you do that and a tour when you get there, that'll give you a look at most of the 'must sees' and then you can go back to spend more time. Our tour was 8 hours which was a lot of walking; however, they also have half day tours. You might be able to take 2 half day tours to see everything we did. The subway is easy to deal with and can get you just about everywhere. What else…oh, we paid extra to have a car from the hotel meet us at the airport. That was worth every euro as our driver gave us a bit of a tour on the way to the hotel and also gave us several helpful tips." He smiled, "Dad, he told us no one would hassle or try to scam us. He said I might not speak much French but he knew someone in law enforcement when he saw one. Said he'd watched us approach him and me checking out our perimeter."

Artie chuckled, "The driver said he bet Tim could tell him who was around us and Tim did just that, also describing those who were around our driver!"

Dad and Tim fist bumped over that. Artie looked at her in-laws, "Do either of you speak any French?"

Lu nodded, "Yes, a little and if you can help with key phrases, that'll be wonderful!"

"I do, we should get started on that."

Tim nodded, "It's more fun if you can read signs and understand a few things. You'll want to make your flight and hotel reservations as soon as possible. May won't be as busy as the summer months, but there were plenty of visitors in April. The Louvre was a bit crowded the day we were there. That's another thing, we bought our tickets for the Louvre and for the Musée d'Orsay when we made our other reservations. Otherwise, the wait in line can be hours long. We saw the line at the Louvre, it was long and as I said, it's only April."

"All right, we'll do that. Buy the tickets online?"

"That's the fastest way, yes."

Dad gave his son a look and Tim gave him a slight nod, of course he'd help him!

When the kids came downstairs, they were told they were celebrating both the Western and the Orthodox Easter today and they should remember last year's western Easter.

Andy grinned, "We were at the apartment by Mimi's and…oh!" He looked at his parents. Mama was smiling while Papa was looking toward the family room. With an exclamation, all 3 of the boys headed for the family room, with Marissa following closely behind. Hope was puzzled but, never one to be left behind, wiggled to be put down and then did a speedy crawl after her siblings. While her older sister was looking for anything purple, Hope had no idea what to look for. With a grin, Andy picked her up and, telling her what they were looking for, started looking for the baby's first Easter basket. Her favorite color was red, so he looked for anything red in the room that wasn't normally there.

Greg found Hope's basket but didn't say anything, giving a papa-worthy look to his siblings. With a smile of thanks, Andy 'found' the basket and whispering to Hope, told her to put her hand out. When she did, he put the handle of the basket in her hand. She squealed with happiness at the surprise and lifted the basket, big brother's hand underneath it in case it was too heavy for her. The Easter Bunny had done a good job of keeping her basket lightweight and with a satisfied look, Hope and her transport returned to the kitchen. She sat in her chair and methodically removed everything from her basket while Andy returned to the family room. He quickly found his basket and joined the rest of his siblings in the kitchen. With a look from Grandpa, Mama, Papa, Aunt Sarah and the uncles went to find their own baskets.

Andy looked at his grandparents, "I bet the Easter Bunny brought baskets for you, too. Grandpa, you had one last year."

"You're right, kiddo. C'mon, sweetie, let's go look!"

With a laugh, Lu joined him and they headed for the family room. Finally, everyone had a basket and sat at the kitchen table, looking through their treasures. After a few minutes, Uncle Geo, prompted by his sister-in-law, cleared his throat, "I wonder if the Easter Bunny also left treats for us in the garden?"

Kyle was first out of his chair and the others followed him. Tim carried Hope out and Artie brought a basket to put the eggs in. Knowing they'd have no time to hard boil and color real eggs, they'd purchased the plastic eggs and candy before they left for Greece. This year, they'd keep the eggs for reuse in Arlington next Easter.

Grandpa and Grandma took turns recording the Easter Egg hunt, laughing as the kids rushed to find the eggs while their parents, aunt and uncles pretended to search for themselves. Keeping an eye on the basket, eventually Grandpa called everyone back. "We have 40 eggs, I'm pretty sure that's what the Easter Bunny left for us."

Greg looked around, counting the members of his family, "That's nice of the Easter Bunny, we have 3 eggs each and one left over!"

Grandma nodded, "That is nice, Greg!"

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After their wonderful vacations, the students and the professor returned to school and classes on Monday, feeling very satisfied with their time off. With finals and graduation a little over a month away, Professor McGee was very busy with his students and the inevitable paperwork. Artie was working on a new project to be constructed in Brussels. She was excited about the project itself and because it was so close, she'd be on site to inspect the project at least twice. She might fly over although she could also take a train or even drive. The drive would take less than 5 hours, a train ride about 2 hours and 20 minutes and a flight 1 hour and 10 minutes, although the actual time would be about 3 ½ hours, with the trip to the airport and having to be early for security. She thought she'd take the train the first time, it sounded far more relaxing and she could walk to and from the station here.

Jethro and Lu researched what they wanted to see and do in Paris and then, with help from Sarah and her laptop, went online to book their flights, hotel reservations, a dinner reservation, bought tickets for the museums and a show Lu wanted to see and arranged for 2 half day tours. Knowing they'd be exhausted from a full 8 hour tour, they looked at the itinerary for that and then found half day tours that covered most of it.

Sarah was amused and impressed by the way her parents handled the various screens. Mamalu handled the keyboard while Dad carefully read each screen, reading the information and instructions aloud. They'd stop to discuss their choices before making the reservation or paying for the item.

When James saw the list of what Tim and Artie had experienced and what Jethro and Lu planned to experience, he and Sarah sat down for a serious discussion of what to do on their honeymoon. Planning the wedding while looking for a place of their own hadn't left them much time to talk about their honeymoon.

Ultimately, they made a list of possible destinations and left it at that. With time off for the wedding and to spend time with out-of-town guests, plus moving, probably into the city, and then going to Virginia with the family for their second wedding, James wouldn't have many days for a proper honeymoon. They decided to wait until after the first of the year, when he'd have accrued more personal leave and money.

They'd been impressed with the honeymoon trip Dad and Malu, James' abbreviation for Mamalu, took, and Morocco was one of the destinations on their list, as well as Paris and Greece. When Sarah added said something about the best beaches around Africa, they talked about going to Tenerife or the Seychelles – or the Canary Islands. Then Sarah got a mischievous look in her eyes, "What about Australia and New Zealand?"

James looked at her as if she were crazy, "You're joking, right?"

She shrugged, "Half joke, half serious. I know the flight would be expensive and we wouldn't have time for both countries, but it would be fun to go somewhere no one else in the family has gone. Your parents haven't been, have they?"

He shook his head. "No and I see your point about doing something different. How about Thailand?"

"Ooh, beautiful temples, exciting cities, island resorts, that sounds heavenly! Mmm, Singapore, Bali?"

He grinned, "We'll have to price them all, see what there is to see and do, decide whether we want warm beaches or sightseeing, or a combination. This is going to be fun, Sari!"

While her family was busy, little Hope worked on balancing. Although she wasn't yet walking, Uncle Dr. Rob the pediatrician wasn't worried, telling her concerned parents there was nothing wrong, Hope would walk when she was ready. At 16 months, she was still within the range of the average for babies walking. He added that it was possible Hope's tumultuous first year of life might be one of the reasons she wasn't yet walking or further developing her verbal skills. He advised patience.

Late Thursday afternoon, when she was outside on the terrace with her parents, siblings and grandparents, she crawled to the table, sat back and then made a pleased noise as she stood up, all by herself. Her family grinned but remained quiet as they waited to see what would happen next. She looked around, and then put one foot ahead of the other and took a step. When that worked, she giggled and did it again. Before she knew it, she'd moved from the table to Papa, who looked a bit silly to her as he was laughing and crying.

"Hope, you walked! Sweetie, that's wonderful, I'm so proud of you!"

She squealed, now in Papa's arms, as her mama laughed and cried too. Andy smiled, remembering when Marissa took her first steps. Hope wriggled, she wanted to do that some more, the walking thing. Her family helped, making sure she didn't attempt the steps down to the garden just yet and providing targets for her to reach.

When she'd first sat back, her grandpa hoped she was about to take her first step and grabbing his phone, recorded the whole thing, her first step, the giggle, the second step and then reaching her daddy. Because they were sitting in a semi-circle, he managed to get everyone in the video. After they watched it, he sent it to Tony, Abby, Ducky, and the Baltimore uncles.

As their daughter took her first steps, Artie realized something else. Turning to Tim, she said, "A year, Timothy! It's been a year!"

He looked at her, his eyes growing wider at what she was saying. Then he smiled, "A year since you rescued her, love. A year since you two came home to us."

Malu looked surprised, "Is it today?"

Artie laughed, shaking her head, "No, it was last week, April 20th, while you were in Greece and we were in France. We didn't even think of it! Tim was with me the weekend before, we packed as many of our treasures as we could, getting ready for the completion of the bridge in a few weeks. There had been protests but the government planned to meet with them that week and the mood was quite conciliatory, that's why Tim didn't insist on me going home with him. Until someone decided violence would bring more attention."

She shuddered, remembering that awful day. Safe in her husband's arms, she reached out to Geo, grabbing his hand and holding onto it. Then she smiled, realizing she'd seen both Driver and Smiley during the past year and she was sure Gesture was fine too. And there was something else.

Giving Geo's hand a squeeze, she let go and turned to the others. "It was also the first time I met my father, my true father!" She nodded, "For all the horror, worry and grief, that day brought Hope and my father to us."

That brought smiles from everyone and she felt better, "I want to remember that day for surviving, for the help I received, for finding Hope and meeting my father."

They nodded and she smiled, "Then let's celebrate! We're alive, safe, so many wonderful things have happened this year and Hope is walking! I believe there is ice cream in the freezer."

Tim gave her a funny little smile, "I believe you'll find something to go with the ice cream in the pantry, on the top shelf."

Kyle's eyes lit up, "Cake, Daddy, is it cake?"

Tim shook his head, "I didn't say that, Doodle Bug. It's a surprise for your mother."

"Oh…Mama, can I come with you to look?"

She ruffled his curls, "Yes, sweetie. Let's see if Hope wants to walk inside with us!"

Hope wanted to stay and walk on the terrace so Kyle and Artie went to investigate the surprise, which was indeed cake. Tim had realized the date earlier and ordered a cake from their favorite local bakery. The top of it said, 'We'll always be thankful!' followed by the names Artemis and Umut with 4 hearts underneath. Geo smiled when he saw those, knowing they represented his 3 friends who'd escorted Artie to safety and him for setting up her 'safety net'.

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The next day, they left for their long holiday weekend in Barcelona with Uncle Nikolas and his family. After Tim's last class that afternoon, the McGees and Gibbses took the train to the airport, very happy they'd done so when they saw the holiday traffic on the roadway.

When they arrived in Barcelona, Artie sent a text to Uncle Nikolas who replied saying, "Turn around!" The Costas were right behind them!


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back on track, fingers crossed. Real life has been a big pain in the arse recently! So...here we go with Chapter 53, hope you enjoy and I really hope you'll comment, let me know what you think!

 

Chapter 53

They had a wonderful time in Barcelona. They first saw the city via a tourist bus, similar to the hop on/off buses they'd experienced in other cities. The buses were open air on the top, a big hit with the kids and gave them all wonderful views. With lists of what each family wanted to see and do, one of their 'hop off' stops was at Sagrada Familia. The world-famous Basilica of the Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882. Gaudi's most famous project is now only a decade or so away from completion, the current target date for completion is 2026 and continues to be built through interpretation of the architect's plans. After they'd explored, the kids enjoyed a treat in a nearby park.

Their next stop was Poble Espanayol, a century old village with more than 30 workshops displaying many different types of artwork and craftsmanship in the making. There they discovered that a fun way to explore the village was to take part in a type of treasure hunt game of discovery. That was fun for everyone from the oldest, Katerina, to the youngest, Hope. By the time they'd solved the clues and answered the questions, they'd discovered all the hidden secrets of el Poble Espanyol. While the kids were doing that, the Gibbses were wandering through the village, enjoying the all the different items they saw. They purchased a few things, having them shipped to the Manor. Jethro and Lu decided to watch the kids for a few hours on Sunday so Tim and Artie could do their own browsing.

After wandering through the shops, the group decided to have lunch in one of the family friendly restaurants. That was a big treat for the McGees as they usually had picnic lunches or ate in their lodgings.

After enjoying their lunch, they decided to take walking tours, happy to discover free tours offered in Italian and English. The families split as Lu was the only American in the group to understand enough Italian to take the Italian language tour and the Costas girls didn't speak enough English to enjoy the English language tour. The families spoke Greek when together. They reconvened after their tours and agreed that now that they knew more about the city, they wanted to experience the 'Runner Bean' kid-friendly tour. Hope had napped in her stroller through the walking tour but was now awake and ready for an adventure!

The 'Runner Bean' was another fun walking tour that allowed participants to discover the history and secrets of the city's Gothic Quarter. The children enjoyed the games, songs and fun along the way, with giants that came alive, trees that spoke through their leaves and all sorts of medieval legends. Tim thought he probably learned more from that than the formal tours. It certainly was more fun!

That was enough for one day and the families spent the rest of the afternoon on one of the family-friendly beaches lining the coastline.

Nikolas cooked dinner that evening, with Artemis as his sous chef, in the Costas' holiday rental. The kids thought it was funny that the food Uncle Nikolas made for them was much better than restaurant food. Uncle Sergio laughed at that, "Ah, but you have forgotten the wonderful food at 'Bella Figlie', our restaurant!"

Greg grinned, "Better than any restaurant except 'Bella Figlie'." Andy, Kyle and Rissa nodded, their mouths too full of delicious food to say anything.

Nikolas chuckled, "Good save, Gregory, thank you!"

On Sunday, they took a funicular railway, the Montjuïc Cable Car. Up, up and up it went to Barcelona's castle, Castell de Montjuïc. The kids had a great time imagining all sorts of adventures and the views of Barcelona and beyond were spectacular.

Returning to the city, they decided to take a boat ride! They'd have an hour-long ride that promised to be fast and fun. And it was, Tim was glad he'd brought his ginger root and sea bands! He kept an eye on the kids but none of them exhibited any signs of seasickness.

When they returned to dry land, they strolled down La Rambla, Barcelona's famous street, filled with vendors and street entertainers While Tim, the Gibbses and Sergio stayed with the children, stopping to watch the entertainers and the street artists, Nikolas and Artie took their time in La Boqueria, a wonderful food market. They bought all kinds of fun and delicious things for their dinner that evening, which they'd decided to eat on the beach. In the meantime, they all nibbled at samples and small helpings of this or that, enough to tide them over until their feast on the beach.

From La Rambla, they made their way to Museu de la Xocolata, a private museum devoted to chocolate and housed in a former monastery. While they learned about the history of chocolate and how to work with it, they also left with recipes and enough product to keep them on a chocolate high for a month. The McGees and Gibbses shipped theirs home, buying one small bar each for immediate consumption.

After that, they returned to their rentals, changed into their swim things, put together their picnic dinner and finally headed for the beach. Once again, they had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed their special dinner.

The next day, they were sad to leave Barcelona, deciding the best thing about the city was the people. Everyone they met was welcoming and friendly, happy to help with directions and almost always offering a suggestion for a favorite place to visit or activity to experience.

They were also were sad to say goodbye to the Costas, but they'd had a wonderful time together, had many great photos and memories and would see them in a month, at Sarah and James' wedding!

Strangest of all was saying goodbye to the Gibbses as they flew to Paris instead of London, saving themselves time and money.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When they reached home Monday evening, Tim and Artie made sure they all had clean clothes for the next day, got the kids to bed and then collapsed. They'd had a wonderful time on what they considered their penultimate European adventure. The last one would be the trip to Berlin before Sarah and James' wedding.

Geordie and the Gibbses were going with them for that trip, the three of them feeling the same way about the opportunity to see and experience the history of the city and remembering their own history lessons. The U.S. military, including a certain Gunnery Sergeant, had been on high alert during the first days of the fall of the Wall, until it was evident that neither the East German government nor the Soviet Union would attempt to stop the joyous destruction.

In 1989, Lu was a young woman only a few years out of college, watching the spectacle on television and remembering what she'd learned in school about the end of World War II, the Soviets taking the eastern part of Germany and years later, the sudden appearance of the Wall.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Jethro and Lu had a wonderful time in Paris, enjoying the sights, the architecture, the food and of course each other. They marveled at the Louvre, had fun on a hop on/off bus, loved their 2 half day tours and treated themselves to an evening cruise on the Seine that displayed the night-time Paris illuminations, including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. That same tour included a show at Moulin Rouge and they loved every minute. To make things even more enjoyable, their tour included pickup and return to their hotel so they didn't have to worry about arranging for their own transportation.

They walked the entire length of the Champs- _Élysées_ , exploring the Arc de Triomphe and took a full day's tour to the Normandy D-Day beaches, cemetery and museum. Jethro wished he could get LJ here, but he'd have a long flight from home and then the trip here. Although he supposed his godfather could fly into Paris and he'd meet him there.

He shook his head, they had less than 3 months before they moved home and with everything going on, the trip to Berlin, Sarah's wedding, their overseas guests, followed by sorting and packing to move, there wasn't enough time to arrange everything, much less get back over here, no matter how close it was. He shrugged, it was a good idea and he was glad they'd taken lots of photos.

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After Dad and Malu's return from Paris, Geo and Rob arrived to spend the weekend with the family and they all took time to catch their breaths, with just 23 days remaining until Sarah and James' wedding.

Tim's final day of classes at Bedford would be the 18th, the following Thursday, although he'd have office hours on the 19th. Graduation, the last time he'd wear his academic robes in the UK, was Saturday, the 20th. Between the 21st and the 25th, the adults would prepare the house and gardens for the wedding and their overseas guests. They were leaving for Berlin the afternoon of the 25th, returning home the afternoon of the 30th.

With the boys out of school that week and Tim done with classes, they'd given themselves an extra day, with Sarah's blessing. As long as they were home by Wednesday, she could cope. In the meantime, her Timpa, Dad, Malu, Artie and Geo promised to be available via cell and Skype. Rob and of course James would be close by and Edith and George were arriving Saturday, which would help immensely.

A gardener would come on Thursday, two days before the Big Day, to clean up the gardens, install the arch that Dad built for the bridal couple, and then Jenna the wedding planner would begin decorating the house and gardens.

The couple had finally found a furnished flat they both liked and put a deposit down; however, it wouldn't be vacant, cleaned and ready to move into until close to the end of July. Everyone was happy about that, they'd remain at the Manor until right before they all left. With little furniture to move, it would be a matter of moving their clothes and wedding gifts as well as miscellaneous items they'd accumulated. James and Sarah finally admitted to each other that if their fellow Manor residents weren't leaving for the US, they'd probably stay in their suite. They had plenty of privacy and a much nicer 'apartment' than what they could afford in London. But Tim had his orders, the McGees, Gibbses and Geo were leaving, thus the Powells would move.

While the Gibbses were away in Paris, a letter from Mac Fielding had arrived for Jethro. Now, when he opened it, the family was happy to hear Mac would be visiting them over the Fourth of July. Listening to the advice of Tobias and the others he met at Jethro and Lu's wedding, he was coming for 2 weeks, saying he just wanted to spend time with the family, no extra effort was to be made. Geo laughed at that, "Think he knows he just gave us a challenge?"

They chuckled and immediately got to work figuring out where they could take him, thinking they'd invite Dorneget too. They hadn't planned to host the expat Independence Day party this year, not after the wedding and everything else going on. After a lengthy discussion, they decided to stick with that decision and instead would let the Morrises know they'd have one additional guest. There hadn't been any word on a Fourth of July party, but it was a little early for it. Tim volunteered to ask Lydia next time he spoke with her.

Ned and Tim had been corresponding via email since Dorneget's acceptance of the INV agent position in London. Deciding he wanted to do some sightseeing before starting work, he would arrive in London on May 27th. As the McGees would be in Berlin that weekend, either Joel or Lydia would meet him at the airport and take him to his temporary home. Rob, who'd met him at both Tim and Dad's weddings, offered to show him around London those first few days and Sarah sent him a wedding invitation, letting him know his new team and other co-workers would also be in attendance.

The family was still in the kitchen, talking about where to take their visitors when Lu pulled an envelope addressed to 'Drs. Midei and McGee' from the Gibbses' mail and handed it to Artie.

Opening it, Artie read it, grinned and handed it to her husband. He read it, and with his own grin, gave a small cheer. "Yay, a reprieve!"

"What's that?"

"The Virginia legislature has passed new laws regarding earthquake safety, along with a mandated timeline. All the schools in the state, whether they're public, charter or private, have to have the first phase of safety measures in place before classes can start for the new term. This is a joint letter from St. Ann's, the Catholic church, and St. Katherine's, the Greek Orthodox church we'll attend. The start date for the Fall Term, 2017 for St. Ann's Middle and Elementary schools has been delayed until September 12th. Which means the boys will have more than a 2 week break before starting classes at their new schools and we'll have a little more time to get settled in."

The adults nodded, while the boys exchanged high fives. After the children were in bed that night, Tim and Artie returned to the kitchen with their laptops. They laughed when they found Dad and Mamalu waiting for them.

Dad smirked, "What, you didn't think we'd figure it out?"

"No. Just hope we weren't too transparent. Have to do some checking before we can make new plans."

"Planning on changing our flights home? Will Leon give you grief about that?"

"I don't think so, he's been pushing me to take time to settle in. However, first we're figuring how we can get everything done. I'll take some vacation days, before the kids finish school. Don't have to worry about saving 2 weeks for Christmas anymore. And to answer your first question, no, we're not changing our flight home. We're more worried about cramming too much in before we leave."

Lu smiled at them, "Maybe, but an unexpected break sounds like fun. I'm going to miss all this. "

Tim nodded, "Wish we could take the house and gardens, and the walking paths, - home with us."

Artie chuckled, "The town – and the weather!"

Dad tilted his head, "I know we've been homesick but this has been a wonderful place for us, for all of us."

Lu added, "It will be tough but just think, there are woods, paths and a creek to explore at our new home. And we can still spend weekends and vacations seeing new things, the US is a huge country! And we can come back to visit, on our way to Greece to visit Mimi."

When that brought smiles from her kids and a kiss from her husband, she sat back, pleased.

"So, Greece?"

"Yes. Not a full 2 weeks though. Leave Friday the 21st, the kids will be done at 11. If we take the train, we'll be at the airport before 1:00 for that 3:00 flight we've taken before, gets us in about 8:40 PM Athens time. If we can book that Airbnb house again, that would be great. If we can work it out, our stuff could be shipped home while we're in Greece, gives us less time to wait when we get to Arlington. I suppose we could fly home from Greece. Or come back to London for a couple of nights. We'd still leave for the U.S. on the 2nd. "

"That's a lot of 'ifs'. What time is the flight on the 2nd?"

"It's the flight we usually take at Christmas, overnight."

"So we could fly in from Athens on the 31st, sleep for 2 days and then fly out the night of the 2nd. If the stuff has already been shipped, you and Artie are the only ones who won't have a bed and you can sleep in the 2nd Master or in Sarah's suite."

Artie gave him a relieved smile, "Thank you, Jethro! We forgot Sarah and James won't be at the Manor!"

"Even if they are, you can sleep in their guest room, it's only 2 nights. Or, like I said, the 2nd Master."

He smiled in surprise when his son and daughter-in-law chuckled. "We planned to move in there, you know. We were going to paint and freshen it up a little, but it just never happened."

Tim nodded, "It was much easier to hire Bill and have an entire house renovated than to freshen up one room ourselves."

Lu added her own chuckle, "You would have had to stay home for a couple of weekends. We might even have had to cut one of our adventures!"

Artie grinned, "You're right and I'm glad we didn't do that!" She sat back, thinking of the renovations to their new house. They'd seen many photos and had a virtual tour but couldn't wait to see them in person. Breena and Jimmy raved about the changes. The Palmers were very happy living in the big house and in the city of Arlington, and thought they'd look for their new home there.

The McGees' caretaker had finally retired, leaving the caretaker's cottage vacant. However, within weeks of finishing the McGees' renovations, Bill asked to rent the cottage as he had another project in the area. Kathi, Penny's realtor, had another client who'd purchased an older home in need of repairs and renovations. She gave them Bill's business card, along with a few others, and they'd hired him as their general contractor. The new project would take longer than the McGees', close to 4 months, and the weekday commute from Baltimore to Arlington hadn't changed, would still take him a minimum of 2 ½ hours round trip. Because Bill continued to split the cost of Lu's former home with Barry, the McGees charged him $1.00 per month and let him pay the utilities.

Artie blinked, returning to the conversation as her father-in-law continued the discussion about Greece.

"The Porters will want to go. What about the others?"

"We'll put the word out as soon as we get our flights and lodging booked. We'd like to stay in Varkiza rather than on the island. That ok with you?"

"Of course!" Dad tilted his head, "Geo will be happy, one last visit to Bec in Greece. She is flying home with us, right?"

"Yes and that's a good point, I'll check with Geo to see when she's flying into London. They might want some time to themselves here and he might not be able to get leave time so close to his PCS."

Dad nodded while Malu and Artie looked at Tim. He explained with a smile, "Permanent Change of Station."

Artie checked the flights on her laptop, finding seats available, while Tim checked the Airbnb listings for the house they'd rented for Susannah and Ian's wedding. When he couldn't tell if it was available, he sent the owner a note and was pleased to hear back almost immediately. She'd been holding the place for other potential renters but they'd passed the deadline to finalize their booking and she was happy to rent the house to returning guests, the McGee-Gibbs family. Once Tim had that locked down, they sent an email to the Porters who quickly answered that they were in for Greece, they'd meet them in Athens and return to London with the family. They asked for the Athens – London flight number but Artie asked them to wait until she'd booked so they'd have the group discount code.

Tim sent a text to his brothers, who were upstairs in their room and they quickly appeared in the kitchen. "You're going where, when?"

Artie explained and Rob grinned, "Yes for me, I'll dig up the funds from somewhere." His father tapped his shoulder, "Got you covered, kiddo."

Geo shook his head, "Bec's leaving Greece early, coming here and taking some leave. She's already booked her flight. I had to work a deal to get a few days of leave, there's no way my CO is going to give me more so close to my PCS. Uh, that's…" He smiled when Lu and Artie said the words.

Artie adjusted the number of passengers on both flights and booked them before sending the information to the Porters.

When they'd finished making their plans, Tim looked at his wife, "We haven't even asked Mimi if she'll be home!"

Her eyes widened and she looked at the time. "I'll send her an email but she's asleep by now. I'll include Susannah and Ian too, they might be able to join us."

Tim looked at the family schedule, "Sarah and James are moving into their flat that week. And we know James will be short vacation days as it is. I'll send them a note to tell them."

Dad hooked an eyebrow at his wife, who nodded with a smile. "Timson, tell them if they want to come, even for the weekend, we'll pay their airfare."

Geo shook his head at the new plans, "We're still leaving for the States on the 2nd, right?"

"Yeah. We were going to spend the week after school's out packing, but now the kids can have a vacation, they won't have to start school the week after our arrival. We're hoping the movers can pick up our stuff while we're gone, get it to Arlington a week early."

Geo thought about that, "If they'll schedule a time, Bec or I can be here."

"Sure, that'd be great, if it doesn't cut into your time together. I was going to ask our landlord, he's offered to help any way he can. You know you guys can stay here."

"Uh…thanks, no. We have plans."

Mimi's reply was waiting for them the next day, she would be home and was thrilled they were coming for a visit! Susannah replied saying she and Ian would both have to ask for time off and would let them know, that Mimi had already told them they could stay with her.

Artie also sent a note to Sophia telling her of their visit, hoping she would spend some time with the family. Her mother replied quickly, saying she would absolutely be available.

They waited until dinner the next evening before telling the children. As expected, they erupted with cheers and Marissa and Kyle did a happy dance around the table. Greg sat still, his eyes wide, finally saying, "Can I have my birthday in Greece?"

"Yes, of course!"

"That's so cool!"

Artie touched her son's shoulder, "Do you still want your overnight at the British Museum? You can have both, you know. We'll move your overnight up a week, earlier in the month."

"Then yes, please, Mama! This will be the awesomest birthday ever!"

They chuckled at that, it did sound pretty awesome.

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For the next few days, the family was busy getting ready for the wedding and packing away clothes they wouldn't need until after they'd moved. Once all their winter clothes and boots were packed, they shipped them to the house in Arlington, a few less boxes to worry about. The children worked on sorting their books and toys, holding back what they'd want with them and what could be shipped or donated. None of the books would be donated, but the children did agree to having them shipped. They'd hang on to 5 books apiece, the rest would be sent with the rest of their clothes, Hope's crib, Marissa's former toddler bed, their parents' bed, nightstands, light fixture, desk, kitchenware, toys, their snow toys and Papa and Mama's artwork, rugs and treasures. The moving company agreed to come earlier and worked with Geordie to schedule the time.

While the group worked, they received answers to the email sent about their surprise vacation to Greece. The Hubbards were the first to reply. Aunt Claire, the children, Grammie and Aunty Liz would join them while the uncles would be at sea and Penny didn't have any wiggle room in her schedule. Claire added that she, Maisie and Liz were talking about staying in Europe after the wedding, rather than flying home and back again less than 3 months later. She asked if they could use the Manor as a base. When the Manor residents agreed, they replied, letting them know they were excited about having them around longer.

Another surprise was that Freddie and Joe were also coming. When Tim read the email aloud, he looked at Lu, who smiled enigmatically, and he guessed she'd given the guys a nudge or two. Like Abby, Joe's fiancée, Chelsea, wasn't a big fan of the sun or hot weather and wouldn't be joining them. Tobias also replied, he, Gail, Emily and Pauley were in and were happy about staying in Varkiza.

Unfortunately, other than Ducky, none of their NCIS family would be able to make it, although Leon sent a note saying he and the kids would already be at the Russells in Piraeus, maybe they could connect at some point. His May visit had been postponed, to their disappointment.

All too soon, the last day of Tim's classes arrived and he spent the time with his students, talking to them about their futures. Two of them already had job offers in the U.S. and had many questions for their professor about life in America. One would be working at George Washington University while the other would be at MIT. Tim thought he'd burst with pride when he heard that, both were students he'd mentored. Rather than take all the time they had to answer their questions, he asked them to come by his office on Friday. Several were continuing their education while others had job offers in the UK or on the continent. They talked about those, the pros and cons, Tim reassuring them that their first job didn't have to be theirs for life, they needed to keep up their research and continuing education, listen, watch and then jump in.

He offered to be a sounding board although he cautioned them he was returning to law enforcement. Several people had just started their job searches and didn't yet know where they'd be. He urged them to be proactive in their pursuit of a position, to call for status, to make sure their CV had been received, if they were turned down for a position, to ask why and to seek constructive criticism.

He also reminded them of the importance of staying in touch with the world and perhaps most important, working and living in an ethical and moral manner. After giving themselves and their professor a round of applause, they walked out together. Although he'd see some in his office tomorrow and all of them at graduation on Saturday, their time as teacher and student was over.

Now he really felt like "Mr. Chips" but the truth was he could happily continue to do this, here at Bedford. For the hundredth time, he worried whether they were making the right move, returning to the U.S.

He had more visitors for his office hours than he'd expected and he didn't get home until nearly 5:00. Artie smiled at him as he walked in and tilted her head at his sad demeanor. She'd known he would have problems with this, her Tim always had problems saying goodbye and letting go. She knew how much he'd loved his time here and she was as uncertain as he was about their move. She would dearly miss her grandmother, sisters, in that she included Sarah, Ian, James, her uncles, aunt, the children and now her mother as their relationship healed, and her new father.

However, she and Tim thought Dad, Lu, Rob and Geordie were ready to move home and they still believed the children should experience life in the United States. She knew how hard it was to leave, to go on to the unknown, she'd been doing that most of her life. They'd be all right, once they settled in. They had new family and old friends there and would soon learn how to get around and where things were. She was thankful she'd spent 2 Christmases there, close to 4 weeks. At least she knew a few streets and how to drive the American way. If they could only find a way to take Big Blue with them, life would be so much easier!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Artie, Dad, Lu, Andy, Greg, Geo and Rob attended graduation with Professor McGee on Saturday, watching with pride as he walked in with the other professors. He shook hands with each of his students as they walked across the stage and Artie smiled, remembering some of the things he planned to say to them.

He'd already packed up his office and James helped him move the boxes home early that morning. Monday, he'd turn in his keys and ID. It was over.

As he walked up the hill to the University Monday morning, he felt sad, sadder than he'd been leaving NCIS, sadder than anytime except saying goodbye to Artie, the first day in Baltimore when he realized no one was coming for them, or the day he'd been told his father and brother were dead. He felt like he was being forced away again, although he knew he was the one who'd made the decision. He stopped on the green for a few minutes, pulling himself together.

He did the best he could before continuing his walk to the office of his department Master. When he knocked on the man's door, he beckoned him in, "Dr. McGee, come in, please."

Tim walked in and sat when Dr. B waved at a visitor's chair. "Wonderful graduation ceremony, Timothy, I noticed how proud you are of your graduates."

"Yes sir, they'll do well in the world. I can hardly wait to see what discoveries they make."

"Have you enjoyed your time here?"

Tim smiled for the first time in days, "Yes, sir. I've enjoyed the challenges, seeing a student understand something, working our way through problems, all of it. And I've certainly enjoyed living here."

"Good! Now, the president would like to have a few words with us."

"Sir?"

Dr. B, whose surname was Baghdassarian, smiled, handed him a sealed envelope, and walked out of his office, confident his colleague would follow him. When they reached the President's office, he opened the door and gestured to Tim to enter. Mystified, Tim did so.

Again, he was invited to sit and did, along with Dr. B.

"Timothy, we are quite sorry you are leaving us. We don't want you to leave, the work you've done in the past 2 years has been excellent, innovative and just what we need here. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to hire our visiting professors immediately after their contract is completed. We're forced to wait 12 months. Knowing your situation, I decided to ask you directly, would you be interested in returning in 12 months to teach as a tenured professor?"

"Tenured?"

"Yes, that was the compromise when we were forced into the 12 month wait. Full tenure."

"Yes, sir, I am interested, although I'll have to discuss it with my wife."

"Of course, we can't ask for a commitment at this point, anyway. But this gives us hope that you'll return to Bedford."

"Sir, I have questions but I suppose those will have to wait?"

"Yes, I'm afraid they will. We'll stay in touch and hope you don't change your mind. Don't burn your robes!"

Tim chuckled, "Not likely to do that, Dr. MacAdam. Thank you for your offer. You've given me a lot to think about."

As he walked home, Tim's brain was throwing ideas and information at him faster than he could process them. Before he opened the front door, he stopped to take a deep breath, rolling his neck and shoulders. He was surprised when Geordie opened the door. "I've been ready to console you but you look a lot happier than that sad man who dragged himself up the hill an hour ago."

Tim nodded, "I am happier. That was rough but not as bad as I thought. So, any thoughts on your future, Gyrene?"

Geo looked at him with hooded eyes, deciding to go with the deflection for now. "Two years at Quantico and then retirement from the Corps. If I'm lucky, I'll have time before I retire to get started on my Masters and Doctorate so I can teach history at college level. You sure enjoyed it!"

Tim smiled, "I did, a lot more than I thought I would. I like your plan. How about Bec?"

"Our relationship has certainly been made easier with her transfer. Just taking it slowly, Tim. I've been out of society for too long to jump right back in. So how much did you like teaching?"

Tim huffed, "A lot. However, I made a commitment to Vance and you know I don't take those lightly." He walked past his brother, "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk with my wife."

Artie was working in her office and starting to wonder where her husband was. He'd thought he'd be back in 20 minutes and he'd been gone an hour now. She smiled as he knocked on the door, telling him to come in.

Her smile grew wider when she saw his face. Gone was the depression that had stalked him all weekend. She kissed him and almost yelped when he kissed her back, dipping her backwards. When she could breathe again, she patted his face, "Oh ho, what happened?"

"They're not allowed to hire their visiting professors for 12 months after completion of the contract."

"And?"

"They asked if I'd be interested in a full-time, fully tenured spot in 12 months."

"Oooh! Fully tenured means?"

"A permanent position that may also mean I could pursue academic research without fear of losing my job." Tim added, "Don't know if it still means this, but back in the day, it basically meant a job for life."

"They couldn't fire you?"

Tim shrugged, "Not outright. However, there are always ways to get rid of an employee who's no longer doing his or her job."

"Ah, politics."

He laughed, "Of course. What do you think?"

"Aside from the obvious, having to move again, what do we do with the house, how will the children and the family feel about it…I think we'll have to wait and see how the next 12 months work out. Or is it more than that? What's the date on your contract?"

"You're right, it is more. The date on the contract is June 8th, 2015. So 12 ½ months."

"Are you going to tell your parents?"

"At some point, yes, but probably not until after we move home, get settled in and can stand the thought of moving again."

She laughed, "Which will probably be about a year!"

"True that. So…how busy are you?"

"Unfortunately, too busy for whatever mischief you have in mind."

"All right, I'll leave you to it. I should get some work done, Joel's probably wondering if I'm going to show up at all."

"You're going in?"

"Not today. There's some sort of meeting tomorrow, he asked me to come in for it."

They kissed again and Tim resolutely left the Chief Engineer's office. In his office, he sat down in his chair, hearing the envelope from Dr. B crinkle in his pocket. Fishing it out, he opened it and stared at the contents. The first item was an offer, the offer they couldn't officially make him for 12 ½ months. It was a promise to replace this document with a genuine offer in June of 2018.

The second item was a letter of recommendation signed by Drs. Baghdassarian and MacAdam.

The third item nearly took his breath away. It was a check for several thousand dollars. The note attached said it was the money the university would have paid for his family's transportation to and from the United States, and that they were so happy with his work, they'd decided to give it to him as a bonus. Underneath the written content of the letter was the number of the graduates he'd taught who'd reported receiving pre-graduation job offers. He hadn't thought of it in numbers, his students were individuals who each meant something to him, but he got their point when he looked at the statistic at the bottom. 87% of his students had received those offers. He smiled, silently congratulating every parent, family member, every teacher from nursery through Uni, and mentor who'd ever crossed the paths of those students, of all his students.

He thought about the 13%, those who hadn't received the pre-graduation job offers. They meant just as much to him and to the world. He hadn't excelled in everything, most people didn't. Those 13% had worked hard, he knew that, he'd been with them. Some were continuing their education, some just hadn't started the job search. They'd do fine and had every right to be proud of themselves. Bedford was close to the top of the Uni chain and with its smaller size and strict scholastic standards, was very difficult to get into. Just the fact they'd been students there spoke volumes about those young adults.

Remembering what his own mentors had done when he left MIT, he sent an email to his former students, telling them how proud he was of each and every one of them, that they should be proud of themselves for their diligence and perseverance and to please keep in touch as they moved through life. He reminded them that he was still in touch with his mentors. He felt better after sending the note.

After depositing the check via his phone, Tim gave himself 15 minutes to absorb everything before logging on to NCIS. He lasted 6 minutes before logging on, he hoped there was work for him, he needed to focus!

Tuesday, he went into the agency, smiling when he saw the desk set up for Ned. Sitting down, he scribbled a little note to his once and future colleague, tucking it into the center drawer of the desk, under a lime green pen. When he stood up, he adjusted the chair for his friend, who had a couple of inches on him, and remembered doing that his first day on Gibbs' team. Actually, it was his second day; he hadn't known he'd been transferred onto Gibbs' team until the end of his first day.

Joel welcomed him, asking him to take a look at something that was percolating in Singapore. He'd been advised London might have a piece of it. While their current junior, Terrell Okoro, was reviewing the case for Joel, the SAIC wanted the kind of in-depth analysis Tim could provide. Joel smiled as he explained, "What I'd really like you to do is electronically shadow the Singapore Team. Do you know their SSAIC?"

Tim smiled, "Yes, I've known Cassie Yates since I was a pup at Norfolk."

"Great! If you could do that, it'll save us time getting caught up if we end up in it."

"Updates twice daily unless there's definitive action?"

"Perfect. And if you find anything or spot something, or miss something that should be there and isn't mentioned in their reports, let Cassie know, please. This is obviously her first chance to work with an INV agent."

"Joel, would it help if I contacted her, offered my services for her team? That might free up resources for her and I'd be in on the play by play, we'd have all the information here and I can distill it for you."

"Yes, with the caveat that if anything comes into Europe that needs your expertise, we might have to split your time."

Tim nodded, "If and when."

"Right."

He emailed Cassie, smiling at her response. Once he had access to the Singapore servers, he found the case and spent some time reviewing the information they had before he dived into cyberspace.

After sending his final report that afternoon, he was logging off when Joel appeared at his desk. "I saw the information and analysis you sent to Cassie. She says you might have broken the case. Where did you find that?"

"I learned to shake every tree, every limb, every branch, every twig, examine every leaf until we were sure we had the tiniest detail. On this one, I followed money trails for each of the players and their immediate families. I ran each family member and found college funds for kids in one particular family. My wife and I have funds set aside for our kids too; it was the way this was set up that triggered my interest. First of all, the kids' names in that family didn't correspond to the names on the funds, nor did they correspond to any offspring or family members in any of the families of the players.

"Secondly, the conditions of the accounts stated that the kids or the recipients couldn't access the funds until they were 37. I could understand 18, 21 or even 30, but 37 was an odd number to use, especially for a fund that's clearly set up for continuing education.

"I looked at the accounts themselves. Each was set up, with deposits beginning several months ago, all within the timeframe the team built. Furthermore, the deposits have been consistent each month, and they tie directly to the amounts vanishing monthly.

"Then I started looking for whatever the number 37 represented, beginning with the ages of the players the team's identified." Tim shook his head, "It's one of the first rules of electronic safety, you never use your age or birth date or that of anyone close to you, not any kind of date that's in a public record. But, lucky for us, these idiots did. The youngest member of the embezzlement ring turned 37 a week before the first of the accounts was set up. The final piece was that the first letter of the first names on those funds corresponded to the first letter of the last names of the players.

"It was all too easy, so I started over, looked elsewhere but the money trail kept bringing me back to that family and those funds. I decided to send it all to Agent Yates, including my analysis."

"Great job, you make it sound so easy when I know it would have taken me weeks to figure that out. Now, go home! You working from home tomorrow?"

"Yes, for the rest of the week."

"Oh yeah, this is the Berlin weekend. Carol and I loved the city, even tried to convince Leon to open an office there."

Tim chuckled and bidding his team good night, headed for home.

Cassie's team broke their case early Thursday morning, London time. She wrote a thank you note to Tim, copying Vance and Joel. His information about the 'college funds' had been the link they needed to bring down the ring of embezzlers. In a postscript, she asked Leon how soon she could have her own INV agent and would Tim be willing to transfer to Singapore?

Laughing at that, Tim wrote her a note of congratulations, telling her he was now happily married with 5 kids and that he'd discovered his biological father was none other than Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He went on to say that Gibbs had retired and moved to the UK with them 2 years ago.

He attached a photo of the Manor, telling his old friend that he and his family were sharing the Manor house with his sister, her fiancé, his father and stepmother, who'd been the only mother Tim and his siblings knew during their youths. They'd been happy here, exploring the UK, Ireland and Europe as well as Morocco and were now packing to move to another huge house in Arlington, VA. He added that the cost to transfer his family to the Singapore office would probably kill the agency's entire relocation budget for the next fiscal year.

Starting to feel more connected to his NCIS "roots", Tim relaxed as he helped prepare the house, which would be full to the brim with overseas guests for the wedding, and for their trip to Germany.

Before dinner each night that week, he, Geo and Lu gave the kids history lessons about the end of World War II, the Soviet Union 'keeping' East Germany and more than 15 years later, the sudden appearance of a cruel wall that forcibly separated East Berlin and East Germany from West Berlin and West Germany, along with thousands of families.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Taking assignments for the day of school the boys would miss, the McGees, Gibbses and Captain Perry left for Germany Thursday evening. They landed on time and smiled when they spotted Tony and Maggie waiting for them at Customs. With hugs and kisses, they greeted them, it had been far too long since they'd seen the Barnes-DiNozzos in person.

They'd been in Europe for a few days and when asked what they'd done, Maggie's face lit up. "We flew in here and then got on a train to Prague. We stopped over for a city tour of Dresden, beautiful city, before continuing to Prague. Tony said he had to see all the fairytale buildings Tim, Jethro, Greg and Kyle saw 3 years ago. It is beautiful, especially lit up at night. We had a lot of fun in our 2 days there, took the first train this morning and checked into our Airbnb here. It's a big place, plenty of room for all of us!"

Tony nodded, "What we've seen of Berlin so far is exciting! Can't wait to really get going."

Tim grinned, "Are our first stops still Checkpoint Charlie and the East Side Gallery?" They'd read that the longest connected piece of the Berlin Wall was at the East Side Gallery.

"Yes, absolutely! And hey, did you see there's a Computer Games Museum?"

Artie chuckled, "Yes, we already have tickets. Andy and Greg want to go with us."

Tim nodded, "We saw something about a Biosphere in Potsdam that would be fun for the kids and of course, there are the surprises."

Lu chuckled, "We don't even know what they are."

Gathering their belongings, they made their way to the rental van and drove to the Airbnb. It was a big house that had been split into apartments during the Communist era and was once again a single dwelling with 2 levels, 3 counting the basement, 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a decent sized kitchen and common area. Perhaps the most exciting thing about it was that it was in East Berlin! As they drove, Maggie pointed out various plaques on street corners and buildings.

Jethro had goose bumps on his arms. His dad had participated in the bombing of Berlin toward the end of the war and he could only imagine what Jack would say if he knew his son, grandsons and great-grandchildren were here. He wished again that there was time to bring LJ over, show him what Europe looked like now.

The house was comfortable, large enough for their crew for a few days. The boys were sharing as were Rissa and Hope, their rooms were on the main level with a bathroom between their room. Their parents had the 3rd bedroom on the main level and had their own bathroom. Tony, Maggie, Jethro and Lu were on opposite ends of the 2nd level with an empty bedroom and a bathroom between their rooms. Geo thought he'd take the empty bedroom, until he explored the basement. He found a bedroom and bathroom down there, fully furnished. The bedroom even had a little window.

When Tim went looking for him, he was surprised to find a 7th bedroom. Geo shrugged, "It's got furniture, there's water pressure in the sink and shower and the toilet works. Maybe people don't want to stay in a basement but hey, it works for me." He looked at his brother, both thinking of the tents they'd lived in, and shaking their heads, laughed.

Tony and Maggie had had enough time to buy groceries for their stay so they were set. Most days, they'd take their lunches with them and have breakfast and dinner here.

After the kids went to bed, first making sure they knew where their parents would be, the adults sat down in the living room to map out their first day. They'd known from the start that Check Point Charlie and whatever they could see of the Berlin Wall were the first things they wanted to see. They also added the Berlin Story Museum which was housed in an old bunker/air raid shelter.

They identified a park where they'd have lunch and let the kids run around. They went over their long list of places to see, including the Gaming Museum, Museum Island, the TV Tower, Tiergarten, they thought they'd be there more than once. There was a zoo near there, along with a petting zoo they'd take the kids to.

They also wanted to experience PotsdamerPlatz, the Berlin Cathedral, the Potsdam biosphere Tim mentioned earlier, the Holocaust memorials, the Jewish Museum, Gendarmenmarkt and of course Brandenburg Gate which they'd also see tomorrow. Those were the highlights, they'd spent weeks prioritizing what they wanted to see and if they had time, there was more. Badeschiff, for instance, a swimming pool housed in a barge on the river, along with an aquarium for the kids.

They'd talked about doing one of the bicycle tours but the McGees weren't sure Kyle, Rissa and Hope could go for a half day. Hope would ride with someone but even with frequent stops, her parents couldn't see her sitting in a baby seat on a bike for 4 hours. Tony and Maggie and possibly Dad and Malu, maybe even Andy and Greg, might do the bike tour while the McGees did something more suited to their younger kids.

Saturday, they were going on an hour cruise on the river, that would be fun and was the one of the surprises for the kids. The other surprise was a train trip outside of the city.

They agreed later that seeing Check Point Charlie, the museum, the pieces of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Story, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorials and the boat cruise were their favorite things. Those were interesting, especially because the fall of the Berlin Wall was a worldwide wonder that happened during the adults' lifetimes.

Tim, Artie, Andy and Greg had a great time at the Gaming Museum, especially when the boys discovered an 20-year old game that had been developed, so the placard said, by an American named Timothy McGee and a Greek named Artemis Galinis! They came racing to find their parents who laughed when the boys were so excited they could hardly speak, neither of them knew what had the kids so excited. Grabbing their hands, the boys pulled them over to the exhibit. There were other people there and Andy said, "Our parents did that, when they were in college!"

The people looked at them, not understanding English, so Greg pointed to the placard, to the game and then to his parents, who were looking at each other in surprise. Now the other people understood and soon a little crowd gathered.

One of the museum employees went to see what was happening and then insisted on taking Tim and Artie's photo along with the boys and conducting a brief interview with them. They removed the game from its pedestal and had Tim and Artie hold it between them in one of the photos. While this was going on, Andy had his father's phone and sent photos to his grandparents. When the phone rang, Papa looked over but Andy mouthed 'Grandpa' and he nodded his permission for his son to answer his phone.

"Hi Grandpa, did you see the photos?"

"Yes, Jammer, what's going on?"

"Mama and Papa developed an electronic game when they were at MIT together and it's here in the museum. I don't think they knew because they were as surprised as Greg and I were. We were so excited, we told some other people here and now the museum people are taking photos of them and talking with them. It's so cool! First I didn't know that Papa likes dragons and now we find out he and Mama created a game."

"That's really something! Did they sell it to someone?"

"I don't know, but they must have, otherwise how did it get here?"

Greg came closer to him, he'd been trying to listen to what the museum guy was saying to his parents. Now he whispered, "Andy, the guy they sold it to didn't pay them when he was supposed to, Mama and Papa are just finding that out. The museum guy says the game was very popular in Europe and that they should have been paid for it."

Then he noticed someone was on the phone and Andy said, "I sent our photos to Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Tony and Aunt Maggie. I was going to send it to Uncle James, because he's tech, but I didn't."

His grandfather said something and Andy said, "I didn't hear you, Grandpa."

"I asked if you sent the photos to anyone else? I heard you say your grandmother, me, your uncle Tony and aunt Maggie."

"Nobody else."

"Good. Let your parents have the fun of sharing, okay, kiddo?"

"Oh! I didn't even think of that!"

"I know, you're too excited, huh?"

"Yes!"

"All right, have fun and we'll see you in an hour or so."

"Ok, bye Grandpa." Greg leaned in, also saying goodbye and the brothers looked at each other. Greg beamed, "He likes dragons and he made a game. He's the coolest dad ever!"

Andy grinned, "Yeah he is! Mama too, she engineered the game, Greg!"

"Wow, we're so lucky! Wait until we tell Kyle and Rissa – and the cousins!"

"All the cousins! Hope will be proud when she's old enough to understand."

"Yeah."

Tim and Artie listened as the museum curator told them who'd donated the game, it was the guy they'd supposedly partnered with. They'd had it copyrighted. The legal agreement with the guy was that he would market the game and they'd get a percentage of the profits. Artie remembered one check but nothing else and Tim remembered that after a few months, the man disappeared, none of his contact information worked. They weren't too worried because of the copyright but now it looked like they'd been swindled. When the curator said this was the original game, the one he and Artie had worked on, Tim and Artie looked at each other, disturbed by what they were hearing.

By the time they left the museum, they had their so-called partner's contact information, he lived in the UK, and were discussing whether to just sue him outright or speak to him first. Realizing the boys were taking in every word, they decided they would contact the man. If he'd used his own name as the developer, they probably would have sued him, but he'd given their names, which was good, although puzzling.

Changing their plans, they made arrangements to meet the others back at the Airbnb. Artie wanted to call the swindler as soon as possible and Tim agreed. When they reached the house, Tim took out his phone and Googled his own name, finding many Timothy McGees. Adding the middle initial that was on the contract the swindler signed with them, he found himself pretty easily. Next he tried Artemis Galinis, adding her middle initial and found her fairly quickly. So, this guy could not claim he couldn't find them. Their attorney knew where Tim was and his name was on the contract. Then he Googled the man's name, Martin Fernsby. He looked at the piece of paper with the phone number and name and added the middle initial. That narrowed it down and he looked through the results, finding the one he'd feared. He showed his wife who sighed, "When?"

"The same year the museum acquired our game."

"Look, it says he died of injuries sustained in an accident 3 years before. That poor man."

Tim nodded. "Yeah. Let's call the number, maybe there's family or someone who can tell us what happened."

Glad they'd looked before calling, Tim input the number, putting the phone on speaker. A man answered and from his tone, Tim thought he sounded either ill or quite elderly, perhaps both. "Hello?"

"Hello, my name is Timothy McGee and I was given this number for Martin Fernsby, a former business partner of mine. By any chance is that name familiar to you?"

"Yes, he was my nephew, I'm Steven Fernsby. And you're the young man with the game!"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for your loss. Artemis Galinis, my partner in the development of the game and now my wife, and I are in Berlin for a few days and went to a museum that displays old electronic games. Our sons found the game we developed and the museum curator gave us the phone number."

"My goodness. You're in Germany now?"

"Yes sir. We live near London and came over for a long weekend with our kids and my parents."

"You're an American and you live in the UK?"

"Yes sir, my company has an office in London and I work there. My wife is a civil engineer and works all over the world. London's very convenient for her."

"My word. You're wondering what happened, then."

"Yes, we are."

"Marty made a big mistake. He kept the money he owed you, he intended to contact you but well, obviously he never did. Then his house burned down, he was living in southern California and lost his house in one of those horrible wildfires they have there now. His safe, with the contract, was also destroyed and Marty was badly injured. He tried to save the place by getting on the roof with a hose. But the roof caved in and he fell in with it. He hung on for 3 years, before he ended his life, it was just too painful to keep going. I was the last of his family and he told me what he'd done. He remembered your names but not the attorney's. When he heard about the museum, he had me call them and then he gave the game to the organizers, along with your names. It was supposed to be here in London, you know, that museum. But they lost their funding and left and then Marty died, hoping somehow you'd hear about the museum and find the game. He felt badly that he'd cheated you. If you'll give me your address, I'll send you a check for the amount."

"No, no sir, please don't do that, you don't need to spend your own money!"

"Oh, I left that part out! He never spent your share of the money, it's been in a savings account for 20 years now. He added me to the account, so I can send it to you."

"Oh. That's…wow. I don't know how to ask this without sounding offensive, but are you in need of anything?"

"Thank you, Mr. McGee but no, I'm financially fit, as they say and my funds are separate. Just wish my body was in as good a shape as my bank account!"

"Mr. Fernsby, we'll be home on Wednesday. We'd like to meet you, if you wouldn't mind. We have some photos to show you, of Artemis, me and Marty."

"Oh, yes, I'd like to see those. He said he met you at MIT."

"Yes sir, Artemis and I graduated from there."

"Wonderful school, my brother went there too, Marty's father."

After making plans to meet him on Thursday and getting his address, they disconnected. Andy and Greg peeked into their bedroom, "Did you talk with the man?"

"No, we spoke with his uncle. Marty, the man who was handling sales of the game, died a few years ago."

"Did he cheat you?"

"Yes but he still had the money and told his uncle what he'd done before he died. His uncle will give it to us when we get home."

"Wow!"

Artie looked at her husband and sons, "I think we should make a donation to the museum."

Tim smiled, "Great idea! All right, let's get back to our vacation, what's next?"

They smiled as they heard the front door opening and Hope ran into the room, "Mama, Bapa, we played on the swings and Gran'ba took me on the slide!"

Like Kyle before her, Hope had mastered her 'Rs' and 'Ns'. However, she still had problems with the letter 'P', mostly substituting 'B', although her 'B' was so soft it could easily be mistaken for a 'P'.

Tony, Maggie and Geo entered and laughing, bowed down to Tim and Artie. "All hail the game makers!"

They all laughed and then Kyle and Rissa came running in, their grandparents behind them. "Papa, Mama, are you famous now?"

"No, kiddos, we're not famous!"

"Oh. But Grandma said they took your picture."

"They did, but that doesn't make us famous." Tim had to remind himself again that he was no longer a field agent, he would never be physically undercover, there was no need to worry about a photo of him posted in a museum in Germany.


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

After a fun, interesting and surprising trip, the group was a little tired on the flight to London but perked up as they rode the train home from the airport. They smiled happily when James and George, his dad, were waiting with Big Blue at the station in Brambury.

The senior Powells were staying in the playroom, once again a guestroom, while Greg would share his room with Andy so Susannah and Ian could have Andy's room, sleeping on one of the King sized inflatable beds. Tony and Maggie would sleep in the library, using another of the King sized inflatables while Mimi and Sophia would have the 2nd master and Ducky would stay in Tim's office. Tobias and Emily had hoped to come but Emily wouldn't be done with school in time. However, they would join them for the Grecian trip in July!

A recent RSVP for the wedding made them all very happy, Abby was coming! They'd offered her the pull-out couch in the family room and she'd accepted. She was flying over with the 'new' family, arriving on the 1st, and with the Porters joining the flight, they were again granted a group discount. Penny was in Chad, the last stop on her current lecture tour and would also arrive in London on Thursday the 1st. She'd managed to coordinate her flight so that she'd arrive an hour before the rest of the family. Tim would drive Big Blue to the airport to meet her flight and then they'd wait for the others.

Maisie and Penny were also staying at the house, sharing Dad and Lu's guest room, while the others would stay at the same Airbnb that the Fornells and Porters shared last summer. The Porters were again staying there, much to their amusement.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After their Berlin adventure, the McGees, Gibbses and Barnes-DiNozzos made laundry their first priority. While the washing machine was busy with vacation clothes, Dad and Tony took various formal clothing to the local dry cleaners.

After much thought and discussion, Sarah had asked all 3 of her parents, Lu, Timpa and Dad to walk down the aisle with her. With the wedding planned for outdoors, unless rain chased them inside, it was an easy adjustment to make to the aisle so the 4 wouldn't be squished together. Lu was thrilled while her husband and Tim were happy that she'd be recognized for her role in Sarah's life.

Lu considered wearing the dress and jacket she'd worn for her own wedding but Jethro, with Sarah and Artie's help, convinced her to wear the dress they'd purchased in Marrakesh. When new shoes were deemed necessary, a shopping trip into London led to the purchase of a pair of pretty sandals that looked beautiful with her dress. Jethro was pleased; his sweetheart had chosen a profession devoted to helping people but didn't provide much income and she'd lived a frugal life. He understood that and was grateful she'd chosen the work she had, now he loved seeing her face light up with something as simple as a pretty new dress and shoes.

The men, except for Geordie in his dress blues, would wear tailcoats for the wedding. Tim was happy to wear his again, Rob privately thought he'd feel silly and Dad wasn't sure how the cut would look on him. A simple try of Tim's coat made him feel better. Yes, it was a little too long but the style looked fine. Lu was very enthusiastic and that was enough for Jethro. He, James and Rob visited the same tailor they'd seen for Tim and Artie's wedding and within a couple of weeks, Dad and Rob's tailcoats and vests had been tailored to work with their tuxedos and were hanging in their closets. Once Rob put his tailcoat on, he felt a little better and when all 3 men put theirs on and looked in the mirror, they looked great together. James' outfit took longer as he needed the whole outfit.

One of James' school friends would be his best man while Rob, Geordie and Tony would be groomsmen. Artie was Sarah's matron of honor with Maggie, Sarah's friend Kat and Susannah as her bridesmaids. Two young cousins of James' would be junior bridesmaids while Andy and Greg were junior groomsmen. Kyle and Marissa were the ring bearer and flower girl, with Hope a very junior flower girl.

Artie saw an idea online that would help the children, especially the littles, become accustomed to their roles in the wedding. When they returned from Berlin, before the guests began arriving, she and Tim played wedding with their children. Andy and Greg were a big help, nudging their little brother and sisters to help them remember where they were supposed to be.

All of them were used to going to church and even toddler Hope knew church meant quiet unless everyone was talking. Not quite 18 months, she didn't always remember, but usually she did very well. Now she was introduced to the game of wedding, where she would walk up to the top of the aisle, where the priest would be, holding Mimi's hand and then sitting quietly with Papa, Grandpa, Grandma, Mimi and Yaya Sophia. When the wedding was done, she'd get to walk out with Kyle and Marissa, followed very closely by her Papa, her grandparents, Mrs. Edith and Mr. George!

The children played wedding several times, with their parents and various members of the family rehearsing their own roles. They all hoped the 'game' would help the children feel more comfortable when the chairs, aisle, arch, dressy clothes and dozens more people were involved. Shy Rob participated in a few of the wedding games and admitted after the real wedding that whether it was the games or the fact that this was the third wedding he'd been part of in the last two years, he felt more comfortable.

As for other members of the family, George, a lector at the Powells' church in Castleton, would do a reading, Ducky would read a poem selected by the couple, and Uncle Jim Powell and Uncle Jim Hubbard would read prayers for the newlyweds.

When Artie's phone rang one evening, she smiled at the ID, mouthing 'Nikolas' to Tim. She answered and after saying hello, listened with a smile blooming on her face. "Yes, that's wonderful! You'll need to find lodging as we're already overflowing here at the house. I have several names…oh, that's good, perfect! No, you'll be just 2 blocks from our place." She laughed, "You can't miss it, it looks like a castle without the turrets and moat! Ask anyone for the Manor house and they'll point you in the right direction. Or let us know when you're ready and Andy can walk over and guide you back."

Nikolas said something and she replied, "Yes, it's safe! He's 13, this is a small town, many people know our family." She waited again before saying they would see them Friday and to travel safe, telling them to bring light jackets as the evenings were still cool here.

Tim looked at her, "They're coming?"

"Yes! Sergio reminded Nikolas how important family is and that we won't be here much longer. They're arriving Friday afternoon, taking the train in from the airport and are staying at an Airbnb next door to the Hubbards."

"You didn't tell them that."

She smiled smugly. "I know, that was a little mean of me, wasn't it? I've found Uncle Nikolas sometimes gets a little panicked with inconsequential things, such as being next door to an American family he's never met."

Tim snorted, "We barely know them!"

"Hmm, that might have helped but that's all right. One of us can pop over there to guide them here."

"Cyndi and Larry can lead the whole group here."

"Ah, excellent suggestion!"

Sarah was the one panicking on Wednesday but, having recently been through their own weddings, Artie, Lu and Susannah patiently went through the 'to do' list with her. That, a hug from her Timpa and an evening alone with her fiancé helped immensely.

Thursday, Tim and Artie drove into London to meet Steven Fernsby, the uncle of their deceased game partner. They stayed long enough to show him the photos of the 2 of them with his nephew and to collect their checks and a box of papers the elderly man insisted they take. Because they were listed separately as partners, each had their own check. They'd teased each other about what the amounts would be, anywhere from $500,000 to a $1.25. When they saw the checks, they were impressed, $26,545 apiece. Mr. Fernsby said the documentation they'd need for their taxes was in the box of papers.

Making a quick stop at their bank to deposit the checks, they'd move the funds around later, Artie then took the Tube home while Tim had Big Blue washed before driving to the airport. He was early but he'd rather park somewhere near the airport, have a leisurely lunch and read a book than sit in the afternoon commute traffic.

Penny's flight was right on time and he stood at the back of the Customs Hall watching for her, waving when he saw her on the escalator. She smiled and waved back before queuing for passport control/Customs. He knew she'd be tired after a nearly 6 hour flight and thought they'd tuck her luggage into Blue and find a spot for a cup of tea, coffee or an adult beverage.

When she was through the queues, he met her, folding her into a warm hug and then taking her luggage, took her to the van. She laughed, "Good heavens, this thing must qualify as a school bus!"

He grinned, "It should, but it's rated as a minibus. I thought we could go have a coffee, tea, or whatever you'd like to do."

"Is there a park or somewhere where we can walk for a bit? I need to stretch my legs."

"Good idea and yes, there's one not too far. It's not quiet, so close to the airport, but it's got walking paths."

"Yay! Oh, Timothy, it's so wonderful to be here, to see you again! Sometimes, especially when I'm traveling, everything just seems surreal, like it didn't really happen."

"Penny, anytime you feel like that, call! We have plenty of family to prove we're alive and well." He laughed, "I should record the kids at their highest volume, that'll chase away any doubts!"

They reached the park and got out to walk, Tim taking Penny's arm and continuing their conversation.

She smiled, "That it would. I did love the video of Hope's first steps!"

"Of the 7 kids I've raised, am raising, she's the only one with whom I've experienced most of her firsts. She sat up for the first time with us, spoke her first word with us, got her first tooth with us. We missed her first crawl and probably her first crash, but Artie says we've seen nearly everything else and that we should be thankful we missed most of her teething."

Penny shook her head, "I can't believe you've raised that many children!"

He chuckled, "Except for Hope, they all happened in pairs, Sarah and Rob, Greg and Kyle, Andy and Marissa. Keep in mind Rob and Sarah were mostly on their own by 2004; I had a decade to myself before I brought Greg and Kyle home with me."

"And you'd already met Greg, without knowing who he was to you?"

"Yes. A week or two, can't remember now, before their mother was killed, I met with Greg as his 'Big Brother'. I wish I'd met Kathy but our schedules were too crazy, we'd had back to back cases and she couldn't afford to lose any time from work. I offered to meet her at the shelter but she didn't want to do that." He sighed, "I wonder if she would have recognized me. When she met Patrick, he was Patrick Blair which explains why she didn't recognize my name, and, of course, McGee is not an uncommon name and she would have believed Sarah and I were dead. When I met Greg as his Big Brother, he was 6 and looked so much like Pat at age 6 that I had a hard time with my emotions. I persuaded myself he was Pat's doppelganger."

Afraid the topic would upset his grandmother, Tim asked her a question about Chad and was happy to listen to stories of her lectures, the wonderful people she met in every city and country as well as her love of travel.

When she asked about his travels in Europe, he told her about Berlin and how much it meant to have seen what was left of the Wall and the vibrant, united city. "I wish we'd had time to see more of Germany. Except for Stockholm and the first part of our trip to Portugal last year, we always head for warmth or to Athens to see Yaya, uh, that's Mimi, Artie's grandmother."

"Which one is her name?"

He laughed, "Neither! Yaya is what Artie and I call her, as Artie's grandmother, and Mimi is her chosen great-grandmotherly name. Dad, Lu, the kids and my siblings all call her Mimi. Her actual name is Athena Susannah Damaris Midei. She says Mimi is a nickname from her childhood but doesn't remember who called her that. She's excited to meet all of you, she's flying in tomorrow. She loves that we have Greek names in the family, Penelope, Timotheus, and Geordie."

"I don't know much Greek."

Tim grinned, "She speaks perfect English and we'll gladly teach you more Greek."

"You speak it at home?"

"We all do, even the baby. James' parents, you met them at Christmas, have learned quite a bit and Susannah, Artie's sister, is teaching her mother and father-in-law, Fiona and Alastair Clacher. Ian speaks pretty well too."

"Jethro and Lu?"

"Yes. They're both a little shy speaking with Grecians outside of the family but they know enough to spend time in Athens on their own."

"Have they?"

"Gone to Greece without us? No way! They went to Morocco and Malta on their honeymoon and spent a week in Paris last month. Artie and I were there in April, after Susannah and Ian's wedding in Athens."

His cell buzzed and he grinned, "That's the Porters, the rest of our family has arrived! By the time we get back to the airport, they might be clearing Customs!"

Penny smiled happily as they walked back to Big Blue. As he'd done before, Tim spread a blanket over Penny's bags in Blue's cargo space. He didn't think anyone would try to break into the van but decided not to tempt fate. They were back in the parking garage within 10 minutes and in the Customs Hall in another few minutes. When Tim spotted Abby, Cyndi, and his cousin Ainsley on the escalator, he and Penny waved. By the time they were all through, Ducky had joined Tim and his grandmother. Penny smiled at the affection the older man showed her grandson. He chuckled when they parted, "I think I'll stay here until our surprise vacation, Timothy! Breena and Jimmy are considering renting a new home and spending the house money for a return to Europe."

Tim's eyes widened but the look on Ducky's face told him he was teasing. They were still catching up when the others began to join them. Abby and the Porters were first. Abby and Tim exchanged a long hug. When they parted, Tim said, "I'm so glad you were able to come, Abby! Means the world to Sarah and the rest of us."

"Freddie and the guys convinced me. They couldn't make it, but they're looking forward to the second wedding in August."

"I'm excited that Freddie and Joe are joining us in Greece!"

"I know, that's cool, huh?!"

Abby stepped aside as the Cranes and Maisie joined them, followed by the Hubbards. After they'd all greeted Tim, Uncle Dave looked around, "You're by yourself?"

"No, Penny's here."

"Wise guy!"

Tim grinned, "Ok, yes I'm by myself. Dad and Malu took the kids for a hike, Artie has a meeting, Geo, Rob and James are working and Sarah's too nervous to sit still. Everything's under control. Jenna, our family wedding planner, is doing everything but the food, have a caterer handling that but my poor little sister is a bundle of nerves. She calmed down some last night but she's all over the place again today."

Maisie frowned, "Is she drinking a lot of coffee?"

"No, everything in the house with caffeine went to live in either Dad and Malu's suite or upstairs with Artie and me last week. Malu gives Sarah a little bit of chocolate now and then but that's it. She's drinking herbal tea." He smiled, "We set up one coffeemaker in Artie's office upstairs so Geo and Rob also have easy access. The other one is in Dad and Malu's suite. Poor James has been cut off from caffeine too, although I'm sure he drinks coffee or tea at the office."

Callum frowned, "I thought your stepmom's name was Lu?"

Tim laughed as he loaded the bags into the van, "It is, Cal, although her full name is Luella. Geordie came up with the nickname, Mamalu, which she likes and James shortened it to Malu, which she also likes. She says it makes her sound exotic." He moved two bags to get three more in and quickly finished. "All right, all the kiddie seats have been removed, find a seat and let's go!"

Jim looked at the van, "I can't believe how big this is! I thought ours was big, but wow!"

Penny chuckled, "I said it should qualify as a bus!"

Tim patted Big Blue affectionately. "We bought it from Susannah, Artie's sister, before she moved to Edinburgh. Back in the day, she managed a musical group and drove people and instruments around. Now Blue carries the kids and all of us. Sarah and James will keep her after we leave, they'll be able to camp in her if they want."

"How many people does she hold?"

"It's rated for 18. Without the kids' seats, 18 adults fit comfortably, we can squeeze 20 in for very short distances, if people don't mind being a little crowded."

"Wow! I don't think they sell anything this big for private use at home."

Tim nodded, "They don't, we've been looking. We'll need to seat 15 with 3 kids' seats. Andy and Greg don't need the safety seats any more, the seat belts fit them fine, which helps, but it'll be a few years before Kyle can lose his booster seat."

"Why 15?"

"We're 7, parents make 9, Mimi, Susannah and Ian will visit, that's 12. If Ian's parents also visit or if Sophia, my mother-in-law, comes along, we'll need room for 15. When Sarah and James visit, his parents will probably come along; there won't be quite as many as Artie's family. And of course, all the kids' gear."

Abby laughed, "And all the treasures you and Artie buy!" Ducky and the Porters laughed along with her. Tim smiled, "We do like our stuff! When we were in…where were we? Either Athens, Paris or Barcelona in April and May, we joked about opening a museum for all our treasures."

"Three countries in two months?"

"Sure. For Americans, everything in Europe is pretty close together, at least everywhere we've been. It takes us between 90 minutes to 4 hours by plane to get just about anywhere in Europe. Like visiting 3 states in a month."

"It's not expensive?"

Abby and the Porters chuckled and Cyndi answered for Tim. "For the McGees, yes, because there are 7 of them although last year Hope flew free when we went to Portugal. But the flights between European countries are very inexpensive and frequent."

Tim told them how much it cost to fly to Prague for the 4 of them and several sets of eyebrows rose. "Because it's easier with kids, we usually stay in Airbnb lodgings or vacation rentals, like we did last summer on Aegina."

Larry had wondered about that, "We're not staying on the island this summer, are we?"

"You're welcome to if you'd like, and we'll be making day trips over, but we're staying in Varkiza, the village where Mimi, Artie's grandmother, lives. The house we've rented before and will stay in again is walking distance to her home and to the beach and it's a short drive into Athens, perfect! There's plenty to see and do and for us, it's like going home. It's also not as well known to tourists so we experience more of the real Greece, not to mention I think the whole village knows us by now. It also makes taking the ferry across to Aegina for the day a big treat."

"For the kids?"

Tim chuckled, "For all of us!"

Abby sighed and Tim looked at her in the baby mirror. "It's sunny and hot every day."

"I know. What about early in the morning?"

"Not as hot as DC in the early mornings."

"Oh! I could handle that."

"What would you do the rest of the day?"

"Stay out of the sun. Use my parasol. Go to the museums and historical sites. Rent a car with air conditioning and drive around."

"Could you stand to be on a beach if you were under a big umbrella or a sun shelter?"

"Yes. I can do hot, I just don't do blazing sun."

Larry chuckled, "Sounds like you should live in the UK!"

"If I could work remotely or if the London office had a lab, I would."

Tim shook his head, "How did you survive growing up in New Orleans?"

"It was home. Until I was a teenager, I didn't know there was anywhere that wasn't hot and muggy. Then in high school, our senior trip was in April, when it was already in the 90's at home. We went to DC, where the cherry trees were blooming and it was wonderful."

Everyone laughed at that and she nodded, "I know, I hadn't really experienced seasons either."

Tim was quiet as he maneuvered through the afternoon traffic. Larry and Ducky took up the narrative, pointing out what they could see of London and in what direction they were heading.

When they pulled into the driveway at the Manor, Tim heard Abby, Ducky, Larry and Cyndi chuckling. With a smile, he hopped out, heading to the back of the van to start pulling Abby, Ducky, Penny and Maisie's luggage. He'd arranged it so their bags were close to the door. Larry came around to help him and then they stopped, listening.

Penny was the first, and the loudest, "What the… _this_ is where you live?" Beside her, Abby giggled and Ducky chuckled while Maisie and the others stood gawking.

Claire turned to her nephew, "Is it…was it a palace?"

"No, it's what's left of a medieval Manor house. The original house would have had turrets and be at least three times the size and the gardens would be about 4 times the size of ours."

Tim sent a look to Ducky who smiled, launching into a brief history of the house and what a traditional Manor house would look like.

Penny started laughing, "No wonder my place didn't scare you off, you're downsizing!"

Sarah opened the front door and stepped out, the kids behind her, Hope squirming in Aunty's arms. Hope went straight to her daddy while Uncle Dave took the bags Tim had been carrying. Once safely in his arms, she grinned at her visitors. "Hello!"

When everyone had been welcomed by Sarah and the children, they finally headed into the house where Jethro, Lu, Edith and George were waiting to greet them. Artie was just walking down the stairs, finally finished with her meeting. Tony and Maggie had gone into London for the day.

While Tim, Dad, George, Jim and Larry distributed the luggage, the others tagged along for a tour of the house. They ended in the kitchen which smelled wonderful. Lu smiled, "You've all traveled enough to know the signs of jet lag, that is hunger and fatigue. We've got the first one covered, we'll feed you, take you for a walk and then get you to your rooms and lodging so you can rest. If you'll take a seat at the dining table, we have a late lunch or early dinner, however you want to think of it, for you. Eat until you feel full. You'll be hungry again when you wake in about 4 hours."

Dutifully following orders, the group sat at the table, smiling as George and Jethro carried in two large bowls of soup while rolls fresh from the oven and 2 platters of sliced, roasted meat were also placed on the table. Two bowls of fresh vegetables, roasted with fresh herbs and spices, came next and Artie smiled, "These are from our garden, the children picked them fresh yesterday."

The family joined them and once again Tim remembered his thought 2 years ago that their entire extended family could easily fit around the dining room table. Now everyone fit because Dad, with help from most of the household, had made benches to sit on. The benches would go home with them, they'd be needed around Dad's big table there.

When they'd eaten their fill, those who hadn't cooked or had airport duty cleaned up and then they took their visitors out through the back gate. Ainsley and Cal were having a great time, their cousins were interesting and a lot of fun. They walked for 25 minutes, Sarah had her watch set and when it buzzed, she gave her father a look. With a nod, he whistled. The children turned around and started back while Jethro said, "Sarah's keeping time for us, and now it's time to get you to your rooms so you can get some sleep. Sari?"

With a smile, she told them her formula for handling jet lag and the travelers nodded in agreement. Another 25 minutes saw them back at the house where Abby and Ducky said goodbye to the others as they walked upstairs. She would nap in Rob and Geo's room, neither would be home until late Friday afternoon, and Artie had started work before dawn, she was done for the day. Ducky was staying in Tim's office on the pull-out couch and Penny and Maisie were shown to their room in the Gibbses' suite.

Tim smiled at the Hubbards, Cranes and Porters, "We took the liberty of stocking your kitchen with a few items, with the approval of your landlord, of course. You have enough for snacks tonight and breakfast. However, come on over here for breakfast tomorrow and Saturday if you'd like. We'll be in and out all day tomorrow as our Greek family arrives but someone will always be home. If you can't find your way, call the house phone and we'll send a guide."

Jim Hubbard grinned at his nephew, "We'll find our way, Tim, don't see how we can miss this place!"

Back in Big Blue, Tim took the Hubbards, Cranes and Porters to their place, helping with the bags. When he came home, he found Tony and Maggie walking up the driveway, back from their day in London. Hopping out of the van, he joined them.

He smiled, "It's fun to have you guys here at home as well as in Berlin. Makes me look forward to moving home so we can see you more often."

Tony looked at him, "If we were living here, would you be moving home?"

Tim returned his look for a long moment before sighing, "Yes. Except if you lived here, it would be even harder to leave. We do have Patrick, Ducky, LJ, Abby, the guys, the Palmers, Tobias and the reclaimed family to consider. And we still feel the kids should live in the U.S., as long as the schools they attend are safe."

Maggie smiled, "You miss the people."

"Yes, the people, our family and friends, but not the escalating violence, the polarization, the lack of public transportation, the traffic or the weather in DC." He tilted his head, "It's difficult to leave Sarah, Rob, Susannah, James, Ian, Artie's aunt, uncles, cousins and especially Mimi. And the Powells and Clachers. And Brambury and London. If I hadn't given Leon my word and if we hadn't purchased the Arlington house, I don't know if we'd be leaving here."

He shrugged, "There doesn't seem to be a right answer. When Abby was here the first time, she said something about knowing it was a successful vacation because she didn't want to leave but knew it was time and I think that's about as close as I can get to my feelings about leaving. It's been wonderful; for me these last 2 years have been the happiest of my life."

"It's hard to explain, apart from the personal aspects. It's almost like a hiatus, like taking a break. We love living in the UK but it's not our country which means we don't have to get too emotionally involved in their problems, other than doing our best not to contribute to those problems and to help where we can. And because we don't live in the U.S., the problems there are…there. One step removed. But for me and Dad, all of us expats, sometimes that feels like a cop-out. We're Americans and our country is going through rough times, we should be home working to help, at least doing our jobs there instead of here. Granted, we had to leave but we're free again now, we can go home, we should go home."

Tony snorted, "Frankly, you of all people deserve a break after all the crap you've been through. And I'd say the country owes you a pass but I know that's not how any of us roll. It's not about what's owed us, it's about what we can do, what we need to do. And believe me, we all understand your reluctance to move back into the fray."

They stopped as they heard murmurs of agreement around them. While they were talking, they'd entered the house and ended up in the family room where Penny, Abby and Maisie were having a cup of tea.

Abby hugged Tony and Maggie while the older women greeted them a little more sedately, not yet knowing them very well. Penny patted Tim's face, "As a country, we've had plenty of bad times. Somehow we've gotten through them and we'll get through this one. However, you're right, you are greatly needed at home."

Maggie looked at the 3 women, "Not sleepy yet?" They shook their heads, smiling.

Tony smiled back, "Feel like seeing some of the town?"

Abby grinned, "Yes, I love Brambury!"

The older women agreed and off they went with Tony and Maggie. Tim stayed back, a little tired. Right now, he wanted to join his wife, parents and kids on the terrace. They all smiled, pulling up another chair and pouring another lemonade when Ducky joined them. "Thank you! I had a bit of a nap but most wanted to spend more time with all of you."

Greg smiled at him, "We like it when you're here, Granducky. You and Uncle Tony are our regular visitors, like Aunty Susannah, Uncle Ian, Mimi, Mrs. Edith and Mr. George."

"Oh my, that's quite a compliment, Greg, thank you!" Ducky sipped his lemonade, wondering how to go about asking what he wanted to ask.

Tim looked at him closely and decided to jump in with both feet. "You know, Ducky, it's too bad you can't stay until we leave, fly home with us. There's plenty of room and we'd love to have you here."

Ducky's eyes sparkled as he chuckled, "Am I really that transparent?"

With a chuckle of his own, Jethro patted his shoulder, "No, we just know you that well. You staying?"

"Well, uh, yes, now that you've raised the topic, I'd love to stay!"

The kids looked at their parents, questioning if Granducky was really going to stay until they all left. When their parents and grandparents cheered, so did they.

Kyle and Marissa ran around the table, chanting, "Granducky's staying, Granducky's staying!", Hope toddling after them. While their siblings were chanting, Greg and Andy hugged their Granducky, happy he was staying and that they wouldn't have to say goodbye until they were in the new house.

Ducky waited until the tumult died down before explaining, "Jimmy put the idea in my head although I've refined it somewhat. I'm taking 2 months off and then have filed papers to work part-time until Dr. Palmer is given the funds to hire his own assistant. Once the new person is in place, I shall retire. Jimmy and I are in agreement and Director Vance has given his approval. Jimmy has already started looking for his assistant."

That created another happy outcry and he sat back, pleased, and a little relieved. He'd picked up the phone several times to let them know, wrote 3 emails that were never sent, finally realizing he needed to see and feel their reaction in person.

When it was quiet again, Tim said, "And?"

Ducky made a noise, "Good heavens, what makes you think there's more?"

"Investigator, trained by the best to shake every tree until all the information drops out."

"Very well, yes, there is an 'and'. I have reworded the deed of ownership on the townhouse to include Jimmy and Breena, the three of us now own the property together. It's the perfect size for them, even if they were to add another child or two, there is plenty of room. The yard is perfect for the children and the commute will be short to Breena's work and to the Navy Yard. After witnessing how well your co-tenancy has worked here, we realized we could do the same. I've already moved downstairs to the large bedroom in the back of the house and their living quarters will be upstairs." He chuckled, "I planned to leave it to them anyway, this is much more satisfying!"

"That's wonderful, Ducky! So, when are they arriving?"

Ducky laughed, "I was getting to it, Timothy! I went to the director's office to see if I could persuade him to bring in vacation replacements for both of us. When I walked in, he asked if that was why I was there. Gobsmacked, I could only nod and he smiled, telling me to go ahead and make the arrangements and reminding me to give ourselves a few days after reaching home before returning to work. The plan is for the Palmers to move out of your home and into the townhouse a week before they join the others for the flight here."

"YAY!"

"Yes, 'yay' indeed. I called Tobias, got their flight number, then I made sure Lu's boys were on the same flight before I booked the Palmers. And we've already rented the Airbnb in Varkiza that is next to the one you're renting."

He looked at Lu, "Have you spoken with Bill or Barry this week?"

She shook her head, "No, we usually talk on Sundays after Tim and the boys speak with Patrick."

Ducky smiled, "I persuaded them to join Freddie and Jose on our journey. As it happens, the Fornells and Porters will have 2 extra rooms they're happy to share."

Lu's face lit up while Jethro gave him a thumbs up and a very discreet thank you. Tim cheered, "That's awesome, Ducky, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome! I've had such a good time with all my plans! Now if I could only figure out a way to get Tony and Maggie back over."

"Back over where, Ducky?"

They turned as Tony, Maggie, Penny, Maisie and Abby joined them on the terrace. "Back here, of course, Anthony."

The kids moved to a bench but Penny, Abby and Maisie just waved and went back in the house, no doubt heading for their postponed naps.

Maggie laughed as she sat down, "I don't know if you've heard, but the Department of Labor is cracking down on the number of paid leave hours federal agencies carry for their employees. Each agency, including ours, has had to present a plan to reduce the number of outstanding paid leave days per employee to the number she or he has accrued in the current fiscal year. Any carryover can only be from the month before the end of the fiscal year."

Dad and Tim started laughing while Tony grinned. "We thought about just showing up, but that didn't seem right."

"So?" That was Gibbs. Back in the day, his team certainly hadn't been the only one with too many unused personal leave days on the books.

"So, until Vance can get the excess days reduced, in the U.S. the agency is essentially one big pool of field agents rather than separate teams, although no one is physically moving. Even though it is one big pool, cases will be assigned regionally. This starts July 1st, the start of the new fiscal year. For instance, by July 17th, my SFA, Evan Fuller, and Rick's junior will be back from their enforced paid leave days, which means there will be a full field team available while Maggie and I, one of O'Brien's agents and one of the Cold Case team agents will be leaving for our days. Rick and Vijay, the Cold Case team lead, will leave when we return and then O'Brien will go last with Soraya Pennes, another team lead. I have a new junior transferring in but he won't arrive until after our return. All the probationary agents, including our Matt Watson, will be floating between teams as needed, although that will probably be more of a float between cases.

"You know Ellie is now permanently assigned to the Cold Case team. She's closing cases like crazy and seems much less stressed. She'll also be taking days but I don't know how many or what she's doing with them."

Maggie continued the explanation, "Labor gave the agencies until the end of the calendar year and we've heard some agencies haven't even started scheduling yet. Vance is smart, he figured it out so that after the first round, there'll be a few weeks when we're all in and then it'll start again."

Tony grinned, "There are a few agents who are taking their days all at once, Vance wouldn't approve any of them until he had everyone's schedules figured out, didn't want to leave a key position without a resource for too long. O'Brien is taking a few days during the first round and then the entire month of January. Vance had to go up the line to get that approved."

"Where's he going?" Of all the agents Tim had worked with in DC, Jim O'Brien, a native of Arizona, was probably the one who most hated the cold winters and the summer humidity.

Dad made a noise and tilted his head, "Now it makes sense! I had an email from Jim asking if Layla still owned Mike's house, saying he hoped to take a vacation there and would love to rent it. I emailed Leyla who okayed giving him her information, so I did."

Tim and Tony were both surprised, "He's going to Franks' beach!"

Maggie looked at Tony as he asked, "She rents the place out? I never thought of that!"

Tim nodded, "Me neither."

Their father started laughing and it was a minute or two before he could speak. "Trust me, even with the rebuild, it's half a step up from a shack. I'll let him know, I can't imagine Annie, his wife, staying there!"

Ducky smiled, "That's right, I do remember you saying that when you were there, uh, last."

Both the younger men caught the hesitation and quick cover. "When was that, Dad?"

Dad let his sons know that what he had to say was not suitable for the kids' ears. Later that evening, when the kids and all the visitors but Tony and Maggie were asleep, he told them the rest. "Mike was cremated. We put some of his ashes in the coffin; I took the rest to his place in Mexico. When Leyla couldn't bear to go, I called Callen and he met me there. We had a few beers at the cantina and then invited those who knew Mike back to the beach. Had a few more beverages before the tide started going out. Then Callen and I took Mike's old boat out beyond the breakers and spilled the rest of his ashes into the ocean. The others had a fire going on the beach and were singing an old drinking song Mike used to sing when he was soused. We brought the boat partway in and then jumped out, swamped her so she sank, wasn't hard to do. It was as close to a Viking funeral as we could get. We swam the rest of the way back."

He looked up, shaking his head at his boys, who were both snuffling. He wrapped his arms around them. "He was ready to go, he didn't want to hang around, waste away with cancer. He made sure his girls were safe before he showed up at the house. And then he died protecting me. That was always his intent, you know, no matter how much trouble he got into, got us into. To protect us, his legacy."

"What about Amira?"

"She's his personal legacy, we were his good guy legacy."

Tim sputtered, "His cowboy legacy."

"Yeah, guess you could call it that."

Much later, Gibbs' former agents would admit to each other they were relieved Boss had taken Mike's ashes back to Mexico and given him a good send-off. They'd known he was cremated, Jimmy told them.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The residents thought they'd have to tiptoe through breakfast the next morning, only to discover Abby was still upstairs in Rob and Geo's room. That was fine and they'd think ahead for tomorrow morning. When Tony said the easiest thing would be to get takeout for breakfast, they laughed before looking thoughtful.

Tim shook his head, "No, we'll put the recipe in the crock pot, leave it on all night in the dining room. We can move the coffee urn in there too, get all the plates, utensils, glasses and mugs out tonight. There's an electric kettle in one of the cabinets, we can boil water for the teapot and hot chocolate for the kids." Then he stopped to think, "We invited all the out-of-towners for breakfast tomorrow, one crock pot isn't going to work."

His father looked at him, "Bec's in town, but they're not staying here, remember? Abby can sleep up there and Rob can sleep in the family room. We'll do the shopping while you two head to the airport. Do you want to borrow a crock pot?"

Tim shook his head, "On second thought, with that many people and an untried recipe, how about we just cook?"

Lu and Tony nodded, "With the 3 of us and Artie in the kitchen, we can get it done."

Tim tilted his head, "Nikolas is a master chef."

Lu shook her head, "We are not going to worry about that! If he wants to cook, we'll be his sous chefs."

Leaving the shopping list with Malu and Dad, the McGees headed to the airport. Their guests had thoughtfully coordinated airports and arrival times so they could pick everyone up at once. Gaia and the twins were flying in from Thessaloniki and would arrive a few minutes before the others. Gaia's husband Theo was in Romania on a dig and wasn't coming, nor was Sophia's former daughter-in-law Ana; however, she and the children would join them in Varkiza in July. Nikolas and Sergio planned their arrival to coincide with Mimi and Sophia's, Susannah and Ian's and the Clachers.

Tim jokingly told Artie the town of Brambury was going to hurt financially when they moved. Losing a family of 11 who paid rent, supported the nursery, primary and lower secondary schools, ate out, used local services and shopped locally would hurt. And then there were their guests, 30 of them for Tim and Artie's 2nd wedding 2 ½ years ago, 64 guests for this wedding, with many of them staying in Airbnb lodgings or hotels. That, along with the McGees' guests who stayed, shopped and ate in town every spring and summer, was revenue they'd miss, especially during the summer months when the university only had a few students attending classes. Artie said they'd done a good job of advertising the town, that their friends and families would tell their friends and families that the town was friendly, pretty, had outdoor activities and interesting shops, was fun, less expensive than London and very convenient to stay in.

The couple took off early for the airport. With the earlier arrivals, traffic shouldn't be too bad, but it was Friday and the schools were on their half-term holiday next week. When Artie offered to drive, Tim thanked her profusely. He thought he'd rather drive for 8 hours on a road trip than running errands or worse, driving back and forth to the airport again.

They were just in time to watch Gaia and the twins walk out of the terminal. Tim waved to them as Artie pulled up to the curb. He loaded their bags, spreading a blanket over them and then, swapping with Artie, he drove the van to the carpark. On a Friday in high tourist season, the children and parents of the country on half-term holiday, airport security was not going to let anyone idle at the curb for more time than it took to drop off or load passengers and their luggage.

Twenty minutes later, the flights from Naples and Athens arrived one right after the other and by the time both groups were outside, Artie had a text from her sister that they were on the ground and disembarking. Tim and Nikolas were already on their way to the carpark to bring the van around.

Everyone was gathered by the time they returned and Tim hopped out to load luggage while Artie resumed her place behind the wheel. Tim didn't often get to be a passenger in Big Blue and he was quite happy to sit in the back and relax, chatting with Ian, Susannah, and Sergio, the 4 of them the tallest in the group.

When Artie drove past the Tube station, she slowed, honked, and then stopped as Geo, Bec and Rob were just crossing the street. Rob climbed in while Geo and Bec said they'd be over in a few minutes. Then Tim remembered, again, that they were staying in a local hotel. Sergio laughed, "We thought Sorrento was small, but here people can safely walk from the subway or the train station to your home?"

Tim smiled, saying "Yes, and here we are."

As they'd done yesterday, everyone was coming in to say hello, although they wouldn't need to eat, and then Big Blue would deliver the senior Clachers and the Costas to their holiday dwellings. Tim, Rob and Ian were unloading the bags of those staying at the Manor when they heard the first exclamation. It was Sergio, who exclaimed, "This is a mansion!"

Those who hadn't been before were staring in shock while those who had were chuckling. This time, Ian did the honors explaining the medieval Manor house. Sarah, James, the Powells, Dad and Malu came out to welcome them and the senior Clachers were once again thankful they'd met everyone in Greece. They must remember to thank Susannah and Sarah for organizing their weddings the way they had.

Then they walked inside, remembering Tim and Sarah had family they'd discovered last Christmas. The two grandmothers were here, as well as the honorary grandfather they knew was a Scotsman. The Clachers smiled when they heard Maisie's soft accent, recognizing another Scot.

By the time they'd introduced everyone, the Hubbards, Cranes, Porters, Geo and Bec arrived and they started over as only Geo knew everyone. The children were in 7th heaven with all their grandparents and most of their aunts in the house, although they were short a few uncles.

The Greek family and the Clachers couldn't believe how much Hope had grown since April and she giggled, showing them how fast she could run and chatted to them with her greatly expanded vocabulary. They peeked outside at the back garden to see it neatly trimmed, the arch in place, and the chairs set up and covered. The wedding planner, walking the site to make sure she had everything planned correctly, was surprised to find a large group of people watching her but waved with a smile and got back to work.

Tim and Ian took the Costas and Clachers to their lodgings, pointing out where the Hubbards, et al, were staying. There was a communal dinner tonight. It had started out as a rehearsal dinner, evolving into a dinner for all of their out-of-town guests and the wedding party. They'd add the kitchen table to the dining table and then leave it there for breakfast.

Sarah wanted a casual but different dinner, asking for a make your own taco bar, which was fine with Tim and Artie. Dad had marinated, grilled and shredded chicken, and they'd also cook ground beef. Closer to dinner time, they would dice fresh tomatoes, chop fresh spinach and lettuce, all from their garden, shred several different kind of cheeses, add bowls of homemade salsa, also made with ingredients from their garden, sliced black olives, sour cream, sliced avocados, chopped green onions with sides of black beans, already cooking in the crock pot, Chilean rice and, of course, warm corn tortillas. Artie had done a quick survey of her family and found everyone liked tacos. The ground beef, black beans and rice would be Chilean style, using recipes she'd discovered and made in Chile. She and Jethro had also added some of the same ingredients to the chicken marinade.

Once everyone was settled in, Tim, Artie, Sarah, James, Maggie and Tony gathered everyone who wanted to see more of Brambury or have a walk in the country, splitting into 3 groups.

They had a fun few hours showing the town, two of the three groups crossing paths a couple of times. The visitors were impressed with the town, enjoying the welcoming atmosphere and the way most of their guides and some of the visitors were treated as part of the town. Tony was viewed as a frequent visitor, Maggie, the Porters and the junior Clachers as returning visitors while the junior Powells were clearly viewed as townspeople.

Tim and Artie led the walk in the country, joined by the children, Mimi, the Hubbards, Cranes, Abby, and the two American grandmothers who had had naps and wanted to see Butterfly Hill. Mimi loved the walk, feeling the soft air, smelling the grass the sheep hadn't yet reached, the slight rises and gentle downslopes, the wildflowers still blooming – those in Greece had bloomed their best in April, just in time for Susannah and Ian's wedding.

Later, while the cooks worked on the fillings for the tacos, Nikolas joined them to watch his niece make Chilean rice and beans. The others had a relaxing afternoon. With a busy day ahead of them and the overseas visitors fighting jet lag, they had an early dinner.

The taco bar was a big hit as everyone tried the different fillings and the Chilean items were an even bigger hit. Penny especially loved them as she'd been to Chile a few times and loved the food.

As full as the Manor was, it fell quiet much earlier than usual that night.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday morning was a little cloudy but cleared before Sarah gave in to her worry. The forecast still called for clear skies and temperatures in the low 70's, Fahrenheit, perfect for an outdoor wedding.

Most of the out of town guests came for breakfast, a few chose to sleep later and grab a bite at their lodgings. Nikolas arrived early and asked if anyone would mind if he cooked. With so much going on, Lu and Artie happily handed over their spatulas while Tony and Tim asked to be his sous chefs. When Tobias got word, via an excited text from DiNozzo, he was depressed for days that he'd missed an opportunity like that.

Nikolas smiled happily at his sous chefs, talking his way through the breakfast preparations. In later discussions, his American 'students' agreed it was the little details that caught their eyes, and their palettes.

Breakfast was a resounding success and the cooks graciously accepted the applause and accolades of their friends and family. Sarah said later that their breakfast was even better than the catered dinner, also delicious but not quite as superb as breakfast. Luckily, no one said that to the caterer!

With the cousins, Greek, Italian and American, together in one place for the first time, the kids had a wonderful morning. As the 2 eldest, Cassie and Matthaíos were in charge of everyone but Hope, who stayed with her daddy, grandfathers and uncles all morning. With permission from their parents, the kids got their packs and went for a hike, the McGees excited to show their cousins the wonders outside their back gate. They were really excited when the shepherd waved at them!

Back home with plenty of time to clean up and dress for the wedding, most of the cousins realized they'd get to spend more time together in Greece and the rest of the Greek cousins would be there too. The only ones who wouldn't be there were the Italian cousins and the girls said they'd work on their fathers to try to change that. Ainsley in particular hoped they'd succeed as they were nearer her age than any of the others. She loved her McGee cousins but she'd never before had anyone, besides her brother, close to her age in the family.

By 1:30, everyone in the wedding party was getting ready. Their resident guests had been napping and were now having a bite to eat before they'd dress. Their non-resident guests were doing the same thing, they'd napped and had a bite to eat, even after the hearty and wonderful breakfast, and were now dressing.

By 1:40, the first guests started arriving, welcomed at the door either by one of Sarah's brothers, her father, father-in-law or Ian. They were ushered through the conservatory to the back garden.

At 1:45, Sarah's brothers asked to see her, telling her how proud they were of her, how much they loved her and liked James. She refrained from rolling her eyes at that, she knew very well they loved James like another brother. Tim stayed in the room when the others left and Dad joined them. Sarah reminded Tim of their troubles and once again thanked him for taking the drastic measure that had finally made her wake up to what she was doing and how much she was hurting herself and her brothers. The three of them had a sweet little talk and then they heard the pre-wedding music change up. They'd rented a piano that was placed in the conservatory. Now, with the doors and windows open, Tony was playing a piece that Sarah knew was the cue for her parents and her to get moving.

It would later take her weeks to put her thoughts and feelings into words about the walk down the terrace steps with Mamalu and her dads, towards James, the love of her life. She remembered that Tim and Lu cried and seeing them weep brought tears to Rob and Geordie, too. When she reached James, she felt steadier. This was happening!

After the ceremony and the photographs, the party got started. They'd hired a DJ and she had fun gearing the music toward the various groups and nationalities. Having eaten dinner and breakfast together, most of the out-of-town guests were comfortable with each other. At one point when Tim looked around, he was happy to see Alastair and Fiona, Ian's parents, chatting with the Porters and Hubbards while George Powell, who'd served in the Royal Navy in his youth, was deep in conversation with Uncle Dave, the Admiral. Edith, Mimi and Maisie were laughing about something and Ducky was chatting with Joel Morris. Penny, Sophia and Liz were playing with the littles while the older children were having a ball with their cousins and the other children there with their parents.

Overall, it was a lovely reception, with heartfelt speeches and several funny stories about James. His boss, the IT manager, told the crowd about the day James came back from a trip to Cornwall, his head in the clouds because he'd met the girl of his dreams.

Tim managed to rein in his emotions long enough to tell the group about 6-year old Sarah and her pretend weddings with Robbie or Geordie as the groom while he was always the dad, walking the bride down the 'aisle'. He smiled as he concluded, "I'm happy today that Sarah's real wedding also included our chosen mother and father as she walked to James, the love of her life and a wonderful addition to the family. I'm also very happy that I got to fulfill Sarah's idea of my destiny, to walk her down the aisle." He grinned as the crowd chuckled. Continuing, he concluded with, "Finally, welcome to George and Edith Powell, as brave as their son in joining us. They've been around us long enough now to know it takes a certain amount of crazy and a lot of humor to be part of our family!"

After the cake cutting, the bride and groom slipped away. They were spending the night in the bridal suite of a posh hotel in The City. The party continued until evening before the guests gradually reduced to the 4 families, that is the Gibbs-McGees, the Powells, the Clachers and the Greek family. Most of the U.S. guests, except the Barnes-DiNozzos, had disappeared when Sarah and James left, no doubt to sleep away their jet lag. Abby returned a couple of hours later and Maisie, Penny and Ducky also put in another appearance before the party finally broke up near 10 PM.

On Sunday, the Hubbards, Cranes, Costas and Ducky joined the McGees, their parents, Mimi, Sophia, and the Clachers, junior and senior, attending services at All Saints Church in Brambury. The Hubbards and Cranes had never been to an Orthodox service, while Ducky had been once, last summer in Greece.

After the service and lunch, with the newlyweds joining them, they split into groups for sightseeing. Maisie wanted to see where she used to live and work. Ducky and her family went with her. Penny wanted to see Bedford University and with permission from his former employers, Tim took her, Lu, Sophia, the Cranes, Abby, Andy, Kyle, and Marissa on a tour. Hope and Greg joined their mother, Mimi, the Porters, and their aunt, uncles, cousins and Ian's parents on another long walk. The senior Powells stayed at the Manor, relaxing on the terrace and enjoying their last stay here.

Monday, the crowd diminished as Bec, the Clachers, the Costas and the Powells left for home while Rob and Geo returned to work. The remainder of the Greek family and the American visitors decided to take a hop on/off bus tour of London.

Ducky decided to stay in, he was exhausted and while he was enjoying the company of his old friend Maisie and Artie's grandmother Athena, he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Like the Powells yesterday, he sat out on the terrace in a lounge chair, napping and occasionally reading.

Most of the Manor's residents were also feeling the need for rest and when the Porters, Hubbards and Cranes asked to take the children with them into London, their parents agreed, with the exception of Hope.

While Hope went to nursery to play with her friends, Tim and Artie, Abby, Tony and Maggie had lunch out with Dad and Lu, at Dad's favorite Brambury pub. It was fun and as Maggie said, she always learned a little more about Tony, Tim and Gibbs as a team. Today, Tony casually mentioned 'bourbon, basement and boats' and that somehow led to a story about them investigating the FBI from Jethro's basement, while the FBI investigated Director Shepard aboard the Navy Yard.

Tim described Ziva having to stand in place, holding their fragile internet connection in the only area of the basement where it worked while he tried to make use of the ancient laptop and printer. Jethro had seen the recording of Abby's 'performance' and gently teased her, leading to a lot of laughter at her subterfuge.

When Artie asked if they'd been successful, the two younger men and Abby looked at each other, while Jethro nodded, "Yes. We found the real 'person of interest', what the Bureau was looking for."

"Not a killer?"

"Don't know. Probably, but I didn't ask. All that was needed was to present the 'person of interest'. Then they dropped the investigation."

Maggie wondered, but didn't ask. Tony would tell her later.

Tuesday, the McGees left early in Big Blue with Penny, Mimi, Sophia, the Hubbards and Cranes. Today, their destination was Stratford Upon Avon, Oxford, Warwick Castle and of course a drive through the Cotswolds. Andy and Greg, out of school on their summer half-term holiday, were the only ones of the McGee offspring to join them. Kyle and Marissa had a birthday party to attend and Hope wanted to play at the nursery school again. Abby wanted to go into London with Maggie and Lu, giving Tony and their dad extra time together.

They had a wonderful day, as Artie said, it was always interesting to see things through someone else's eyes. By now, the McGees had been to Stratford, Oxford, and the Castle a few times and they all loved the Cotswolds. To see these places through the eyes of Ainsley, Callum, and other first-time visitors gave them different perspectives.

Wednesday, the American and Greek travelers took the train to Bath and then on to Cardiff, returning late that evening. Ainsley and Callum were quite impressed that they'd been to a different country, Wales, seeing the Castle as well as a really cool outdoor museum. Jim and Dave had been eager to see Roman Bath and were suitably impressed.

Thursday, the same group, including Ducky but minus Tony, Maggie, Abby, and the Porters, was flying to Edinburgh where they'd be met by some of Maisie's cousins for lunch followed by dinner with the Clachers. They'd return to London Saturday evening. Mimi and Sophia would stay in Edinburgh for another week before flying to Italy for a longer visit with Nikolas and his family. They would return to Greece in mid-July.

Tony and Maggie left for home Thursday evening. They'd be there for a little over 5 ½ weeks before returning for the 3rd and last annual trip to Greece. Abby left with them, having a difficult time saying goodbye and very glad she'd decided to take the time off for the trip. She also had unused leave time and spent the flight home, and the weeks afterward, wondering if she should once again splurge and join her family in Greece.

When she said something to Maggie, her friend urged her to go, pointing out that now that the family was moving home, it really was a once in a lifetime chance to see Greece. Maggie told Tony, who told Dad, who told Lu. Then the two of them called Abby to find her in the middle of booking her flight, Maggie had given her the flight number and the group discount code. With the Porters, Hubbards, Liz Crane and Ducky already in Europe, the group wasn't as large, but the Fornells were again a group of 4, Maggie's dad had been convinced to join them, making them a group of 3, Bill, Barry, Freddie and Joe were going and with Abby, that made 12, enough for a discount. Abby tried to persuade Chelsea to join them, knowing the other woman felt the same way about the sun, but Jose's fiancée wouldn't budge.

Abby hadn't told anyone but she had a hard time liking Chelsea. Aside from the woman's collection of china, she didn't seem to care about anything or anyone else and Freddie had confided a secret fear that she was marrying Jose because of their successful business. He didn't want his friend, his brother, to get hurt and he was deathly afraid she'd bleed the business dry if the marriage didn't work out. Abby was shocked when he told her, not about what he said about Chelsea, she'd had somewhat the same thoughts, but that Freddie was so worried he'd actually told someone about it. She thought about it, finally asking if he could talk with Lu about his worries. He looked so relieved that she sent Lu an email. Lu replied, thanking her for the heads up, saying she'd contact Freddie directly and sending hugs, which made Abby feel very good.

In the meantime, she'd been relieved to find seats on the same flights as the others from London to Athens and back and on the flight home from London. That was pretty amazing considering it was the height of the season for flights to/from the US to Europe. When she said something, Artie wondered whether it might have had something to do with their discount code. When she'd first set up their flights, to and from Athens and then the flight home, she'd applied for the discount code, and put in a high estimate for the number of people traveling with them. That didn't seem right, though, airlines take their count from the tickets sold, not estimates of group travelers! They finally decided it was because so many schools, at least in the US, started the Fall term anywhere from the 2nd to 4th week in August. A trip to Europe so close to classes starting might be cutting it too close.

At Tim and Artie's request, no one said anything about their game, the money or the museum. People were here for Sarah and James' wedding and that's what everyone should be focused on. However, by Sunday, the couple and the topic seemed to be fair game and they came in for their fair share of teasing and questions. They found it amusing that their young cousins, on both sides of the family, seemed to be looking at them in a different light.

While their families were enjoying their vacations, Tim and Artie returned to work, although they also spent time with the Porters before they left for Brussels Thursday morning. They'd return to Brambury in early July to spend Independence Day with their friends, even though no one had heard where or even if there would be a party this year. Lu, Artie and Sarah were scouring the internet for party ideas, just in case. Lu said she'd contact Carol Morris.

When she spoke with Carol, the woman said they'd love to have their Fourth of July at the Manor, but hadn't wanted to impose after the wedding and so soon before the McGees' move. Discussing it for several minutes, they decided the party would be at the Manor, although it would be planned, set up and hosted by the Morrises and any volunteers. The Manor family would help but wouldn't be responsible for anything but the location and the use of the TV for the fireworks show.

Carol thought Lydia, Marty and some of the others would have ideas for the party and that suited Lu and her family. After 3 weddings in 6 months, although they hadn't been all that involved in Susannah and Ian's wedding, none of them had the energy to plan and execute another party. When Lu mentioned that 7 of their overseas wedding guests were staying and would join them for the Independence Day celebration and one more would arrive to join them, Carol was intrigued. Lu quickly explained that the 7 were using Brambury as a base while they explored Europe, and that Jethro's former father-in-law would arrive before the Fourth, all of them would be flying home with the family in early August.

After the trip to Edinburgh, Penny took her leave, flying to Manila for a 3 month lecture tour in Asia. She said if there was any spare time, she'd join them in Varkiza but couldn't make any promises. She reminded her family she'd see them in the U.S. when she got home, also telling Sarah she would fly through London on her business trips, staying over a day or two here or there, as often as possible.

The Captain and the Admiral left a few hours after Penny, flying to Rota, Spain, to meet their ship, the Baton Rouge. They'd be afloat for several months and would be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Enthused by Liz and the Hubbards, Ducky agreed to be their tour guide for their first trip to the continent. They'd take several days to explore the towns along the coasts of Belgium, France and Spain, renting a car in the UK and then traveling to the continent via _Le Shuttle_ _, the car transporter in the Eurotunnel. It would be easier to rent the car in the UK rather than on the continent, especially with_ either Ducky or Maisie's British passports. _Their first stop would be in t_ he Pas de Calais region, their first night planned for Montreuil-sur-Mer. They'd originally planned to do the trip by passenger train but wanted to wander and thought doing that by train might take up too much time, money and waiting for transfers to local trains, etc.

When they left, the Manor residents gave themselves three days 'off' from any household chores besides cooking and cleaning up after meals and somehow most of their evening meals were takeout. They needed rest!

While the visitors were away, Artie and Tim pulled out the box of papers Mr. Fernsby gave them. While they were happy to have the monies owed them, they wanted to know who'd manufactured the games, who they were licensed to, their names and signatures should have been on the licensing agreements and for how long they were manufactured and sold. Artie knew more about business practices and contractual matters than Tim did, although he had some knowledge from dealing with his publisher. After spending hours looking through and trying to make sense of the disorganized mess, they decided they needed help.

They called their family attorney who gave them the contact information of a trusted colleague, a contract attorney. They shrugged, not sure if 'contracts' would cover all their questions but it was a place to start. She in turn listened and told them to bring their box of papers to her office. They made an appointment for later that week and then happily put the partially organized documents back in the box.

In the meantime, the McGees and their fellow Manor residents didn't quite make it through Day Three of their self-imposed 'time off'. When Lu spotted Artie quietly climbing the stairs with the vacuum cleaner on the second day, she called to her. The other woman turned with a grin, "Ok, yes, we're cleaning up here. Neither Tim nor I can stand it another day. It's not bad but we really need to vacuum and spot clean the rugs. And then Hope…well, the girls' room needs cleaning before anything else. Tim's already working on that."

Her mother-in-law returned the grin, "We vacuumed Maisie and Penny's room and cleaned the bathroom and our lounge yesterday while you were out walking with the kids."

Chuckling, they went their separate ways. By the end of the self-imposed 'vacation' from house chores, the house was sparkling clean and the family decided to eat their meals outside every day it didn't rain and leave their shoes off when inside. Exceptions to that particular decision were Jethro when he was in the basement, providing he left his shoes on the basement stairs when he was done, and Hope because she had an orthotic for her left foot. Going barefoot for any length of time would be against doctor's orders.

Much later, Gibbs' former agents would admit to each other they were relieved Boss had taken Mike's ashes back to Mexico and given him a good send-off. They'd known he was cremated, Jimmy told them.

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The residents thought they'd have to tiptoe through breakfast the next morning, only to discover Abby was still upstairs in Rob and Geo's room. That was fine and they'd think ahead for tomorrow morning. When Tony said the easiest thing would be to get takeout for breakfast, they laughed before looking thoughtful.

Tim shook his head, "No, we'll put the recipe in the crock pot, leave it on all night in the dining room. We can move the coffee urn in there too, get all the plates, utensils, glasses and mugs out tonight. There's an electric kettle in one of the cabinets, we can boil water for the teapot and hot chocolate for the kids." Then he stopped to think, "We invited all the out-of-towners for breakfast tomorrow, one crock pot isn't going to work."

His father looked at him, "Bec's in town, but they're not staying here, remember? Abby can sleep up there and Rob can sleep in the family room. We'll do the shopping while you two head to the airport. Do you want to borrow a crock pot?"

Tim shook his head, "On second thought, with that many people and an untried recipe, how about we just cook?"

Lu and Tony nodded, "With the 3 of us and Artie in the kitchen, we can get it done."

Tim tilted his head, "Nikolas is a master chef."

Lu shook her head, "We are not going to worry about that! If he wants to cook, we'll be his sous chefs."

Leaving the shopping list with Malu and Dad, the McGees headed to the airport. Their guests had thoughtfully coordinated airports and arrival times so they could pick everyone up at once. Gaia and the twins were flying in from Thessaloniki and would arrive a few minutes before the others. Gaia's husband Theo was in Romania on a dig and wasn't coming, nor was Sophia's former daughter-in-law Ana; however, she and the children would join them in Varkiza in July. Nikolas and Sergio planned their arrival to coincide with Mimi and Sophia's, Susannah and Ian's and the Clachers.

Tim jokingly told Artie the town of Brambury was going to hurt financially when they moved. Losing a family of 11 who paid rent, supported the nursery, primary and lower secondary schools, ate out, used local services and shopped locally would hurt. And then there were their guests, 30 of them for Tim and Artie's 2nd wedding 2 ½ years ago, 64 guests for this wedding, with many of them staying in Airbnb lodgings or hotels. That, along with the McGees' guests who stayed, shopped and ate in town every spring and summer, was revenue they'd miss, especially during the summer months when the university only had a few students attending classes. Artie said they'd done a good job of advertising the town, that their friends and families would tell their friends and families that the town was friendly, pretty, had outdoor activities and interesting shops, was fun, less expensive than London and very convenient to stay in.

The couple took off early for the airport. With the earlier arrivals, traffic shouldn't be too bad, but it was Friday and the schools were on their half-term holiday next week. When Artie offered to drive, Tim thanked her profusely. He thought he'd rather drive for 8 hours on a road trip than running errands or worse, driving back and forth to the airport again.

They were just in time to watch Gaia and the twins walk out of the terminal. Tim waved to them as Artie pulled up to the curb. He loaded their bags, spreading a blanket over them and then, swapping with Artie, he drove the van to the carpark. On a Friday in high tourist season, the children and parents of the country on half-term holiday, airport security was not going to let anyone idle at the curb for more time than it took to drop off or load passengers and their luggage.

Twenty minutes later, the flights from Naples and Athens arrived one right after the other and by the time both groups were outside, Artie had a text from her sister that they were on the ground and disembarking. Tim and Nikolas were already on their way to the carpark to bring the van around.

Everyone was gathered by the time they returned and Tim hopped out to load luggage while Artie resumed her place behind the wheel. Tim didn't often get to be a passenger in Big Blue and he was quite happy to sit in the back and relax, chatting with Ian, Susannah, and Sergio, the 4 of them the tallest in the group.

When Artie drove past the Tube station, she slowed, honked, and then stopped as Geo, Bec and Rob were just crossing the street. Rob climbed in while Geo and Bec said they'd be over in a few minutes. Then Tim remembered, again, that they were staying in a local hotel. Sergio laughed, "We thought Sorrento was small, but here people can safely walk from the subway or the train station to your home?"

Tim smiled, saying "Yes, and here we are."

As they'd done yesterday, everyone was coming in to say hello, although they wouldn't need to eat, and then Big Blue would deliver the senior Clachers and the Costas to their holiday dwellings. Tim, Rob and Ian were unloading the bags of those staying at the Manor when they heard the first exclamation. It was Sergio, who exclaimed, "This is a mansion!"

Those who hadn't been before were staring in shock while those who had were chuckling. This time, Ian did the honors explaining the medieval Manor house. Sarah, James, the Powells, Dad and Malu came out to welcome them and the senior Clachers were once again thankful they'd met everyone in Greece. They must remember to thank Susannah and Sarah for organizing their weddings the way they had.

Then they walked inside, remembering Tim and Sarah had family they'd discovered last Christmas. The two grandmothers were here, as well as the honorary grandfather they knew was a Scotsman. The Clachers smiled when they heard Maisie's soft accent, recognizing another Scot.

By the time they'd introduced everyone, the Hubbards, Cranes, Porters, Geo and Bec arrived and they started over as only Geo knew everyone. The children were in 7th heaven with all their grandparents and most of their aunts in the house, although they were short a few uncles.

The Greek family and the Clachers couldn't believe how much Hope had grown since April and she giggled, showing them how fast she could run and chatted to them with her greatly expanded vocabulary. They peeked outside at the back garden to see it neatly trimmed, the arch in place, and the chairs set up and covered. The wedding planner, walking the site to make sure she had everything planned correctly, was surprised to find a large group of people watching her but waved with a smile and got back to work.

Tim and Ian took the Costas and Clachers to their lodgings, pointing out where the Hubbards, et al, were staying. There was a communal dinner tonight. It had started out as a rehearsal dinner, evolving into a dinner for all of their out-of-town guests and the wedding party. They'd add the kitchen table to the dining table and then leave it there for breakfast.

Sarah wanted a casual but different dinner, asking for a make your own taco bar, which was fine with Tim and Artie. Dad had marinated, grilled and shredded chicken, and they'd also cook ground beef. Closer to dinner time, they would dice fresh tomatoes, chop fresh spinach and lettuce, all from their garden, shred several different kind of cheeses, add bowls of homemade salsa, also made with ingredients from their garden, sliced black olives, sour cream, sliced avocados, chopped green onions with sides of black beans, already cooking in the crock pot, Chilean rice and, of course, warm corn tortillas. Artie had done a quick survey of her family and found everyone liked tacos. The ground beef, black beans and rice would be Chilean style, using recipes she'd discovered and made in Chile. She and Jethro had also added some of the same ingredients to the chicken marinade.

Once everyone was settled in, Tim, Artie, Sarah, James, Maggie and Tony gathered everyone who wanted to see more of Brambury or have a walk in the country, splitting into 3 groups.

They had a fun few hours showing the town, two of the three groups crossing paths a couple of times. The visitors were impressed with the town, enjoying the welcoming atmosphere and the way most of their guides and some of the visitors were treated as part of the town. Tony was viewed as a frequent visitor, Maggie, the Porters and the junior Clachers as returning visitors while the junior Powells were clearly viewed as townspeople.

Tim and Artie led the walk in the country, joined by the children, Mimi, the Hubbards, Cranes, Abby, and the two American grandmothers who had had naps and wanted to see Butterfly Hill. Mimi loved the walk, feeling the soft air, smelling the grass the sheep hadn't yet reached, the slight rises and gentle downslopes, the wildflowers still blooming – those in Greece had bloomed their best in April, just in time for Susannah and Ian's wedding.

Later, while the cooks worked on the fillings for the tacos, Nikolas joined them to watch his niece make Chilean rice and beans. The others had a relaxing afternoon. With a busy day ahead of them and the overseas visitors fighting jet lag, they had an early dinner.

The taco bar was a big hit as everyone tried the different fillings and the Chilean items were an even bigger hit. Penny especially loved them as she'd been to Chile a few times and loved the food.

As full as the Manor was, it fell quiet much earlier than usual that night.

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Saturday morning was a little cloudy but cleared before Sarah gave in to her worry. The forecast still called for clear skies and temperatures in the low 70's, Fahrenheit, perfect for an outdoor wedding.

Most of the out of town guests came for breakfast, a few chose to sleep later and grab a bite at their lodgings. Nikolas arrived early and asked if anyone would mind if he cooked. With so much going on, Lu and Artie happily handed over their spatulas while Tony and Tim asked to be his sous chefs. When Tobias got word, via an excited text from DiNozzo, he was depressed for days that he'd missed an opportunity like that.

Nikolas smiled happily at his sous chefs, talking his way through the breakfast preparations. In later discussions, his American 'students' agreed it was the little details that caught their eyes, and their palettes.

Breakfast was a resounding success and the cooks graciously accepted the applause and accolades of their friends and family. Sarah said later that their breakfast was even better than the catered dinner, also delicious but not quite as superb as breakfast. Luckily, no one said that to the caterer!

With the cousins, Greek, Italian and American, together in one place for the first time, the kids had a wonderful morning. As the 2 eldest, Cassie and Matthaíos were in charge of everyone but Hope, who stayed with her daddy, grandfathers and uncles all morning. With permission from their parents, the kids got their packs and went for a hike, the McGees excited to show their cousins the wonders outside their back gate. They were really excited when the shepherd waved at them!

Back home with plenty of time to clean up and dress for the wedding, most of the cousins realized they'd get to spend more time together in Greece and the rest of the Greek cousins would be there too. The only ones who wouldn't be there were the Italian cousins and the girls said they'd work on their fathers to try to change that. Ainsley in particular hoped they'd succeed as they were nearer her age than any of the others. She loved her McGee cousins but she'd never before had anyone, besides her brother, close to her age in the family.

By 1:30, everyone in the wedding party was getting ready. Their resident guests had been napping and were now having a bite to eat before they'd dress. Their non-resident guests were doing the same thing, they'd napped and had a bite to eat, even after the hearty and wonderful breakfast, and were now dressing.

By 1:40, the first guests started arriving, welcomed at the door either by one of Sarah's brothers, her father, father-in-law or Ian. They were ushered through the conservatory to the back garden.

At 1:45, Sarah's brothers asked to see her, telling her how proud they were of her, how much they loved her and liked James. She refrained from rolling her eyes at that, she knew very well they loved James like another brother. Tim stayed in the room when the others left and Dad joined them. Sarah reminded Tim of their troubles and once again thanked him for taking the drastic measure that had finally made her wake up to what she was doing and how much she was hurting herself and her brothers. The three of them had a sweet little talk and then they heard the pre-wedding music change up. They'd rented a piano that was placed in the conservatory. Now, with the doors and windows open, Tony was playing a piece that Sarah knew was the cue for her parents and her to get moving.

It would later take her weeks to put her thoughts and feelings into words about the walk down the terrace steps with Mamalu and her dads, towards James, the love of her life. She remembered that Tim and Lu cried and seeing them weep brought tears to Rob and Geordie, too. When she reached James, she felt steadier. This was happening!

After the ceremony and the photographs, the party got started. They'd hired a DJ and she had fun gearing the music toward the various groups and nationalities. Having eaten dinner and breakfast together, most of the out-of-town guests were comfortable with each other. At one point when Tim looked around, he was happy to see Alastair and Fiona, Ian's parents, chatting with the Porters and Hubbards while George Powell, who'd served in the Royal Navy in his youth, was deep in conversation with Uncle Dave, the Admiral. Edith, Mimi and Maisie were laughing about something and Ducky was chatting with Joel Morris. Penny, Sophia and Liz were playing with the littles while the older children were having a ball with their cousins and the other children there with their parents.

Overall, it was a lovely reception, with heartfelt speeches and several funny stories about James. His boss, the IT manager, told the crowd about the day James came back from a trip to Cornwall, his head in the clouds because he'd met the girl of his dreams.

Tim managed to rein in his emotions long enough to tell the group about 6-year old Sarah and her pretend weddings with Robbie or Geordie as the groom while he was always the dad, walking the bride down the 'aisle'. He smiled as he concluded, "I'm happy today that Sarah's real wedding also included our chosen mother and father as she walked to James, the love of her life and a wonderful addition to the family. I'm also very happy that I got to fulfill Sarah's idea of my destiny, to walk her down the aisle." He grinned as the crowd chuckled. Continuing, he concluded with, "Finally, welcome to George and Edith Powell, as brave as their son in joining us. They've been around us long enough now to know it takes a certain amount of crazy and a lot of humor to be part of our family!"

After the cake cutting, the bride and groom slipped away. They were spending the night in the bridal suite of a posh hotel in The City. The party continued until evening before the guests gradually reduced to the 4 families, that is the Gibbs-McGees, the Powells, the Clachers and the Greek family. Most of the U.S. guests, except the Barnes-DiNozzos, had disappeared when Sarah and James left, no doubt to sleep away their jet lag. Abby returned a couple of hours later and Maisie, Penny and Ducky also put in another appearance before the party finally broke up near 10 PM.

On Sunday, the Hubbards, Cranes, Costas and Ducky joined the McGees, their parents, Mimi, Sophia, and the Clachers, junior and senior, attending services at All Saints Church in Brambury. The Hubbards and Cranes had never been to an Orthodox service, while Ducky had been once, last summer in Greece.

After the service and lunch, with the newlyweds joining them, they split into groups for sightseeing. Maisie wanted to see where she used to live and work. Ducky and her family went with her. Penny wanted to see Bedford University and with permission from his former employers, Tim took her, Lu, Sophia, the Cranes, Abby, Andy, Kyle, and Marissa on a tour. Hope and Greg joined their mother, Mimi, the Porters, and their aunt, uncles, cousins and Ian's parents on another long walk. The senior Powells stayed at the Manor, relaxing on the terrace and enjoying their last stay here.

Monday, the crowd diminished as Bec, the Clachers, the Costas and the Powells left for home while Rob and Geo returned to work. The remainder of the Greek family and the American visitors decided to take a hop on/off bus tour of London.

Ducky decided to stay in, he was exhausted and while he was enjoying the company of his old friend Maisie and Artie's grandmother Athena, he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Like the Powells yesterday, he sat out on the terrace in a lounge chair, napping and occasionally reading.

Most of the Manor's residents were also feeling the need for rest and when the Porters, Hubbards and Cranes asked to take the children with them into London, their parents agreed, with the exception of Hope.

While Hope went to nursery to play with her friends, Tim and Artie, Abby, Tony and Maggie had lunch out with Dad and Lu, at Dad's favorite Brambury pub. It was fun and as Maggie said, she always learned a little more about Tony, Tim and Gibbs as a team. Today, Tony casually mentioned 'bourbon, basement and boats' and that somehow led to a story about them investigating the FBI from Jethro's basement, while the FBI investigated Director Shepard aboard the Navy Yard.

Tim described Ziva having to stand in place, holding their fragile internet connection in the only area of the basement where it worked while he tried to make use of the ancient laptop and printer. Jethro had seen the recording of Abby's 'performance' and gently teased her, leading to a lot of laughter at her subterfuge.

When Artie asked if they'd been successful, the two younger men and Abby looked at each other, while Jethro nodded, "Yes. We found the real 'person of interest', what the Bureau was looking for."

"Not a killer?"

"Don't know. Probably, but I didn't ask. All that was needed was to present the 'person of interest'. Then they dropped the investigation."

Maggie wondered, but didn't ask. Tony would tell her later.

Tuesday, the McGees left early in Big Blue with Penny, Mimi, Sophia, the Hubbards and Cranes. Today, their destination was Stratford Upon Avon, Oxford, Warwick Castle and of course a drive through the Cotswolds. Andy and Greg, out of school on their summer half-term holiday, were the only ones of the McGee offspring to join them. Kyle and Marissa had a birthday party to attend and Hope wanted to play at the nursery school again. Abby wanted to go into London with Maggie and Lu, giving Tony and their dad extra time together.

They had a wonderful day, as Artie said, it was always interesting to see things through someone else's eyes. By now, the McGees had been to Stratford, Oxford, and the Castle a few times and they all loved the Cotswolds. To see these places through the eyes of Ainsley, Callum, and other first-time visitors gave them different perspectives.

Wednesday, the American and Greek travelers took the train to Bath and then on to Cardiff, returning late that evening. Ainsley and Callum were quite impressed that they'd been to a different country, Wales, seeing the Castle as well as a really cool outdoor museum. Jim and Dave had been eager to see Roman Bath and were suitably impressed.

Thursday, the same group, including Ducky but minus Tony, Maggie, Abby, and the Porters, was flying to Edinburgh where they'd be met by some of Maisie's cousins for lunch followed by dinner with the Clachers. They'd return to London Saturday evening. Mimi and Sophia would stay in Edinburgh for another week before flying to Italy for a longer visit with Nikolas and his family. They would return to Greece in mid-July.

Tony and Maggie left for home Thursday evening. They'd be there for a little over 5 ½ weeks before returning for the 3rd and last annual trip to Greece. Abby left with them, having a difficult time saying goodbye and very glad she'd decided to take the time off for the trip. She also had unused leave time and spent the flight home, and the weeks afterward, wondering if she should once again splurge and join her family in Greece.

When she said something to Maggie, her friend urged her to go, pointing out that now that the family was moving home, it really was a once in a lifetime chance to see Greece. Maggie told Tony, who told Dad, who told Lu. Then the two of them called Abby to find her in the middle of booking her flight, Maggie had given her the flight number and the group discount code. With the Porters, Hubbards, Liz Crane and Ducky already in Europe, the group wasn't as large, but the Fornells were again a group of 4, Maggie's dad had been convinced to join them, making them a group of 3, Bill, Barry, Freddie and Joe were going and with Abby, that made 12, enough for a discount. Abby tried to persuade Chelsea to join them, knowing the other woman felt the same way about the sun, but Jose's fiancée wouldn't budge.

Abby hadn't told anyone but she had a hard time liking Chelsea. Aside from the woman's collection of china, she didn't seem to care about anything or anyone else and Freddie had confided a secret fear that she was marrying Jose because of their successful business. He didn't want his friend, his brother, to get hurt and he was deathly afraid she'd bleed the business dry if the marriage didn't work out. Abby was shocked when he told her, not about what he said about Chelsea, she'd had somewhat the same thoughts, but that Freddie was so worried he'd actually told someone about it. She thought about it, finally asking if he could talk with Lu about his worries. He looked so relieved that she sent Lu an email. Lu replied, thanking her for the heads up, saying she'd contact Freddie directly and sending hugs, which made Abby feel very good.

In the meantime, she'd been relieved to find seats on the same flights as the others from London to Athens and back and on the flight home from London. That was pretty amazing considering it was the height of the season for flights to/from the US to Europe. When she said something, Artie wondered whether it might have had something to do with their discount code. When she'd first set up their flights, to and from Athens and then the flight home, she'd applied for the discount code, and put in a high estimate for the number of people traveling with them. That didn't seem right, though, airlines take their count from the tickets sold, not estimates of group travelers! They finally decided it was because so many schools, at least in the US, started the Fall term anywhere from the 2nd to 4th week in August. A trip to Europe so close to classes starting might be cutting it too close.

At Tim and Artie's request, no one said anything about their game, the money or the museum. People were here for Sarah and James' wedding and that's what everyone should be focused on. However, by Sunday, the couple and the topic seemed to be fair game and they came in for their fair share of teasing and questions. They found it amusing that their young cousins, on both sides of the family, seemed to be looking at them in a different light.

While their families were enjoying their vacations, Tim and Artie returned to work, although they also spent time with the Porters before they left for Brussels Thursday morning. They'd return to Brambury in early July to spend Independence Day with their friends, even though no one had heard where or even if there would be a party this year. Lu, Artie and Sarah were scouring the internet for party ideas, just in case. Lu said she'd contact Carol Morris.

When she spoke with Carol, the woman said they'd love to have their Fourth of July at the Manor, but hadn't wanted to impose after the wedding and so soon before the McGees' move. Discussing it for several minutes, they decided the party would be at the Manor, although it would be planned, set up and hosted by the Morrises and any volunteers. The Manor family would help but wouldn't be responsible for anything but the location and the use of the TV for the fireworks show.

Carol thought Lydia, Marty and some of the others would have ideas for the party and that suited Lu and her family. After 3 weddings in 6 months, although they hadn't been all that involved in Susannah and Ian's wedding, none of them had the energy to plan and execute another party. When Lu mentioned that 7 of their overseas wedding guests were staying and would join them for the Independence Day celebration and one more would arrive to join them, Carol was intrigued. Lu quickly explained that the 7 were using Brambury as a base while they explored Europe, and that Jethro's former father-in-law would arrive before the Fourth, all of them would be flying home with the family in early August.

After the trip to Edinburgh, Penny took her leave, flying to Manila for a 3 month lecture tour in Asia. She said if there was any spare time, she'd join them in Varkiza but couldn't make any promises. She reminded her family she'd see them in the U.S. when she got home, also telling Sarah she would fly through London on her business trips, staying over a day or two here or there, as often as possible.

The Captain and the Admiral left a few hours after Penny, flying to Rota, Spain, to meet their ship, the Baton Rouge. They'd be afloat for several months and would be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Enthused by Liz and the Hubbards, Ducky agreed to be their tour guide for their first trip to the continent. They'd take several days to explore the towns along the coasts of Belgium, France and Spain, renting a car in the UK and then traveling to the continent via _Le Shuttle_ _, the car transporter in the Eurotunnel. It would be easier to rent the car in the UK rather than on the continent, especially with_ either Ducky or Maisie's British passports. _Their first stop would be in t_ he Pas de Calais region, their first night planned for Montreuil-sur-Mer. They'd originally planned to do the trip by passenger train but wanted to wander and thought doing that by train might take up too much time, money and waiting for transfers to local trains, etc.

When they left, the Manor residents gave themselves three days 'off' from any household chores besides cooking and cleaning up after meals and somehow most of their evening meals were takeout. They needed rest!

While the visitors were away, Artie and Tim pulled out the box of papers Mr. Fernsby gave them. While they were happy to have the monies owed them, they wanted to know who'd manufactured the games, who they were licensed to, their names and signatures should have been on the licensing agreements and for how long they were manufactured and sold. Artie knew more about business practices and contractual matters than Tim did, although he had some knowledge from dealing with his publisher. After spending hours looking through and trying to make sense of the disorganized mess, they decided they needed help.

They called their family attorney who gave them the contact information of a trusted colleague, a contract attorney. They shrugged, not sure if 'contracts' would cover all their questions but it was a place to start. She in turn listened and told them to bring their box of papers to her office. They made an appointment for later that week and then happily put the partially organized documents back in the box.

In the meantime, the McGees and their fellow Manor residents didn't quite make it through Day Three of their self-imposed 'time off'. When Lu spotted Artie quietly climbing the stairs with the vacuum cleaner on the second day, she called to her. The other woman turned with a grin, "Ok, yes, we're cleaning up here. Neither Tim nor I can stand it another day. It's not bad but we really need to vacuum and spot clean the rugs. And then Hope…well, the girls' room needs cleaning before anything else. Tim's already working on that."

Her mother-in-law returned the grin, "We vacuumed Maisie and Penny's room and cleaned the bathroom and our lounge yesterday while you were out walking with the kids."

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When the McGees met with the contract attorney, she chuckled at the box of papers. "Not bad! Sometimes I get paper bags full of documents."

She took them through what had happened when they'd first signed the contract with Marty Fernsby and then the more recent discovery. She shook her head, "He didn't send your share of the profits to you but he didn't spend it either. A cowardly crook or one with a nagging conscience? Not sure it matters at this point. I agree with your questions, who manufactured your game, in whose name and how was it licensed? I'll add two more questions, is it still being manufactured and are there other funds due you?" She gave them a probable timeline and they left her office, hoping she'd find the answer, preferably before the move.

The wanderers arrived home a few days later, excited and very enthusiastic about their travels, sharing their photos, postcards and souvenirs. Ainsley had seen Sarah's souvenir spoon collection before their trek and decided to follow in her cousin's footsteps. However, she had more rules about collecting than Sarah did. She only wanted spoons from places she'd been and they had to have either the name of the city or country or something that made it clear where the spoon was from, something like a bagpiper on a spoon from Scotland. When she showed them the spoons she'd collected, Sarah slipped into her room and brought out a few more. "Here, I'm adopting your rules and you've been to these places, I haven't."

Ainsley looked unsure, "But you might go there, you'll still be living here."

Sarah smiled at her cousin, "Then I'll buy another one, Cuz. Simple!"

"Wow, thank you!" She looked at Jethro, "Uncle Jethro, when you move home, will you please make a spoon holder, a spoon rack, for me?"

Dad nodded, "Be happy to, Ains. Take a look at the two I made Sarah and let me know if you like them or have other ideas."

"Ooh, thanks!" She disappeared with Sarah while Claire beamed at him. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, although I haven't done it yet!"

He looked at Callum, who smiled back at him. "I'm collecting postcards, they're easier to find and carry. I have a big corkboard at home I'll put them on. It's a little bigger than the one in Patrick's room."

"Great! That's something you can take with you wherever you go. My mother used to save postcards when friends on trips would send them to her. One time she was given a whole packet of them from a friend whose mother had traveled a great deal. When the mother died, the friend didn't want them and gave them to my mom, knowing how much she loved them. There must have been 50 cards in there, from all over the world, and the lady had written notes on many of them, what she remembered about the place, her favorite thing or a person she met. Mom really enjoyed the personalization on those, she said it was like the notes had been written to her. I might still have them somewhere."

"Wow, that's cool, I think I'll write some notes too. If you find your mom's, can I see them? I mean when you get home."

"Sure, Cal. Might take me a while to find them."

"I understand."

Over the next few days, the travelers plotted their next trip while the McGee kids, still in school, reminded each other of all the fun trips they'd had.

Maisie, Liz, Claire and Ainsley wanted to go to Paris while Callum wasn't much interested, although he did want to go to Disneyland Paris. Tim and Uncle Jethro did their best to encourage him, promising there was plenty more to do in Paris and that the adults with him would do more than shop for clothes. Tim knew his young cousin liked architecture and showed him several photos he and Artie took, also telling Cal and Claire about the catacombs, climbing the Eiffel Tower, climbing the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral to see the gargoyles, a bike tour, a river cruise, a chocolate tasting tour and, of course, the 'inside out' building, the Pompidou Centre, with its pipes and escalators on the outside! Promises from his mother and grandmother that they would do things that interested him too, not just 'girl stuff' helped change his mind. The inclusion of a day or two at Disneyland Paris sealed the deal.

While Cal was still debating whether or not to go, Mac Fielding arrived for his visit. Jethro and Lu met him at Heathrow with Big Blue and chuckled at his reaction to the large vehicle. "My heavens, is that a school bus?"

Lu explained while Jethro tucked his suitcases and carry-on into the cargo space. They chuckled again when they pulled into their driveway, watching for his reaction. His mouth dropped open and he turned to Jethro, his eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline. They explained the Manor and he eventually nodded. He smiled happily when Tim and Artie met him at the door, greeting him with hugs. He hugged them back before turning to Jethro with a laugh, "Are all your kids here?"

"Not yet. They will be, everyone's coming for the trip to Greece."

"That'll be fun, I'm glad you persuaded me to stay for that! Oh, what about your daughter, the one who's not adopted, is she coming too? I remember her being teased about not liking sunlight."

Lu chuckled, "She's decided to come, she'd be the only one left behind if she didn't and decided she'll sit under a beach umbrella or a sun shelter while she's here. She plans to rent a car with air conditioning, and do some road trips in the afternoons when it's too hot for her."

"Ah, great idea, I may ask if she wants some company! While I love the beach, I'd also like to experience the history of Athens and the country."

Tim nodded, "That's great, we have a list of tours we've taken, with and without the kids, and Artie's made a list of places she feels visitors should see and why. Then if the 'why' of something doesn't interest you, you can skip it."

"Wonderful, you should have your own tour company!"

When he was greeted by the children, who remembered him from their grandparents' wedding, he asked to be called Grandpa Mac. The grown kids loved having a grandfather and Tim and Artie's kids were happy to have a great-grandfather, just like Mimi, Grammie and Penny were their great-grandmothers. This made 3 grandfathers now, unless they counted their mother's new father, who they called Pappous Peter amongst themselves, then they had 4.

**NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS**

Before the European explorers left on their next trip, they celebrated Independence Day on Sunday, July 2nd with their family and many of the people Tim, Jethro and James worked with. That was fun, Ainsley and Callum had celebrated the holiday outside of the country before, after all, they were Navy Brats, but they said this party was more fun than any they remembered.

Over the past year, Lydia's partner Marty had learned how to walk on stilts and she did so, dressed as 'Uncle Sam', complete with top hat. As part of the fun, she gave stilt walking lessons to the kids, with their parents' permission and only to those over the age of 6.

By popular demand, they again had a top hat decorating table and contest. Hot dogs and barbecued chicken were the food entrees, with vegetable kabobs and/or chili for the vegetarians in the group, along with roasted corn on the cob, green salad, potato salad and a large sheet cake that had "Happy Birthday USA" written on the top, with several stripes and stars around it.

A trivia contest was very popular, with divisions for different eras of U.S. history. His siblings laughed when Geordie was told he couldn't participate in every era, he had to pick one. He selected the least popular one, the Jackson to Lincoln era, leading up to the Civil War. He was happy when he had competition, Grandpa Mac.

Mac loved the celebration, it was certainly more entertaining and fun than any Independence Day party he'd been to since he was a child. He and Geordie laughed together when they tied in their antebellum category. They laughed even harder when they won the whole contest, the other contestants vowing to study American history over the next year.

The games were different, except for the hats and trivia contest, and some of the faces had changed. Julian Bashir-Martin now worked in the state of Washington, replaced by Terrell Okoro; the Morrises, who'd been away on vacation last year, were there this year as were Ned Dorneget, the senior Powells, the Porters, Mac, Liz Crane, Maisie, Claire, Ainsley and Callum Hubbard and Ducky.

Tim and James insisted on putting together the fireworks show and the pair made sure they picked different clips than they'd played last year. Once again, the fireworks show was a big hit and as Ned said, they didn't have to drive anywhere, fight for a place to park or sit on top of their cars to see anything! Lydia added, "Or sit in traffic for an hour to get home!" They laughed at themselves, saying they sounded like old fogies, careful to make sure none of the older guests were in earshot.

**NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS**

Mac surprised everyone when he asked if he could join the other travelers for their trip to Paris and Disneyland. He'd never been to Paris and was very interested in the architecture, much to Cal's delight, and said he hadn't been to a Disney park in decades, even though he lived within a few hours' drive of Disney World in Florida.

When the group left for Paris very early Monday morning, Grandpa Mac was with them. Tim and James took the Tube in together and when they reached the office, were happy to see several decorated top hats and more of the prizes won at people's workstations.

James shook his head, "Where are we going to have it next year, Tim? You'll be gone, so no Manor."

"Put Sari on it with Marty, James, they'll find a place!"

His brother-in-law shook his head, "Won't be the same without all of you."

Tim chuckled, "Maybe we'll come over for it. Kids will be out of school."

"Good, let's do that! Sarah and I were teasing each other the other night about finding a way to continue living at the Manor. Renting out the suites for Airbnb, maybe having a few tenants, things like that."

"I thought you liked your new flat? Or will when you can move in."

"We like it all right but it's not the Manor."

Tim huffed, "James, nothing is ever again going to be the Manor! Sarah struck gold with that!"

"True! Hey, the last day we're all there, let's take photos of everyone out on the front lawn, and then, I don't know, climb up on the church tower to take a shot of the whole place."

"That would be cool! I wonder if we can do a photo like that online? Ooh, from a drone!"

"Good idea, I know a guy who has one, maybe he could do it for us. Have you ever flown one?"

Tim shook his head. He had, during a case, but couldn't talk about it.

When he arrived at his work area, he was surprised to find a banner over his workstation, wishing him well and thanking him for all his work. He realized that although he'd really only worked part-time for Joel, and sporadically at that, he did feel part of the office.

He made sure to quickly say goodbye to everyone and to especially thank Joel and Lydia before leaving for the Manor that afternoon. He was now off until August, part vacation, part transfer-move days allotted by the agency.

Once again, he hated leaving and still wasn't sure this move was the right thing. There was more violence at home and his doubts about putting his loved ones' lives in danger grew stronger every day. He remembered a science fiction novel he'd read years ago, where ordinary citizens wore bulletproof vests. It had seemed ludicrous at the time, now he wondered if it was only a matter of time before they were put to use for civilians, particularly children.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

A few days later, the contract attorney called, asking them to come in again, she had answers for them. Artie and Tim gladly left their sorting and packing to meet with her.

What they were told astounded them, "Your product, the game, is still being manufactured. However, it was moved from the original manufacturer and it looks like that happened at the instigation of Martin Fernsby. My take on that is he was afraid his swindle would be discovered and so made some sort of deal, likely illegally, to switch to a different manufacturer. That's one issue. The other is that the license Martin Fernsby set up, first with the original manufacturer and then with the second company, was and is in violation of your contract with him. You are owed additional money by his estate, by the original manufacturer and by the secondary manufacturer. Now, instead of suing, I propose we outline our 'concerns' to both companies and the Fernsby estate. If they're smart, they'll settle out of court. If not, then I recommend going forward with a lawsuit, for either company. If we do that, we'll also name Martin Fernsby's estate in the lawsuit."

Tim frowned, "Where is the game being manufactured and where is it being sold? It's 20 years old, I can't imagine it's still popular!"

The attorney smiled as she told him where it was currently being manufactured, adding, "Two things to remember here: one, emerging nations who are new to the world of electronics, including games and two, a nostalgic trend towards some of the original electronic games." She chuckled, "In the late 1950's and into the 60's, the 'hula hoop' was the rage for baby boomers. My older sisters had one I played with, and I became the hula hoop champion of our neighborhood. Eventually it died out but in the last decade, they've come back on the market. They haven't reached the top of the market as they did in my childhood but they are popular again. The same sort of nostalgic purchase is happening with early electronics. "Pac Man" for instance, is back on the market as well as your game and a few others. The existence of the Games museum you visited in Berlin testifies to the nostalgia."

She'd prepared documents to send to both manufacturers and the Fernsby estate and the McGees took a few minutes to read through them, asking questions and finally agreeing to go ahead. They left feeling rather odd about the whole thing but determined to find out. Tim huffed, "It'll probably cost us all the money from Fernsby to do this but we're still being cheated and that's not right."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While the household did some gathering and sorting before the wedding, now they got serious about getting ready for their move, being methodical about clearing each cupboard, closet and room.

Their landlord asked them to leave the dividing wall, wood panels that fit cozily into a Dad-made frame, in Artie's office/extra bedroom and downstairs in the former playroom and that made things a little easier. He'd also asked to purchase all of the security devices the family installed in the house.

When the travelers returned from France, they found boxes and bags of clothing, shoes and toys along with odds and ends of things, ready to be donated. A more organized set of boxes were stacked, already packed and labeled. They stayed for a few days, helping the family pack and getting even more of a flavor of the McGee-Gibbs' life here.

As planned, Greg's 9th birthday was celebrated at home on Friday and with his overnight at the British Museum on Saturday night.

Sunday evening, the travel group set out again, this time taking the train south to Cornwall where they'd spend the week exploring. They teased Tim and Jethro that with the weather warmer than usual this summer, they probably wouldn't need to build fires on the beach to keep warm.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big chapter, lot of things going on. I put day and place 'markers' in when I was writing this because of the different time zones and jumps back and forth between the UK and the U.S., intending to remove them before posting. Decided to leave them in rather than risking reader confusion. Enjoy!

 

Chapter 55

WEEK OF JULY 16, 2017

MONDAY: UK

While the other travelers were in the south of England, Ducky and Mac, who'd become friends, went north. The two took the train to York where they'd spend 2 days and nights exploring, returning home on the 3rd day.

MONDAY/TUESDAY MORNING

After seeing the U.S. news online, Tim and Artie talked all night about the move, finally making a decision. Consulting Tim's brothers, they found agreement. Rob admitted relief, while Geordie also agreed, saying, "I knew you were agonizing over this but I also believed I knew what your decision would be and I figured Dad and Malu would be on board. Family comes first, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll catch up with you later, need to get to work. Love you all!"

"Back at you!"

Relieved, Tim looked at the clock. 0600 here meant it was 0100 in DC. He sighed, he really didn't want to wait. Leon would be upset as it was, might as well add waking him to the list. He and Artie went downstairs for coffee, finding Dad and Malu in the kitchen. Dad took one look at his kids' faces and heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Good! I was beginning to think we'd need to have an intervention. Have you told Leon?"

Tim shook his head and Dad stood in front of him, pulling his head down to kiss the top of it, kissing Artie too. "He won't be surprised, son. Rick told me the other day he'd heard rumors that dozens of agents, all with families and from offices across the country, are applying for openings overseas, or transferring to other agencies who can give them overseas assignments. There's far more than the school shootings going on."

"If…"

"Yeah I know, but we have years before there will be any significant changes – as far as the violence goes in schools and other public places. It's been escalating for nearly 20 years and will take strong, challenging work to stop and it won't happen overnight. We'll have to pull together as a country to change this and apparently we're too polarized to do that, even to save our own children, the future of our families and our country. And now these attacks…it's too frightening. Even if we were all safe, that's not a way we want our children or grandchildren to have to live. You've already had enough of that in your lives."

Tim nodded, "We know that, Dad. However, we thought we should go anyway, as long as we could keep our children safe. " He sighed, "But I can't do that, we can't. Can't put our kids into situations that are potentially as dangerous, or worse, as what we grew up in. It's just after 0100 in DC, we want to call Vance now."

"Do it, son. He'll understand."

When Tim's phone chimed with a call, both men flinched, causing Artie and Lu to chuckle. Tim shook his head, rolling his eyes at his father as he answered it. "Director? Is there anything new that's wrong?"

"Yes. I'm issuing new orders for you. Is Artie there? Put me on speaker?"

"Yes, sir. We're in the kitchen with Dad and Lu."

"Good morning, everyone. Tim, Artie, I'm rescinding your orders to transfer to the Navy Yard. We need Tim and Jethro outside of the US, to handle agency matters if things get as bad here as I'm afraid they will. You may be there for 3 or 4 more years, although it could be longer. Tim, here's the deal, I'm giving you first choice of our locations in Europe. You can run the INV program from any of the 5 offices, uh, we're opening a new office in Hamburg, Germany, in the next few weeks and we'll realign jurisdictions. We're also opening a small office in Antwerp, Belgium, that will be a 2-agent team reporting to London, but we don't have office space yet. Might need your help with that."

Tim smiled at the relieved and happy looks around the table, "Ready to help and thanks for the options. We want to stay in the UK."

"Great! Now that you've trained Ned and he's had some experience, I need him in Singapore. That is, if you feel he's ready."

"He is ready. We'll be sorry to lose him but I know it'll make SSAIC Yates happy. What about Race?"

"Yes, Yates will be happy, although she's still upset you won't transfer there. I'm assigning Piro and Bishop to London for training. After you feel they're ready, we'll transfer Race to whichever European office he wants, except for London. I'd prefer to have Bishop in the UK."

"Yes, sir. That's fine, as long as everything has been handled. Race and Ned have mastered the pre-training and workbook I put together for them. And you're off speaker."

"Thanks. As far as Bishop goes, I can tell you as you are now her supervising agent and she's given permission to inform whoever her new lead would be. Her doctors, including our Mallard and Palmer, have signed off. And, this is also in her records, she successfully completed the Ethics class. Now, is it really all right or are you giving me the party line? And I'm sorry to be usurping your authority. There is more chaos than usual and this is something I can do to help a few of our agents. To that end, there will not be an INV agent at HQ, my goal is to have a minimum number of employees at the Yard and in the DC Metro area."

Shocked at the idea of a skeleton crew aboard the Yard and in the area, Tim walked into the family room while the director was talking, sliding the pocket door closed behind him. He knew Dad would hear but wasn't worried. "Thank you for letting me know what's going on and we are a pilot program, after all. I'm relieved to hear of the approvals; however, I will reserve judgment until she's trained and operating."

"Good, that's what I wanted, honesty. Now, got a few more minutes?"

"Sure, now that we're not packing."

"I haven't contacted Joel yet. Won't until you talk with Ned, let him know about Singapore."

"I'll call him this morning. I haven't been to the office in two weeks and wasn't planning on going in."

"Because you were being transferred, don't worry about those days. If you have time to work now, even from home, that'd be great. I'll let Joel know I'm extending your assignment in London. Indefinitely. Ok, so the other thing is family…"

Rolling the pocket door open, Tim stepped back into the kitchen, pressing the speaker button again, "Speaker's on."

"Thanks. Kayla, Jared and I planned to fly to Greece this month; however, I'd like the kids to fly over earlier, as soon as possible, and then I'll join them on our original date. The problem is that the Russells are away on vacation. Would it be possible for the kids to stay at the Manor and then travel to Greece with you? I realize this is asking a lot and please don't feel obligated."

Tim looked at the others, who were nodding. "Leon, as we've told you before, you're always welcome here and of course that includes Kayla and Jared. Remind them it does rain here during the summer and isn't as hot as Greece or DC."

"Thank you! They'll be bringing just about everything they have. Kayla's been accepted to Cambridge; classes start at the end of September and I'll take her. Jared will be staying on in Greece, living with the Russells and going to the International School the Russell kids attend. I've asked my attorney to put together a legal guardianship arrangement for Jared and the Russells and now I'll add one for you, too. Kayla's 18th birthday will occur before they leave here."

Tim was thrilled for Kayla and surprised, despite his own misgivings, that Jared would finish his high school education outside of the U.S. That did fit with Vance's earlier statement about keeping a minimal staff in the region, though. He realized the situation at home must be even worse than what they saw and heard on the news. That made him feel sick.

Dad took the phone, saying, "Leon, you can certainly run the agency from either the London, the Athens office or any of the others. Why don't you stay?"

"I'll consider it, Jethro, thanks, but that might not be the smartest move at the moment. Have you talked with Tobias?"

"Not in a few weeks."

"You should give him a call. Emily might want to visit you, too."

"Leon? Can you tell us anything more?"

He sighed, "There are awful things happening, things that I hoped we'd grown beyond in this country, hate crimes, murder, arson, harassment. There are ugly rumors about taking 'back' the country which I would guess means taking the country back to post Civil War days, the late 1800s, early 1900s. And there have been lists published with what one group calls 'The Unwanted'. Not names but traits. Anyone, no matter what age, with a mixed heritage, anyone not a citizen who is married to a US citizen. Anyone married to a US citizen, who became a naturalized citizen after the marriage. Anyone adopted who doesn't know his or her heritage. Anyone of any color other than white and the list specifies skin tone. Anyone in the LBGTQ community. Anyone of certain faiths, those who don't attend church, especially professed atheists. There's more but that's enough. There have been several attacks across the country, it's believed they were carried out to prove the group is serious."

Dad looked as sick as Tim felt. "Holy crap!"

"Yes. As for their rumored partners, it's a faction of the ultra-far right members of a powerful lobby, a national group, one that has an absolute lock on Congress and they seem to be leaning toward their new friends."

"So any non-Caucasians or anyone with any mixed anything, are at risk?"

"Yes. They also included the homeless, anyone receiving government help, government employees, politicians if they're not in their pocket, the list goes on."

"Thank you for allowing us to stay here."

"Gentlemen, we need some privacy." Vance waited until McGee told him they were alone in the family room before continuing , "As I told McGee, I'm trying to help as many of our agents as I can. You'll be safe outside the country. The armed federal agencies are working together to combat the domestic terrorists, think of it as a long-term combined task force, you may be called on to work with Homeland, the NSA, the FBI or the CIA from your location. The order to do so will come from Secretary Porter or me. If the orders come from someone else, follow normal protocols. If neither Porter nor I can be reached, contact the Secretary of Defense directly.

"Agents Gibbs and McGee, this is a direct order: if anyone other than me or Secretary Porter orders you to return to the United States, go silent, batten down the hatches, send written resignations, copying everyone you can think of, including the media in the US and overseas, and immediately ask the Brits for political asylum – do that before you send your resignations. If you haven't already, you two need to establish duress protocols with Secretary of Defense Cyrus, Secretary of the Navy Porter, Directors Sailes and McKinley. If Porter, or any of them, including me, are replaced, stay out of reach of the new one."

"Leon!"

"I pray it won't come to anything like that but I want contingency plans in place and events are occurring very rapidly. I'll email the kids' flight information and the custody documentation. Thanks for taking care of my children."

After they disconnected, they returned to the kitchen and the four of them sat looking at each other in horror, the two agents still reeling with the direct orders they'd been given. Tim swallowed, "Our family would never be safe in that environment. And all of our kids, including Rob, have mixed ethnicities." He huffed, "We all do!"

Artie nodded, "I'm a Greek foreigner and would technically be an immigrant, even with a visa."

Lu tilted her head, "I'm an educated, mostly Hispanic woman, married to a white man, a triple threat to these goons." Her husband made a noise, leaning over to kiss her.

Tim shook his head, "I can't believe this is happening. Leon needs to get out of there. He can spend months visiting the overseas offices, have his Congressional meetings via Skype if he needs to. Kayla and Jared may be almost grown, but they've already lost their mother, they need him."

Lu stood, gently kissing the top of Tim's head. His fear for their friend and their country was so strong it was almost tangible. She looked around the table at them before opening the freezer and pulling out a bag of cinnamon rolls she'd made and frozen, intending to serve them on their last morning here. That last morning was now years in the future and they needed a sugary diversion now!

As she thawed and heated them, she smiled at the others, "The silver lining for us in this awful situation is that we get to stay here. And we'll find a way to help from here. Covertly."

They perked up at that and started throwing ideas around as Tim made more coffee. By the time the kids came downstairs for breakfast (today was a school day), their adults had decided to focus on the 'staying' part and talk with the children on a non-school day about what was happening in the US.

Greg was first into the kitchen, surprised to see both parents and his grandparents already up. Usually his dad and grandfather had breakfast with them, sometimes their mama was already working and sometimes she'd worked late and was catching up on her sleep. Grandma sometimes had breakfast with them but claimed she was still making up for lost sleep after so many years of working in and then managing the shelter.

When he told his parents that Hope was also awake, Papa went to bring their baby girl downstairs. When all the kids were seated at the kitchen table, their father and mother smiled at them. "We have a surprise for you!"

The five of them smiled, Hope knew the word surprise meant good things. Kyle giggled when no one said anything else, "When are you going to tell us what it is?"

"How about now?"

Papa grinned at them, although Andy saw that his eyes were sad. Looking at his mother and grandparents, he saw the same thing. "Your uncle Leon called this morning, early, and changed my orders. We're staying here!"

"In this house, in Brambury? We don't have to change schools or live in a different house?"

"Yes to that and no school changes."

Andy was so happy, he forgot about the sad eyes. "Cool, we get to stay here! No moving! I can't wait to tell my friends!" He stopped for a minute, "For how long, Papa, did Uncle Leon say?"

"He said it might be 3 or 4 more years, son."

"Awesome!"

Greg was so excited, he was bouncing up and down in his chair, unusual for him. "Now we can still see Aunty Sarah, Uncle James, Aunty Susannah, Uncle Ian, Mimi and Yaya! And all our friends! Papa, we can go back to Aegina if we want! You were right, it wasn't our last time there!"

Rissa had a little pout, "But we don't get our pool."

"No, honey. But we have the pool at the fitness center and we can go to the ocean."

That cheered her up and the little girl added, "We can still walk up Butterfly Hill!"

They all cheered at that and then Kyle looked worried, "What about Uncle Rob and Uncle Geo? And Uncle Tony, Aunt Maggie and Aunt Abby? And all the uncles, aunts, our cousins and Uncle LJ? They'll be sad." His brothers and sisters nodded, looking at their parents.

Tim nodded, "They will be sad, but they can still come visit us and have adventures here. Uncle Rob and Uncle Geo are staying too."

"Good!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The kids rushed through their breakfasts, eager to get to school with their news. Tim made a face, he needed to talk with Ned so Leon could update Joel and Cassie Yates in Singapore.

He caught Ned before he left for work. When Tim told him his news, Ned sighed in relief, "That's good news, Tim!"

"Got more fun for you. Now that you've had a chance to look around London, we're transferring you to Singapore! Do you know the SSAIC, Cassie Yates?"

"Singapore? That's…wow, I'm going to Asia, awesome! Uh, yes, I took an advanced course at FLETC a few years ago and Agent Yates was there, before her promotion. Will I still report to you?"

"Yes, you're still reporting to me."

"Good! Is there more?"

"News? Yes, but no one has talked with Joel yet, I'll do that this morning."

"Oh! So I shouldn't mention any of this."

"Right. As far as the transfer, I don't have your report dates yet and if Joel doesn't know, then I'm sure Agent Yates doesn't either. Have you put any money toward a flat yet?"

"No, but I found one I liked yesterday. Glad I decided to wait a day, to make sure I still like it as much."

"Close call, although the agency would have reimbursed you if necessary. All right, I'm gonna send Leon a text. If I hear anything more, I'll call you at work."

Sending Leon a text, he was not surprised to receive a reply from his boss saying he'd contact Cassie when it was daytime in her part of the world, he'd call Joel first. Shaking his head, Tim asked if he'd slept at all and Leon said no but he thought he might be able to sleep in a few hours, he had more transfers to handle before he'd head for home. Tim hadn't realized Vance had stayed at the office overnight, possibly longer.

Several minutes later, Joel sent Tim a text, congratulating him on the continued assignment, adding that he and Lydia were doing happy dances. Before Tim could answer, Joel sent another text, asking him and his father to come in for lunch that day or the next. Dad and Malu had plans both days, so Tim accepted for himself.

Before going into the city, he napped for a couple of hours and then, after kissing Artie goodbye, took Hope to the nursery school before hopping onto the Tube. As he traveled into London, he thought about Tony, Maggie, Abby, Jimmy and Ducky. This was going to be especially hard on Tony and he wondered if there were any openings…oh, maybe in Hamburg? But then where and as what would Maggie work? He shook his head, hoping they'd figure something out. Considering the dangers and the atrocities already happening, he hoped Uncle LJ would join them here and that Grandpa Mac would stay.

When he got to the office, he smiled when the receptionist welcomed him back. "Not that you really left, but we thought you were going! Glad you're staying!"

"Thanks, me too!"

Joel welcomed him with a one-armed hug and a slap on the back. "Glad Leon finally came to his senses, or was it you?"

"Both. Artie and I stayed up all night talking about going/not going, a decision we've been trying to make since Christmas. Before we could call him to say we wanted to stay, he called and changed my orders."

"Good for us, bad for HQ. Pete says his CIA buddies in Athens told him Langley has had dozens of applications from agents at other agencies, applying for transfers, requesting overseas postings. Now come on, there's more news, good news!"

Tim thought about what Dad had heard from Rick Carter, but didn't share it. He was glad there was good news. When they reached Joel's office, Lydia was waiting there for them. "Hi Tim, glad you're staying! Has Joel told you my news?"

"No. What's happening?"

"Carla Hofstadler, Athens' SFA, is leaving, her husband got a full-time professorial position in Thessaloniki and they're moving there. I'm taking her spot, it's a lateral but it's Athens with nice hot weather! Marty's already online looking for a place to live."

Mentally crossing his fingers for Lydia's replacement here, Tim grinned, "Congratulations to both of you, that's great! We'll see you at the beach! HR will provide a relocation agent to help find you a place. And Artie knows a real estate guy, he's really good. Sorry I don't have his contact information, but she does and then Marty could call or email him. And I have more news."

"Thanks, we'll do that. What?"

"Ned's going to Singapore, Agents Race Piro and Eleanor Bishop are coming here for training and then Piro will choose which other European office he'd like to work in."

"Wow, that's great!"

"Do you know who's replacing you here?"

Lydia smiled wickedly, "I do but you should probably wait and hear from your brother."

"Which one?"

"Your Marine brother."

"Ah, so Bec's coming here instead of the Navy Yard? Good!"

"She was going to the Navy Yard? Wow, that's…I'm sure she'll be happy here."

Joel redirected the conversation, "Did he tell you about Hamburg?"

"He told me he's opening an office there in a few weeks, nothing else. He might have called us first, possibly before we got too far into our packing."

"Ah, that makes sense. He's been busy, seems today's the day for news. Roger Martinez is moving from Marseille to Hamburg, Leon wants someone used to working on the continent in there. Don't know about the rest of the team."

Tim just nodded. The three of them went out for lunch, relaxing for nearly an hour before Joel and Lydia returned to the office and Tim headed home. While he was on the Tube, he sent a group email to their US family, telling them his news. Of course, parts of their US family were somewhere in Europe, Southern or Northern England, Africa or floating on some large body of water, but they still needed to know. He was concerned about his grandmothers, godmother, aunt and cousins returning to the horrors in the U.S. His godfather and uncle wouldn't be home until Thanksgiving, months away. He sighed as he realized Sarah and James would have to make a decision about their 2nd wedding. But James wasn't a citizen and Sarah was, would they be in immediate danger? Were the creeps getting information as people entered the country?

He mentally shook his head, there were numerous ways to get the intelligence and he wouldn't be surprised if there were government employees involved, whether they were forced, were believers in whatever cause this was or because they hoped to buy themselves immunity by performing treasonous acts.

He stopped in at the nursery school but Rissa asked to stay and Hope was sound asleep. Artie was still working when he reached the Manor, although she did say she'd spoken with Marty. Dad and Lu were out and Ned would handle anything that came into the office, calling if he needed help.

Tim finally sat at his desk, his laptop charged and ready for him to do some writing. First, he sent a note to their landlord, telling him of the change in plans and expressing hope they could stay at the Manor. Then he found himself surfing the U.S. news sites, looking for information, anything. What he found were 18 attacks on mixed race or mixed citizenship households in the last 7 weeks, in states around the country. Assault weapons were used in each attack.

He was even more horrified and sickened than he had been this morning. He read what he could stand before closing down the site and resolutely going to his word processing application. He didn't try to add to his current work in progress but free-wrote about his horror, anger, disgust and fear. Eventually, he shut down the laptop, changed his clothes, applied sunscreen, grabbed a hat and his pack, a bottle of water, stuffed his phone in an outside pocket of his pack, left a note on the refrigerator and went for a walk out the back gate.

The walk felt good. By himself, he could stretch his long legs and make his pace as slow or as brisk as fit his mood. Today, he must have been close to running because when he saw the sheep, the shepherd flagged him down. He'd taken to waving at the family when he saw them, now he seemed concerned.

"Are you all right, Mister? You usually walk like you're enjoying the countryside. Today you look like you're running from the devil!"

"I feel like that too, but I'm all right, thanks. I'm upset about what's happening in my home country, the U.S., but we're all right here, the children and the family are all right."

"Countries, they're important but sometimes I think it would be nice to live without them, just to let ourselves live. But I suppose we need laws to keep from knocking each other around and that means governments to make them and police to enforce them, keep us safe. And that means countries. I'm heartsick reading about the children who are being hurt and killed in America and now whole families are being murdered. I don't understand how they live there, sorry, I know that's your home."

Tim shook his head slightly, "I've been here more than 2 years now, this seems more like home."

"Until you feel the tug to go home, I'm sure. The people you walk with, are they all your family?"

Tim smiled, relaxing a little. "Yes, for the most part. My parents, sister, her husband, two of our brothers, my wife and our children are all here."

"I imagine they bring a lot of solace to you."

"Yes, they do and I hope I help them."

"Looking at your children, I'd say you do. They must be the happiest, healthiest bunch around here! But then Brambury does that to people, heals them, gives them joy with all this glorious nature. God had something special in mind when he created this place."

Tim nodded, "He certainly did."

"Well, I best be getting back to the sheep."

"Thank you, you've given me solace."

"You're welcome, my friend. I always feel happy when your children run by, waving at me, and when I see your family out walking. I'm glad to return the favor."

Tim continued his walk, this time at a normal pace and feeling lighter. On his return, he waved at the shepherd, smiling as he approached the Manor's back gate.

Finding his parents outside on the terrace, he sat to talk with them. Having decided to stick to some degree of normalcy, they'd taken the train to Warwick Castle to buy Tony another birthday present. They'd celebrated on the 8th, his actual birthday, via Skype, and would celebrate again, this time in person, when he and Maggie arrived. Dad had spotted a new collectible on the website for the castle, a copy of the 'Knight's Creed' and had to have it. He'd already started working on the frame.

Tim smiled as he took a sip of his cold tea, "Ah, that's good."

"Looking more relaxed than you've been in weeks, son."

"I am, Dad. The decision's made, no more stressing about that. I read the news and then went for a walk and had a chat with our shepherd. How was your train trip?"

"Relaxing, as always. Have you heard from anyone at home?"

Tim shook his head and then, making a face, checked his phone, which he'd turned off at some point. "No. But I didn't send the email until I was on my way home from the office, pretty close to 1330. People were probably at work already. You haven't heard from Tony or Abby?"

Dad shook his head and Tim frowned, "That's strange."

"They might be waiting until later, when they know we'll be home. Hard to know when people are available when we're 6 time zones away."

Tim nodded. He looked at his watch and smiled, "Time to bring the littles home."

"Hang on, I'll go with you. Hon?"

"No, sweetie, go ahead."

Father and son left, quietly talking about the changes, the attacks and the strangeness of it all. Tim shook his head, "Every so often, I ask myself if I'm upset about staying here but the answer is no, I'm relieved. But I do feel like I'm shirking my duty."

Dad tilted his head, "Who dictates your duty?"

"Vance."

"Are you shirking his orders?"

"No, Dad. I just feel like I should be in there, fighting."

"In this fight, your battle, your job, is to remain focused on our mission and nurture your family, our country's future. Besides, Timothy, a man of your talents can easily fight remotely."

Tim's mouth opened and then he smiled, "You're right, as usual. And your battle duties are the same as mine."

Gibbs snorted, "Without the electronics."

"No, you're my partner in that, same as always. Dad, computers are tools that I understand how to operate, just as you know how to use the tools you work with. We have different perspectives, two different brains. You give me ideas, new directions to look into. That's how our team worked and that's still how you and I work now."

Tim grinned at the hair ruffling he received as they walked into the nursery. Rissa laughed when she saw him, saying, "Daddy, you must have made Grandpa happy, your hair is all messy."

When Tim picked Hope up, she patted his hair several times while his father laughed. From the nursery, they continued to Kyle's classroom to meet him. He looked at his father's hair and giggled, "Daddy, what happened?"

Rissa grinned, "He made Grandpa happy so he ruffled his hair and then Hope tried to fix it."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Back home, Tim forgot about his hair when Artie said Tony had called the house phone. "He said he was at work and needed to speak to everyone. He wants to have a Skype call on his lunch break, at 6:00 our time."

"Okay, the boys home yet?" At 13 ½, Andy was now allowed to meet Greg after school and the two of them to walk home without escort by a parent or grandparent. When Kyle started his next level, what would have been the 1st grade in the US, he'd still have an adult escort but Andy and Greg would continue their routine.

"Yes, they're upstairs changing. Geo and Rob are coming for dinner, they'll be here by 6. Sarah went into town to talk with their landlord, to see if they can get their deposit back. Considering the man promised them the flat would be ready by June 3rd and then reneged, she's hoping they'll receive a full refund - they have his original guarantee in writing. They'll be home for dinner."

"Good!" Tim looked at his watch, 1630. "It's a nice day, think I'll ask the kids if they want to play softball. Want to play?"

"Yes, I do, that will be a welcome change. I'll umpire. Did you contact our landlord? And we need to think of something to do for the Arlington house. Penny will still be away. And what about LJ, Mac and Ducky?"

"I did write our landlord, haven't heard back yet. The only thought I've had about the Arlington house is to ask the Hubbards and Cranes to move in after the Palmers move to the townhouse, it might be safer for them. And find some Marines for the cottage."

"Oh, I thought Bec…"

Tim realized his mistake and made a face. "Oops. Forget I said that, ok? Nobody actually said, I figured it out from something else I heard, I'll tell you later. I'm hoping Geordie will tell us."

She smiled, "All right. Do you have any guesses about Tony's call?"

"Maybe but I can't figure out how to make it work, so nothing ready to share. One thing I can tell you is that Ned is being transferred to Singapore. Which will help me, I've worked a few cases with them."

"That's good for him, I'm glad! But who will work with you here?" Before he could reply, she shook her head, "Never mind, I forgot Ned was to be your replacement!"

"He was but Leon's made some changes to the program. I think those changes have more to do with moving people overseas, out of harm's way, rather than a specific need anywhere. Although we can certainly use 3 INV agents in Europe, especially with 5 offices. I could tell you, but then you won't be surprised when you hear at dinner."

"Oh…OH!" She frowned as she added, "Oh?"

He laughed as he pulled her into his arms. "It'll probably be fine and if it isn't, we'll figure something else out. Once…well, let's talk about it later."

She made a low noise he recognized as an impatient growl and he grinned, "Softball, fresh air, a little exercise, a good distraction. And I hope Grandpa Mac and Ducky will stay and Uncle LJ will join us."

"Good, I hope so too! I'll get the equipment while you round up the kids and your parents."

"Deal." Kissing her again, Tim headed upstairs, finding Rissa and the boys in Andy's room talking about staying. They looked up as he knocked on the open door. "Mind if I come in?"

They all shook their heads, smiling at him. "How about some softball? We're having a Skype call with Uncle Tony right after dinner so we won't have much time to play after we eat."

"Is he all right?"

"I believe he is. He might have some news, but I'm not sure what. Your aunt and uncles will be here too. In the meantime, it's not raining and it's not hot. Perfect for softball."

"Yes!" Calling out what positions they wanted to play, the boys ran downstairs while Tim held Hope's hand on the stairs, Rissa holding her little sister's other hand.

Mama, Grandpa and Grandma joined them and they played for an hour before Aunt Sarah and the uncles showed up, all at once. Tim thought Rob looked a little befuddled but his brother decided he was probably tired and possibly overwhelmed. Geordie seemed calm but Tim saw the same sadness in his eyes as in his own, Artie's and his parents'.

Splurging because none of the cooks felt like cooking, they ordered Italian and Tim and Geordie went to pick it up. As they drove to the restaurant, Geordie looked at his brother. "You hear about Bec?"

"No, although I heard other news I thought might affect her."

"She's taking the SFA spot in London instead of the Navy Yard. Sounds like the director is keeping people here."

"Overseas, yes. Have you heard what's going on?"

"Yes, Colonel Martin briefed me. He and I have been ordered to continue our posting at the Embassy in London, that came directly from Secretary Porter."

Tim took a deep breath. "That's good, she's working to provide support overseas. Vance ordered Dad and me to establish duress protocols with her and gave us specific orders if anyone other than Leon or Porter order us home. Anyway, we figure our job is to stick with our mission so when things start to change, we'll be ready to go home and do what we need to do."

"Did Vance change orders for anyone else that you know of, or can say?"

"Yes. Ned Dorneget is transferring to Singapore, where he'll still report to me and two agents from the Navy Yard are transferring to London for training and then I'll decide where they'll go. I think Leon is being very specific about who he transfers and where. Hoping Tony will have more information."

"You think he and Maggie will be sent somewhere? Why?"

"Because they're two of the best field agents he has. And with Dad and the two of them, plus several other agents here, in Asia and in areas of home not under attack, the agency will continue to function. If Leon…if he's not there, one of them can pick up the reins and run the agency."

Geo snorted, "Tim, are you really in that much denial? The only person he wants to take his place is you! Still, that makes sense, move Tony and Maggie, Ned goes to Singapore, keep Bec here, your two newbies, then either you or Leon will have the support and expertise needed when this is over." He frowned, "What about Ellie?"

"Ellie…hoping Rob will tell us or she'll be on the call with Tony."

"What about the house? Both houses?"

"Don't know yet. If we could get a couple of Marines to live off base in the cottage, that would be good. If the Palmers go ahead with their move to Georgetown, I was thinking of asking Liz and the Hubbards to move into the Arlington house. And maybe the guys. Should be some safety in numbers."

"Not for the guys, they need to get out of there. You know Bill's the only one who'd be safe. Barry's bisexual, Freddie and Joe have visibly mixed ancestry. Chelsea, well I don't know about her."

"Sometime we should have a conversation about her. Before Joe makes a huge mistake."

Geordie nodded, "Agreed. However, I don't think she'll want to come here. I don't know that it's us she doesn't like or that she doesn't like anyone. Rob thinks she has a hearing problem but that doesn't explain all of her behavior. Freddie won't talk about it but Bill says Chelsea bullies Joe and Freddie unless he, Barry or Abby are around."

Tim shook his head. They drove home nearly drooling over the wonderful smells and were greeted at the door by their hungry family. They sat and ate, trying not to inhale the delicious food. They'd just finished clearing the table and setting up the laptop when it pinged with the call from Tony.

DiNozzo smiled in relief when he saw the family gathered, although he wondered where Ducky was and he'd thought Grandpa Mac was visiting. Mamalu quickly told him they were sightseeing in York and would be home the next day. Andy and Greg looked a little puzzled while Kyle, Rissa and Hope were busy saying hello to everyone.

Artie looked at the children and then at Tim, they would need to tell them something about what was happening immediately after the call. She whispered to Tim who nodded and leaned over to the kids. "Kids, there will be good news and some scary things talked about on this call. We're safe here. Your mother and I will tell you more about it after the call. For now, listen and remember we're all safe here."

Andy and Greg's eyes were wide now while Kyle immediately moved to his father's lap and Rissa followed. Hope was already sitting on her mother's lap. Sarah and Rob swapped chairs with the 2 older boys so they could sit next to their parents.

Tim looked at everyone on the other end of the call, Tony, Maggie, Abby, Ellie and Jimmy. Tony took a deep breath and started, "We asked Freddie, Joe, Barry and Bill to join us, but none of them could make it. Abby and I told them everything we're going to tell you." He stopped to take a deep breath. "Director Vance said he spoke with you about what's happening here. He spent the morning, he's finally gone home to sleep for a few hours, cutting transfer orders," he made a circle with his finger, pointing to everyone with him, "for each of us and for other agents who might be targeted. It'll be easier if we get all our news out before questions." His family nodded their agreement.

He smiled, "Maggie and I are transferring to the Marseille office. I'll be the SAIC while Maggie has opted to leave the field and work as an Intel Analyst. She'll work in Marseille but report to Burley in Rota." The couple grinned at the camera, "We hate the reason but are very happy about the move." Maggie leaned forward, "My dad will move with us." Tony added, "We haven't told Senior yet. I'll start trying to contact him tomorrow but I needed some time to absorb everything."

Ellie was next, "Rob already knows but decided to let me tell you all. Tim, I'm moving to London and will be one of your INV agents there. My parents are excited about coming to visit!"

Tim gave her a warm smile and she visibly relaxed. Abby was next and like Tony and Maggie, was both excited and heartbroken. "The London office used to have a forensics lab and Director Vance is opening it again. It needs upgrading but I'll be there to oversee that and I'll run it with an assistant that I'll select. I get to do the forensics for all the European offices!" Then she sighed, "But it's awful."

Jimmy was last and was clearly upset. "The director is also reopening the autopsy suite in London – and I'll be the chief medical examiner, with an assistant that I too will select. It'll be great to be with all of you."

Dad frowned, "Jimmy, other than everything going on, is there something else wrong?"

"Yes, Jethro, although it's related. Breena's parents are handing their business off to someone, they won't say who, and opening a mortuary in Ottawa, Canada. Her sisters and their families are going with them. She's upset, feels like she'll never see any of them again."

Lu shook her head, "Sweetheart, these horrible attacks, these evil people, won't last. Ultimately they'll be defeated, we all need to believe that and act on those beliefs. In the meantime, Leon is protecting the agency and the country by sending those most at risk and those who can help the most outside the country. When the danger is past, I imagine Ginny and Ed will move home as soon as possible. In the meantime, they'll be able to visit you here, the flight from Ottawa to London should be about the same, maybe a little less, as DC to London. And you can visit them there, too. And there's Skype, as we're doing now. It's so much easier to keep in touch, even with the everyday things, now that we have the ability to see each other when we talk."

Jimmy nodded, "Thanks. I think part of it is the shock – and what's going on. It's so awful."

Jethro nodded, "It is, kiddo. It's hard to take in, that people could be so full of hate and cruel. Even though we know it's not the first time, we never think it'll happen during our lives, not in our country. We all need to remember that wherever there is hate, there's also love – good things happening. So while we battle the hate, the insanity, the stupidity, we need to hold onto the love, the good things. So, when are your report dates?"

After a second, Tony replied, "When we started comparing notes, we discovered our report dates are all August 3rd, the day after we would have been flying home with you. We're not changing our flights over, we're all on the same one, along with Bill, Barry, Freddie, Joe and the Colonel. When we leave Athens, Maggie, the Colonel, and I will fly to Marseille while the rest of the NCIS'ers will return to the UK to start the new jobs."

Dad and Lu nodded and taking a quick look around, received agreement from their kids. Dad smiled, "Good, so you'll arrive as planned, we'll all go to Greece and when we return, you can start looking for your own homes. You're welcome to stay with us while you're looking. Jimmy, Davey and Victoria can go to the nursery school here until you find a place."

On Tim's lap, Kyle and Rissa smiled, Hope squealed happily and their older brothers visibly relaxed.

Jimmy closed his eyes, exhaling. Opening them, he smiled, "Thank you!"

Geordie leaned forward, "Bec's transfer has been changed to London, where she'll assume the SFA position."

"Good, we wondered about her. Does that mean you're staying, too?"

"Yes, at the Embassy." He paused, "Any ideas how to get Bill, Barry, Freddie and Joe to stay?"

Abby raised her hand, "Leon called Bill to tell him to stay in Europe with Barry, Freddie and Joe. Chelsea's already said she won't come."

Tim frowned, "But Joe will stay, right?"

"I think so. Right now, he's pretty upset."

"About what's happening, leaving or Chelsea?"

"About what's happening and having to leave. And yes, he's upset with Chelsea, who was pretty nasty about him going to visit at all. She said because she didn't want to go, he shouldn't either, even though we're his family. They broke up, he took the ring back. He said this morning he's glad he found out what she's really like before they were married.

"As far as what's happening, he says he didn't struggle to survive and then work as hard as he and Freddie did to build their business to let some stupid thugs take everything away. They'll find a buyer, they have offers, they'll cash out and start again in the UK or find work there. I ordered online copies of the UK plumbers' regulations, exam and manual for them. They don't have to be UK citizens to work as plumbers, or to own a business, but some of the rules are different. They're hoping their schooling, certificates and years of experience here will help them get started there. They want to ship as many of their tools as they can. If they have to attend plumbing school there, it'll take 4 years."

Geordie added, "Jose told me about the most recent offer, from a former military guy with his own plumbing business. He'll keep the employees too, if they feel safe enough to stay. Joe and Freddie will have plenty to live on here while they get going."

Dad frowned, "Not letting any of our kids live in danger or go hungry. We'll call them." He looked at Lu, "We'll arrange a Skype call with the 4 of them."

Abby smiled at him, "We know you'll help and we've reminded Freddie, Jose, Barry and Bill of that."

Tim was mentally running through the family. "That was great of Leon to call Bill, let's remember to thank him. Dad, what about Uncle LJ?"

"I spoke with him this afternoon. He's willing to come for a visit, says he doesn't know how long he'll stay."

"Won't he need a visa?"

"Everyone will! After LJ and I talked, I called the Embassy and spoke with your Mr. Keilty. He had a few ideas but a visa will be the best thing, yes. That would be good for 6 months and it can be renewed or reissued. When one of you in DC has time, would you please contact LJ, let him know what to bring for our weather here? And I'd like to get him on the same flight as the rest of you."

Maggie smiled, "I can either send you the flight numbers and group code or book him myself."

Lu shook her head, "Thanks, sweetie, but if you'll send the information, we'll take care of booking the flight for him. We'll need to make it open-ended and I don't know what information they'll want for that."

Tony grinned at her, "Malu, all our flights will be open-ended!"

"Oh!" She laughed, "Duh!"

Tim was thinking about something. "You might want to calculate excess baggage charges versus shipping things here yourselves. Might be cheaper if you combine your stuff and ship it here. Except maybe for Tony, Maggie and the Colonel. Never mind, you're all in the transfer program! That's a 'duh' for me too, Malu!" Lu chuckled with him.

Jimmy looked thoughtful, "Except for Ducky, Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose. I don't know if Ducky's being transferred or what's happening with him."

"You haven't spoken with him?"

"Not yet."

"He and Mac, huh, need to talk with him, too. Anyway, Ducky and Mac will be home from York tomorrow afternoon. And the Hubbards and Liz will be home the day after."

Maggie frowned, "They live in Annapolis. Will they be all right there?"

Tim, Dad and Geordie looked at each other. Tim took out his phone and did a search, finally saying, "Both their homes are on the grounds of the Naval Academy. If they're not safe there, then things are even worse than we thought."

Tim and Dad looked at each other and Tony, catching the look, said, "What?"

"Leon wouldn't be doing all this if he didn't believe things are going to get worse and he has SecNav's approval for everything. They're preparing for a long fight. And you know Ed Slater's a smart businessman. If he's moving to Canada…"

"Ok, so we persuade Liz and the Hubbards to stay here for a few more months. They'll need visas too."

Abby looked thoughtful. "If someone over here has keys to their homes, we can pack more clothes for them."

Maggie, Geordie and Dad smiled, "It's standard operating procedure that the administration office of the base, or in this case, the Naval Academy, has keys. The Navy owns the properties!"

Tim made a noise and quickly checked his email, sighing in relief. "We've got the okay to stay on in the Manor. Our landlord says he's relieved we're not going home and he's very happy we'll still be in residence here."

Jimmy made a noise, "That's good, would have been really rough if you all were looking for a new place to live, too."

Geordie tilted his head, "I think Buckingham Palace might be the only place big enough for all of us." Then he grinned, "Or Warwick Castle!"

That got chuckles and he sat back in his chair, smiling at Malu.

Maggie nodded, "All right, so we're still waiting on decisions from Uncle LJ, Liz, the Hubbards, the Porters, Ducky and Grandpa Mac. Uh, what about Tobias and Emily?"

Dad huffed, "Geez! Leon told me to contact Tobias and I did, but had to leave a message. They're coming over on the same flight as you. If I don't hear from Tobias by our evening tomorrow, I'll call uh…"

Lu and Sarah said, "Gail!" Narrowly avoiding rolling his eyes, he nodded, "Gail, and let her know the plan. Emily turned 18 two weeks ago; we won't need a custody agreement for her."

Andy looked at his father, "Emily's coming to stay, too?"

"We hope so, along with Kayla and Jared."

Andy looked surprised and then frowned as did several people on both sides of the Atlantic. Tim looked up, "Leon wants them to fly over earlier than planned but the friends they'll stay with are away on vacation."

"Em, Pauley, and Gail should fly over with them. Is Leon coming with them?"

"Not as of this morning. Dad and I talked with him about it."

Andy's frown deepened. "Is our whole family moving here?"

"Yes, son. We'll talk about it after the call."

"Okay." On the other side of his mother, Greg was also looking troubled. Kyle wasn't sure what was going on but he was happy their Palmer cousins, Emily, Kayla and Jared were coming to see them. He thought they were all going to Greece with them too.

When the call finally ended, with a follow-up scheduled for the following UK evening, Tim and Artie took the kids upstairs to their room. While Kyle and Rissa were with them, they told them that there were bad things happening to many people in the States and that was why their uncle Leon wanted them to stay here where they'd be safe and Papa and Grandpa could continue to work safely. While Artie took Rissa and Kyle for stories before their baths, Tim told the older boys a little more, telling them about the list the bad guys made of people they didn't like. They were very upset and Tim comforted them as best he could.

At some point Andy asked if he was going to fight them and Tim nodded. "I'll have orders, Jammer, to fight but it won't be in person, I won't be going over there. I have some ideas of what I can do to help stop this but I'll have to wait for Director Vance to give me orders. And then I won't be able to tell you anything, nor can you mention any of this to your friends or anyone else. Greggers, that goes for you too."

"Oh. No one?"

"No one, not a single soul and if you write about it, it can't be online and you can't show – or tell - anyone. It's very important that you understand that."

"But what if people ask us?"

Tim looked as his boys, "Do you usually answer personal questions when someone's being nosy?"

"No."

"If you feel pressured, tell them you don't know, because you won't. Do you pressure other kids to tell you about their lives, or their parents' lives?"

Both boys shook their heads no and he smiled at them.

"Will Mama know?"

"No."

"Grandpa?"

"No. Greg, why are you fishing for information?"

"Sorry, Papa."

"Apology accepted, son, but I still want to know why." Tim thought Greg was more upset, and possibly confused, than he was showing.

Greg closed his eyes, "I…because Mama didn't know and that got us in trouble and then all the bad stuff happened. My first mama."

Tim kissed the top of his head, "That's not what got your mother, you and Kyle into trouble. That happened because someone didn't like something your dad did. He did a good thing and that person was mad at him."

"Was it that guy who came here? The one they took away?"

"Yes."

"Is he still in prison?"

"Yes, he'll be in prison until he dies."

Greg nodded and leaned into his father, who wrapped an arm around him. Andy looked at him, "Is Uncle Geo staying?"

"Yes, he has orders to stay here."

"Why?" Greg sat back after asking his question and Tim gave him a look but then softened his tone.

"Greggers, why are you obsessed with who might know something or questioning orders? It's not like you. This isn't related to what happened to your dad, your first mama, you and Kyle. And when have you kids ever known anything about your uncle Geo's job – or about mine? It's never been your business or mine what your uncle Geo does and that isn't going to change."

"And if you knew, you couldn't tell us?"

"Wouldn't and couldn't, that's right."

"Papa, this is a big huge phooey."

Tim huffed, "Yes, what's happening at home is horrible, beyond horrible. You not being able to answer your friends' questions and not knowing everyone's business is not, that's life! Boys, we've told you before that our work is no one's business, this is no different!"

Greg snuggled into him and Tim felt his tears on his shirt. He held his arm open for Andy who joined his brother and the 3 of them held on. He still didn't understand what Greg had been doing, why he'd continued to push for information when he'd been told to stop. That wasn't like Greg. Maybe it was just his own frustration – or maybe Greg was remembering Patrick's deployments, maybe he was afraid Geo would have to leave. He cuddled them both, whispering. "Your uncle, grandfather and I are not leaving home to go fight somewhere. We have orders to stay here. Director Vance wants your grandfather and me to stay here to help keep the agency running, to do our jobs. I promise you that's what we've been told."

He felt Greg nod, "Thanks, Papa. I remembered Dad telling Mom he'd be home but then he'd have to leave again sooner than he'd told her. Sometimes he was only supposed to be gone a few days and it was always longer. Mom got mad at him, told him to tell her the truth."

"Ah, I see. Honey, he couldn't always tell you or your mom the whole truth, his work was very secretive. Much more than mine is."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

Tim rocked them both, kissing their heads. "Sorry, kiddo, I was protecting you and Kyle when all the bad stuff was happening to us at home and there were, and still are, things I'm not allowed to tell anyone. I know he loved your mother, you and Kyle very much but he couldn't talk about his work, not even with your mother, not even about the good things he did. We can talk about that in 17 years, that's when what happened will be declassified.

"Getting back to our family now, your grandfather and I will be given different orders at some point, but we probably won't be able to tell you if our work changes. However, we're still not leaving you or our family."

Greg burrowed in deeper and Tim hung on. When Andy eventually left to do his homework, Tim stayed with Greg for another hour, talking with him about his fears.

After their sleeplessness the night before, Tim and Artie were exhausted and went to bed as soon as Andy and Greg were asleep, hoping their sons wouldn't have nightmares.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

TUESDAY EVENING IN VIRGINIA

While his agents and extended family were digesting the changes and the news, Leon Vance watched what was happening with a growing dread. When he was called to an afterhours meeting at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, he knew he wasn't the only one. He was almost relieved.

Before going to Langley, he escorted his children to the Navy Yard and up to his office. Although Kayla was 18 and Jared 15, he didn't want them home alone, even with a protection detail.

Finally reaching Langley, he walked into the same room where he, Sailes and McKinley had hatched the "Free Us All" plan last year. He nodded to Beau McKinley and again to Henry Sailes when he joined them.

When the 3 of them sat, Vance sighed heavily. "I hope to God we're here to talk about what's going on."

Sailes nodded, "I asked Beau to set this up. Gentlemen, along with the murderous attacks on our schools, most of our country is now under unprecedented internal attack, domestic terrorism. Eighteen attacks so far, on the East Coast, in the South, Midwest and West, with 209 people, including 37 children, murdered, their homes and/or businesses burned or destroyed. The only regions of the country that haven't experienced the hate crimes are the West Coast, that is Washington, Oregon and California, and New England, that is Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. And along the northern borders with Canada. Don't know why - yet. Have you seen the list of 'Unwanted'?"

Leon closed his eyes, nodding and Beau put his hand on his shoulder, looking at Sailes, "Besides being heinous, that list is ridiculous, there are probably less than a few thousand people in this country who are 'safe' from these maniacs."

"It gets worse and we want to keep this quiet as long as we can. It looks like," he named a well-known, although controversial, association whose lobby was so strong they were said to have a lock on Congress, the one Vance mentioned to McGee in his last call, "has joined forces with an old enemy, one that was strong directly after the Civil War and into the 20th century."

Leon shook his head, "Into the 21st."

"Yes." Sailes leaned forward. "We need to fight smart, my friends. And to do that, we need to think smart. Leon, our best white hat is yours, currently in the UK. Any chance you can keep him there?" He sighed, "I hadn't thought of the term 'white hat' as anything other than the good guys. You know, the good guys always wore white cowboy hats in Western movies and TV shows. Those are the white hats I mean."

Leon nodded. "I understand, Henry. I've already changed his orders to remain there. I can move other agents, those who can help the most and those who are targets, overseas."

"Include you and your family in that, please."

"No! I will not run! My kids, yes, but I will not surrender to the fear!"

"Leon, you're not running, you're not surrendering. You're keeping your kids safe and you'll fight strategically. You can focus overseas without having to be watching over your shoulder every second. We need you in Europe to coordinate and communicate."

Sailes' cell beeped repeatedly and he looked at it, reading what seemed to be a long text. "Damn! Hutchins has been attacked. He's alive, although badly injured. They attacked his vehicle at a stop light, his protection detail fought back, captured one of the attackers, that will be useful. Homeland wants to evac Hutch and his family to Toronto and my boss agrees."

Vance worked to control his shock at the new about his mentor and friend. Eventually, he shook his head, "He's the director of a federal agency and he's not even safe in a guarded hospital room in his own country."

The other two nodded and Leon sighed, "All right, I'll go to Europe."

Beau nodded, "Thank God! Before we start talking strategy, I have a huge favor to ask of you."

"What's that?"

"My daughter-in-law is Puerto Rican, she and my son have 3 small children, my grandkids. I, that is my son and I, want to send the 4 of them to Europe with you. Once they get there, I have contacts who'll help them but I'd rather they fly with someone I know and trust."

Sailes nodded. "I have a similar request, Leon. My wife is Japanese-American, born here. Means our children are also Japanese-American. Joy has a cousin in the UK, but like Beau, I'd prefer they fly over with someone I know and trust."

Leon nodded, looking at his watch. "I'll need to make reservations."

Beau shook his head, "No, you're not flying commercial…" He stopped talking as Vance's phone chimed with a call. "My boss…" The other two men nodded.

"Hello?"

"Leon, are you with our friends?"

"Yes, ma'am. We heard about Director Hutchins and I've agreed to leave with Kayla and Jared."

"Good. Director Hutchins is in critical but stable condition and he's on his way to Canada with his family. We are leaving at 0200 for Belgium. Now listen to me before you say anything. A full detail is on their way to Langley with Kayla and Jared. Other agents are at your home, packing for the three of you. Is there anything in particular you want? And is there anyone else you want to go with you. And is your passport at the house or office?"

"I have it with me, the kids each have theirs and yes, there are others." Leon first gave her the names of the other people he wanted to get to safety, including McKinley and Sailes' families. After that, the first material things Leon thought of were items that had belonged to Jackie, things he wanted his kids to have.

"Good, I'll get that going, pass the word along. I'll be there in a couple of hours."

"Ma'am?"

"Director McKinley will explain."

Vance disconnected, looking at Beau. "We're leaving from here?"

"There are times it helps to be as clandestine as we are at the CIA. Recently, several of the government's private jets, mostly those of Cabinet members, have been ferried to our airfield and hangers."

Sailes stirred in his chair. "We did a quick and quiet survey and found Langley the safest place for the jets."

The trio discussed ideas for fighting this undeclared war against the domestic terrorists, although Vance said that he believed the 'Unwanted' list was a declaration of war. His colleagues agreed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

TUESDAY LATE NIGHT - BRAMBURY

Tim also felt the 'Unwanted' list was a declaration of war. He'd stretched the truth a little when he told his children that Director Vance would have orders for him. Tim already knew what he needed to do. For him, it meant taking on another job, this one to be done as stealthily as possible.

Since his MIT days, he'd been a member of the 'White Hats ', also known as the 'White Hat Hackers', a secret group of ethical hackers who worked together to defeat security breaches by malicious hackers. The name came from old Western films where the good guys wore white cowboy hats. Their work was done anonymously, each only knew a select few others' screen names and there were different groups of them around the U.S. and the world. These days, they were rigorously vetted before being allowed into the secret group.

While Tim had only worked with them sporadically since he'd left Silver Spring, he'd monitored their communications. When he heard the new goal, to penetrate the electronic systems of the domestic terrorists to determine names, planned targets and any other information they could find, he jumped back in.

He'd find time, even if it was only for 2 or 3 hours a night. When everyone was outside, he headed down to the basement, poking around for the best spot to set up. Since Lu moved in with them, his father didn't spend as much time down here in the evenings and from the looks of his workbench, he'd already finished whatever his latest project was.

Tim knew that at one time there had been hidden, secret rooms in the Manor and from a rough schematic of one of the renovations of the building, done in the 1700s, he was hoping he might find some hidden space in which to work.

Last winter, his landlord, knowing how much McGee loved old things, loaned him a box of old items to look through. They were all from the Manor, passed down through generations of his family. He'd also given him several centuries of family lore, written in journals, records of crops and taxes, before and after the Plague. Those had given him a satisfying look into the history of the Manor and he'd been surprised to find its origins and history somewhat different than they'd thought.

It had indeed originated as a farmhouse but it hadn't been renovated to a small version of a feudal manor. Before the Plague, it had been a full sized Manor, complete with towers and room for dozens of occupants, perhaps even royalty. It was after the Plague, when the place lay empty for many years, that things had started to change.

Now, in this modern day, Tim felt it was necessary to find a quiet place, away from his curious family, to do his stealth work. While his office was private, he was sure his father or one of the boys would notice him working past midnight, not something he usually did unless facing a publishing deadline and Dad at least would know he wasn't. His best bet was to look for one of the secret rooms and hope it was habitable.

There were a few things he'd have to handle. One was the security he and Dad rigged for the basement door. As it was purposely noisy, he'd have to remember to disengage and then reengage every time he entered and left but he could handle that. The other thing would be footprints. His father would definitely notice a second set of prints on the dusty floor.

Before he left the area where his father worked, he used his headlamp to scan for his dad's footprints and saw a few. It looked like he'd walked the perimeter of the room, which worked for Tim. Carefully placing his feet in Dad's prints so at first glance there was only 1 set of prints he followed them all the way around and then partway again, stopping at what looked like a solid wall.

That's where he started looking, poking every inch, up and down, every protuberance, every corner. When he found the door, he grinned. Hidden in the darkest corner, at the far end of the basement, probably under the side yard but what centuries ago would have been part of the original Manor, was a keyhole in the middle of what should be an outside wall. He'd sorted through the box of old items, removing all the keys and bringing them with him.

It took him more time than he liked, there were nearly 30 keys to try, but eventually he found one that worked, with some help. He'd also brought a little bottle of oil with him and using that with the right key got the door open. It squeaked a little and he stopped to oil the hinges, making sure there were no drips. The door was so narrow and short that he had to turn sideways and duck to enter. Other than wanting to keep it as inconspicuous as possible, he had no idea why it was so narrow, he estimated it was between 14 and 15 inches wide. He supposed that would deter men in armor, they'd have no flexibility, wouldn't be able to 'suck in their guts' to get through. That could also be the reason for the shortness too. Perhaps something like a panic room then? Or was it meant to hold secret meetings with royalty and the door would hamper others from sneaking in? He shrugged, at some point, he might do some research.

When he entered the room, his mouth opened in awe. It was large, probably 20 feet long and at least 14 feet wide, and full of all kinds of things. As he looked around, he spotted 4 suits of armor, swords, antique wardrobes, tables and chairs, even one that looked big enough and ornate enough to have been a throne. Maybe that was here in case the reigning monarch needed a safe place to hide.

He laughed to himself, imagining using 21st century cutting edge electronic technology while sitting on a chair from the 14th or 15th century. He wouldn't, of course, but it was fun to think about. He thought about Mark Twain's book, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and chuckled again, he'd be a Maryland Yankee in King Henry's, one of the Tudor Henrys, court!

Standing in the middle of the room, he used his tablet to access the Manor's wi-fi system. Before he came down here, he'd boosted the signal as high as he could. Now he smiled when he was able to access the internet. He wouldn't directly use their wi-fi, he'd establish a separate connection and would spend some time tightening security to 'White Hat' standards. However, knowing that he could reach the internet from this ancient room was a relief.

There were a few things he'd need down here. He could use one of the tables but there was no way he could sit for long in one of the antique chairs. He'd also need some sort of light, although he supposed his headlamp and the light from the laptop might be enough. He owned a separate laptop that had only been used for his previous 'White Hat' work and he'd use it again. Heat would be a necessity too, although he might be able to make do with plenty of blankets. There was power in Dad's portion of the basement and he thought about rigging up something to bring heat and light in here. Once upon a time, he'd been a licensed electrician, although his license had lapsed over a decade ago and he'd certainly never been licensed in the UK! Now he thought about extension cords and winced, feeling that was just asking for trouble.

He had a battery operated lantern and would use that and would look in the stores here or online for a solar powered heater. Of course, it would need sunshine to charge, that would work for a couple of months, then, well, he'd try it. If that didn't work, he'd have a problem, although he could wear his warmest clothes and cap, bring in blankets and a sleeping bag. He grimaced at that, he'd sworn never to sleep in one again but if it kept him warm, he'd be able to work more efficiently and for longer and he wouldn't be 'sleeping' in it. His 'White Hat' laptop had the best battery on the market, it could easily run for a couple of days on one charge, considering the number of hours he had available to work.

He shook his head, thinking about Dad. It certainly wasn't that he didn't trust him, it was that the 'White Hats' was a highly secretive group. Members didn't know each other's real names or what they looked like and when he'd joined, he'd given his word to maintain that secrecy, each of them did.

He thought about that. If he told his father, it would seem like a breach but because his dad was Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he would actually be tightening security and secrecy. It would sure be easier. One of the things he worried about was Dad knowing something was up and investigating on his own, getting them both into trouble by trying to find out what his son was up to. Yes, definitely safer to bring Dad in on the secret.

He started his stealth work just after 2230 that same night, reveling in the prospect of helping to end the bloody violence. Following an electronic 'map' sent him by one of his 'White Hat' colleagues, he easily reached the end point and pushed forward. He'd broken through another layer of the terrorists' security when an alert appeared on his screen, it was 0100, time to stop for the night. He sent the information he'd found to the lead tech and signed off.

By the time he logged off two nights later, his fellow 'White Hats' had pushed through three more layers. He worked for three hours but couldn't get any further. He sent a log of what he'd done so no one else would waste their time or perhaps someone would see something he'd missed. He was tired, he had worked late on a tough case for Rota and Athens and he still wasn't finished.

When he shut down and went to bed, Artie was awake. "Are you all right? You're up so late and I know you're tired."

"I am tired, sweetie, but there was something I had to do."

She smiled, "The same something you had to do last night?"

At the look on his face, she kissed him, "I love you so much, you're my hero. Personally and," she made a gesture, "in the world. How can I help you, other than keeping quiet?"

He leaned over, nuzzling her. "I love you and you're already helping me. But you're right, we both need to keep quiet. And I won't be able to tell you anything for…well, probably the rest of our lives."

"Have you told Jethro yet?"

"No, I planned to pull him aside tonight but then I got home late. Artie, I have to tell him. I'm afraid he'll start poking around if I don't."

She shook her head, "No, he won't. He's a smart man, my love, he knows he can't know."

"He said that?"

"No, there's been no mention, no discussion or hint. But, as you've often said, he knows."

Tim nodded and pulled his wife toward him. "Feel like cuddling?"

"Actually…" she gave him a sultry smile to which he responded.

He never did say anything to his father, but when he entered the basement late at night, he'd usually find a travel mug of freshly brewed coffee waiting for him on Dad's workbench. He found a portable solar heater online and managed to charge it without anyone saying anything. The next time it needed charging, he forgot it, leaving it with his empty travel mug on Dad's workbench. Two days later, he smiled when he found the heater on the floor of Dad's workroom, fully charged. There was no doubt his father was his partner in this venture, taking a different role than usual but knowing he knew was a comfort and a source of encouragement for Tim. The hidden room also now housed a sturdy, Dad-made table along with a wooden chest that stored the necessities: a warm quilt, sleeping bag, ski cap, 2 pairs of 'touchscreen' gloves, that is with the finger tips cut out, chemical hand and foot warmers and an old parka. While the heater kept everything warm enough, too many years of sleeping in icy cold tents meant Tim made sure he was prepared for arctic cold.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tobias replied to Dad late Tuesday UK time, telling him that Emily, Pauley and Gail would be flying over early with the Vance kids. He also hoped to be on the flight but couldn't guarantee anything at this point. Uncle LJ had contacted Tony after the family Skype call. He'd be on the flight with the rest of them and would bring as much as he could pack.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

WEDNESDAY - UK

Early Wednesday morning, Tim had another call from the director. When he answered his phone, he frowned. He knew it was Leon but there was more background noise than expected. "Director?"

"Good morning again, Tim. I'm calling from Secretary Porter's jet, we've just entered International Airspace. Secretary Porter decided her daughter Megan and I should fly with her for a NATO meeting in Belgium and invited Kayla, Jared and some others to come along. We'll be landing in London first."

"Will you be disembarking in London?"

"Yes, everyone but the Porters."

"How many?"

"There are several of us but once we land, there are 8 of us who hope to stay with you."

Tim had the phone on speaker and Artie's eyes widened at the number.

"We'll figure it out, Leon. Are you able to tell us who?"

"Yes. Three of us Vances, 4 Fornells, Tobias, Emily, Pauley and her mother and LJ Moore. There are others but they'll be guests of the Embassy until they find permanent housing."

"Yes, absolutely. We'll make room. Jared can share with Andy and Cal, and Kayla, Em and Pauley can stay with Ainsley in the library. Gail and Tobias can sleep in the extra bedroom, you can have my office, there's a pull-out sofa in there and Uncle LJ will stay in the Gibbses' suite and we'll move Mac and Ducky to the playroom. Is Megan Porter disembarking?"

"No, she's continuing to Belgium with her mother and will transfer to a school somewhere in Europe."

"Okay, that's…" Tim tried to wrap his sleepy mind around this. At least they'd have a few hours before they arrived. Leon chuckled, "There will be 8 of us, Tim. It'll be daylight by the time we land and we can nap anywhere."

"You're right. Okay, let me know your ETA and where you're landing and I'll bring Big Blue."

"Will we all fit?"

"Oh yeah, that's not a problem. Are there other children being sent away?"

Beside him, Artie, had been half asleep. Now she sat up straight when she heard her husband ask about other children being sent away.

"Yes. Sailes' two children and his wife are with us, they'll live with a cousin of Mrs. Sailes. They're 8 and 10. And McKinley sent his daughter-in-law, a native of Puerto Rico, and his 3 grandchildren, who are 2, 4, and 6."

"Oh my God! Where are they going?"

"To the Embassy for a few days with the Sailes', while the mother looks for a place to live."

"Will they be safe? Never mind, Geordie's there."

Leon chuckled, "That's what I told her, that I personally know the Marine in charge of security at the Embassy and they'll be in excellent hands."

"Good. And you're staying. Either in Greece or here."

"Yes, I've been ordered to run the agency from overseas."

"Thank God!"

After they disconnected, Tim told Artie the whole story and they looked at each other, horrified.

"Tim, your grandmother and the others will be back this afternoon. Where are we going to put all these people? And the Porters…oh, we're meeting them in Athens, right?"

"Larry and Cyndi, yes. We might need to move some of the others to an Airbnb in Brambury."

"Who?"

"Tobias and Gail. Uh, Sarah and James? That frees up 2 rooms and a couple of beds."

Artie shook her head, "Come on, we need to figure this out before the plane lands!"

Listing all the kids under 18 and those over, then the adults, the couples, the singles and the older folks, Uncle LJ, Grammie, Ducky and Grandpa Mac, they then listed the available rooms and beds. They decided the Fornell group could stay at the Airbnb and perhaps Sarah and James wouldn't mind staying with them. That reduced the number of people at the Manor. The teen boys, Jared and Cal, could sleep in Rob and Geo's room or they could stay in Greg's room while Greg shared with Kyle. One of the boys could also share with Andy. Kayla could share with Ainsley and Claire in the library, Leon could have Tim's office. That left Maisie and Liz in Sarah and James' extra room, Uncle LJ in the Gibbses' suite, Ducky and Grandpa Mac in the playroom. Once they decided where, they counted the number of inflatable beds, they had just enough.

After they had the situation as figured out as they could at this point, they tried to go back to sleep. That was as futile as gesture as it had been the previous night and they quietly donned their robes, slippers and walked downstairs.

Tim knew making coffee would wake his father up but they needed to think and for that, coffee was a necessity. They'd already offered shelter to their family arriving from DC. Tim shook his head, "The transfer program will pay for more than a month of temporary housing, the NCIS folks will have to do that while Freddie, Jose, Barry and Bill can stay here along with Uncle LJ, Ducky, Grandpa Mac, Liz and the Hubbards. The Vances will stay in Greece, I think, don't know if Tobias will return to the States or stay here. We'll still have Emily, Pauley and Gail, along with our folks."

She nodded and then shook her head. "This is incredible! It makes me think of the Syrian situation."

"Please God, it won't ever be that bad. But yeah, it's pretty surreal."

A sleepy voice said, "What's surreal and why are you two up again?"

Dad had indeed been woken by the smell of fresh coffee brewing and said Lu was still asleep. While he had his first cup of the day, Tim told him about Leon's call from the SecNav's jet and the number of people they'd be taking in, who were counting on them for help. Dad's eyes bulged, especially when he heard about Director Sailes' wife and children and Director McKinley's grandchildren and daughter-in-law. He closed his eyes, shaking his head.

When he saw the list of who would be sharing with whom and where, he sighed, "It's a good thing you two are so organized and like to plan. I'd have just told them all to find a spot or sleep on the floor and maybe I'd have turned the heat up if it was cold. For all the kids, anyway."

James shuffled into the room, squinting at them. "More bad news?"

They told him and he too closed his eyes, finally saying, "The lady with the 3 kids, my parents have 2 extra bedrooms and Castleton's a great place for kids. It has a good nursery, good schools and there are job opportunities in Manchester."

"Do you think they'd be willing to take in a stranger with 3 young children?"

"They're refugees now, aren't they? I'll ask them." He sat with them while he had a cup of tea and then went to get ready for work.

Once the others finished their coffees, they too returned to their rooms to shower and dress. Before Jethro stepped into the shower, he wrote 3 names, his cousin Richard Baxter, and friends Pat Cooke and Stan Waters. He turned back toward the bathroom and then remembered Lu's friends and wrote their names down too, thinking they needed to check in with them.

Tim and Artie slept until 1000, when Tim's phone rang again. It was Leon, they were making their descent into London, landing at a military base with which Tim was familiar. Secretary Porter had already advised ground personnel that she'd authorized him to pick up several of her passengers. As Tim dressed, he tucked his agency ID, badge and passport into a pocket. Artie got up with him, realizing the boys should be in school by now. The couple was in the kitchen when Sarah entered. "What's going on? James woke me to help get the kids off to school and nursery, said you got more news early this morning."

They told her and were almost amused as she stood there staring at them, her mouth open. Tim heated a frozen breakfast bagel in the microwave, gulping down a cup of coffee, kissed his sister and wife in passing as he, the bagel and his travel mug headed for Big Blue.

As the front door closed behind him, Sarah blinked, "All right, what do we need to do?"

Artie smiled, gave her a hug and the two got to work. When Lu wandered in, she heard, was just as horrified as the others and joined them in getting the Manor ready. Artie stopped long enough to check on the Airbnb lodging and finding it available, booked it straight through to the 21st, when they'd leave for Greece. She sent Tim a text when that was done and then stopped, realizing Lu had made breakfast for them.

The guards at the military base nodded in appreciation as Tim handed over all his papers. He was on base in less than 2 minutes, in time to watch the sleek jet land and taxi toward the base terminal. He knew the passengers would have to go through passport control and, parking Big Blue, entered the building to wait. He nodded at the other man obviously waiting, the driver of the Embassy vehicle parked outside. When he received the text from Artie about the Airbnb, he sighed in relief.

Hearing cargo doors opening, luggage being offloaded and then delivered and probably sorted, he remembered Artie's arrival from Turkey and thought he had about 5 minutes before the first American refugees came through the door.

He smiled when Uncle LJ, Tobias, Em, Pauley and Gail were the first people through the door. He hugged his father's godfather, welcoming him and then greeted the Fornell group. Smiling, he gestured to the parking area, "Big Blue is parked outside. Tobias, do you want to start loading or stay here and direct?"

"I'll direct for now, Tim, if you don't mind and then we can swap. Is the car here from the Embassy?"

Tim gestured to the driver, who nodded in greeting, and Tobias smiled, "That's good. The women with the children will be out in a few minutes. The little one needed changing."

Holding the door open, Tim said, "Uncle LJ, why don't you come with me, you can sit in the van while we load up."

"Thanks, son, I will although I should be walking or at least standing."

"You can do that when we get home. Sarah's got a routine we use for jet lag."

"How long a drive is it?"

"Probably 40 minutes. It's commute time but we should be going against most of the traffic."

Em, Pauley and Gail came with them but stood outside the van rather than sit again. Uncle LJ sat in the front passenger seat. Kayla and Jared were next and gave Tim big hugs. He kissed them both, "So glad you're here and safe!"

They nodded, both holding on and he gave each a strong hug, whispering that they would be all right as would their father. "Be grateful Secretary Porter understood he wouldn't leave without a direct order."

They nodded, sniffing and turning to help load luggage. Tobias and Leon finally exited the building, escorting Mrs. Sailes, her children, the junior Mrs. McKinley and her 3 children. Tim approached them, "Mrs. Sailes, Mrs. McKinley, my name is Timothy McGee. I'm a federal agent with NCIS and I'm alive today because your husband and your father-in-law protected me and my family for 2 years, everywhere we went, here in the United Kingdom, in Europe and at home.

"Anything I can do for you while you're in the UK, let me know, please. Here's my card with my contact information. And if you run into any problems, call NCIS, the number is also on the card and we'll help. My family lives in a London suburb called Brambury which is a great place for kids, the nursery school and primary schools are excellent and there is beautiful English countryside right outside town. When you're ready to look for a place to stay, please consider looking there, we'd love to have more Americans nearby and my kids, we have 5 between the ages of 1 and 13, would love to have more American friends! If you'd like, once you get settled in, bring the children out to the Manor, where we live, for a day in the outdoors. We have countryside near us and our kids love to take hikes. We also play softball in our back garden, sorry, that's English for our backyard. You're not alone here."

When both women smiled and the older children looked at him with interest, he felt better than he had since Leon's call.

Once the women and their children were seated in the Embassy vehicle, the driver's credentials having already been checked, Tim, Vance and Fornell climbed into Big Blue and left the base at the same time as the Embassy limo. As they drove, Tobias leaned forward, "Got everyone sorted?"

Tim chuckled, "Funny you should ask. How would you, Gail and the girls like to stay in the Airbnb you were going to stay in next week anyway?"

"Sure, that's pretty much what we thought we'd do. Is that enough?"

Tim opened his mouth to reply when his phone beeped with a voicemail. He tapped his headset, listening to a message from Sarah that she and James would also stay at the Airbnb. Tim smiled, "Yes, that's enough."

Uncle LJ gave him a side glance. "How big is your house?"

Those who had been before laughed and Tim smiled, "You'll see, Uncle. Doesn't do any good to tell people, no one really gets it until they see it in person."

Leon leaned forward and patted his shoulder. "Thank you."

"Family, Leon."

"Above and beyond."

"Wait until you see your sleeping quarters before you say that. Besides, look who's talking!"

"Doesn't your father call it the unwritten rule?"

"Mike Franks."

"Oh. Huh."

"Yeah. Oh…Layla!" Tim realized he had no idea of Layla and Amira's whereabouts.

Leon patted his shoulder again, "They're in Montreal, flying to Paris on Saturday. Layla's mother lives near there."

"Thanks. Dad must know."

"Yes, I sent him a text. You talk with Joel this morning?"

Tim shook his head, "Haven't had time."

"What'd you think of the changes?"

"Awesome and a relief. Perfect for Abby, Jimmy and Breena. Abby's already helping Freddie and Jose figure out what they need to do and Bill has a friend who knows someone in construction over here, so he's been in touch. Thank you for including them."

"Same rule, Timothy, family first. How's Joe?"

"Single and hurting but determined to keep going."

He heard Kayla and Emily comment to each other. "What's that, ladies?"

"She didn't like us, the family. We thought she was marrying him for the money in his and Freddie's business."

Tim nodded, "An almost universal opinion within the family. Joe doesn't need to know that, though. Not until he's had time to heal. Like the rest of us, he's got a lot to deal with right now."

As the traffic increased in volume, Tim concentrated on the road, letting the conversations flow around him. As they moved onto a two lane road, he heard a few gasps and Tobias spoke, "It's okay, Tim knows what he's doing. Remember we're in the United Kingdom where they drive on the wrong side of the road."

Tim spared a chuckle at that. He'd estimated the time just right as they pulled into the driveway at the Manor 40 minutes after leaving the airfield. "Wake up, everyone, we're here! Tobias, Gail, why don't you and the girls come in, have a bite to eat, I'm sure someone's made breakfast, and then I'll take you to the house."

Gail and the girls nodded their agreement as Tobias responded, "Sounds good."

As Tim hopped out and opened the back to offload luggage, he heard someone helping LJ. Everyone but LJ and Emily joined him at the cargo door, helping with the bags. Leon, Tobias and his group looked at each other, smirking and waiting for the inevitable, which came from LJ, "Holy Moses! Timothy, is that a castle?"

Jared blinked, "It looks more like a Manor house, Mr. Moore. You know, where the feudal lord lived."

Kayla laughed, "Tim, you're a feudal lord!"

He grinned, "That's me, 'Lord of the Manor'! Speaking of that, we need to take you to Warwick Castle, your father really needs to see it."

Leon was puzzled, "Why?"

"Because it helps explain who we are, what we do. When Tony first saw parts of it, he said he wanted to yell, "That!"

Tobias nodded, "I thought Jethro and Tim had gone off the rails a bit when they first told me about it, but then I visited and…oh yeah."

Em agreed, "It helped me understand Dad's work."

Kayla looked thoughtful, "That would be helpful."

Jared nodded, "Yeah, I'd like to see it too."

Tim looked at all of them, "But not today. Today, you eat, settle in, get fresh air and exercise, sleep and repeat the process. We'll schedule your first sightseeing road trip in a few days, before we go to Greece. In the meantime, as your jet lag plays out, you'll tour Brambury and then venture into London if you want."

Leaving the Fornell group's luggage in Big Blue, they got everything else inside, with help from the Manor residents, Tim stopping to further explain the Manor to Uncle LJ.

They left the luggage in the living room, leading their guests and new residents into the dining room. When there was no high chair for Hope, Tim remembered the kids were at school and the nursery. That would make the morning a little easier for the newcomers, although he wasn't sure how his children would react to so many people suddenly living with them. Still, they knew everyone, that should help. He felt bad that everything had happened without the kids' knowledge.

He helped Dad and Sarah bring in bowls of scrambled eggs, with plates of bacon and toast. When they started making the rounds with juice, milk, coffee, tea or hot chocolate, the young adults and teens insisted on taking over. Lu and Artie had their feet up, they'd cooked and Dad said they'd also eaten. After everyone finished, the newcomers helped Sarah clear the table, Tobias and Leon stacked the dishes in the dishwasher and Tim put the perishables away.

When the kitchen was clean, Tim looked at his watch, only 40 minutes before the schools' lunchtime. He sat down with Artie to discuss his concerns and found she shared them. They decided to take the Fornell group to their lodgings, then swing by the school, speak with Andy, Greg and Kyle's teachers and take them out of class for the afternoon. They'd speak with the boys before picking up Rissa and Hope from the nursery school.

Sarah was in charge of establishing the jet lag routine. She, Dad and Lu would take people for a walk or a tour of the town. While they debated about Uncle LJ, they knew he needed to walk after the hours of sitting on the jet.

The Fornell group climbed back into the van, taking two additional suitcases, for Sarah and James, with them. Once they had been dropped off, Tim and Artie continued on to the school.

They stopped in at the office to let the Headmaster know what was going on. He was fine with them removing the boys for the day, understanding this was an important and disturbing event. He'd seen and heard about the problems in America but hadn't realized they were bad enough to start evacuating children and others who might be targeted. He made a point of telling the McGees that they'd be happy to accept any American students. They thanked him, saying they would bring the school age kids around.

The Headmaster went with them to collect the boys, having a brief chat with each teacher and Andy and Greg were released for the day without any additional classwork to do at home. When each boy saw his brother walking from the classroom and then saw his parents, eyes widened. Kyle was last and he exited his classroom looking worried and then happy to see his parents and brothers.

Their parents had decided not to sugarcoat things too much. However, they would emphasize that the removal of some of their family and friends from danger was a good thing. That's how they addressed the issue.

They sat in the van, turning toward the boys. Artie started them off, "Andy, Greg, Kyle, early this morning, while you were asleep, Director Vance called again. This time he was on a private jet used by Secretary Porter. He said he had several people with him and some of them would need to come to us. We needed to figure out where they would all sleep, so we went downstairs. Your grandfather smelled the coffee brewing and joined us. After we planned where everyone would stay, we went back to sleep. That's why we missed seeing you before school this morning."

Then it was Tim's turn. "Director Vance called back after you'd left for school, letting us know they'd be landing in about 40 minutes. I took Big Blue, met the plane and brought everyone back. They had breakfast and right now they're probably taking a walk with your aunt Sarah. Your mother and I didn't want you to come home to find your home full of people, so here we are." Quickly, they told them who was there.

Artie continued. "We thought Jared would be staying with us, but Director Vance has been ordered to run the agency from outside the U.S., so Kayla and Jared will stay with him. Uncle LJ, Grandpa Mac and Granducky will live with us. When Grammie and the others return this afternoon, we'll tell them and hope they stay, too."

The boys were quiet for a moment and then Andy asked how they were all going to fit. "The Fornells and their friends are staying in the Airbnb they've stayed in before. Your aunt Sarah and uncle James are also staying there until everything gets sorted. I know there are a couple more bedrooms there, so the Porters might stay there or the Hubbards after we come home from Greece."

"No one's leaving after Greece? Everyone will be in Brambury?"

"Tony, Maggie and Maggie's dad will live in France, but yes, everyone else will stay in Brambury or close to London."

"Papa, will Jared go to our school?"

"He'll go to the secondary school, Greg, what's called high school in the U.S."

Kyle was frowning. "Is Jared sad?"

"Yes, son. Kayla is sad, too, because they had to leave the country and their friends to be safe."

Greg nodded, "Like we were, when we had to leave Grandpa's and then Cambridge."

"Yes."

Andy frowned, "What about the Baltimore uncles?"

"They're coming with Uncle Tony and the others."

"Is that lady coming with Uncle Jose?"

"No."

The three boys looked at each other and Tim saw relief on their faces. Andy was also thinking about something else. "This is because of that list? Or the school shootings?"

"We believe it's the list, we don't think the school shootings are directly involved."

"Are there other kids leaving?"

"Yes. Other families who are like us are moving to safe places."

"Papa, is this like what Hitler did in Germany?"

"I hope not, son, but it's starting to sound a little like what happened there, with the lists and the attacks on people. I hope the world is smarter now, more alert and will help us put a stop to it."

When the children learned about the Berlin Wall before their trip, they'd also been told about World War II, the events leading up to it and the horrible things that happened to those Hitler deemed a threat.

Eventually, they moved on to the nursery school and took the littles out for the day, walking to a park and sitting at a picnic table. Rissa asked why they had to leave school and her parents told her that her Uncle Leon brought a lot more people to stay with them, to get away from the bad stuff happening in the U.S. Kyle climbed into his father's lap again. "Papa, I don't like all this. Make it stop, please?"

Rissa climbed into her mother's lap, not quite sure what the bad stuff was but she understood very well that her parents and brothers were upset. Hope was dozing in her stroller. They'd delayed her afternoon nap and now she was making up for lost time.

Tim found it hard to swallow. "We're working on it, kids. In the meantime, we'll be sharing our home with some of our family, some of our friends and sometimes there might be people you don't know."

Kyle looked at him, "Will it help make them feel better to stay with us?"

"Yes, if we're nice to them."

"Good! Then we'll be nice, huh?" He looked at his sister and brothers, who nodded in agreement.

Buoyed by their son's determination to help their guests 'feel better', Tim and Artie drove them home. They'd no sooner pulled into the driveway when Tim's phone buzzed with a text, the Hubbard group was pulling into the train station here, back from their wanderings. Artie shooed her husband, daughter and sons into the house, leaving the still snoozing Hope in her car seat. Reversing out of the driveway, she headed for the station.

Inside the house, Rissa and the boys greeted the newest visitors with hugs and kisses. Andy smiled at Jared. "Welcome to the Manor! Did Papa tell you where you're going to sleep?"

Jared nodded, "I'm your new roommate."

"Great! Do you like to read?"

"Yes, but I only brought a few books, I have an e-reader."

"That's good. Greg and I like real books but we use e-readers too. We have a whole library right here in the house."

Jared smiled, glad they were here with Tim and his family. He always felt safe with Tim. He wondered aloud about school and Andy answered him, "I think Papa and Mama plan to introduce you and your dad to the Headmistress of the Secondary School after we get back from Greece. If you're going to live in Brambury."

Greg tilted his head, "I think they're going to stay with us for a while, Andy. Kay's going to college here, though. Not Bedford but somewhere in the UK."

Kayla heard her name and joined them, "I'm going to Cambridge, Greg. They have an excellent forensics science program there."

"That's pretty cool!"

Then another carload of people arrived, Tim's grandmother, aunt, cousins and godmother. On the way home from the station, Artie had explained a little bit about the new people, saying it was due to the 'troubles' in America.

While Ainsley's mom, grandmother and aunt met with Tim and Uncle Jethro, she and Cal greeted Kayla and Jared, whom they'd met Christmas day and again at Uncle Jethro and Aunt Lu's wedding. She thought it would be kind of fun to have so many kids around.

Later, Ainsley heard that she and Cal would be going to school in the UK, her mom said she hoped they could attend the schools in Brambury. They were used to wearing uniforms, they'd attended Catholic school from kindergarten, so that wasn't a problem and Greg and Andy said they'd teach them all the things that were different. Jared said the history was different, that teachers here wouldn't talk about the US War for Independence, that this country lost that war. The newcomers blinked in surprise, having never thought of it that way. It seemed strange that the country they were taking refuge in had once been an enemy.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim was working cold cases in his office when his cell chimed with a call from their contract attorney. Rising, he accepted the call, walking down the hall to Artie's office. With a quick knock, he entered, putting the call on speaker.

"We're both here now, Ms. Mehaod."

"Good! I have great news for you, both companies want to settle out of court and have accepted our terms. The second company has also agreed to renegotiate the licensing and contract with you. I've also heard from the law firm handling Mr. Fernsby's estate, they're willing to settle but have said the estate will not need to move forward with you in the renegotiations. The letter says that Mr. Steven Fernsby is the last of the family and doesn't want any further involvement unless he legally has to be involved. And he doesn't, we'll send him a legal form that will end the Fernsby interest in your product."

Tim shook his head, "That was fast. And I didn't expect both companies to agree."

"I sent them copies of the original contract, they knew they were in the wrong and that if we sued, they stood to lose a lot more than our proposed settlements."

Artie frowned, "Will they sue the Fernsby estate, do you think?"

"I would, if I were in their shoes."

"And what will that do to Mr. Steven Fernsby? He's quite elderly, not well and had nothing to do with anything that happened. His nephew stuck him with all this."

"I'll speak with his attorney and pass along your concerns. If he has his finances set up properly, he won't be affected."

Tim nodded, "I believe he said his finances were separate."

"Good, I hope they are. Now, I know you're facing a deadline with your move, I want to make sure I have your new address."

"We're not moving after all, my boss changed my orders earlier this week and we're staying at our current address. However, we will be on vacation from the 21st through the 1st."

"You don't sound disappointed about staying, so I'll say congratulations. And condolences because the news from the States seems to get worse every day. Is your family safe?"

"They will be soon, yes, thank you for your concern."

"If there's more activity before you leave, I'll contact you, otherwise, expect to hear from me after your return on the 1st."

"Thank you again!"

When he disconnected, he and Artie breathed deep sighs of relief. Part of the proposed settlements was that the companies and the estate pay all of the McGees' attorney's fees. Artie said she was happier about that than anything else and Tim agreed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ducky and Mac returned from York and heard the news. They'd known of several of the attacks but hadn't realized they were carried out by the same group. Both agreed to stay on after the trip to Greece, living at the Manor and Mac would apply for a visa as soon as possible. Ducky thought that when Jimmy and Breena found their own house, he'd move with them, as they'd planned to do at home. He focused on that and their family rather than thinking of leaving his home and treasures vulnerable.

It was a long day, interspersed with naps for the overseas arrivals and everyone took some time to settle into whichever room they were assigned. When Uncle LJ saw the former playroom where Ducky and Mac were staying, he said he'd like to stay in there with them. There was plenty of room, there was a door to the full bathroom next door and they had their own TV. That worked out well.

Greg would share with Cal while Andy would share with Jared. Leon was staying in Tim's office while Kayla would share with Ainsley and her mom in the library where they'd stayed before. Liz and Grammie were next door in the other big bedroom, which Tim and Artie had left out in their organizing this morning. When they turned in that night, Tim huffed, "We'll need to figure out who goes where when the others arrive."

"Yes. Any ideas?"

"Comes down to basics. The Hubbards and Liz have incomes, I'm thinking they can afford to rent somewhere, I hope in Brambury. Bill, Barry, Fred and Joe won't have any income for weeks, might be longer. I know they have savings, but I want them to stay here with us."

"When Claire and the others move, that will free two rooms, the big bedroom and the library."

"And the extra rooms in the suites. If Tobias leaves, uh, did I imagine Gail saying she could work remotely?"

"No, I heard her say that too."

"Good, then they can find a rental. I hope Tobias stays although I don't know what…never mind."

She chuckled, "Top secret!"

"Maybe, don't know. We'll see." Tim remembered Tobias' role as liaison between the Bureau and Homeland Security. Homeland had agents overseas and he could easily see Tobias either continuing as liaison in Europe, or transferring to Homeland. Either way, he hoped he'd stay. That meant the Fornell group could find a place of their own.

Continuing his thoughts aloud, he said, "The Palmers should stay here, Ducky's here and their kids are used to us. Until they find a place of their own."

"Breena won't want Victoria upstairs. They could…oh."

"Yeah. Downstairs is full, unless Sarah and James move to the big bedroom up here or we turn the family room into living quarters. Did you hear how the meeting with their new landlord, with the guy that was supposed to be their new landlord, went?"

Artie shook her head. "I asked but Sarah said she and James needed to talk before she said anything."

"If they don't take that flat, maybe some of our folks can."

Artie smiled gently, "Honey, I think it's more likely they'll move now, knowing that will free up the entire suite. If they do, the Palmers can live in it."

Tim sighed, "Been spoiled living under one roof. Still better than having the Atlantic ocean between us. And it's given Sarah and me time to establish a stronger, healthier relationship."

"Yes, it's done wonders for you. Are you ever going to tell your father what happened?

Tim was startled, "Has he said something to you?"

"To me and Geo and possibly to Rob. Geordie and I told him it wasn't our place to say."

"Wow. I didn't even think…yeah, I guess I have made some references to that. I'd rather he talk with Sarah."

"Why don't you tell him that?"

"Ok, I can do that."

They kissed and cuddled, falling asleep quickly.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

THURSDAY, BRAMBURY

Late the next afternoon, the permanent Manor residents met at Dad's favorite Brambury pub to discuss the situation, while the aunties, Grammie and Granducky watched the kids. Dad said Tobias was staying and that he and Gail were looking for a rental and in the meantime had the Airbnb booked for several weeks post-Greece and would share with whoever else needed a place to stay, there were 3 additional bedrooms and a den.

Rob had already confirmed, via text, that Ellie would stay with him while they looked for a larger flat. Geo told them Bec would stay at a residential-style hotel, the same place Ned was staying, until she found a flat. He also mentioned the furniture he'd selected at Penny's, wondering if it could be shipped. His family agreed that was a discussion they'd need to have as soon as possible.

An even more important topic was what to do about Patrick. While there hadn't been any attacks near the facility he was in, Tim, Geo and their father felt that the comatose man, and other long-term care patients, were particularly vulnerable to the hate crimes. Furthermore, with the family's move overseas and Vance's efforts to get his agents and their families to safety, they'd lost most of the volunteers.

Tim said he would contact Nikki Jardine. Her brother Eric was also comatose and perhaps together they'd figure something out. Sarah was a little shocked, she hadn't thought about Patrick being in danger, but said she would contact their Navy liaison for advice. In the meantime, Rick and Jim said they would continue and, if the family agreed, would bring in a couple of other friends to help. Rick sent a text from Restful Haven last Sunday, to let Tim and the boys know he was there for their weekly call and introduced Tim to one of the people he had in mind.

In the meantime, the siblings would sit down together and handwrite each of their volunteers, thanking them for the hours of their personal time they'd faithfully given up over the last three years, to hold phones or tablets so Patrick's young sons could stay in touch with their 'sleeping father'. Each year at Thanksgiving, the siblings had sent thank you notes with a generous gift card or, as requested, a donation to a favorite charity, now they added figuring out the final thank you, at least until the war was won, to their to do list.

Putting Patrick's future aside until Nikki Jardine was contacted, they returned to the issue of housing their refugee family and friends, at least until they left for Greece. Sarah and James said they would stay at the Airbnb and then if more people needed rooms, they'd move upstairs. They'd let the new flat go and because of the unexpected delay, their deposit was refunded. With nearly everyone here who hadn't been at their wedding, they'd decided to have a party in their own back garden. With no time to plan now, it would need to wait until after the return from Greece. That meant Tony, Maggie and the Colonel wouldn't be with them but there wasn't anything they could do about that, except to be happy that Tony and Maggie had been at their wedding.

Returning to the topic of the items at Penny's, Lu thought that if there was room, one or more of the transferees could add some of the furniture she and Jethro tagged for their suite to their belongings. Sarah and James could have their china moved too. When Lu said that, Tim sat back in thought, but when asked, waved the others on, he needed to think through his idea before saying anything.

They'd heard from Claire and Liz that the Baton Rouge's home port had been moved from Norfolk, Virginia to Antwerp, Belgium. Because that meant a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) for Jim, Dave and their crew, the Navy would pack and ship their belongings, as well as pay for the moves of the crews' family members. Later they found that the Baton Rouge was one of several Navy ships whose home ports were changed, moved to the Pacific along the West Coast, the Atlantic along the northern region of the East Coast, to facilities in U.S. territories or with close allies outside the territorial waters of the U.S.

With Antwerp a 5 hour drive, a 2 hour and 45 minute train ride or an hour's flight from London, and with the reclaimed family staying in Brambury, the Hubbards, Penny and the Cranes decided to live here, in the UK. Until they found rentals and their belongings arrived, they'd already talked with the Fornell group about sharing their Airbnb.

That left the suite open for the Palmers, their biggest worry. If Sarah and James continued at the Airbnb for another few nights, that would leave the big bedroom upstairs for Tony and Maggie. Rob and Geo's room would easily accommodate Freddie, Joe, Bill and Barry. And Abby could stay in…the group looked at Tim.

Tim shook his head. He needed to work when he was called and he needed the office to remain secure. Leaving that for the moment, they moved on to Colonel Barnes. There was an empty bed in the former playroom, he could sleep in there or in the Gibbses' extra bedroom. If he chose the playroom, then Abby could sleep in the Gibbses' extra room.

Until they knew for sure, they needed a backup plan for Abby. Artie was deep in thought. Grabbing a napkin, she drew something out and then smiled, "We can swap sofas, Tim. Move the one from the family room to my office and mine to the family room. She'll have a bed, some privacy and access to the office and hallway bathrooms and we can put one of those rolling coat racks in there for her clothes. And I'm sure we have an extra bureau somewhere."

Once they'd figured everyone's accommodations, they circled back to the home furnishings they'd tagged in the grand 'free shopping' spree last New Year's Eve in Penny's storage building. It was all still sitting at Penny's.

Artie shook her head, "NCIS pays to move all your belongings, even a car. Tony, Maggie, Ellie, Abby and the Palmers will have their things shipped as part of their transfers, it's too bad the Baltimore family – and us – will have to pay for what we want from our selections."

Tim nodded and having thought it through, outlined his plan. For one thing, the university had paid for the shipment of his bed and the few items he and the boys brought with them in 2015. With the change in orders and a longer assignment, it was possible Vance would agree to have the agency move more of the McGee family furniture. The rest of his idea was really an extension of Lu's hope to have their suite items added in with the transferees' belongings.

His father nodded, "Good idea. Don't forget LJ and Mac, too."

Tim nodded, "I'll talk with Leon when we get home. For the others, call after dinner?"

Jethro nodded and the two men sat back, satisfied with their plan. Lu looked puzzled, "You're going to ask Leon to have NCIS pay for their things?"

They shook their heads. "Nope. Have something else in mind."

Sarah frowned, having an idea what they were up to but didn't say anything as her china had already been included.

Back at the Manor, Tim spoke with Leon, who agreed to his request. "I should have mentioned that before. This isn't an ordinary transfer because you're already here. However, you've been here under special circumstances and now I'm making your assignment here a permanent change, so yes, you are eligible for the 'move' portion of the transfer package."

When Tim asked if his parents could 'buy in', to have their things moved and reimburse the agency, Vance shook his head. "No, Gibbs was inactive, retired, when you moved here. I don't know yet what his role will be in this crisis but I reactivated him, restored his security clearance and gave Gibbs an order to remain here, he's already been consulting with Joel. Their belongings will be moved by the agency."

Vance twisted his lips, "Let's talk with your parents, there's something else."

Once Lu and Jethro joined them, Leon tilted his head, "Been thinking about the family's belongings. Tim hasn't had a chance to tell you but as the orders I gave each of you are for PCS, your belongings will be shipped here by the agency."

Seeing their smiles, Vance continued, "I'm the one who contacted Bill, who advised him to leave with the others. I feel responsible for them."

Jethro frowned, "You've probably saved their lives, Leon, and we're thankful for that! What you do mean you are responsible for them?"

Leon shook his head, "I could hire Barry as a consultant, that's not a problem but I don't know how I'd justify the other three."

Tim couldn't stay silent, he'd been thinking about it since their pub discussion. "Will the Antwerp office need a carpenter, to build walls and rooms for Interrogation and Observation? A holding cell in Hamburg? And seems like plumbers are always needed."

"I could do that, good idea. I can hire them as consultants to help me hire qualified licensed contractors in Germany and Belgium. I wouldn't have a clue what to look for."

Gibbs tilted his head, "What does that do, Leon?"

"Means I can move them over here, can't pay them more than a consultant's fee but we can pay to move their belongings. Unless you have other ideas."

The three looked at each other and then at Leon, smiling. "No. We heard the four of them gave away some things they'd selected from Penny's storage, to Abby, Ellie and the Palmers, but we don't know what they're doing about the stuff they have at home."

Leon smiled, "Good, so between the three of us, we have them covered."

Jethro blinked innocently and smiled while Tim decided to keep his mouth shut and hope his ears weren't red.

That took care of getting just about everyone's belongings from the U.S. to the U.K. When Tim raised the topic of Patrick's safety, he was startled by Leon's question. "Thanks for the reminder! Are you moving him to the UK? I'm transferring Nikki Jardine over to London as well as another Intel Analyst, Mo Stempel. Anyway, Nikki gave me permission to tell you she's having her brother moved here and to give you her contact info."

"We've talked about it but haven't done more yet than look at a few transfer services. Will that be a problem with the Navy? Sorry, we should ask our liaison."

"That's all right, I know the answer. Yes, they will continue paying for his care, along with the transfer, if that's what you meant."

"I did, thanks. Sarah and I will contact Nikki together. As Sarah is Patrick's legal guardian, it's ultimately her decision, although none of us want to leave him over there, in danger and by himself!"

They thanked Leon for his help and then Tim went looking for his sister, finding her on the terrace. "What's up?"

"Leon just told me that Nikki Jardine, who you might remember as Bill's date for our wedding, is transferring to London and her comatose brother is also being transferred, paid for by uh, I don't know if he's Navy or Marine. He's not Army, I know that, anyway, whatever service he's in is paying for the move. If you're interested in bringing Pat to the UK and I really don't think he'll be safe where he is now, I thought you could talk with Nikki."

"Sure, if you'll be on with me."

"I can do that."

"She's still in DC?"

"I doubt it, don't know where she is, but she hasn't made the flight to the UK yet."

"It's 11:45 now. Should we wait another hour to call her?"

"Mm, she deals with other time zones as part of her job, I don't think we need to wait."

Calling the number Vance gave Tim, they were relieved to find that Nikki was expecting their call and had all the information ready for them. They recorded the call so they had all the information, including the med flight Nikki's brother Eric would be on. After they disconnected, Sarah called the Navy liaison and worked out details with him.

Within 90 minutes, they had Patrick booked on the same med flight as Nikki's brother. Once in the UK, the two men would be transferred to a long-term care facility in London. The Navy liaison told them not to notify Restful Haven, that he would do that when the ambulance transport arrived. That would help minimize their risk.

Sarah paled at that, even more shocked that she had been this morning. She really hadn't understood that Pat would be at risk, she thought Tim wanted to do this as a matter of convenience and because their volunteers were gone. Realizing she might not know much about the 'Unwanted' list, Tim gently told her more about it. When she cried, he held onto her, there wasn't much to say to help. Even reminding her that their family was safe didn't help when millions of other Americans, including friends and former class and camp mates, were still at the mercy of the thugs running amok. Of the millions at risk, a small fraction would have the resources to get to safety. Tim pointed out that was one way they could help, he and Lu were contacting their sources to find which organizations were providing relocation funds.

Eventually, she calmed and James joined them. He'd known about the list but hadn't had the heart to tell her all the details. Now he told Tim and his wife that most of the Navy Yard IT techs were moving to the London office, leaving behind a skeleton crew to support the employees still working there and that he'd heard the entire Cybercrime unit had been moved to Canada.

After dinner that evening, they had another Skype call with their family, this time including Bill, Barry, Freddie and Joe and explained the situation.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

THURSDAY, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

After work, Tony, Maggie, Jimmy, Ellie and Abby met at the storage building on the McGees' property in Arlington. Once inside, they made lists of everything to be moved. Tim and Jethro asked them to move what they wanted moved toward the front so the furniture they didn't need in Brambury wouldn't be shipped. Then they called Bill and asked if he still wanted the items he'd previously tagged but hadn't yet moved and if not, would he mind if he or she, depending on the caller, took it with them to the UK. Bill caught on pretty fast, said yes, as long as they moved it to their own homes for the move. Then he offered to help.

By the end of the evening, all 4 of the guys had been contacted and agreed to give their selected items to one or more of their NCIS family members. By the end of the week, it had all been transported, either to Abby's apartment, to Ellie's place or into the big house, where the Palmers were still living. Geordie's items had been included and the Powells' china. Rob had forgotten he'd tagged items with Ellie's name. She'd removed a couple of things but overall, kept most of the tagged items.

As the Barnes-DiNozzos belongings would be shipped to France, not the UK, they only had what they'd tagged. Although now that they knew Maggie's dad would live with them, they tagged a few more items.

The only people in Brambury who officially knew what was happening were the permanent residents of the Manor.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Over the weekend and on both sides of the Atlantic, there was a lot of activity within the family. Barry, Bill, Freddie and Joe had been astounded when they were each contacted by Director Vance and hired as consultants to the agency. They started to understand when he said he needed them in Europe and the agency would pay their airfare and would ship their belongings. Having learned early on to be practical, all 4 agreed before contacting Tony to let him know. Confused, he contacted Tim, who explained.

In the end, the items the 'Baltimore Uncles' had tagged at Penny's were shipped with the transferees' belongings while their furniture and household goods from their apartments and Lu's former residence in Baltimore and Silver Spring, Maryland, were shipped, courtesy of NCIS. That is, NCIS knowingly shipped those items.

Mac had the retirement home in Florida pack his clothes and personal items. As his friends, Tobias' father Caesar, was joining the Fornell group overseas, the two men split the cost of shipping their belongings.

When Jethro wanted to pay for his share, Mac waved him off. "Thanks, Jethro, but I've got this! Had an unexpected inheritance a few years ago, might as well spend some of it on something useful. Neither Caesar nor I have much, clothes, books, a lamp or two. Our rooms came furnished and there's nothing in the beach house I need here. I'll contract with a property manager who will rent it out." He did agree to let Jethro help him buy cold weather clothes, although he privately wondered about spending the winter months in Greece.

LJ did and said very much the same thing. Knowing he'd need his winter clothes, he contacted the place he'd lived, had his belongings packed and shipped. When his godson wanted to pay for the shipping, he patted his arm. "Son, you've already likely saved my life by insisting I come over. I'm living in your house, eating your food and we'll talk about that later. In the meantime, I can certainly pay for my clothes and books to be shipped, thank you anyway!"

The Palmers packed more of Ducky's clothes and added them to theirs, with a few items added to Abby's things so the Palmers wouldn't go over the weight limit. They also had the boxes the McGees had already shipped over, those were retagged and moved into the storage building to be sent to Brambury with the rest of the McGees' selected items.

Ducky's situation was a little trickier but it didn't take long to reinstate him to full employment and then transfer him to the London office. That meant his beloved books and belongings would be transferred with everyone else's, although most of his furniture would be moved into storage at Penny's. Jimmy insisted on being at the townhouse in Georgetown while the movers were there.

When they returned from their vacation in Greece and were ready to get back to work, Ducky would work with Jimmy until his former protégé hired an experienced assistant. Then the good Dr. Mallard would file the paperwork for his retirement.

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SUNDAY, BRAMBURY (British Summer Time) AND THE DC METRO AREA (Eastern Daylight Time)

During another Skype call on Sunday, Geordie laughed when the Palmers, Tony, Maggie, Jimmy and Abby stood, called for him to stand and then bowed to him. Then Tony gave a sitrep, "Yesterday, Marines showed up at the property in Arlington, the house in Alexandria and the townhouse in Georgetown. At least two Marines will be renting each house for the duration. If any are transferred, they'll make sure there are replacements. We told them rent was $1.00 per month but they insist on paying $100.00 apiece, plus the utilities. And, the Carters and O'Briens want to rent the cottage, Rick says with the Marines there, Denise and Annie will be safer and it's rare that both he and Jim are late at the office. We said yes, subject to your approval."

Tim and Artie grinned, "Yes, absolutely we approve!"

As one, the family turned to look at Geo who smiled. "Had an interesting conversation with an old friend at Quantico, based on an idea of Tim's. The Corps has been coming up with ways to help, as well as fight back, and securing the properties of those who've had to leave and/or can't go home, fits right in with their plans. They'll be in other family homes, too. Ducky, your Marine tenants are stationed aboard the Navy yard. Director Vance, I gave my buddy your address and Jimmy, I gave him your in-laws' contact information, Malu had both, hope that was all right."

Jimmy grinned, "Ed thanked me! Edward Slater, my father-in-law, thanked _me_ for finding tenants for their house. I owe you!"

"Nah, glad I could do something!"

Leon, who'd wandered into the dining room where the call was taking place, was so happy when he heard about the Marines staying in his house that he gave Geordie a one-armed hug. "Thank you, Captain!"

Jethro frowned, "You're not shipping anything, Leon?"

He shook his head, "We left too fast to think about that. Porter called, said she was going to Belgium, the kids and I were leaving with her. I was at a meeting and the kids were safe aboard the Yard. Carter and a detail brought them to me while other agents packed for us. There isn't anything that can't be replaced and I'd rather our Marines be comfortable."

There was one more question, what to do about Lu's house. Because her lease was still active, Barry and Bill moved in when she left for Brambury over a year ago. However, that lease was set to expire at the end of July, this month, and she confirmed she'd notified her landlord she wouldn't be renewing it. Barry and Bill had already talked with her about what she'd left behind, they finally settled on what to keep, what the two men wanted and what to let go. The house was already clean and Bill had done a few repairs; it was ready to turn back to the owner. Joe and Freddie were doing the same thing for their formerly shared apartment and for Tim's former apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland. When Malu and Jethro insisted on paying the penalties for breaking their leases, they agreed, both sighing in relief. They could afford it, they'd sold their business for a substantial profit, but worried about spending any money until they were up and running in the UK.

Before they disconnected, the UK family wished their US family a safe trip as their flight would leave later that night, the same flight and airline they'd all taken to the UK for vacations or returns from the Christmas holidays.

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Tim woke before dawn, hearing someone crying. Grabbing his robe, he opened the bedroom door and listened. Either Andy or Jared and he was fairly certain it was Jared. Knocking softly on the door, he opened it a crack and saw the two boys sitting on Jared's bed, Andy with his arm around his shoulders. Andy looked up, relieved to see his father. At his father's head tilt, he grabbed his robe and pillow and went across the hall to Greg's room.

Sitting on the bed beside Jared, Tim wrapped an arm around his shoulders. When Jared leaned toward him, he wrapped the other arm around the young man. He didn't say anything, he didn't know if he'd had a bad dream, if his homesickness was overwhelming or if this was about his horror at what was happening and having to leave home – or all of those things. Tim blinked back tears at that and tightened his arms. Finally he whispered, "This won't last forever, Jared. Someday we'll all be able to go home."

Jared shook his head, "But they're killing us because our skins are a different color. That's so stupid, I don't understand."

"I don't know how those monsters think, kiddo, I don't understand it either. But you're safe here and your father and sister are here, too."

"We were afraid he wasn't coming with us. He said he had to stay and fight. Then…I'm probably not supposed to know this but…do you know Hutch? Dad's friend, Director Hutchins?"

"I've met him, yes."

"He was attacked, in his car and he had a protection detail. He's alive but they took him and his family to Canada! He couldn't even go to the hospital in his own country."

"Oh geez, I didn't know that. Canada is helping a lot of Americans, the U.S. is lucky to have such a wonderful neighbor." Tim tightened his hold for a minute, rocking a little, smiling when Leon poked his head in. They traded places and then Tim went across the hall. Greg and Cal were asleep but Andy was wide awake.

"Is he all right?"

"Yes and his father's with him now. I hope some sleep will help, he's feeling overwhelmed." Tim sat on the small sofa and Andy crawled out of bed, sitting next to his father, who wrapped his arms around him. "These are hard times, sweetie, but I have faith we'll pull through."

Andy nodded into his side. "When are the others coming?"

"This morning. Want to go with me to the airport?"

"I have school."

"I forgot about school, phooey!"

"When do you have to leave?"

Tim's eyes widened when he looked at the clock, "In about an hour. They should be getting through Customs by then. You get enough sleep to stay awake today?"

He nodded, "Yes, and we'll probably get out early all week. We did that last year."

"Ok."

Tim kissed him and gave him another hug before hurrying to grab his phone, wake his wife, take a quick shower and get breakfast going. Artie was already waking up, wondering where he was and told him she'd make breakfast, it was her turn. With so many people living with them, they'd redone the roster to include breakfasts as well as dinners. Everyone but Rissa and Hope was on their own for lunches.

Ducky, Leon and Jared asked to be on the roster to cook, which helped considerably. Andy and Greg, with Kyle as their helper, put themselves down for breakfast, they could do cereal, toast and juice or make scrambled eggs, toast and juice. They'd also been taught how to brew coffee for their parents and grandparents. The boys said they could also make dinner, as long as no one minded mac n' cheese, with sliced grilled chicken, and a salad or spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic toast and a salad. The adults were pleased, deciding the boys could do one dinner rotation a week.

Mac, LJ and Kayla put their names in for the grocery shopping and the cooks were urged to check the pantry shelves for supplies, plan their meal(s) and add what they'd need to the Manor grocery list on the refrigerator. Over the past 2 years, that list had been refined so that it almost resembled one of Tim's spreadsheets. Meals were noted by day, so Sunday meals were SU1, SU2 (they stocked peanut butter, cheese, bread, fresh fruit and other staples for lunches) and SU3, Monday meals were MO1, etc. That made it easier for cooks to specify what they needed and over time the items most used were added to the list with a space to indicate how much.

Another handy reminder was the number of people who'd need to be fed for each meal. Lu was a late riser and on the mornings she wasn't on the roster for breakfast, she'd make her own. Likewise, if Artie wasn't on the roster she usually started work early and broke for breakfast later.

Post meal kitchen clean-ups was another list and everyone was on it. Little Hope was happy to toddle from her high chair to the sink with her bowl and sippy cup. However, she couldn't yet reach the counter so someone helped her. As Artie said, their little girl understood the concept and at this point that was really all that mattered.

Everyone was responsible for cleaning the room they were living in and the adults and kids over 16 for doing their own laundry. Even their toddler, now 19 months, knew to put her toys and shoes away, and the clothes she'd worn into the dirty clothes bin, although she and Rissa often needed reminders. Tim and Artie had to withhold their laughter the first time they heard little sister Hope telling big sister Rissa to put her shoes away.

For the four older men, it was the former playroom and the bathroom they used. Jared and Andy would clean the room they were sharing. Andy, Greg, Cal, Kyle and Rissa and in the future Jared were responsible for cleaning their bathroom, which helped keep towels off the floor and keeping the sink, vanity and floor dry. Rissa and Kyle helped their parents clean the tub while the older boys cleaned the shower. The kids took turns mopping, a task they all liked for some reason. One of the older kids always worked with Kyle or Rissa. Everyone did their share.

The permanent residents felt better, far less panicky or stressed, once the new folks had agreed to help cook, shop, and clean.

During breakfast that morning, the morning Tim heard Jared crying, a text arrived from Tony that they'd landed at Heathrow and were waiting to taxi to a gate. Kissing his wife and kids goodbye, Tim flew out the door.

Kyle grinned, "All our uncles, aunts and cousins are here, yay!" He paused in thought, "All our American uncles, aunts and cousins are here. We'll see the Greek, Italian and Scots family in Varkiza!"

As far as Kayla and Jared knew, they had an uncle, currently in prison, and a grandfather they'd seen twice before he vanished again; their dad didn't have any relatives. Each smiled now, thinking it must be fun to have so much family.

Greg looked at them, "That includes you too. We call your dad 'Uncle', which means you're our cousins. You have as much family as we do! I forget, have you met Mimi?"

When they shook their heads, the McGee kids grinned. "Wait until you meet her!"

Kyle said, "She hugs just right and smells like fresh baked cookies."

Andy nodded, "When we get to Varkiza, she'll probably have a lot of cookies and treats for us, she says it's a great-grandmother's duty to provide treats. I don't know if Yaya, that's Mama's mother, bakes. Grammie does and she makes treats too. Callum says Penny doesn't bake but brings treats and cool stuff from wherever she goes."

"Where is she now?"

"In Africa. We have a map of the continent printed out, want to see? It's in the family room."

Kayla and Jared followed the kids to the family room where they saw a large map they hadn't noticed on the wall.

Greg pointed to the red dots on the map, "Chad was her first stop, she sent postcards from there. Next she went here, we have postcards from there, and then to Niger, Mali and then Mauritania. That's where she is now. Next she's going to Senegal, Sierra Leone and then Liberia. Then she's going down the coast farther, here, " he pointed to the west coast of Africa, below Liberia, "and then to Zaire, Zambia and Tanzania. After that, she's done with her lectures and will fly here from Tanzania. Papa and Grammie talked to her about all the bad stuff happening in America."

"That's a lot of traveling and a lot of lectures."

The kids nodded, Andy saying, "She has 9 weeks to go. Aunt Claire says she'll sleep for a week when she gets back."

Kayla smiled, "That's dedication! Think about how much good she's doing, she's changing lives!"

The kids nodded, Greg saying, "She gave us one of her lectures before she left. It was all about making the most of your life, not to be stopped by what your society thinks you should do. She says that's one she gives to everyone but most of her lectures are for girls and grown up women because they don't always realize what they can do."

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On the way to the airport, Tim had a call from Rob. "Are you on your way? Any way I can catch a ride?"

"Yeah, sure. Ellie might have to sit on your lap on the way back, but I'm sure you won't mind."

"You're right, I won't. I'll meet you at the usual Tube stop. How many people are arriving?"

"14, but not all are staying with us. Fornell's father will live with them."

"How…?"

"We have it all figured out, Rob. Made a spreadsheet. All the NCIS folks have temporary housing allowances, our brothers do not, although Leon did some fancy dancing around with them the other day."

"What do you mean? Hey, do you see me?"

"Through the raindrops, little brother." They disconnected while Rob climbed in.

"What did you mean about Vance's fancy dancing?"

"He hired all four of them as consultants for the new office in Antwerp. Which means the agency paid for their airfare and shipping what they'd need to live for the length of their consultancies. And I'm sure there's a consultant's fee they'll be paid."

"Uh…"

"Yes."

"So, your boss hired our Baltimore brothers so the agency would pay their way over and ship their stuff?"

"Maybe. And there is more. Rob, when Ellie's belongings arrive, you'll find the items you tagged for her, and maybe some things other people tagged. Before they asked Ellie, Tony, Maggie, Jimmy, Breena and Abby if they wouldn't rather have them."

Rob thought about that for a moment before nodding. "But then why did Leon do what he did?"

"No one knew he was going to do that and he is officially unaware of the swap. Shoot, I didn't think of that, he might have wanted some of the furniture."

Shaking his head, Rob chuckled. "When we practice to deceive…"

Grinning, Tim gave him the whole quote: _"_ _Oh, what a tangled web_ _we_ _weave, when first_ _we practice to deceive_ _!"_

Rob nodded, "Sir Walter Scott." Then he added, "Why can't Director Vance have his furniture shipped?"

"I guess he can, if their house is still standing."

"That's so wrong, this is all wrong. Who started this?"

"If you mean historically, ask Geordie. Recently…"

Rob nodded and the brothers were quiet as Tim turned onto the approach to Heathrow. The rain had stopped although the skies were still overcast and the temperature chilly. Rob shook his head, "I'm glad Freddie and Joe are the only ones who haven't been here before. Although this is a lot different than arriving for two weeks on a beach in Greece."

"True, although we will have almost two weeks on a beach in Greece. Did I tell you Lydia and Marty are flying to Athens on our flight?"

"I thought they left last week, right after Ned."

"Apparently when you're not fleeing for your life, it takes time to pack and handle the thousands of details created by moving from country to country. We wouldn't know, you had Tony and Tobias to handle all that and I don't remember anything after leaving the hospital until we were on the plane. In addition, Athens was in the middle of a big case and the SFA who's leaving hasn't gone yet. They're not moving until, I think this weekend. So they delayed the handoff, although Lydia was kept in the loop."

"Were you working it?"

"Nope, let first Ned and then Race handle it. Did a great job too!"

"You and Ellie will both work London?"

"Yes, and we'll figure out how to handle things between the 3 of us, Robbie. It should be easier once she's here and working!"

They pulled up to the curb and grinned as their family members poured out of Baggage Claim. Rob hopped out to help the Palmers with kids and luggage while Tim waited at Big Blue's cargo door. When Airport Security arrived to take a look, Tim was ready with his passport, visa, badge and ID. They nodded, welcomed the new arrivals and turned away. While so far there hadn't been more than a mention in the British press about Americans taking refuge in the UK or the recent surge of applications for visas, the law enforcement community was very aware of it.

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While Tim and Jimmy loaded the luggage, Rob and Tony got everyone situated, including the Piro family, who'd traveled with them. Now a seasoned traveler, Breena Palmer was nowhere near as frazzled as she'd been last year, despite the circumstances. Of course, it helped that Victoria and Davey were also a year older. She'd be glad to get to the Manor, she knew they were staying in Sarah and James' suite. In the meantime, she helped the Piros, who were as frazzled as she and Jimmy had been last year. They'd be delivered to their residential hotel first.

As they traveled, Tony and Rob amused the others with a running commentary of what they were seeing. It was mostly for the Piros, Freddie and Joe's benefit, as the others had been here before. After delivering the Piros to their temporary lodging, with plenty of help carrying their luggage inside and up to their suite, the family was given printed instructions with Sarah's jetlag routine and a list of family friendly activities, with Tube stops and detailed directions. Tim promised to check in with them later. Then they drove to Rob's place. Bill helped Rob and Ellie take her luggage into the flat before waving goodbye, the couple would be in Brambury for dinner tomorrow night, bringing the Piros with them.

As Tim pulled into the driveway at the Manor, he winked at Bill, "When they get out, wait about 5 seconds for the surprise."

He nodded, a little puzzled. He was helping Tim and some of the others pull luggage out when he heard Joe exclaim, "Holy mansion, Batman! That's a freakin' castle!"

Bill laughed with the others, wondering if everyone said that the first time they saw the Manor. Rob and Tim later confirmed his thought.

Freddie was staring, wide-eyed and open mouthed, until Abby reached over and tapped his jaw. He closed his mouth, gulped and turned to Tim, "You're joking, right? This is the ancestral home of the lord and lady of Brambury and your house is down the street?"

Tim tilted his head, "Not joking and yes, this is the ancestral home of a feudal lord and his lady; however, we don't live down the street, we live here."

"But it's…wow…"

Close by, Tony snorted, "Freddie, Joe, this is what remains of the ancestral home, from the records Tim's seen, it used to be many times larger than it is now."

Tim nodded, "The land was first granted to the current owner's ancestor after he fought on the winning side in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 that is, with William the Conqueror. The original Manor was completed in the 15th century. In 1665, the Great Plague of London in 1665 killed about 20% of the population, including the family living here. It was empty, deserted for more than 40 years and people began tearing it down, using the materials to build their own homes, especially after the Great Fire of London in 1666. If you look in a 15 mile radius, about how far a horse drawn wagon could get in a day, you'll see old buildings, houses, barns, with building materials that look suspiciously like they belong here. In the early 1700s, someone found a male relative of the family killed in the plague, he inherited the title and the property. As I said, it's still owned by that same family.

"This building is what was salvaged from what was left. The land was sold off in bits and pieces, mostly to fund various renovations. However, the new branch of the family deeded a few hundred acres to be parkland held in trust by the town of Brambury and that's the countryside outside our back gate."

Tony smiled in satisfaction, the last bit about the green space was new information and answered a question he'd had since his first visit. Tim looked at him, "Our landlord let me borrow the family journals, they're very interesting. You can see the shift in the economies as they change from farming to cattle, back again to farming in leaner times, selling off the land, eventually settling on a mix that kept them going for a few more decades, dipping their toes into trade by investing in the East India Company, the growth of London towards Brambury, up into the 20th century with the Underground extension into Brambury, a topic as controversial as the British East India Company in its day.

"The current owner, our landlord, is Christopher Malet, the grandson of the 3-year old Stevie of the Winnie-the-Pooh book in the library upstairs. Our Malet was the last to enter anything. Other than having his name in the same book as his great grandfather, Christopher's son Thomas isn't interested in the Manor. We've been asked to continue the journal, to write a bit about our family, why we're here, what we've done, to include our Independence Day celebrations and in general, how we've lived here. Christopher wants to keep the journal going, in hopes that one of his grandchildren or great grandchildren will want to live here. In the meantime, when we finally do leave, they're thinking of turning it into a Bed and Breakfast. With the history of the place, that should be a huge draw! It'll also be easier to revert to a family dwelling when one of the family is ready."

While he was talking, he was hauling luggage, with the help of his passengers and the residents of the Manor. When the rain started again, they quickly moved everything inside and sorted it for the various rooms. Ducky heard his remarks about the journal and nodded, "Be sure to include us as refugees, Timothy, and the troubles in the US that are leading to people sending their children and their elderly here for safety."

Tim nodded. He wouldn't elaborate much on the troubles, he was already doing that in a journal he'd started late last year, but he would mention the 37 people who'd come to them. Some who'd arrived for vacation and found it too dangerous to return home, one because the rest of his family and friends were leaving, and some because their families, in Leon's case his boss, thought their homeland too dangerous for them to remain.

The new arrivals were just as hungry as the last bunch and happily sat down to a casual meal. Jimmy smiled at the ingredient and nutrition list Artie handed him. They'd made a different soup for him this year and it was every bit as filling and delicious as the chicken and white bean soup they'd served him last year.

With a smile, Kyle brought him a glass of fat-free milk, giving him a little hug after he put the glass on the table. "You get to stay here, Uncle Jimmy, even after we come home from Mimi's!"

"I know, Kyle, isn't that great? Davey and Victoria are really excited that we're moving here and can see you more than twice a year! Your aunty Breena and I are happy about that too!"

It had stopped raining again by the time they finished eating and clearing the table. Most of the group found light jackets and went for a walk.

Following Sarah's now well established jetlag routine, the first-time visitors were taken into London for a little sightseeing before they left for Greece. Freddie and Jose, on their first trek overseas, had been a little concerned that they'd feel out of place but quickly saw that the British were as diverse as Americans and, aside from the accent, a few language differences and different culture, weren't all that different from them.

The Vances went to Warwick Castle and Leon's eyes lit up with understanding as soon as he saw the armored knight on his horse. Kayla and Jared understood a little more too, as Emily told them. Seeing the knight, reading about his duties and the history of the castle gave them more insight into their father's work. Over dinner at the Manor that night, Jared asked who the liege lord would have been. Tim, Tony, Maggie, Abby and Jethro all looked at Leon. Jethro spoke for them all. "Your father, Jared. He's our liege lord. We're his knights as well as his men and women at arms."

Tim thought back to his first visit to Warwick, when he was still suspicious that Vance might have had something to do with banning him from the agency. He'd decided then that, as a knight he would have sworn an oath of fealty, faithfulness, to his liege lord and would stick with it. In reality, the oath he took was to the agency's mission, not to any one person. Still, he'd returned to the agency, had remained loyal.

Leon was taken aback by the revelation and sat, wine glass halfway to his mouth. He smiled, "I'm your liege lord?"

They nodded and he nodded to them, "Thank you, I'm honored and flattered." He took a sip of his wine and then considered something. "As your liege lord, Sir Timothy, I grant you and your family leave to continue living in my Manor for as long as you need shelter."

That brought laughter, something they all needed.

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**Friday-Sunday, July 21-23, Brambury/London and Varkiza, Piraeus/Athens**

While the McGees and Gibbses waited for the boys to finish school on Friday, the others, led by Tobias and Tony, caught an earlier train to the airport. Jethro made multiple trips to the Brambury train station with them and then returned to the Manor for his wife, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters. Picking up the boys, they were at the station in plenty of time to catch the 1:00 train to the airport.

The plan worked well for the large group. By the time the McGee-Gibbs group arrived at the airport, almost all of the others were through Security and at their gate. When Jethro and his family appeared in the seating area, the others applauded. Laughing, he bowed.

Disembarking in Athens, they found Larry and Cyndi Porter, the senior Powells, who'd flown in from Manchester, and all four Clachers, who'd flown in from Edinburgh. Artie, Susannah, Ian, James, his parents and the senior Clachers went through the EU line while the Americans went through non-EU passport control. Eventually they met in Baggage Claim, laughing at the string of Uber vehicles waiting for them.

The Vances were met by Pete Russell, who insisted on meeting Tim and Jethro, shaking their hands. "I'm sorry we missed you before, glad to meet you now! Great group, the economy of Greece thanks you!"

They laughed at that. When Pete looked at the crowd again, he shook his head, speaking softly, "I'm glad you got your family and friends out. There's been more trouble, another round of attacks across the country, appears they were coordinated to happen within a specific timeframe. My mother, brothers and their families are in the process of moving to a town along the Canadian border, with my wife's family."

"Glad they're safe. How many more attacks?"

"6 attacks, 28 fatalities, 3 survivors who are in protective custody."

"They get anything from the creep arrested in the Hutchins' attack?"

"Nothing's been reported."

The 4 men shook their heads, that could mean anything. Once the Vances left with Agent Russell, the others looked to Tim for their assigned vehicles.

He'd organized vehicle passengers by lodging, so that everyone staying in the same house or flat was in the same vehicle. While it took a few minutes to get everyone sorted, their drivers were grateful their passengers were so well organized.

As everyone boarded their vehicles, each family, group or individual was handed a sheet of paper with names, phone numbers and the address, in Greek and English, where they were staying as well as emergency information and a phonetic spelling in English of several Greek words and phrases. The top half of the back of the sheet was a map of Varkiza with Mimi's house, each of the rentals, the town, with grocery stores marked with stars, the road to Athens and most importantly, the way to the beach. The bottom half was an invitation to a barbecue at the McGee-Gibbs rental on Saturday night, noting that side dishes, disposable cups, plates, utensils and non-alcoholic beverages would be welcomed. Underneath was a note requesting that nothing with kiwi be brought, whether it was fresh, frozen or canned fruit, juice or an ingredient in something, due to a life-threatening allergy.

By the time the McGee-Gibbs group reached their rental, it was close to 10:30 PM. While everyone was excited and happy to be there, they were also exhausted.

For the McGees and Gibbses, their exhaustion was due to the reasons for the change of plans, worrying about their family and friends and then working to squeeze as many as possible into the Manor.

For the Hubbard group, it was the knowledge that they couldn't go home without putting their lives in jeopardy.

For the Vances, already tucked in at the Russell home, and others, it was the fear, the hate crimes, having to leave home, wearily wondering if blind ignorance and hatred would ever stop.

For still others among the travelers, it was the fear, followed by the exodus from their troubled homeland, the transatlantic flight and settling in, temporarily or not, at the Manor.

The next ten days would be a necessary respite for all of them.

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Despite their late arrival, the McGees and Gibbses were up early Saturday, they were going to Mimi's for breakfast! Rob and Ellie came over from their rental flat and together the family walked down the road to Mimi's.

She was waiting at the front door for them, greeting each with a hug and a kiss. The kids made happy noises as they smelled hot pastries, no doubt fresh from the oven. Sophia was inside with Susannah, Ian, Alistair and Fiona. They all greeted each other as if it had been years since they'd seen each other rather than 2 months. Still, part of it was the relief that they weren't moving back to America along with joy that they were safe.

Breakfast was delicious and Mimi smiled as she saw them starting to relax. She couldn't stop the troubles but she could support her family and she was a very determined woman. She and Sophia had already mapped out several visits to the Manor so they could help. When she heard that Tony, her Italian grandson, and dear Maggie would be living in Marseille, she decided she'd visit them too. Although they'd be on the same continent, they still wouldn't be able to see the rest of the family on an everyday basis. She loved telling people that she had an Italian son-in-law and an Italian grandson unrelated to Sergio. Of course, she usually followed that up by bragging about all of her grandchildren, their varied nationalities and chosen work. She held all of her girls and boys, no matter how old they were, in her heart.

Susannah and Artie had had long talks with each other, their uncle, aunt and then again with each other about their mother. The crisis in America gave Artemis, at least, a different perspective and she told her sister she wanted their mother in her life again. They'd seen the changes in her, Nikolas and Gaia both said Sophia was regaining her sense of self, that she was more like the sister they'd grown up with than the submissive wife of the overbearing, manipulative, heartless Kosmos. It was time, Artemis said, to fully embrace their mother. The sisters had also discussed the matter with their respective mothers-in-law and each spoke plainly, saying that in her opinion it was time to bring Sophia fully into the family and move on. This morning, sitting at the table in Mimi's home, Artemis smiled at her mother. "Mama, I hope you and Yaya will come for Marissa's birthday and stay for a while."

Sophia smiled, blinking back tears. Looking at her mother, she saw her smile and turned back to her older daughter, "Thank you, daughter, we'd love to! Will there be room?"

Artie nodded, "Yes. The NCIS folks will move into temporary residences when we return, the agency pays for that while they look for new homes. By the time you arrive, we'll only have Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac with us. Ducky will live with Jimmy and Breena and Richard will live in France with Tony and Maggie. Bill, Barry, Freddie and Joe will stay with us until they find work but they'd already started looking before they got on the plane in the States! Even if they are still with us, there will be plenty of room."

"Timotheus, what about your grandmothers?"

He smiled, "My other grandmothers. Liz and the Hubbards have lodgings reserved for them when we return and will find homes to rent. My uncle and my godfather won't be home, that is, the UK, until November."

"And Penny?"

"When she arrives, she'll stay with us or with the Hubbards or Cranes."

"Of course you have everyone organized, Tim!"

He chuckled, "Artie and I figured it out together. When we heard of the first group of refugees coming to us, we couldn't sleep until we knew where we were going to put everyone."

After they cleaned the kitchen, the visitors walked back to their house, sent out texts that they were on their way to the beach, changed, packed a picnic lunch, although they couldn't imagine being hungry again that day, and headed out. Mac and LJ, who'd skipped breakfast in favor of sleeping longer, joined them.

They met Mimi, her guests and most of the others on the road and teased Mimi about her large family taking over Varkiza. She grinned, there were surprises for them waiting at the beach.

There were surprised and happy shouts as Artie, Susannah and the kids spotted Aunt Gaia, her husband Uncle Theo, Uncles Nikolas and Sergio and the four cousins, Katerina, Damaris and the twins, Matthaíos and Cassie. Ainsley and Callum were already on the beach and grinned, excited to have been the first ones to see the cousins! When Ana arrived with more cousins, the kids were in seventh heaven. Kyle, Rissa and Hope were excited about the big cousins and thrilled that Davey and Victoria Palmer were here with them again. Andy and Greg were happy to see them all, they loved being with the cousins.

Kyle was so excited about seeing them all, he spent hours telling them how great it was that his whole family got to stay in Brambury, so there wouldn't be any sad goodbyes. At some point, he remembered Uncle Tony, Aunt Maggie and Colonel wouldn't be in Brambury but also remembered his father and uncle saying they'd only be 2 hours away. As far as he was concerned, that was a permissible amount of time and distance, much better than having to fly across an ocean.

With the addition of several large beach umbrellas, they stayed at the beach all day, even Grandpa Mac and Abby. She'd reserved a car for Monday and would have Mac, Claire and cousin Cassie with her for a day of sightseeing with Cassie playing tour guide.

The barbecue that night was a lot of fun. Jethro, Sergio, Theo and Larry Porter grilled chicken and vegetables while the others brought every imaginable kind of side dish, plates and cups, beverages. Nikolas made dessert, which was, of course, wonderful.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While some of the group attended church services Sunday morning, others went straight to the beach, the church folks eventually joining them. With so many adults around, the kids were in good hands and their parents had some time 'off'. Dad took his sons, including Lu's boys, and Jimmy for a long walk. Tim thought something might be going on but nobody said anything and he shrugged it off, it was just good to be with Dad and his brothers, although they missed Geo. In the meantime, Artie spent time in the water with her mother, sister and grandmother.

That afternoon, most of the crowd was relaxing under the umbrellas after their picnic lunches when Mimi spotted someone walking down the beach toward them and exclaimed softly. "Oh no, that's Rhode, Peter's wife!"

Sophia looked around wildly, hoping to find a place to hide, although she didn't think Rhode knew she was Peter's former lover and the two women had never met. Artie and Susannah were under a different umbrella with their mothers-in-law, Edith Powell and Hope, who was asleep. Tim, Ian, Jethro, Tony and most of the men were in the water as were Andy, Greg, most of the other kids and young adults. Kyle, Rissa and Davey Palmer were playing in the wavelets at the edge of the beach while Victoria dozed under an umbrella with her father. Breena was swimming with Maggie, Liz, Claire, Sarah and Abby.

Ian said later he thought it was funny when Jethro, Tim, Tony and Tobias immediately knew something was up, then he realized it was their instincts. Looking around the water, he noticed Maggie and Ellie were also suddenly paying attention.

When Tim gave him a head tilt, he swam towards him and the two of them started for the shore, Jethro following them. Andy and Greg watched, not sure if they should go in but when Papa smiled at them with a head shake, they knew it was all right to continue playing. Uncles Larry, Tony and James were close by as well as the older cousins.

Mimi stood as Rhode approached her. "Rhode, welcome to the beach club!"

"Good afternoon, Athena! Goodness, are all these people your family?"

"And friends. We weren't expecting quite so many but with the troubles in America, the rest of my grandson's family and friends have moved from there to Europe. Several of them will work in Europe for the same agency Timotheus works for while the others are technically refugees."

The younger woman shook her head, "That's awful, isn't it? Who would ever think that Americans would need to flee their country?"

"Yes…uh, would you like to join us? There's more room in the shade."

Rhode looked at her with a smile, "I'd love that. And, Athena, if it's all right with them, I'd like to meet Peter's daughters, my step daughters."

Mimi's mouth opened, shut and opened again. "You know? How? We've been so careful! None of us wanted to disturb you, or your marriage, to cause you any pain."

Rhode smiled and reaching over, gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek. "And you haven't, my friend. Peter asked if I'd like to know who they are and when I said yes, he told me. He told me about meeting the older one on the evacuation plane from Turkey last year and meeting them both here, on the road, before Easter."

"Yes, you'd already left. Oh, Rhode, this is…I never imagined this happening until your children were grown."

"They're old enough now. We told them a few months ago that they have two older sisters. Once they got over the shock, they started asking questions that we couldn't answer. I know Peter loves me with all his heart, Athena, and our marriage is strong, I have no fear about us. After all, he told me about his daughters before we married. I don't view the girls or their mother as any kind of threat and after what their stepfather did, I'm glad they know they are the daughters of an honorable man!"

By now, Sophia had found her courage and motioned to her daughters to join her. Artie and Susannah were brushing off sand to join her, Artie wishing Lu could go with them, Susannah thinking the same thing about Fiona, when Edith, James' mother, offered to stay with Hope. That helped and the sisters held hands, Lu and Fiona walking with them.

Alastair and Ducky were swimming parallel to the beach when Alastair noticed his son, Tim and Jethro heading toward the shore while his wife, daughter-in-law, Artemis and Lu were walking across the sand toward Mimi's umbrella. There was someone talking with her and Sophia, the girls' mother.

He caught Ducky's attention and motioned that he was going in. The other man nodded, joining him.

Rhode smiled as she shook Sophia's hand after Athena introduced them. "I'm happy to meet you after all these years, Sophia. Congratulations on your independence – and your family!"

"Thank you, Rhode. I'm surprised and happy to meet you too." She chuckled, "Not everyone here belongs to me. My daughters, their husbands and the girls' in-laws, and my, _our_ , grandchildren. Artemis, our eldest, has 5 children with her husband, Timotheus. Susannah and Ian have only been married a few months, no children yet."

Rhode had a funny look on her face, "I hadn't thought about being a grandmother! I'm old enough, just hadn't considered it."

Sophia laughed, "While I waited for the first one, I was excited about a new baby, it wasn't until my eldest grandchild, my son Dimitri's daughter Tessa, was born that I realized I was a grandmother! And now she's 14, more than half-grown! I don't feel old enough to have half-grown grandchildren, they should all still be babies!"

"How many are there?"

"9, ranging from baby Hope at 19 months to teenage Tessa at 14."

"Oh my! Are they all here today?"

"Yes, which is quite a coup! Ana, my daughter-in-law, that is former daughter-in-law, divorced my imbecilic son and now lives close to Thessaloniki where her parents live. I've seen more of her and the children in the past 7 months than in the 10 years before! They come whenever Artemis or Susannah are here and I spend time with them in their new home. This week, Mama is particularly happy as it is only the second time ever that she's had all her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren together. Come, let me introduce you to our daughters and their families."

The sisters and their mothers-in-law joined Mimi and Sophia. Sophia smiled, "Rhode, I'd like you to meet your stepdaughters, Artemis and Susannah. Girls, this is Rhode Elytis, your father's wife."

The sisters extended their hands to shake but Rhode shook her head with a smile, sweetly kissing each one. "Welcome to the Lekkas family!"

Next she met Fiona and Lu, both impressing her by speaking in Greek, and then she chuckled as she saw 3 dripping wet men heading their way. "Oh my, are those your husbands?"

Susannah looked and smiled, "Yes, my husband Ian is the taller one, then Artemis' husband Tim and his father, Jethro. And Ian's father, Alastair, is just getting out of the water."

The men stopped for towels, drying their heads and hands before being introduced to Rhode. She smiled after she'd met them, looking at the group, "You all speak Greek, I'm very impressed! I do speak some English but not as well as you speak Greek."

Tim and Ian beamed at that, both looking at their wives. Artemis chuckled, "Would you like to meet our children? I'm sure they know something is happening!"

Tim turned, walked a few steps toward the water and whistled. Kyle and Rissa were the first to reach their parents while Andy and Greg swam in.

Kyle looked at the new lady with interest, saying, "Hello, I'm Kyle McGee." Rissa followed him, "I'm Marissa McGee, but I'm called Rissa."

"Hello, Kyle and Rissa, I'm Rhode, sort of another grandmother to you."

When the 2 children looked confused, Artemis said, "Do you remember the house where we swam when the ocean was too cold?"

"When Uncle Geo's leg was still bad?"

She nodded and Kyle said yes, while Rissa thought about it before shaking her head. "I think I was too little, Mama."

Tim picked her up, "That's all right, sweetie, we were all that little once."

That was a new thought for the little girl and she giggled with her brother, imagining a tiny Papa and Mama.

Artemis continued, "Rhode Elytis lives there, she owns that house with her husband, my father Peter. Do you remember meeting him?"

Rissa's face lit up, "I know who he is, we call him Pappou Peter!"

Tim and Artie tried not to show their surprise while Rhode grinned. "That's a very good name for him. And who are these two young men?"

The boys had also stopped to grab towels. Now Greg stepped forward, "Hello, I'm Gregory McGee." Andy finished wiping his hands, saying, "And I'm Jason Andrew McGee, called Andy."

All 4 of the children spoke flawless Greek, again impressing Rhode. "It's wonderful to meet the 4 of you. I am your step-grandmother, the wife of your Pappou Peter."

All 4 kids looked at their parents, saw that was all right and then checked with Yaya and Mimi, seeing everyone was happy. Andy said, "We're happy to meet you, too. Yaya and Mimi didn't think that could happen until your children were grown. I'm glad we didn't have to wait!"

Rhode chuckled, "So am I! Now, what will you call me?"

The kids looked at their parents again and Tim's lips twitched. With a smile, he said, "You already have Yaya, Mimi, Grandma, Grammie and Penny. What's another grandmotherly name in Greek?" He looked at Rhode, "Grammie and Penny are my grandmothers, along with Mimi."

Artemis looked at Rhode and her children, "How about Giagiá?"

Kyle thought about it, "I like that but I need to practice saying it. Giagiá, is that right?"

Rhode nodded, "Yes, very good. I think my cousins called their other grandmother that, although I believe they made it sound more like Gigi." She chuckled as 4 faces lit up, "Oh, you like that? I do too, so my grandmother name is now Gigi!" Then she looked puzzled, "I thought there were 5 of you?"

Greg nodded, "There are, Hope is taking a nap, she's with Mrs. Edith." He gestured to another beach umbrella and Rhode waved to the woman who looked up with a smile.

After that, Rhode spoke with Susannah, Ian and then all the parents. They had another barbecue planned for Wednesday evening, here on the beach and invited the Lekkas family to join them. She accepted, saying Wednesday was good because the children would be back from their annual visit to Peter's parents, who lived on Crete, and Peter would have returned from the army's summer maneuvers. When she asked what they could bring, they said anything she liked, except kiwi, explaining why. As she was working that afternoon, she was an occupational therapist, she left the beach within the hour.

Once she left, there were quiet questions from those who didn't know Sophia's story. The family asked everyone to hold their questions, it was Sophia's business and they'd wait to find out what she wanted known and to whom.

For her part, Sophia was relieved to have the girls' origins out in the open although she wasn't excited about sharing with so many strangers. It was Lu who gave her the answer, "Sophia, if people know you well enough to approach you to ask, then they probably already know. The others will ask us and we'll say whatever you'd like us to say. One suggestion would be that Peter Lekkas is Artemis' and Susannah's father from a previous relationship. Or just that he's their father and leave it at that. There's no need to say anything else, it isn't anyone's business! If the Lekkas weren't coming to the barbecue, we wouldn't be saying anything."

Tim nodded, "That's how we handled questions about Andy. He's our son, period, full stop, end of story."

Sophia thanked them before taking her daughters by the hand. They talked as they walked down the beach, all 3 of the women approving of Lu's suggested approach. When they returned, they let the immediate family know how they wished any questions to be answered.

Sunday evening, dinner was again at the McGee-Gibbs' rental, as it had the biggest outside space. The Greek family, namely Nikolas, Mimi, Artemis and Susannah, were the chefs de jour.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Once the kids were in their rooms, the littles asleep, Greg and Andy reading, Tim grabbed a flashlight, he was restless and needed to think. Telling Artie, he slipped out the door, followed shortly by his father.

As his dad caught up to him, Tim sighed, "I can't do this. I can't be a happy go-lucky beachcomber when our country is at war. People I care about are in danger and I'm making sand castles. Innocents are in danger and I'm having fun."

"We didn't know that would happen when we planned our vacation."

"Dad…"

"Me too, son and I'm sure the others feel the same way."

"I was glad we weren't moving home but I hate the inactivity. I hate not doing something, planning, strategizing, something!" He paused, "I want to talk with Rick or Jim."

"Let's do it now, kiddo, the time's right."

Nodding, Tim found Rick's contact information and sent a text asking if he had time to talk. Next to him, Jethro nodded in approval.

Both men were surprised when Tim's phone rang. "Tim, it's Rick. Yes, I have a few minutes."

"Thanks, man. Dad's here too. We're feeling too far out of the loop."

"I know you heard about Director Hutchins. The National Guard is working with local LEOs to prevent attacks and the Corps and the Army are also making their presence known. However, until we figure out who, when, where and how, it'll be blind luck if we stop anything. And then there's also the fact that we don't know who in law enforcement or in local, state or the federal governments are involved.

"One of the problems is the perps aren't always local, sometimes they are, sometimes they're from other areas of the country or a mix. Profilers have types of personalities figured out but as far as patterns for the attacks, no. One of the FBI top profilers has a theory that the targets are selected randomly by computer."

Tim pursed his lips, "Then it's not random. They're using parameters of some sort. Do you know what their sources are?"

"Could be anything, public or government information. We do believe there are fewer of the lobbyists than first thought. The outcry against them by the rest of their group is loud and strong and there's talk of them voluntarily disbanding. The members who aren't involved do not want to be associated with the hate and I don't blame them. There are probably thousands of members who are peace loving citizens, who don't hate their neighbors for the way they look, love or worship. They're pretty loud about their disapproval."

Jethro snorted, "Protest loudly while loading an assault weapon."

"I'm sure some of that is happening. There have been 6 more attacks since Wednesday, in regions across the country but not in the same tight timeframe as the last attacks were. We figure that's either a red herring or a pattern, we'll know more later today when the profilers give us their conclusions."

"You move into the cottage?"

"Yes, thanks. Denise and Annie say they feel much safer there. Helps that the Corps parked an armored vehicle near the front gate, where it can clearly be seen from the street. And there's now barbed, electrical fencing around the perimeter of the property."

Tim nodded at his father, he and Artie had been contacted before that was done and given their approval. He added, "Yes, along with a large enough generator to keep it charged should the power go down."

After wrapping up the conversation, Gibbs and McGee looked at each other, both nodding. Tim pressed a button on his phone and started talking when he was connected. "Director, Agents McGee and Gibbs here. We're ready for whatever you need us to do."

On the other end, Leon blinked tiredly as he nodded to himself. "You been briefed by Carter?"

"Sir?"

Now he chuckled, he loved doing that to them, both of them. "I was on the phone with O'Brien, they were both in the office."

"Then, yes sir, we've been briefed, although there weren't any real details. He said they'd know more when the profilers released their conclusions."

"This evening at 1900 in DC, 0200 here. Want to be on that call?"

They said yes and Vance gave them the information to join the meeting, continuing his plan for their own meeting. "First, Gibbs, I'm reactivating you for the duration. McGee, you will continue to report directly to me. Before our meeting, want you two to brief the others with the news we hear tonight and what Agent Carter told you.

"Now, before we all show up at the office here, I need to let Russell know that no civilian visitors, outside of our attendees, will be allowed into the office the day we're meeting. As I have meetings all afternoon tomorrow, we'll meet Tuesday at 0800. Bring Fornell, Mallard and Palmer with you, along with DiNozzo, Barnes and Bishop. Bring Colonel Barnes too, he was known for his strategizing. We'll need Ms. Sciuto eventually, but I think not just yet. Gibbs, think LJ could help? I know he was in the Army in World War II."

"Yes, once we have a plan."

"Good! I'll have the Athens agents join us, plus London's. Uh, you know if Childers has reported for duty yet?"

The men looked at each other, finally shrugging.

"Not sure but we don't think so. However, we know her well enough to know she'll want to be included. Captain Perry would also be a strong resource."

"Good points, we'll get them involved. Rota and Marseille are working a hot case together. Unless they bust it open before Tuesday morning, I'll brief them later."

"They need any help, sir?"

"Piro is working on it, doing a good job. If you want to take a look, I won't mind even though you're supposed to be on leave."

"Having a hard time with that."

"Copy that. See you Tuesday morning. I'll also be attending the 0200 meeting."

Gibbs sent a group text to their fellow agents, Ducky, Jimmy and the Colonel. That is, McGee set up a group from his dad's contact list, adding the Colonel, input the text and Gibbs pressed the send button.

Throughout the rentals, the federal agents, Ducky and Jimmy sighed in relief. The Colonel smiled, happy for his inclusion. He spent several hours mentally reviewing the strategies he'd planned and/or executed during his career.

Having told their wives they had an early morning meeting, the 2 men left their beds about 0145, meeting in the family room, the only unoccupied room with a door. Dad closed the door when he brought their coffee in, while Tim set up his laptop. While they'd use Skype to call in, no cameras were allowed.

After punching in the security codes Leon gave them, the men waited. Finally, they heard voices talking. A voice they recognized as an FBI agent they knew asked for their ID numbers, checked them and then welcomed them to the call. He took them through the meeting protocol, they were to mute on their side while the meeting was underway, when the pertinent information had been disclosed, questions would be allowed. He was assigned to them so if they had questions, they were to let him know. Tim was glad the agent was one Gibbs thought was all right, almost worthy of NCIS. Although he was also certain the man was a professional and would help them.

This was a large meeting, with several remote attendees. Because of that, the lead players were introduced, including the Supervising Senior Agent of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Secretary of Defense Cyrus, Secretary of State McCord, the US Attorney General Peterson, Tom Morrow representing the current Secretary of Homeland Security, and Secretary Porter were all there in person. The federal directors came next: Sailes for the FBI, McKinley for the CIA, Vance for the NCIS, he was introduced as attending remotely, along with Director Finch of the NSA and several other federal agencies. Tim was surprised to hear his and Gibbs' names mentioned as Supervising Senior Agents. He decided Vance had tweaked his title so he'd be allowed into the meeting. He'd been promoted to SFA level, not a SSA!

Before any updates on the attacks were given, Secretary McCord reported how many US passports had been applied for recently, a number, she said with a smile in her voice, almost but not quite inciting panic among State Department. employees tasked with approving/denying and issuing the documents. She also had the numbers of citizens who'd left the country as well as how many had requested visas once they arrived at their destination and how many how applied for visas before leaving, the normal procedure.

The number who'd left was higher than Tim had anticipated, to his relief. McCord gave a brief update as to the reactions of US key allies, reporting U.S. citizens without criminal records were being welcomed in Canada, Mexico and most South American countries, as well as most countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. She also said that many leaving the US reported at passport control when entering their new country that they would be able to continue their jobs in the US by working remotely. Although the remote attendees couldn't see who it was, there were at least 2 audible sighs of relief at that, from an undersecretary of the Bureau of Labor and an official from the IRS.

Tim listened to Mrs. Bess with a deepening frown. Something was off with her voice, except when reporting the number of passport requests, she almost sounded nervous or scared. Although he'd heard her nervous, he'd never heard her scared. Tim sent a text to Dr. Henry, giving their address in Brambury and saying, 'Come to us with the fam. Need you safe!" He knew she'd been forced to stay on with one of the 'essential employee' forms but he also knew that the form could only be used once. He suspected the new Administration wanted her in place until they found someone who'd be confirmed. They were 7 months into the new term and as far as he could remember, there'd been no nominations recently.

In the meantime, while the Secretary's information was interesting and clearly vital if those sighs of relief were any indication, Tim and Jethro could hear signs of restlessness in the room, chairs moving, slight noises as feet, legs, arms or hands were moved, throats cleared, papers rustled, liquid was consumed, they could hear someone swallowing and a quiet thunk as a mug or cup was returned to a solid surface. Tim said later he heard the buzz of a game being played on someone's phone.

Finally, the Cabinet members were done with their updates and Peterson asked Sailes for his report. It was 0220 in Greece, actually not bad for a meeting with more than 1 Cabinet member present and reporting.

Sailes talked about the newest attacks, the 6 that Rick Carter updated McGee and Gibbs on yesterday. There were 53 victims, one of the homes attacked had been in the midst of a birthday party, 14 of the victims were found there. Overall, there were 44 fatalities and 9 survivors, 7 children and 2 adults.

When Sailes was done, the BAU gave their analysis, updating the profile with significant new information and amendments. Tim immediately had questions, writing them down while listening and hoping they'd be answered. Before the BAU Chief finished, Tim advised their FBI agent that he had questions. He smiled when the agent was the first one to say his caller, Senior Agent McGee, had questions.

Tim was glad the volume had been turned up so he could be heard in what he knew must be a large and crowded room. He addressed the BAU SSA, saying he had 4 questions. He asked them as prompted and wrote down what he was told for his first 2 questions. For the last 2, the Chief said he would speak to him directly after the meeting. Tim wasn't sure if that meant his security clearance had to be checked, if there were people in the room who didn't have the security clearance needed to hear the answers or if people, namely the Cabinet members, were in a hurry to end the meeting. He thought the last more likely.

Their agent asked them to mute again but not to disconnect and then they heard someone adjourn the meeting. There were the sounds of chairs scraping back, shoes hitting the floor, phones chirping as they were checked, the murmur of conversations as people left. Within 5 minutes, the agent asked them to go live again. Gibbs was surprised when the next voice they heard was Secretary McCord. "Thanks, Timit. It will be very soon, I promise."

Then they heard Secretary Porter's voice in the background. Gibbs jumped as his cell chimed with a text from Leon saying he and Porter were proud of them, she wouldn't leave until she heard what else the BAU head would tell them.

They heard Sailes' voice nearby and then the voice of the BAU guy, Rossi. He gave Tim more information on his 1st 2 questions and then astounded Tim by guessing what his 3rd and 4th questions were. When Tim agreed but added a 2nd and 3rd part to his 4th question, he heard laughter in the background and was told someone had just won a bet.

Once he was satisfied with the answers, he thanked Rossi, Sailes, Secretary Porter, Peterson and their faithful FBI agent. Once they disconnected, he sat for a few minutes, staring at his notes. When his father tapped his shoulder, he nodded, "I'm coming, can't do anything more until morn…later today."

"You have an idea?"

"A hint of one. Need to think it through, that's going to take some time."

Dad kissed him good night, or rather good morning and the two returned to their respective beds.

Perhaps if the subject matter hadn't been so grim, they would have felt less fatigued throughout the day on Monday. Everyone who'd received the text regarding Tuesday's meeting had responded in the positive. When Tim finally dragged himself out of bed later Monday morning, he found Dad in the kitchen, making breakfast for the 2 of them. He pointed the spatula at the coffeemaker, "That's fresh."

"Everyone gone but us?"

Dad nodded, adding, "Lu left a note. Abby, Mac, Cassie and Claire took off about 9, everyone else is at the beach. Everyone from this house, anyway. Had calls from Tobias, Tony, Ellie and Jimmy, they all want to meet before tomorrow's meeting."

Tim nodded, "That'll save time and I can't focus on anything else anyway." He shook his head, "It'd be a good thing if we had some ideas before meeting with Leon."

Gibbs nodded. "Noticed you've had another promotion."

Tim chuckled, "Aw, c'mon Dad, I'm sure that was to get me into the meeting!"

His father looked surprised, "Why would you think that?"

"Because I'm at SFA level, not SSA!"

"Where's your team?"

"London, Singapore and whichever office Race chooses."

"Three team members, only 1 local to you. Sure sounds like an SSA to me! In fact, that could probably be a SSAIC, with you having remote teams."

Tim looked at him, his mouth open, the jam he'd been about to apply to their toast in danger of slipping off the knife he was holding, onto the floor. He blinked when Dad gently removed the knife and applied the jam. "Come on, the eggs will get cold."

Used to following Boss and Dad's instructions, Tim sat down, but didn't make a move toward his breakfast. His father chuckled, "Timothy, snap out of it! Come on, son!"

Tim blinked again, picking up his fork for a bite of scrambled egg with cheese. "You sure?"

"95% sure. I'd be 100% if Leon had mentioned it to you when he told you about Ellie, Ned and Race, but considering everything going on in his life, that's not too surprising."

"Ok, yeah, that makes sense. I might tease him a little, though, see what he says."

"Do it today then, he'll be all business tomorrow."

"Good point, I will. Maybe I'll just send him a text, tease him that way."

"Chicken!"

"I prefer to think of it as a strategic action."

"You're a lot better at that than I am. Must get it from your mother."

"Or it skipped a generation and I got it from Grandma Anne, Grandpa Jack, Grammie or Grandpa Drew."

"Funny boy." Gibbs didn't mind the tease, he was happy to see his son relax a bit.

Tim sent a text to Vance later that day, asking if in the next meeting he would be introduced as 'Assistant Director' McGee or perhaps 'Undersecretary of the Navy'. He also said he'd enjoyed the sound of the temporary title and couldn't wait until he'd really earned it.

When his phone chimed with a call after he'd sent the tease, he showed his dad the caller ID, Vance. He answered the phone, "Chief of Staff McGee."

He smiled as he heard a surprised bark of laughter from the director. Hearing Vance laugh was a rare treat, especially at work. Making him laugh was even more of a coup.

"That's a good one, I like that better than Undersecretary of the Navy. I hate to bust your tease but you are in fact a SSA. I, uh, forgot about it in all the turmoil! It would have happened by the end of the year when we expanded the program but as soon as Bishop entered the program, it was effective."

"I…wow! Thank you! I thought it would be, well, yeah, I did think it would happen at our first expansion. Guess I didn't connect that with Bishop's transfer."

"Entry into the program, transferring, fleeing the country, all pretty much happened at the same time. And don't thank me, you're earned it. You were SFA status from June to whatever day I assigned Ellie to you. Last week? I feel like I've been away for months already."

"It was week before last and maybe that's because you're a man without an office right now. Are you vacationing, are you working - like that."

"Good point. I will have an office soon but in London, not here. I'd forgotten how small the place is, there really isn't room for an office for me. And there is room in London, we lease half of the 4th floor and there's a large suite already in place. Pam Cook and her husband are in the air now, he'll look for housing while Pam tells the building staff what she wants for the suite."

"That's great, sir! I wondered if you'd want to see any of the proposals ahead of the meeting."

"You're not the first one to ask, McGee, and the answer is yes. If yours is ready, shoot it over to me. You can tell the others, too."

"I will, thanks."

Tim worked on his proposal a little more before putting it aside, he'd take one more look before sending it later. Then it was finally beach time! Father and son were on their way within 5 minutes.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The federal agents, MEs and the Colonel met at Mimi's house that afternoon, while everyone else was still at the beach. By now, Tim was sure of the strategy he'd propose but didn't share it, knowing it would be controversial. In fact, he expected his boss to be unhappy, that was why he would send it early, so the director would have time to think it through.

Tim had worked out the logistics, had what he thought was a comprehensive list of pros and cons and, although he had a Plan B and C, he believed his Plan A was the only way to end the murderous attacks without years of war, unnecessary bloodshed and mass destruction. He thought about bringing his father in on it but felt he'd better do this solo. After a final edit, he sent it to Vance.

Surprisingly, he slept well Monday night, which gave him even more confidence walking into the NCIS Athens office Tuesday morning. Knowing this could be a loud and potentially contentious meeting, Vance had closed the office to any civilians for the duration of the meeting. Their dispatcher and office manager were working from the office manager's home, and would assign any 'hot' cases, terrorism, kidnapping, murder to either the Rota, London or Marseille office. Hamburg and the sub-office in Antwerp weren't yet open for business.

First, Vance introduced the members of the Athens team who weren't known to the others, that is Pete Russell, his new SFA Lydia Worden, who knew several of them, and their junior agent, Rusty Mayhew. Their probationary agent was brand new and was at the office manager's home, working with her to triage cases before assigning them.

Once the Athens' agents were introduced, the director introduced those attending by Skype, the London and Rota offices. Marseille was still working on a messy case and would watch the video of the meeting later. As the most junior agent present, Athens' Agent Mayhew was tasked with video recording the meeting. He did so on Russell's phone, also writing down each idea or plan on a white board.

Vance updated all of them with what he, McGee and Gibbs had learned early Monday morning. In the middle of that, he shook his head, stopping to announce Tim's promotion to Supervising Senior Agent, sheepishly telling the group how Tim found out.

Once everyone heard the updates, they spent some time analyzing the situation. The vacationers had a fair amount of input as they'd already spent several hours yesterday analyzing what they knew.

When Vance asked for strategic ideas, Colonel Barnes gave his idea, a mashup of a few of the strategies he'd developed in his career. Tim waited, interested to see what the other agents had before hearing Vance's reaction to his proposal. When there was a lull, he opened his mouth but Vance turned to him, saying loudly, "No. Absolutely not. I don't care how logical it is, the answer is no. We will talk after the meeting."

Tim sat back. He'd half expected this and hoped that the chance to talk might give him another opportunity.

When Vance declared the meeting adjourned, the others left, not knowing what to think. Gibbs didn't want to leave, he knew Vance better than his son did, had survived many confrontations with him and wanted to protect Tim. He also wanted to see what he'd proposed but he knew Vance wouldn't allow it and he didn't want to make things worse for Tim by arguing. He shot a look at Tobias, who'd quietly retreated to the back of the meeting room, behind Vance.

Over the years, his friend had had a ringside seat watching Tim McGee grow from a green probie to one of the best he'd ever worked with and he wasn't going to let Leon Vance, who was visibly exhausted and stressed, do anything rash. Taking a deep breath, Gibbs walked out of the room, putting his trust in his son and Tobias.

Before he'd turned in Monday night, Tim came to the conclusion he might need backup support for his proposal and the Tuesday meeting, and that it couldn't be his father or anyone else in NCIS. He sent a text to Fornell, who agreed to meet with him. Walking on the beach in the dark, Tim told Fornell his plan, including his reasons why. After more than an hour of sometimes passionate discussion, the older man agreed to the plan and to backing him. He also promised that if Vance passed on it entirely, they'd go to Sailes or McKinley. Tim really didn't want to do that but he felt strongly enough about his plan to agree. For now. He consoled himself with the knowledge that he could go back to teaching at Bedford University in less than a year. Maybe he could work at another college in the UK or an online college until then.

He knew well that there was a lot more on the line than his career. People's lives, millions of lives, could hang in the balance. If Vance agreed and Tim had missed something, he'd be responsible. However, he also knew that a plan like this would be analyzed, dissected and discussed by people higher up the DC power chain than Vance, Sailes or McKinley. He wondered what the reaction would be to what he thought would be the most controversial step, at least for Vance and Gibbs.

When Vance stood, so did Tim. He stood at attention, his eyes on a spot on the back wall just next to Fornell. Vance paced, stopping to glare at Tobias, who took a sip of his coffee. If necessary, he'd remind him he worked for the Justice Department and Homeland Security, not the Navy or the Defense Department, but he didn't yet feel the need to 'poke the bear'.

Finally, Vance stood in front of McGee. "Are you out of your mind? What in God's name possessed you to come up with that moronic idea? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"There's an old saying, 'Fight fire with fire'. That's what firefighters do, they burn a swath of ground in front of a fire in order to stop a fire from progressing. I believe that the people who can do this most efficiently are those who work for the IPF. They take out our enemies before those enemies can act against us. They're trained and experienced in work that's entirely covert. It's their mission. From what intel I've seen, it's been their mission since 1941. As they still exist, despite Hatman's departures from their charter and his excesses, they must be successful. Who else can bring these monsters down?"

Vance rubbed his forehead and Tim suddenly thought he might have a chance of being listened to. "How do you propose involving them?"

"I have it mapped out, sir."

The noise Vance made was short and derogatory. "I'm sure you do. Agent Fornell, would you please ask Agents Russell, Gibbs and Mayhew to step in and then join us." He again glared at McGee, "Don't think for one minute that I'm going for this but I do want to see just where this madness has taken you. Mayhew has the least experience, the least prejudices, we'll see what he thinks. I trust Russell's judgment and Gibbs is probably ready to break the door down. Did he know?"

"No, Director, nobody from NCIS knew. I met with Agent Fornell last night and after he saw everything and we discussed it for some time, he agreed. And he agreed to back me here."

Vance made a noise and then waited with his back to the door, drinking his 6th or 8th coffee of the morning, he'd lost track, until the others joined them.

Then he turned and looked at his agents, "Against my better judgment, I've decided to look at McGee's plan. Gibbs, I don't want your opinion, in fact, one sound out of you and you leave the building. Mayhew, I want your candid opinion, ask questions when you have them. Russell, you too."

Tim got busy showing the details of his plan, including his reasoning. Mayhew who was clearly terrified but determined, stopped him several times to ask questions, which relieved McGee. From the direction of his questions, he thought Rusty understood. It helped that he knew nothing about what happened to the McGees.

When Tim finished, Mayhew asked to look at the plan for himself and Russell wanted to do the same thing. Tim handed them paper copies, swearing he heard Vance grind his teeth.

Vance was still reeling. He couldn't believe McGee thought approaching the covert agency that had become their enemy, who'd caused them so much grief, was a good idea. He was angry, disappointed, confused and tired. Lord, he was tired. Physically, mentally and emotionally. The headache he'd had since yesterday was on him again, even worse than before. And now this, on top of everything else, from one of the people he'd always been able to count on.

When Mayhew and Russell were done with their reviews of Tim's analysis and plan, they gave their handwritten comments to Vance. While he read them, Tobias stood behind his chair and read over his shoulder. Both agents recommended McGee's plan.

Vance shook his head, "We're not doing this." He dismissed Mayhew.

Fornell waited until the young agent left the room before leaning over Vance's shoulder, saying, "Then you won't mind if I take these." He picked up the papers with the written comments and the copies of Tim's work. Vance frowned, "What are you doing?"

"You said you weren't doing this, so I am taking them."

"Why?"

Fornell blinked, "You said you weren't going to follow the plan. They're not yours, they're McGee's. Why do you care what I'm doing with it?"

"An NCIS agent wrote that, you can't just take it."

"This was written on his own, there were no orders. You turned it down, so it still belongs to McGee."

Vance closed his eyes, wincing as he shook his head. "Fine, go."

Gibbs looked at the director, at Tim and then at Pete Russell, who was watching their boss carefully. When Gibbs caught Russell's eye, the other man gave him a head tilt to leave. Tim hesitated and Russell nodded to him to go, too.

When the three men walked into the main part of the office, they found only Tony waiting for them. Brushing his hand across his brother's shoulder, he said, "I sent the others in Mimi's car. We can Uber back."

Gibbs had his hand on Tim's back, steering him out of the office. Tim had been numb, now he felt anger creeping in. He wondered if Vance could fire him for daring to express an idea, a plan. He didn't understand how the man could place so much trust in him and then react the way he had.

Tim had known this would be controversial but he felt Vance's reaction was shortsighted and out of proportion. After all, Tim, Greg, Kyle and the rest of the family were the ones who'd been affected, Vance wasn't even there. And when he returned, he had no responsibilities, NCIS spent no resources guarding the McGees. If anything, it could only have been his pride that was injured by not being allowed to protect his own agent.

He blinked when the car he was riding in but didn't remember getting into, pulled up in front of a house. He looked around, "How many more days are we staying?"

"A week, son, we're leaving a week from today."

He shook his head, "I knew he wouldn't like it, I knew it would be controversial, but I never expected him to distrust me like that, to treat me like I was stupid! That's…"

Then Artie was there and she kissed him, taking his hand and leading him into the house. "My love, I don't know what happened this morning but we have a surprise."

He huffed, "Not much in the mood for surprises."

"Not even a good one? Because this morning after you left, Malu handed me a voucher for a lovely hotel in Athens, for 3 nights! She, Jethro and the others will take care of the children for 4 days, love!"

"Away, by ourselves?"

"Yes, just the 2 of us."

He rolled his neck and shoulders, the world, his normal world, was returning to him. "Do the kids know yet?"

"Yes, they were in on the secret! Since they didn't see you this morning, I told them we would go to the beach to tell them goodbye when we were leaving."

"What about the barbeque with your father?"

She chuckled, "Sophia and Lu called Rhode later and told her the barbecue was really on Saturday. They only said Wednesday because they thought we suspected something."

Tim vaguely remembered thinking something was up but he really didn't care. He did care about getting away. Within a few minutes, he and Artie were packed and walked down to the beach to tell the kids goodbye. Their Uber driver picked them up there. By the time they arrived at their destination, Tim was over his pique and in good humor, excited about spending time alone with his bride.


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The hotel was a 3 year old boutique style hotel with a pool and garden on the roof. Their room was restful and comfortable, with a luxurious bathroom, the tub and separate shower both big enough for the two of them, and an alcove with a small refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker. It was situated near the Plaka which made it even more fun. When Tim was hungry (he hadn't had lunch while Artie had), they found a deli where he had a minced meat souvlaki. After that, they strolled around the Plaka without really stopping in anywhere and then returned to the hotel for a soak in the jetted tub. Artie could literally see more of the tension drain from her husband as his shoulders relaxed. When Artie saw his shoulders 'stand down' as Jethro called Tim letting tension go, she reached for the towels.

After they made love, Tim promptly fell asleep, unusual for him as he liked to cuddle. Artie watched him sleep, relieved to see the lines in his face, the stress lines, slowly even out. While Tim slept, she made dinner reservations at a restaurant the hotel concierge recommended. Without kids to put to bed, they could eat late and go to a nightclub or whatever they wanted to do. She had to think for a while before she remembered the last time they'd gone to a nightclub. When she realized it was in Paris in mid-April, she smiled, that really wasn't all that long ago, a little over 3 months ago.

That led to several ideas about the money they'd received for their game. Thinking about starting her own company, she made some notes and started a pros and cons list. That led to a thought that had been percolating for some time and she jotted that down as well as some of the details she already knew. Lastly, she thought of more travel, with and without the children. With a smile, she pulled up the list of places they hadn't yet visited. They really wanted to visit Morocco as a couple, most other places they'd take the kids with them. Liz and the Hubbards wanted to go to Germany to see Neuschwansteincastle, the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle and she thought that would be a fun trip. They'd promised themselves another trip north, to experience Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki. She jotted down notes about that too, the weeks before school started would be perfect for that trip. Unless…well, she and Tim would work it out.

She didn't know how much time Tim would be able to take off, or how he would be working against what was happening in the States, but she resolved to make sure he had time away. Remembering his mood when he, Tony and Jethro had returned from Piraeus this morning, she wondered what happened in the meeting.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While Tim and Artie were beginning their much needed time away, Pete Russell gave up trying to reason with his friend and boss. He'd finally decided to just let him rant and then get him back to the house when he stopped. After the others left, Vance started muttering to himself, pacing around the room, gesturing at his copy of Agent McGee's plan. As he walked, his voice got louder until he was yelling.

When he'd called his wife, telling her their friend was acting very strangely, she thought he was probably exhausted. She remembered him saying he hadn't slept well for weeks, since the attacks started at home. He'd told them that he'd been at a meeting, heard about an attack on a fellow director, which was followed by a call from his boss saying they were leaving in a few hours, the kids were on their way to him and people were packing their clothes and household items for them.

Then he'd been whisked onto a plane for a transatlantic flight and from the plane called the same man he'd angrily shot down earlier today, asking for sanctuary. It didn't make any sense given Leon's personality and usual professional demeanor. Pete also knew McGee was the agent Leon had despaired of getting back to the agency after some mess in the Legal Dept separated him from his team and job. And that he was the same man Leon hoped would replace him someday.

He'd told Lydia and Rusty to treat the rest of the day as if they were on call, asking them to leave the office. Both understood he wanted to help their director and it would be less awkward and embarrassing if the rest of the team was gone.

Managing to get Leon into the car, he had him home in a few minutes. His oldest son, Stephan, was waiting to help him with their friend. Luckily, Kayla, Jared and the rest of the Russell kids were at the beach with a friend of the family's. Leon was lucid enough to eat half a sandwich and then Pete got him to his room, got his shirt, shoes and socks off and then left him, hoping he'd get some deep sleep.

Russell decided to contact Gibbs to let him know what he thought happened, then realized he had no contact information for him. Remembering his former junior agent was dating the man's son, he called her.

When Bec answered the phone, her first question was, "What happened?" He'd forgotten 2 of the other teams had been on the call, until Leon suddenly disconnected them from Skype.

"Everyone's in one piece. However, I need to contact Jethro Gibbs and I don't have his information. Any way you can get it for me, ask Captain Perry for it?"

"He's right here, he came over on his lunch break. Hold on." There was silence as the call was put on hold.

Bec hadn't said anything about the meeting to Geordie. They rarely talked about their work. Now she made a face, "Hon, that's Pete calling from Athens. He needs to talk with your dad but doesn't have his contact information."

Geo nodded, "He's NCIS and you trust him, that's okay." Bec nodded and pulling up Jethro's contact information on her own phone, gave it to her former team lead.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs disconnected from Pete Russell's call. He didn't know quite what to think but did feel some relief that there might be a partial explanation as to Vance's behavior toward Tim. It wasn't that he didn't like his plan, that was his prerogative. It was what Russell told him happened after Vance dismissed them.

The worst part was that nothing had been accomplished towards putting together a strategy to stopping the hate crimes. Not that they were the only people working on a strategy but they were part of the Armed Federal Agencies and were expected to contribute. They _wanted_ to contribute, hell, Tim was the one who contacted Vance in the first place.

Tobias told him that Tim had reluctantly agreed to let him take the proposal to Sailes and/or McKinley at the CIA but said he'd wait 24 hours to see if Vance had second thoughts.

He was thankful they'd put together the surprise getaway for his son and daughter-in-law, a plan hatched long before they'd known of the domestic terrorist attacks in the States.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Pete Russell was not normally a worrier or a pessimist. Sure, he worried about his family and his team but he wasn't someone who expected the worst. Today was different. When he'd checked on Leon, the man was sweating profusely and his forehead was hot in the air conditioned room. He did the 'pinch' test of the skin on Leon's hand and saw the telltale signs of dehydration. Considering the life-threatening stresses he'd been subjected to, the responsibilities of his job and his fatigue, Pete and his wife decided to call a medical professional.

They contacted their medical support line where an advice nurse listened carefully, asking several questions before advising them to get their friend to an Emergency Room. If his dehydration was as bad as the nurse suspected, he'd need an IV and his vitals needed to be monitored.

Within a few minutes, Leon Vance was transported to the nearest emergency room, escorted by his security detail and the Russells. His condition improved after his dehydration was addressed but when he woke, he complained of a headache. He was given something for that and eventually said the headache was nearly gone. When the doctor questioned him, with two of Leon's detail in the room, he thought it was Monday evening, before the meeting.

In the meantime, Pete had again contacted Jethro Gibbs, telling him what was happening. Gibbs asked to join them at the hospital, also telling Pete that the vacationing agents would be available to relieve the security detail while Leon was in the hospital. As the doctor was already talking about keeping him overnight, that was good to know.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Over the course of the afternoon, Tim had found enough calm to finally be able to think clearly about the meeting that morning. He was a little worried about Vance, not because he hadn't liked his proposal but because of his intense aversion to it. The man had to be exhausted with everything that was happening and Tim didn't know if his boss had had any decent sleep since the flight from Langley. He'd thought Leon had caught up all right after arriving in Brambury and by now he'd be over the transatlantic jetlag, but he didn't suppose the 4 hour flight to Athens had helped, nor the constant worry about friends and his employees.

When Tim considered everything that might have been affecting the director, he thought it was probably a combination of exhaustion and stress. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that, with one exception, the director had never spoken to him like that. That exception was Tim's unfortunate choice to believe and take Tony's advice about not volunteering to go to a war zone. Vance had been right, too, that was Tim's own fault, he never should have blindly believed DiNozzo. Not back then, anyway.

He talked about it with Artie, having already told her of the confrontation and she urged him to call Pete Russell or his father to ascertain Leon's status.

He called Pete shortly before 6 PM. When the man answered his phone, Tim said, "Agent Russell, this is Agent McGee. I'm concerned about Director Vance and hope you'll tell me if he's all right."

On the other end, Pete smiled, glad to hear the younger agent seemed to have taken everything in his stride. However, he was relieved McGee hadn't seen their boss after the others left. "He's not all right but he will be, Agent McGee and thank you for your concern. He had a fever, was dehydrated and had low sodium, which led to some confusion. And he's exhausted and severely stressed. I brought him home and…well, long story but the bottom line is, he's in the hospital and will stay there tonight and possibly longer. They treated the dehydration with an IV and the low sodium is being addressed through his diet. This evening they've given him something to help him sleep, which should reduce his exhaustion and stress levels. As for long term, I don't know."

"Thank God you did that! Are Kayla and Jared all right?"

"Yes, but unfortunately they heard part of what happened and are worried about you as well as their father."

"I'm all right, he's my boss and certainly has a right to his opinion about my work! My family gave my wife and I a few days off so we're relaxing in Athens while our parents and siblings are watching our kids for us. Will you please tell Kay and Jared I'm okay and send them hugs?"

"I'll do that and thanks again. Uh, if Leon wants to call you…?"

"I have my cell. We're returning to Varkiza Friday afternoon."

"All right. Thanks again for calling." After Pete disconnected, he realized he hadn't asked about the plan and remembered that one of the agents, the one who'd stayed in the room after Leon ordered everyone out, didn't work for NCIS. He sighed, deciding not to worry.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After Vance's dismissal of Tim's proposal, Tobias had promised McGee and Gibbs to wait 24 hours before he contacted Sailes with Tim's plan. While Tim agreed to the wait, he didn't want to go longer than 24 hours.

Wednesday morning, Fornell sent a text to McGee, asking his availability that afternoon or evening. Eventually he had a reply that he would make time but that they did have plans at 2000 that evening.

Now Tobias had a timeframe but had to wait a couple of hours before he could contact Sailes without risking unemployment for waking his director in the middle of the night to set up a meeting.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Wednesday, Tim and Artie had a late breakfast in their suite and then decided to go for a swim. While Artie was changing, Tim quickly checked his phone, saw the text from Tobias and replied. He'd just sent it when he heard a squawk from his wife. Curious, he walked into the dressing area where he found his beloved staring at her profile. Seeing him, she ranted about her swimsuit, a new one she hadn't worn yet, that must have shrunk in the wash. She was mad because although she always washed new clothes before wearing them, she had not put this in the dryer so it should not have shrunk and _she hadn't worn it yet_! She pointed to it but he'd already seen that it was tight across her chest and stomach, not that he minded, she looked sexier than ever in it.

He remembered she'd found it on one of their trips, so she'd had it for a while, even if she hadn't worn it. That meant she might have gained some weight since the purchase but he certainly wasn't going to point that out.

Her rant over, she looked at him and he tilted his head. "I know this is not smart of me to say, sweetheart, but you look so sexy in that suit that I'm not sure I want you to wear it around other people."

She blinked in surprise, looked at him and then smiled, "You never lie to me, you never make things up just to make me feel better."

"Only once, at MIT. Learned my lesson."

"You think this looks sexy?"

"I do and I'm serious about not wanting other guys looking at you. Not my call, though, I know that." He smiled, "You sure you want to go swimming? I'd be happy to show you my appreciation."

She giggled, "Yes, we need to swim in the sunshine. We won't let you burn but we both need Vitamin D. Swim first, then appreciation."

"All right, if you insist." He paused in the doorway, "It won't get all stretched out in the water, will it?"

"Not as long as you keep your hands to yourself. The water won't stretch it."

He mock pouted, "You're no fun!"

When they reached the pool, there was another couple swimming and the woman smiled, saying 'good afternoon' in what Artie called "beginner's Greek" as the couple entered the pool. Taking a guess, Tim replied in English while Artie smiled. The other man grinned, "American?"

"Yes. Are you Canadian?"

The other woman's mouth dropped open and she sputtered. "How did you get that from my fractured Greek?"

"I'm not an expert but I did spend 4 months on the border a few years ago and learned to distinguish our accents. You're lucky enough to have a bit of a lilt that we don't."

"Oh, thank you! Yes, we're from Ottawa."

Artie smiled, "That's a beautiful city, I lived there for several months about 8 years ago."

"Were you in school or was it for work?"

"Work, a temporary assignment." Tim had quietly reminded her they did not know these people. That meant she should not mention any personal details.

The woman cocked her head, "You're not American by birth?"

"No, I'm Greek, although I've spent most of my life outside of the country. I went to college in Massachusetts and met my husband there."

"Wonderful! Are you on holiday here?"

Tim smiled, "Yes, we come as often as we can."

The other woman walked through the water, extended her hand. "I'm Mary Virginia Rowe and this is my husband, David Rowe. We also met in college, in pre-med, we're both doctors. I'm sorry I'm being so nosy! I was surprised to meet someone who looks American but sounds Greek!"

Tim grinned, "Thank you for that! My wife, then my girlfriend, taught me how to speak the language in college and I've improved over the years."

"Do you live in Europe then, to travel here often?"

"Yes, I work for an American company with offices in Europe and my wife has her own business."

"That's exciting! Do you get to travel, see more than Greece and wherever you live?"

Artie smiled, "Yes, in fact we were just talking about that. I bought my swimsuit in Paris when we were there in April, but forgot to take it to Barcelona when we were there, so this is the first time I've wearing it."

"Ooh, Paris, how romantic! And Barcelona is on my list to visit! So, you were in Paris in April, Barcelona in May and Athens in July."

Tim smiled, "We also made a trip to Berlin in June. We travel as often as we can. She's Andrea Costas and I'm Jack Dunn." He gave their established fake names.

The four shook hands and Dr. David volunteered that they were there for a medical conference. Tim grinned, "It's a great place for it! How long will you be here?"

"The conference is 4 days, ends Friday and we're staying for an additional two weeks in Greece and thought we might get to Italy for a few days too. We figured this is a once in a lifetime chance to explore."

Artie grinned, "Great! There's so much to see and do. We've been to Italy a couple of times and loved it. Once to Tuscany and once to Campania." She knew from Tim's use of their fake names that she shouldn't mention names or specific places.

"So it's just the two of you this trip? I'm sorry, I'm being as nosy as my wife!"

Tim and Artie laughed as she replied, "That's all right. And no, there are several of us." She lost her smile as she said, "Several of them arrived in Europe unexpectedly recently, fleeing the violence in the States. We already had this trip planned and brought them along."

"That's wonderful that you've given them refuge. It's horrible what's happening. Be grateful you're living over here."

Tim closed his eyes, nodding. "Believe me, we are! And we're thankful that your country is welcoming those able to get to safety in Canada and along the borders. I was on the verge of being transferred home when the attacks started but my boss and his family arrived after a close friend, also a co-worker, was attacked. He survived but that was enough to convince my boss to leave."

"Will he be all right, the man who was attacked?"

"Yes, thank heavens."

"That's good to know too. Do you have children?"

Tim and Artie looked at each other, laughing. "Are we that obvious? Yes, we have several children. This, our stay in Athens, was a surprise for us from our families, four whole days to ourselves."

"Ooh, that must be nice. We have two, grown and on their own. No grandchildren yet but we're not in any hurry."

Artie excused herself as she thought she heard her phone ringing. She slipped out of the pool and into the shade, pulling her phone out of her tote bag. She frowned when she looked, calling out in Greek and remembering to use Tim's fake name and not to say any other names, "Ioannes, your friend from the other agency is looking for you."

Tim made a face, "Is there a time stamp, hon?"

"Yes, an hour ago."

"Ok, thanks." Shaking his head, he too slipped out of the pool, excusing himself and pulling his phone from Artie's tote bag. He listened to Tobias' voicemail, looking surprised and then sighed, quietly saying something to Artie. After sending a quick reply, he turned his phone off again, put it back into Artie's bag. She looked at him, "Do you have to go?"

"For a meeting, yes. It's not until 5:00 today, we have all afternoon."

"Where?"

"Here in Athens, my friend will pick me up, probably in Mimi's car."

They both laughed and then she asked, " "Who are you meeting with now? Oh…one of those other men?"

"Yes, I'll tell you more later."

They got back into the pool and the husband, David, looked at Tim, "You don't look very happy."

He huffed, "I'm supposed to be on vacation but just got pulled into a meeting this afternoon, the third one since we've been here!"

"Oh geez, do you have to return to your office?"

"No, that's the silver lining, I can attend via video chat." Tobias would pick him up at 1630 and they'd drive to the U.S. Embassy where they'd meet with Sailes and McKinley. Sailes was here in person, he'd flown to the UK to visit his family and after Fornell's call had flown to Athens. McKinley would be attending via Skype.

Tim felt like a traitor but after speaking with Agent Russell, he'd spoken with his dad who told him that Vance would be in the hospital through Friday, while he worked with a counselor to learn how to better manage his stress and the medical folks worked on normalizing his blood pressure. Dad said Leon still had no memory of Tuesday. He also told his son he shouldn't feel guilty about presenting his plan to the other directors. As Tim well knew, time was of the essence and this was a national crisis, taking precedence over one man's ill health, no matter how important that man was to them.

Still, Tim was uneasy, finally resolving his dilemma by mentally invoking Rule 18, better to ask forgiveness than permission, and making a phone call. When they met with Sailes and McKinley today, there would be one additional attendee.

The couple swam and played in the water for over an hour. Before the Rowes left for the conference, the four of them made plans to meet for lunch on Friday. Once in their room, Tim ran background checks on the Rowes and was pleased to find they were who they said they were, with no comments on their government files. He wasn't happy about doing this to people but with the problems at home and the craziness of the world in general, he couldn't afford to get sloppy.

As he logged off, he looked at his wife, "That reminds me, Dad said the other day that we were leaving on Tuesday. I thought our original plan was to leave on Monday so we'd have 2 days to sleep before getting on another plane."

She smiled, "Surprise! Jethro changed our departure to Tuesday so we'd have one more day in the sun. Although from what I've been seeing online, London is quite a bit warmer than usual."

"Yeah, I saw that too. Maybe now would be a good time to try Cornwall again!"

She laughed, "Oh no, we're not going to another beach. We are staying home for two solid weeks so you and I can work. Then we're taking several days to experience Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo, before the children go back to school. We'll fly out Friday evening and back a week later, on Sunday evening. We'll have 3 days in each capital, ending in Oslo so we can fly straight home on our favorite airline. I've already set it up with Joel, told him it was a surprise for you."

"That's a lot of vacation days! Oh, but we won't need to save 2 weeks for Christmas, we won't be going home." He sighed and then smiled, "Everyone will be here, I mean in Brambury!"

"Yes, no flying for us, yay!"

They went out for lunch, enjoying the walk to a café they'd noticed yesterday. It was too hot to wander much so they returned to the hotel, eventually both falling asleep. Luckily, Tim set his watch alarm so he was up and ready for his meeting.

Tobias arrived on time, driving Mimi's car. Tim was amused and surprised to see Director Sailes in the front seat, his security detail following behind them.

Smiling, Tim spoke in Greek, "Hello and welcome to the Hellenic Republic!"

Sailes returned the smile, "I'm assuming that was hello and maybe welcome?"

"Yes sir. I'm glad you could get away. Is your family here too?"

"Yes, Tobias worked with my security team to find a hotel in Varkiza, so my wife and children can enjoy being part of your group and play in the sea."

"That's wonderful! Did Tobias invite you to our barbecue on Saturday? It's at our rental because we have the most outdoor space. The whole group will be there, we've invited the Athens NCIS team and I hope Director Vance will be well enough to join us, even for a few minutes."

Tim relaxed in the back seat, smiling at Fornell who glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "You're more relaxed today than I thought you'd be."

Tim snorted, "I've had a whole day alone with my wife and we still have tonight, all day tomorrow and most of Friday. Love our kids and the family but being alone together is a treat." He was going to add that today's meeting should be better than yesterday's but didn't want to jinx himself and he didn't know how much Sailes knew.

Sailes chuckled, "It's funny how that works, isn't it? You think everything is fine but then when you do have time together, you realize how much you miss that. These last weeks have been a real eye-opener for me and my wife. Life is not all about terrorists or soccer practice."

He turned in his seat, smiling at Tim. "Timothy, I was able to get in to see Leon. I told him we were meeting and that you'd asked Secretary Porter to join us in his stead. He smiled, gave me a thumbs up and said, 'That's my McGee!'"

He was puzzled when the younger man nodded without a word, then leaned back against the seat with a smile. Sailes looked at Tobias who was alternately watching the slow moving traffic and Tim in the rear view mirror. His agent shook his head slightly and Sailes sat back.

Tobias purposely hadn't told Sailes or McKinley about the NCIS meeting, not wanting to prejudice them one way or another. His belief in Tim's plan hadn't wavered and he felt that Sailes and McKinley, having been on the front lines, so to speak, with the McGees against IPF, would understand Tim's reasoning, which was factual and logical, not the least bit emotional. Tobias was proud of Tim for putting aside his bias against the covert agency to develop his plan and he believed Sailes and McKinley would think the same way.

Finally, Tim responded, "Thank you for telling me, Director. It sounds like he's feeling better, that's good to know."

Eventually he relaxed again. This group was who he should have met with in the first place, although he'd absolutely had to show the plan to Leon first. He actually hoped that by now someone else would have realized the same thing he had, that the IPF existed to fight the kind of battles they'd be in, should already be in, against the domestic terrorists.

Finally, Tobias got through the traffic and drove to the U.S. Embassy. The men passed their credentials to the Marine at the gate, who examined them before directing them to a parking spot marked 'Reserved'. As they drove away from the gate, something made Tim look back and he smiled when the Marine gave him the same gesture Geordie first showed him more than 2 years ago. He tilted his head, wondering if the man was Artie's 3rd 'helper', the one she'd nicknamed 'Gesture'. He knew she'd seen the other 2 since their flight from Amzida.

Once in the Embassy, they had an escort to their secured meeting room. There they found a large screen already set up with a Skype call pending. When they accepted the call, they found McKinley and Secretary Porter waiting in what looked like a secure room, either at the Pentagon or at Langley and Tim thought it was probably Langley.

After greeting each other, Sailes updating them with Vance's condition and his reaction to the meeting today, Tim dived right into his presentation. When he said 'IPF' he was relieved not to see any horror or anger on the faces of his audience. Still, he explained his reasoning and saw only thoughtful looks. When next he looked, he was astounded to see the Secretary of Defense had joined the others on camera.

When he finished his presentation and answered their questions, McKinley nodded at him, "Leon is right, the acorn didn't fall far from the tree, you're as audacious as your father, but in your own way. This is a bold plan, Agent McGee, and that's what we need. I agree that IPF is the logical entity to take on the terrorists, and I particularly like the addition of our snipers and sharpshooters to be used separately, to minimize the risk of IPF co-opting any of our folks or the military."

Porter agreed, adding, "I'd like to see a combined group, Marine Force Recon, Navy Seals and Army's Green Berets."

Her boss, the Secretary of Defense, nodded. "I agree, it will have to be a combined effort. Agent McGee, I like the plan. It's bold, as Director McKinley has stated, and that is exactly what we need. We haven't seen anything else that covers everything so well. One of the challenges will be finding targets for them to take down and I like your suggestion to get the 'White Hat Hackers' involved. However, the first challenge will be discovering who is currently running IPF and charging them with the task."

Tim nodded, "Sir, Ma'am, Directors, I'd like to be in on that if possible." He smiled, "I'm not having delusions of grandeur, I know I don't have the authority but I would like to be with whoever approaches the head of the agency and ask him to step up for our country. To me, it seems logical that I be there. As the brother of one of the victims of Hatman's IPF and as one of the victims, or near victims, myself, I believe my presence will add credibility and weight to their charge."

Sailes looked at him, "You will not meet with them alone. When the meet happens, you will accompany whoever is the lead. While all of us are expendable, a meeting alone with them is not acceptable for you."

"Yes, sir."

Porter nodded, "Thank you, Director Sailes. Supervising Senior Agent McGee, I will go one step further. I will only authorize an electronic presence for you. You may be involved via Skype or something similar but not physically."

"Yes, ma'am."

The Secretary of Defense leaned forward, "McGee, as I said, nothing like this has been presented and this is the best strategic plan for our defense. As soon as we figure out who heads up the agency, we'll get things rolling."

Sailes looked at SecDef, "Sir, late last year, USAG Peterson was contacted by the new head of the IPF, concerning the end of the agency's harassment of the McGee-Hart family. I have the man's contact information."

"Good, if you'll get that to me…" He shook his head in amusement as Porter, Sailes, McKinley, Fornell and McGee immediately started scrolling through their phones. Sailes found it first, Tim had encrypted the information on his phone and Fornell's while Porter remembered she'd deleted it after the Hatman prison visit and McKinley realized it was on his old phone, locked in his desk drawer upstairs.

As the SecDef looked at the information, Secretary Porter looked at her agent. "Timothy, one last question, does Director Vance know all this?"

Tim opened his mouth but Fornell beat him to it, "Secretary Porter, if I may, Director Sailes and I met with Director Vance's caregivers this morning, that's NCIS Agent Peter Russell and his wife Trina Russell. While his condition is rapidly improving, he still has no memory of the meeting that took place Tuesday morning."

"Who was in the meeting and what was the agenda?"

"The director, the Athens, London and Rota teams, the latter two teams attending via Skype, the agents vacationing here, retired Marine Corps officer Colonel Richard Barnes and me. The agenda was to begin building strategy to fight the terrorists. The meeting was precipitated by a call from Agents McGee and Gibbs, acting as spokesmen for all of us, to Director Vance. They told him how anxious we were to defend our country, to take down these monsters. We lasted about a day and a half as beachcombers before our restlessness to do something overcame us."

"I see and what happened in the meeting?"

"Colonel Barnes had some ideas, Agents Barnes and DiNozzo had ideas they presented as well as Rota's SFA and other agents. And then Agent McGee tried to present his plan, the same one you heard today."

"Tried? What was Leon's reaction?"

Tim had moved his eyes to a point between McKinley and Porter. Now he shook his head at Tobias, this was his to report.

"When speaking to him the day before, saying my proposal was ready, I asked if he wanted to see it early. My thought was that he'd need some time to absorb it and I didn't want to blindside him at the meeting. He said yes and I sent it to him. At the meeting, when I stood to present my proposal, he said no before I said anything and told me we would talk after the meeting. When we did talk, he was adamantly against the plan and then decided to have 2 agents take a look at it."

Tobias interrupted, "He did listen to McGee after the meeting, although he called it a moronic idea, and then ordered three agents into the room, Agent Russell, Russell's junior Agent Mayhew and Agent Gibbs. He ordered Russell and Mayhew to look at the plan and tell him their candid opinions. He told Gibbs to keep his mouth shut or he'd remove him from the building.

"Russell and Mayhew took paper copies of the plan that McGee made ahead of time to hand out to everyone and examined it all carefully, taking notes and asking questions.

"The two agents completed their reviews and gave their conclusions to the director. When he saw both recommended the plan, he said again, 'we're not doing this'. At that point, I took the copies of the plan from him as they were not agency property. He ordered me out of the room and I left with Agent Mayhew. Agent Russell held the door open and gestured to Agents Gibbs and McGee to exit. Agent Gibbs was contacted by Agent Russell later with the news that the director was hospitalized. Agent McGee was in Athens with his wife by then but contacted Russell to see if the director was all right, only to be told he'd been hospitalized."

Tobias took a breath, "Ma'am, I believe the meeting was recorded. I overheard Agent Russell asking Agent Mayhew to record it before the meeting started."

"Thank you, Agent Fornell, for your report. Gentlemen, do we need further discussion or are we ready?"

SecDef leaned forward, "I'll update this group as soon as I've had contact with IPF. Those of you ostensibly on vacation, are you answering your cell phones?"

McGee and Fornell nodded, "Yes, Mr. Secretary."

"Good! Is there any time you'll be out of contact?"

Tim took that one, "Yes sir, we'll be off line for about 4 and a half hours on Tuesday, while we return to London. Our flight leaves here at 1700, Athens time and lands at 1900, London time. The flight is 4 hours, I've left room for delays in takeoff or taxiing to a gate at Gatwick. Not allowed to use our cells there until the engines are off."

"And that includes you and Agent Fornell."

"All of the vacationing agents, sir. That's Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo, Barnes, Bishop, Colonel Barnes, our medical examiners, Drs. Mallard and Palmer." He paused before shaking his head, "I apologize, Mr. Secretary, I've got that wrong. Agents DiNozzo, Barnes and Colonel Barnes won't be with us on that flight. They're traveling to their PCS in Marseille, France. I don't have their flight information handy. I can send it to you or Secretary Porter."

"That's fine, thank you, Agent McGee. Send it to Secretary Porter and include both flight numbers."

"Yes sir."

The meeting concluded, the Skype callers disappeared from view while Sailes sat looking at McGee. "Has he ever done that to you before?"

Knowing he was talking about Vance, Tim answered, "Sure, he's chewed me out a few times, he's my boss. But he's never taken me to task for suggesting something, and he's never called me names."

Sailes sighed, "I'm sorry that happened, Tim. Of all people…he's very proud of you. So much so that before I met you, I'd begun to dread the mention of your name. McKinley's the same way. But we are all human. I'm not trying to be a poacher luring you away to greener pastures, I'm human too, but if you ever need to talk or have someone intervene…?"

Tim replied with a quiet thank you and Sailes nodded, shaking his hand. He left the room while Tobias stayed. "You all right?"

He chuckled, "Yes, I'm not that delicate, Tobias! I told you the other night Vance was probably going to hate it. I just didn't think he'd stop me from even presenting it to the others. I'll be fine once I'm done with the SecNav's call which I'm sure will come in about an hour, when she's back in her office. Thank you for handling that, I wasn't sure how much to say."

"She needed to know what happened to force Leon into acute hospital care. I imagine she'll ask you and the others for a written report. Director level, Tim, Leon should not have allowed himself to get that far off kilter."

"Tobias, she's responsible for part of that, although she may also have saved his life. He was in an afterhours meeting at Langley when she called to say he and the kids were leaving in 3 hours. He had no chance to pack his own clothes, or any household items, he had to tell her what he wanted of his dead wife's things. And that was right after hearing about Director Hutchins, his mentor and one of his best friends.

"He's an educated African-American man in power in DC, a target every day of his life, how can he not have been super stressed, scared, about what was happening? He's been kidnapped, attacked more than once, set up to be murdered by a colleague, blown up, witnessed his wife's murder, which happened because of his job, how much more is he expected to endure?

"He's exhausted because he stayed at the office, for over 24 hours that I know of, may have been longer, cutting transfer orders to save the lives of his agents and their families. So he drank too much coffee, slept too little, worried too much, ate the wrong things or not enough and maybe let alcohol soothe him a few times when he couldn't sleep. Who among us knows when we've pushed ourselves too far? And in a situation like this, I hope I would have had the fortitude to do what he did, to keep going as long as he could. Who knows how many lives he's saved?"

"You're right, Tim, just know that's the conventional wisdom in DC."

"Then it's bullshit, the same bullshit that kept him incommunicado for 10 months 3 years ago. C'mon, let's get out of here. I want to get back to my wife and my happy buzz." That last sentence was said as they walked out the door, where Sailes was waiting for them. He chuckled, "I feel the same way, Tim. Tobias, let's go!"

After dropping McGee off at his hotel, the other men returned to Varkiza. Tim sent Artie a text from the lobby and found her preparing a cool bath for him. That felt good, especially after she climbed in with him and it didn't take long for Tim to find his happy buzz again.

He laughed when his phone rang as they were drying off. "That's Secretary Porter."

Artie's eyebrows showed her surprise but Tim seemed amused so she didn't worry. Still, she listened to his side of the conversation.

"Hello, ma'am."

"Yes, I'm back at our hotel with my wife."

Artie smothered a giggle, that was a great hint to leave him alone! Still, she was his acting boss right now.

"I'm good; I hope he bounces back all right, we need him."

"No ma'am, as I said before, I didn't expect him to like the proposal right away, I hoped we'd be able to talk about it. However, that was his decision and he's the director."

"No, I gave him my word when he returned from sick leave. I wouldn't leave anyway, not in this crisis."

"Thank you, I do appreciate your concern and yes, I will need to speak with him, but I don't want to blow this up out of proportion. For one thing, he's my boss and has the right to not like something I've done, it's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.

"I'm more concerned about his health than anything else. He and I have the advantage of knowing each other pretty well and when he's healthy enough, we'll work out whatever needs to be worked out…if anything. There are enough good things between us that I won't let this interfere with our working relationship or our friendship and I hope he won't either. He may not have liked the proposal but he did listen to me and have the agents review it. We're all human."

"Uh, no, I haven't had a chance to tell her. We're on a little honeymoon and decided to leave the world outside our hotel room door."

Artie grinned at the great big giant hint, apparently this time Leon's boss was listening as Tim disconnected a few seconds later.

"Wow. I'm glad she cares, but I hope she's not going to want to facilitate things between Leon and me!"

"Why not?"

"Because he and I understand each other, give us 3 minutes and we're good, as opposed to hours of talking at each other."

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around her. "Are you understanding me without words?"

Grinning, he picked her up and deposited her on the bed, jumping onto it beside her.

Dinner that night was wonderful and they took a walk afterward, before heading back to their love nest.

As they cuddled later, their conversation wandered to the money they'd recovered from their game. Tim wondered if Artie was interested in starting her own engineering firm and that gave her a lot to think about.

"I've thought of that in the past, but not since we received the money. I have built a solid reputation for my work, I've been in the business long enough now to prove that my work stands. And it would be a way to bring other women into the engineering field. It's still very difficult to break into. I like the idea of having my own business; however, I'm not in love with the idea of administering a business. It's hard enough to do as an independent contractor."

"Would it help to talk with other business owners?"

"Yes, that's brilliant, love, I'll talk with Freddie, Jose and Bill."

"Grammie didn't own her own business but she was an accountant and has a business degree, might want to speak with her, too."

"Yes and Breena has her Master's in business." She smiled at him, "I actually had another idea for our windfall."

"What's that?"

She kissed his hand, "I haven't told you, it feels like we haven't had a moment to ourselves. My doctor wants me to have a hysterectomy, she shares our worry about the miscarriages and especially the hemorrhaging during the last 2. However, she has agreed that what I'm about to suggest is safe to do before the surgery. And that is, my darling, to have another child with you."

Tim's mouth dropped open as he frowned but she covered his mouth with her hand before he could say anything, "Listen, please. I don't mean pregnancy, at least not for me. We have the money now to have a baby through in vitro fertilization with our embryo implanted to a gestational carrier. So my eggs would be harvested, they'd be fertilized and implanted to our surrogate. While she's carrying our baby, I can have the hysterectomy, with plenty of time to recover. I know that sounds too simple, there are many details I've left out but we have the money and we both want a baby."

Tim sat up against the headboard, deep in thought. Finally, he took his wife's hand. "I need to hear all of it, from your doctor. On the surface, it sounds okay, although painful and complicated but that's how Sarah was conceived and gestated. I'm thankful you're willing to have the hysterectomy, I've been so worried. Three miscarriages in 2 years can't be good and the blood loss was even scarier."

"You're right and it's getting worse, my uterus needs to come out. I'll make an appointment for both of us with my doctor so you'll hear all the details. I'll do that tomorrow morning. What do you want, boy or girl?"

"As long as the baby is healthy, I'm fine either way. Although a girl would keep us balanced, 3 of each."

"Yes, it would but I want another boy. I want you to hold your infant son in your hands and raise him from the start."

"Honey…"

"Yes, I know. I know it was Kosmos manipulating me but I still want this for you, for us. And our baby will be the first to be a Gibbs from the start."

Tim didn't reply for a few seconds, absorbing what she'd said. It was for the two of them, to raise their child together from the start. Finally, he nodded, "Artemis, I'm finally understanding the importance and I agree. And yes, Dad will love that his new grandbaby will be a Gibbs on her birth certificate. If it's a girl, we can name her for Sophia and one of my grandmothers. If the baby's a boy, we can name him for your father and mine. Or your father and my grandfather."

"You don't want to name him Leroy or Jethro?"

"I do, I used to think the name Jethro was odd but now I love it. It's my dad who would throw a fit! He's been teased all his life for his name."

"Oh. But Jethro is a strong name."

"I agree. Maybe if we named him Jethro but called him by his other name, Peter or whatever we decide. Let's talk about adding Patrick to the list. Not sure how I feel about that."

"I think it's a good idea, remember that he named his children after you and Sarah. And you're right, we can name him for my new father, that's exciting! We also need more possibilities for a girl."

"We've already used Lu's name with Hope but there's my grandmother Anne. How about Sophia Anne. Or Anne Sophia? Or Maisie Sophia/Sophia Maisie? Or…Lu's middle name is Rose. Sophia Rose, Rose Sophia?"

"If we tweaked your Gibbs' grandmother's name a bit we could call her Anna Sophia. That's a very romantic name. I love the name Maisie too, either before or after Sophia. And I love the name Rose with Sophia, either way. Or…what about this, Luella Sophia, but call her Ella?"

"Those are all pretty. I really like Ella Sophia Gibbs or Patrick…huh, can't call him Patrick Peter…what about Patrick Nikolas or Nikolas Patrick? And geez, what about Susannah?"

"Oh, that's a good idea, name him after your brother and my great-grandfather and Uncle Nicolas! And the aunts, we could name her for both her aunts, Susannah Sarah or Sarah Susannah."

When Tim chuckled, she looked at him, questioning and he said, "Sorry, I meant do we need to check with Susannah about the names. You know, in case they also want to use Sophia or Peter."

"Good because I'd prefer not to use two names that are so close. It almost sounds redundant, although I don't mind the sound of Sarah Susannah. Except I know you, you'll end up calling her Sarah Sue or SariSue and I'm not sure I like that. Did you know that Susannah means Lily? So Sarah Susannah would honor our sisters and your birth mother. In Greece, it's the custom to name babies after grandparents, whether someone else has already done so or not."

"So there could be 2 or more Peters or Sophias in the family?"

"Yes. Although since we have time, we could come to an agreement with Susannah and Ian. Goodness, I hadn't even thought of my half-sisters and brothers!" She paused for a minute before taking her husband's hand again, "Tim, I've had another thought. We talked about Grandma Anne and Grammie, but what about your own mother, Lily?"

"If we're going to use a name from my maternal side, I'd rather use Maisie than Lily."

"You don't like the name?"

"I…I guess I'm superstitious about Lily's early death and maybe my anger with Dan McGee spills over onto her. I'd prefer not to use either of their names. And I know and love Maisie while I have no memories of Lily. Although her middle name, Victoria, was also Ducky's mother's name."

"Lovely! Then is Victoria Palmer named for Ducky's mother?"

"Yes and they kept it a surprise for Ducky. I'd forgotten this but they opted not to know the baby's gender before she was born. If she'd been a boy, they were going to call the baby Donald."

"They may still do that."

"Huh?"

"Breena's pregnant, in her 2nd trimester."

"Wow, that's great!"

"They've already told Breena's parents and will tell Ducky before they tell the family. I believe they're planning to make an announcement Friday night at dinner."

Tim grinned, "That's wonderful!" He shook his head, "As far as names for us, it sounds easier just to follow the customs and let the chips – or names – fall where they may."

Their conversation wandered away from names to wondering about a surrogate. Tim wasn't horribly surprised when his wife told him there were now centers who matched gestational carriers, their proper title, with the intended parents.

"That will likely cost as much or more than the IVF treatments and procedure."

"That's all right, we have the money."

Tim huffed, "So we'll miss pregnancy hormones and menopause."

"I hadn't thought of that. As far as the pregnancy hormones, I believe the intended parents are to be as involved with the pregnancy as possible, going to medical appointments and helping the surrogate. As far as the hysterectomy, if they leave my ovaries, then I'll go through menopause sometime in the future."

"If you still have ovaries, then you'll still have hormones."

"Yes."

He nodded, he had more questions but for now, they could wait. One question he would ask now, "When do you see all this happening?"

"I believe it will take a few weeks to harvest my eggs, they can be frozen while we look for our surrogate or we can have them fertilized and freeze the embryos. I'd like to wait for the harvesting and my surgery until the children have gone back to school. Recovery from a hysterectomy is several weeks, depending how it's done, and it will be easier for everyone if the children are in school during the day. And I want our trip to Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo! Say the embryo is implanted in September, he would be born in May. Oh."

"What?"

"Well, if he's born in early May, he'll be old enough to travel to Greece in late July."

Tim shook his head, "That's strange, scheduling our child's conception and birth around our schedule! But I see what you mean. I suppose we could wait for her conception, say until December. Then she'd be ready to join us in August, after we get back. Or even January and September. Geez, this is getting weirder and weirder."

She huffed, "It is weird but people do plan their families. I like January and September, that way we won't worry about Baby arriving while we're in Greece."

Rolling his eyes, Tim leaned down to kiss his wife and they stopped thinking about babies. Or anything else.

Tim laughed out loud the next morning when almost the first thing his wife said was, "Where will we put him? And we do need to write down our list of names!"

He shook his head, "Honey, we have other details to work out first! What are the dangers to you from harvesting your eggs – or preparing for that? What are the ramifications of having a full rather than a partial hysterectomy? And is that a choice or a need? Who will carry our baby for us, what are the legal implications? What is the success ratio of in vitro fertilization and is there anything we can do to improve our chances? What and when do we tell the kids?"

She sighed, "I know but my thoughts are much less worrying to deal with and the answers will come from us, we'll have control over them."

Tim made a face, "You're right, I'm sorry I laughed." Sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her deeply.

After breakfast in a nearby café, they returned to their room and Artie called her gynecologist in London for an appointment, explaining why. She was happy to be given time the day after they got home and surprised when she later received an email from her doctor, advising her and her spouse to also contact a Surrogacy Clinic or Center and included a few names and numbers. When she told Tim, they started their research, finding the highest rated facilities. They chose three and set up appointments for consultation. They were able to schedule 2 of the consultations the same day as the doctor's appointment with the 3rd one the following week.

It was still early and they decided to visit their favorite museums and flea market. They went first to the Benaki, enjoying new exhibits as well as their favorites from previous visits. After dragging themselves away from there, they spent time in the National Archeology Museum. Artie loved the museums, always finding something related to the ancients' engineering technologies. From there, they had lunch out before wandering around the flea market. They bought items to give when they returned to Varkiza on Friday, something for each of their children and their child minders. They also found fun things for Christmas stockings and gifts, shipping those to their neighbors' address.

Finding a textile vendor who also did custom work, they ordered several wool pullover sweaters, scarves and hats for those not used to the penetrating cold of UK winters, including their senior family members and Tobias' father as well as Emily, Pauley, Jared, Kayla, Ainsley, Cal, Victoria and Davey and for their own kids who'd outgrown everything they'd worn last winter and spring. They'd tried saving the clothes Andy grew out of for Greg, Greg's for Kyle and Rissa's for Hope but there were too many years between each to make that practical. Claire and Liz took their last batch of clothes outgrown by the kids, saying they could rework some of them, the rest would be cleaned, repaired if necessary and given to charity.

Once they'd shopped to their heart's content at the flea market, Tim surprised Artie by taking her to one of her favorite boutiques where he persuaded her to try on several new outfits. She usually only looked, rarely purchased, in this store, saying their clothes were more expensive than she needed. Today while she was trying on clothes, Tim purchased a pair of earrings he knew she'd love. While a chunk of their game proceeds would go toward the in vitro treatment and surrogacy for their baby, if they chose to pursue having another child, and more for their children and family, he felt his wife should have something special.

While everything she tried on looked great on her, two of the outfits looked like they'd been designed and handmade for her. It took a great deal of persuasion on his part but she finally gave in and they purchased the clothes. As the shopkeeper carefully wrapped them, she asked if Artie had the right shoes to go with them. Tim smiled innocently when his wife turned to glare at him. Eventually they returned to the hotel, both with new clothes, shoes and a new handbag to go with Artie's new outfits. The new earrings were still in Tim's pocket, he'd give them to her at dinner, he'd already made reservations at the top rated restaurant in Athens.

Now they were ready to swim and spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening swimming laps, relaxing in the hot tub or lazing in the shade. It felt wonderful to be together like this, just the two of them.

Dressing up in new clothes for dinner, they had a wonderful time, enjoying the ambiance, the food and the music. They danced until the band stopped for the night. Tim grinned when they played traditional Greek dance music. It had only been a few months since Susannah and Ian's wedding and he remembered the moves pretty well, especially when given shouts of encouragement from band members and some of the other dancers. Best of all was the sparkle in his wife's eyes!

Rising early the next morning, they had a swim, showered and dressed before venturing out to a bakery they wanted to try. As they walked, Tim reflected Their breakfast, hot from the oven pastries, spinach pies, lovely coffee, freshly made juice, was delicious and filling. They went for a walk before the temperature got too hot. When they spotted a cinema with a movie they'd wanted to see, they ducked in, enjoying the cool air. The movie was a romantic comedy that they enjoyed. Back outside in the heat, they splurged on a taxi, it was too hot to walk all the way.

Tim reflected that he'd thoroughly enjoyed their days away, from seeing more of Athens to the fun he and Artie had together. Last night was the perfect capper to their 'little honeymoon' and they'd end their stay today by having lunch with their new Canadian friends.

**He smiled as they entered the hotel, remarking that, except for not knowing what to do about the Manor, living here for a year before Greg and Kyle's adoptions could be finalized would have been fun. She laughed, "I suppose we still can live here. Get yourself transferred to the Athens office and we'll move! After all, the UK weather is no longer as moderate as it was just a couple of years ago so we won't be leaving our pleasantly warm summers behind."**

**Tim nodded, "Except that Greece's weather is also getting hotter. This whole climate change thing is crazy!"**

" **I know, I hope our children will be scientists to help to reverse that or learn how to deal with it, or build spaceships to move everyone to the moon."**

" **Andy wants to be an astrophysicist, that'll help."**

" **Yes. Greg will be the idea man and Kyle will persuade people to put Greg's ideas into action. Rissa and Hope will be their first astronauts."**

**Tim was quiet as they drove back to Athens. "Honey, with the weather changes, we could put solar panels up in Brambury – and in Arlington when we finally get there. I remember we talked about them there, but hadn't considered the Manor."**

" **You think our landlord will go for it?"**

" **The panels can be on the back of the roof so they wouldn't ruin the look of the building. It will save them a lot of money when they renovate to a Bed and Breakfast. In the meantime, it will save us some money on hot water, lights and all our electronics. I can install them which saves labor."**

" **On the roof?"**

" **Oh. Huh. Well, I can teach a couple of my brothers how to install them and then supervise them from the ground. Or maybe I'll be able to do it, with help and a lot of safety lines."**

" **You are my hero, Timothy. I know how much you hate heights."**

" **But I'd be focused on the panels and installation, not just idly climbing a ladder. We could have the panels lifted by a crane, that would be safer, and I'd ride in the bucket so I wouldn't have to climb up or down a ladder. I've done that before, for work, and did okay."**

" **Let's wait to talk to our landlord first."**

He nodded, they certainly had other things to think about. Back in their room, they finished packing and then checked out, storing their luggage with the hotel, and waiting in the lobby for the Rowes. Before they had lunch, they'd show the couple a few things around Athens, the Plaka, for instance and other areas of the city, including the Benaki Museum. They laughed at visiting the place twice in one week.

The couple asked Artie for a list of things they should see and she gave them a copy of the list she'd made for their group, with the 'why's' of seeing a place, along with a modified information sheet, without the map of Varkiza and the rentals marked on it. Tim also recommended a day on Aegina and Artie agreed, saying it would give them a flavor of the many Greek islands.

After some debate between them, they also revealed their true names, telling them it was their habit to use the fake names when they were traveling. The Rowes were surprised but understood their reasoning and later talked about doing that themselves. Dr. Dave thought Tim might have another reason, telling his wife he thought their new friend might work for the American government or law enforcement. He'd noticed that the man, while relaxed, was always aware of his surroundings.

The Rowes accepted with alacrity when their new friends invited them to join them on the beach Saturday and stay for the barbecue.

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After lunch, they returned to the hotel and retrieved their luggage and took Uber to Varkiza and their rental dwelling. It was empty, no doubt everyone was at the beach. While they changed out of their street clothes into dry swimwear, Tim told Artie about the plan for him to be in on the initial meeting with the agency that would be tasked to bring down the monsters.

She looked at him, saying, "Is it necessary?"

"No, but I believe it will get the point across to the people who will be fighting our battles, that we respect them."

"Why do they need to know that?"

"Because they've been trashed in the Armed Federal Agency community in the last few years."

She looked at him harder before saying, "IPF."

He nodded and she took a deep breath. "I have never said this in your work, because you are no longer a field agent subjecting yourself to danger every day. But I will ask now, if it can be avoided, please don't do that. I fear them even seeing your face on a screen. There is that old saying, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend', and that's really what you've proposed, isn't it? I would prefer they not even hear or see your name unless it is necessary."

"All right." He looked at her, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before saying, "I love you and our children, our family, beyond measure. I've lived my life putting my family first, it's a choice I made years ago and I won't deviate from it now. I'll rescind my request."

"Thank you!"

"Artemis, the fact that this involves IPF must be kept as quiet as possible. Dad, Tobias, the Colonel and my fellow agents know it was in my proposal but none of them except Tobias know it's been accepted by the Secretary of Defense. We can't tell them about Wednesday's meeting and if you think about it, not having my name attached to the orders for IPF ties in with keeping things to ourselves. Yes, there might be speculation once IPF begins their work but there won't ever be confirmation and my fellow agents and Colonel Barnes have taken oaths and are professionals, they'll never say anything."

Artie understood and then waited while he sent a text to Porter saying that at his wife's request, he was rescinding his plan to be involved with the initial meeting with IPF, thanking her for her support when he thought she probably wanted to say no.

He later had a response that said only, "Thank God and Artemis!" Artie smiled proudly when he showed her.

When they walked onto the beach, they saw their children playing in the water or, in Hope's case, curled up next to Victoria, both sound asleep under the Palmers' umbrella. Tim smiled as he looked at his watch, yep, naptime for Hope and Victoria.

Dad, Lu, Sophia and Mimi greeted them, asking if they'd had a good time and smiled as the couple told them some of their adventures. During a lull in the conversation, Dad quietly asked him if he was all right after Tuesday's meeting.

Tim huffed, rolling his eyes. "After I got over my annoyance and the blow to my pride, I was okay and I'm still good. I've certainly had worse treatment in my life and it's not the first time he's called me out on something. On a scale of 1:10, with 10 being the worst, I'd say this was a 1 ½ , maybe a 2. I am sorry he's ill and I wish we could help him. Have you heard an update today?"

"Not today but I saw him last night. He still looks more like one of your zombies instead of himself but he smiled and talked with me for a couple of minutes. Russell says he doesn't remember Tuesday at all. So, where do you go from here?"

Tim lifted an eyebrow. "Back to work as soon as we get home. Before then if anything comes up.

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After thanking their parents and Mimi for their time away, Artie added that Lu and Jethro needed to do the same thing.

Lu grinned, "We've been talking about that, although we'll wait until we get home."

Dad wandered in, saying, "I can't believe the kids haven't spotted you yet!"

Tim told them about the Canadian couple they'd met, "I did a background on them, they're clean. We've invited them to join us here and for the barbecue on Saturday."

"Great!"

Artie stood, looking at him. With a grin, he joined her and they walked toward the water. Within a minute, they had 4 sopping wet kids in their arms, very happy to see them, Rissa chattering about the fun they'd had and how much they missed them.

All 3 of the boys hung on tight as their parents exchanged glances. They knew it was tough for Greg and Kyle to be separated from them and now it seemed Andy had joined them. Tim wondered if he was afraid they'd gone to America or been attacked or hurt. Rissa seemed fine, but then she hadn't lost parents to comas or murder and apparently had been too young before meeting Tim to miss having a father. While Hope had been all right while they were gone, she cried when she saw them and was a very clingy little girl for several days. While they felt bad, they knew she and her siblings, needed to learn that it was all right if they left for a few days, they would return. They'd called and talked with the kids all 3 nights, they weren't sure what else they could do.

When they spoke with Andy later, he said he'd had nightmares about them being forced to go to America where they disappeared or that only one of them would return. His parents were upset when he said this, Artie because she'd always feel guilty about keeping him from Tim and Tim because it was too close to his real life experiences as a child.

They realized that the planned move had scared the children and then when the reprieve came, so did a lot of people. People they knew but who didn't usually live with them, who'd had their own homes and had to give them up to live someplace different.

That was a red flag for Greg and Kyle followed him. Andy was scared the trouble would reach them in Brambury and then in Varkiza. Rissa adjusted the fastest and they thought that might be because she had all her grandparents, great-grandparents and the rest of her family around her. Although nearly 5, she was still 'little' and wasn't expected to act like a big kid.

Everyone had dinner on the beach that evening, seated in chairs or on the sand in a big circle. When they were finished, Jimmy and Breena stood up and said in unison, "We have news to share!"

Everyone stopped to listen as Jimmy continued, "First of all, we've rented a house in Brambury, we signed a contract yesterday. We're about 2 blocks from the Manor, a little closer to the Tube station, and Ducky will live with us. Our new home is two stories with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, with a big kitchen, a patio and a great back garden. Two of the bedrooms are downstairs and one of those will be Ducky's. The other three are upstairs, one will be our room, one will be Davey and Victoria's. The third upstairs bedroom will be a nursery because we're having a new baby in January, he or she is due the 15th!"

Surprised and happy, the Palmers' family and friends cheered and the couple grinned. Davey and Victoria had known since Granducky was told and were relieved they didn't have to keep their baby a secret anymore. They were both excited about being a big brother and sister.

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When they returned to the rental that evening, Tim, Greg and Kyle called Geordie who was waiting for them in Patrick's new room. He and Nikki's brother, Eric, arrived Wednesday, their flights met by a medical transport, Nikki and Geordie. While the two patients were transported to their new care facility, called Oak Place Care Home, their siblings met them there, helping get them settled in. Geo had to get back to the embassy, but once he was off duty for the day, he and Bec returned to the facility and began putting Patrick's artwork up in his new room. Feeling a bit odd but determined, Bec introduced herself to the comatose man, and talked to him for several minutes about his family.

Now Geo was there to hold his phone so Patrick could hear Tim and the boys telling him more about their Grecian adventures and reading a few pages of Greg's current favorite book to him. Then they said goodnight, thanking Uncle Geo for helping and telling Patrick that they'd be there to see him in a few days.

Worried about the boys having nightmares, Tim stayed with them until they were asleep while Artie stayed with Rissa and Hope.

Andy woke from a nightmare about 1:30, finding his father sitting in a chair next to the bed. When Papa opened his arms, Andy climbed right into them, sitting on his dad's lap, crying while his father rocked him in his arms. Within a few minutes, Tim had all 3 boys in his arms. He finally put each one on the bed and then crawled into the middle of them where they huddled with him, eventually sleeping.

When the boys were gently questioned the next day, they admitted having watched the U.S. news on Andy's tablet. They'd seen houses and cars burning and people being carried away on stretchers, either totally covered or with bloodied parts of them visible. Kyle sobbed, "There were little kids, Daddy, Mama, like us. Some of them were walking but they were hurt and scared and crying for their mamas and papas."

Andy and Greg were also crying, Andy trying to say something through his sobs. Finally he said, "I couldn't move off it off fast enough, my hands were shaking, we saw too much. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"

At first Artie was furious but Tim thought he could understand the curiosity that had driven them to look, especially with all their relatives and friends fleeing from the dangers and hearing them talk about it.

There was no punishment stronger than the nightmares of what they'd seen, although Andy and Greg's tablets were reconfigured so they could only be used as e-readers. Their parents felt a little better when they discovered that the parental controls hadn't been tampered with, it was one of the child oriented YouTube channels that had decided to run the film. It had been closed down quickly but it was too late for the McGee boys.

When Tim and Artie finally had the full story, they learned the boys had been unable to sleep and Andy decided they could watch that particular YouTube channel, there were always fun or educational things airing on it and it was approved by their parents for all 3 of them. When Tim checked the timeframes, he told Artie they'd seen less than 3 minutes of the news clips before Andy managed to shut it down. Greg said they'd been too scared to tell anyone.

The boys were so upset, Artie's anger quickly dissipated and the couple held onto their poor boys. They'd started out to find something to watch that might help them sleep and Andy, as the oldest, had had taken the responsibility to make ensure they viewed a channel previously approved. Their only fault, if it could be called that, was to hide their fear and not tell anyone. Andy told them later that one of the reasons for their silence was that they hadn't wanted to upset anyone who might have had to go through that.

By mid-morning Saturday, the boys were calm enough to go to the beach and their parents thought a good dose of normality would help. And it did. If their uncles, aunts, cousins and friends wondered why the boys were a little clingy, no one seriously questioned it. Their parents also quietly explained about the YouTube channel. That earned all 5 of the McGee kids extra hugs which the boys much appreciated. Rissa and Hope were also appreciative, although Hope never strayed far from her parents. They took turns playing with both girls on the shore. When Hope finally went down for a nap, the couple rotated staying with her and getting in some swim time.

The group was expecting several visitors that day and found two of them already at the beach, Rusty Mayhew and Lynn Amari, the Athens probationary agent. The 2 of them had new paddle boards and had decided to get an early start. Already in the water on their boards, they came in to meet the 'civilians' of the group.

Next to arrive were the Russells, Pete, Trina, their kids, Kayla and Jared and the Vance kids' own protection detail. The two Vances were happy to see the others, although it felt strange to be with the group without their father. He was doing somewhat better but the doctors didn't want to discharge him until Monday or Tuesday, still concerned about his having lost an entire day's worth of memory.

Trina said Lydia and Marty would be over soon. "Marty's making something to bring for tonight and it wasn't ready yet."

The Vance kids found the McGees right away and nearly hugged the stuffing out of Tim. He kissed the tops of their heads, "You two all right?"

"Sort of. We know Dad is going to be all right but he's still really weak. And we know he was mean to you, Tim. That's just not right."

He chuckled, "He wasn't mean, he was decisive, there's a big difference! Don't forget he's my boss, the boss of most of us here. He has the right to not like something I do. I'm all right and I don't want you to worry about me. He was totally doing his job. He's your dad but don't forget he's also the head of an entire agency."

"Sure?"

"Positive! Now go on, have some fun. Em, Pauley, Ainsley, Callum and the Greek cousins are waiting for you as are my kids, the Italian cousins and the Russells."

Once he saw them hit the water, he told Artie he was going to introduce himself to Trina Russell, his favorite artist. With a chuckle, she said she also wanted to meet her. Taking Hope with them, they walked down the beach to the Russells' umbrella. "Mrs. Russell, welcome to the Midei- McGee-Gibbs enclave!"

The couple introduced themselves, confessing she was their favorite artist. She smiled in delight, "Thank you, it's always wonderful to meet fans and please call me Trina or I'll think Pete's mom is here! I feel like I know you. Pete, Lydia, Marty and Leon have talked about the two of you. Is this the baby you rescued in Turkey?"

Artie smiled, "Yes! She's a little shy today, we were away from the children for a few days and she wasn't very happy about that. Hope, will you say hello to Mrs. Russell?"

Hope buried her head in her bapa's shoulder for a moment before peeking out, "Hello, Miz Russell. I'm Hope McGee." She pronounced McGee the same way Ziva had, Maghee.

Trina stood and shook her hand, causing the baby to giggle. "Ah, there's the happy girl! Are you happy Mama and Papa are home?"

She got an emphatic nod for that, along with a correction, "Bapa."

Tim smiled, "The Turkish word for father is baba. She's melded it into bapa."

"Oh, I see, that's very clever, Hope!"

Pete took Tim by the shoulder and they walked down the beach a bit. As they walked, Pete told him that Leon had regained some memories of Monday and asked if Tim was all right. Tim was puzzled, "We spoke Monday but there wasn't anything 'off' in our conversation." He shrugged, "I told him my proposal was ready and asked if he wanted to see it ahead of time. He said yes and I sent it to him. Agent Russell, I knew he wasn't going to like it. My hope was that he'd have time to think about it."

"So there wasn't anything remarkable about your conversation Monday night?"

"No. I think I asked him if he was okay and he said he was tired, but that's it. Nothing like Tuesday."

"I wonder if there's some memory of Tuesday about to reveal itself and that's his concern."

Tim shook his head, "I doubt it. He's disliked other proposals of mine and things I've done or not done. He's certainly used stronger language with me than he did on Tuesday."

"Oh!" Pete chuckled, "From the way he talks about you, he makes it sound like you almost walk on water."

Blinking in shock, Tim shook his head. "No way! I'm more tech oriented than most agents and we've bonded over that, but he's also taken me to task over some of that. I'm human, make plenty of mistakes, just like everyone else. I probably should have told him what the proposal was, maybe even met with him on Monday. He must have felt blindsided, which was," Tim sighed, "what I was trying to avoid by sending it to him early. It just wasn't enough."

"Maybe he'll listen now."

Tim smiled, "Nah, I'm not going to worry him about it. He needs to concentrate on getting stronger. We need him."

"Yes, we do. He's a strong leader, best director I've experienced in my years at NCIS, not that I'm biased or anything."

Tim nodded, "Same here. Although I only worked under Morrow for 2 years and I was pretty far down the totem pole. Still, our director is a powerhouse. He gets knocked down and keeps getting up." He looked at the other agent, "Did you know Mrs. Vance?"

"Yes, she was a good friend. Leon was my team lead when I transferred here many years ago. Kayla was born here, did you know that?"

Tim shook his head, "I didn't. That's why he loves it here so much."

"Yes. And he says he was just Leon Vance, SSA here. No Directorship and he and Jackie were a young, happy couple, no formalities. He never met the SecNav before Davenport and that was fine with him. It's a lot different for him now."

Tim nodded, "It must have changed when he became the AD and again when he became the director. And then he lost Jackie, that was a horrible time for him."

Pete nodded, "Trina went over and stayed with them for several weeks, tried to help them find their way. They came here their first Christmas without her. If it hadn't been for the kids, his and ours, I think we would have been drunk the entire holiday."

Tim shuddered, "I almost lost my wife in Turkey 2 years ago during the rebellion, we were out of communication for 16 hours and the memory still makes me sick to my stomach. I can't imagine…"

"Me neither. He told me that Agent Gibbs held him together for months."

Tim nodded, "I didn't know but I'm not surprised. Dad lost his first wife and my little sister to a drug cartel when he was deployed in the first Gulf War. He knows what it takes to survive."

"And then he found you and the others. He's a lucky man."

Tim smiled, "Speaking for all his and Lu's kids, we feel pretty lucky ourselves."

Hearing someone scream, they both turned but it wasn't any of their kids or one of the group and it wasn't a scream for help. Shaking their heads, they headed back to the umbrella enclave.

The Rowes arrived in the early afternoon and were astounded by the number of people with their new friends. They knew the number was high, Artie had said it was around 50, but seeing that many people was different than hearing the number. They were introduced to the people on the beach and once in the water, introduced themselves to a few more people.

Lydia and Marty arrived around 2, greeting everyone they'd met at the Independence Day celebrations or the Morrises' parties and being introduced to those they hadn't. When Lydia commented on the number of friends and family taking refuge with them, Marty told Tim and Artie that she and Lydia had persuaded her cousin and his husband to move to London from Birmingham, Alabama, and they were over the Atlantic right now. Her cousin was an IT tech while his husband was in property management with an international firm. She said the husband was able to arrange a transfer within the firm while her cousin would be able to work remotely. She said she thought once she knew they were on the ground, she'd be able to sleep, she'd been worried about them for weeks.

The McGees nodded their understanding and Tim gestured to everyone on the beach and in the water. "We didn't have much time to worry, the director was told to get on SecNav's jet with his kids and he gave her a list of other people. The rest of our family arrived days later and everyone but Geordie and Bec came with us to Greece."

Marty looked at the crowd of people, "They can't all be staying with you! The Manor's big but still…"

Artie chuckled, "No, several of my family are here too. My mother and grandmother, who live here, my aunt and her family who live up north, my former sister-in-law and her kids, who also live in the north of Greece, my sister and brother-in-law, I think you've met them."

Marty nodded and Artie continued, "His parents, Sarah's in-laws, whom you've also met, and my uncle, his partner and their daughters, from Italy. He's a master chef. Did you meet them at James and Sarah's wedding?"

"We did, yes." She and Lydia laughed, "We know most of your family!"

"Are you enjoying living here?"

Lydia replied, "It's only been a little over a week but it's wonderful, just what we both wanted. Oh and get this, the team takes MMA lessons and I've joined them. It's great, very energizing and I really don't mind the bruises, although I feel like I should wear a sign saying 'Taking MMA classes'. Marty and I have started Greek language lessons and also learning about the culture. Marty says she could live splitting her days between the Benaki and the flea market."

They laughed at that, telling them about their 2 visits to the Benaki this week and their productive hours at the flea market.

Marty was a special favorite of Hope's and the toddler squealed happily when she saw her. Taking advantage of that, her parents slipped off for a quick swim while Hope's friends played with her.

By early evening, Pete had had an update from Vance's physicians. While the 'Monday night memory' wasn't yet a conscious memory, the doctors were encouraged that his memories were starting to return, pleased with his progress.

The hope was that Vance would be discharged Monday morning and be able to fly back to London with everyone on Tuesday. By now, Jared had changed his mind about living with the Russells and going to the International School. He didn't want to leave his dad and was relieved when Kayla agreed.

While both loved the Russell family, they were glad their father had decided to work in London. Kayla's college debut wasn't until the end of September, which gave her father several weeks to recover. In the meantime, they'd stay with the McGees and Gibbses at the Manor, at least until their dad was strong enough to move to a place of their own.

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The Lekkas family, Peter, Rhode and their children arrived at the beach about 3:00. Tim whistled his kids out of the water and they stood, nervous, excited and dripping wet as they met their mother's half-siblings, who were only a few years older than they were. The oldest Lekkas was a 19-year old girl named Maris. Next in line was Egan, a year younger than his older sister. He was followed by his brother Milos and the youngest Lekkas, Zoe, who was only 18 months older than Andy.

Andy said later he felt better when he saw they were nervous too. Their new grandfather asked to be called Pappouli and they each kissed him. Aunty Susannah and Mama were also nervous but excited to see their father and stepmother again. Sophia, Mimi, Ian, his parents, Tim and his parents were included in all the conversations. When the children were told they could go off on their own, the McGee kids took the 'new' kids to introduce them to their cousins and friends.

Next to be introduced were the rest of Artie and Susannah's Greek family: Aunt Gaia, Uncle Theo and the twins, Uncles Nikolas, Sergio and the girls, Ana and her brood of 4.

When Peter asked Jethro how many children he and Lu had, he was answered with a big grin, "We have 11 between us but only 9 of them are here." He'd gotten into the habit of including Patrick in the count. Turning toward his wife, he winked and then gave the Gibbs' family whistle. He and Tim had worked out their individual and group whistles, Tim's for his kids, Jethro's for his and Lu's kids, the group 'time for more sunscreen' whistle, the whistle for 'food's ready', the shrill 'come in closer to shore!' whistle, and the commanding, 'GET OUT NOW!", commonly referred to in the family as the freak-out whistle.

With plenty of the group's adults still in the water, the kids knew they could stay in while their Gibbs' aunts and uncles swam for shore. Laughing, 9 of the united family, plus Maggie and Ellie, approached Artie and Susannah's new family as a group, knowing Geo would be sorry he missed the roll call. Laughing with her siblings-in-law, Artie joined the lineup. As the eldest, Tony and Maggie were at the far left with Rob and Ellie on the far right, working not to roll their eyes or make faces as other members of their group took numerous photos. After the ensuing introductions, there was one photo taken, by Em, with each of them making a funny face.

That was the photo Geo and Bec saw first and the one that went up on the wall of Patrick's new room. Dad and Malu introduced each 'kid' or significant other and the Lekkas' shook their hands. Abby was standing with Freddie and when they were introduced, holding hands, as 'our daughter and son', that caused eyebrows to be lifted. The group laughed again as the Gibbses explained their slight deception, 4 of the 'kids' came into the family when Lu married Jethro and Freddie was one of those 4.

When Peter was told there were more relatives there, he asked to meet them and Tim turned, caught Aunt Claire's eye and made a circle and come over gesture with his hand. She rounded up the kids, Maisie and Liz and appeared on shore. Over the summer they'd learned a few words of Greek, enough to say hello, nice to meet you and Peter and Rhode knew enough English to welcome them to Greece and ask if they were having a good time.

Asking Mimi to translate, Maisie told them they were the previous group of 'new' relatives, although they were reclaimed rather than new. She explained that Tim and Sarah's godfather and uncle were at sea with the US Navy while their 'other' grandmother was on a speaking tour of several countries in Africa. When she said that, Tim caught an almost smirky look on Liz's face that quickly disappeared.

Dad brought Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac over to meet the new in-laws and the 2 older gentlemen smiled, both happy to be included with the family. Ducky was next and he brought the Palmers with him. When the Fornells and Porters got out of the water to meet the Lekkas, they motioned to the kids still in the water to get out, there weren't enough adults still in to watch over them. The Rowes, who were watching all this, were amused and somewhat in awe. As the Russells weren't sure who everyone was, Lydia, Marty, Kayla and Jared were narrating for them, Lydia's teammates and the Rowes, having met or at least heard of just about everyone attached to the McGees in any way in the past 2 years.

While the last of the group met the Lekkas family, Larry, Nikolas, Sergio and Cyndi got the grills going and started pulling dinner together. Everyone who'd brought something left their cooler or whatever held their offering near the grills and now Sergio and Cyndi went through everything to see what needed cooking, heating up or should be served as it was. Sergio had to translate one note, from Ana and written in Greek.

Once all the intros were over, Tim, Artie, Tony, Tobias, Malu, Dad, Barry and James joined the dinner organizers, working to get everything set up or helping to grill. Tim, Artie, Tony and Tobias enjoyed working with Nikolas again and the others let Tobias work closer with him as he'd missed Nikolas' last feast, the day of Sarah and James' wedding. The Russells and Rowes were even more impressed when they learned that Nikolas was a master chef with his own restaurant in southern Italy. When they heard that the flight between Athens and Naples was less than 2 hours, the Rowes decided to visit Sorrento for the express purpose of visiting Nikolas' restaurant.

By the time dinner was served, everyone had dried off. They moved the umbrellas so they were in a line against the sun and then they sat on their chairs, blankets and towels and feasted. Nikolas, his sous chefs Tobias, Jethro and Larry had grilled chicken and lamb as well as packets and skewers of fresh vegetables and potatoes. There were several cold salads, with fresh tomatoes, feta cheese as well as Bill's chopped salad. Maisie and Claire made potato salad with a light vinaigrette dressing that everyone loved. Lu and Mimi made a cold vegetable salad centered around green beans. Tony and Maggie made garlic bread, Greek style, with butter, green onions, a freshly made aioli that Tony made in Mimi's kitchen, more fresh garlic, chopped Kalamata olives with mozzarella or goat cheese, using the mozzarella on some loaves and goat cheese on others. They'd prepared the French-style loaves, labeling which ones had which cheese and then wrapped them in foil, keeping them in one of Mimi's coolers. They'd baked the loaves on the grills, in their foil wraps.

When Nikolas asked permission to use Tony's modified recipe in his restaurant, promising to credit him, Tony was speechless and could only nod. Nikolas chuckled, he knew his niece's brother-in-law well enough now to tease him and did just that, although he was serious about the recipe.


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

They'd finished eating their dinner, cleaned up and most of them were in the water again when Tim's phone rang with a call. James was the closest and looked at the ID. He called to his brother-in-law, "Tim, phone, better come in. I'll answer and ask them to hold."

Tim raised his arm in agreement as he worked his way to shore. James accepted the call, saying, "Timothy McGee's phone, James Powell speaking. He's in the water right now, he can call you back or you can hold. He's about 10 feet from the shore."

An amused voice said, "I'll hold, thank you, Mr. Powell."

James frowned, that wasn't the voice of the owner of the phone. When he said that to the caller, the man identified himself. Recognizing the name, James put the call on hold and using his own phone, checked the information the man gave him, also asking his father-in-law.

Jethro nodded, "Yeah, he's one of us. Let me talk with him, James, make sure I recognize his voice."

Taking Tim's phone, he pressed the talk button, "This is Agent Gibbs. Who's this?"

"Gibbs! I'm calling for McGee, but it's good to hear your voice."

"Rice…good. Just checking, here's Tim."

He'd worked with Rice several times over the years, the man had a distinctive voice, one difficult to mimic.

Tim arrived, drying his hands and face as he walked. He knew from the thumbs up from James and Dad's nod that the caller was legit.

He took the phone from his dad, smiling at him, "This is McGee."

"Agent McGee, Agent Rice with Director Vance's security team. The medical folks won't let him have his phone but he'd really like to talk with you, he's pretty insistent."

"Ok. How's he doing?"

"He's regained more of his memories from Monday and bits of Tuesday seem to be popping in. He seems very concerned about you."

"Does he want to talk face to face or over the phone, or Skype?"

"We checked, they won't let him have the phone without one of them being in the room and Skype is also out of the question. They will agree to a visitor, you'll be able to see him privately."

"All right. What time is it now? Sorry, my head's in vacation mode."

"Lucky guy! It's 1730 and visiting hours are until 2030."

"Let me get home and change, borrow a car and I'll be over."

"We've sent a car to your rental address. Agent Darmen is driving, you know him."

"I do. Might want to tell him I'm about a 7 minute walk from the rental and I need to tell the family."

"Will do. Thanks, McGee."

Tim disconnected and looked at his father. "He wants to see me, they've sent a car."

"Huh. Mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all."

Tobias was suddenly there and Tim told him what was going on. He shook his head, "I'm going with you. Gibbs, you going?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Tim tilted his head, "Dad, Tobias, I'll be fine. Tobias, one of his security team told me he's remembered Monday and parts of Tuesday."

Tobias grimaced, "Even more reason for me to be there."

Tim sighed, while he appreciated their concern, he could take care of himself! Then, once again, he remembered times he'd needed help and didn't have any. The universe must be catching up.

He quickly told Artie. Kyle and Greg were with her while Yaya Sophia played with Hope and Rissa. He smiled, "The boss is feeling a little better, wants to see me for a few minutes. They've sent a car, so I'm going home to change, don't want to show up at the hospital in my swim trunks! I'll be back no later than 8:30."

She smiled, rolling her eyes and saying, "At least you had yesterday and today off! Considering the circumstances, I guess 2 days off out of 5 isn't bad." She kissed him and he whispered something to her that made her smile even bigger. He kissed the boys, Hope, Rissa and Sophia, turned around to find Malu there with his dad. He kissed her too, "See you in a couple of hours."

He, Dad and Tobias hurried down the road. Tobias nearly ran into their rental, "Don't leave without me!"

Dad snorted and Tim grinned. His father looked at him, "You're not worried?"

"No, Rice said Vance was 'concerned' about me. He might think I've lost my mind. Uh, Dad, I'm breaking protocol here but you know I asked Tobias to be my backup and why?"

"Yeah, made sense."

"He took the plan to Sailes, who arrived in Athens Wednesday. We had a meeting late that afternoon, and I asked Secretary Porter to join us in Vance's place. I'm relying on Rule 18 for that. Anyway, we met at the Embassy, Tobias, Sailes and me in person with McKinley and SecNav on Skype and SecDef joined us."

Both eyebrows rose in surprise at that. "How did it go?"

"McKinley said I was as audacious as you, that the plan was bold and he liked it. So did Porter, Sailes and SecDef."

Dad sighed, "I'm glad you didn't tell me your plan ahead of time, I would have reacted badly. As it was, I kept my opinion to myself until I had time to think about it and I agree, it makes sense. It fits their mission and their training and the military will be working with them. Who's making the call?"

"SecDef is or has handled it, don't know if it's happened yet."

They'd reached their rental and waved to Agent Darmen in the driver's seat. The agent shook his head, smirking at their wet hair, swimsuits, damp towels and flip flops. He wished he could take a photo, show his wife proof that federal agents did actually get vacations. Occasionally. Well, some agents anyway.

When Tobias joined him, Darmen acknowledged him, "Agent Fornell. Agent McGee called to let us know you and Gibbs are joining him. Not sure you'll be allowed to see the Director, he stipulated McGee."

"I'm not worried."

Darmen looked at him, "Then, if you'll pardon me asking, why are you going? You could still be on the beach."

"Oh no, wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Fornell, if you upset the director…"

"Nothing like that is going to happen, Agent Darmen. McGee and I are partners in what Director Vance wants to discuss. Actually…" he was interrupted by his 'partner' and his old friend. "You two took long enough."

Tim snorted, "Had to rinse off and find street clothes. Only brought one set of those, church clothes and wore them in Athens. Lucky for me, we did laundry this morning. Still had to find them, did the laundry and left for the beach as soon as it was done."

"That why you're both wearing dress pants in this heat?"

"Yes."

Chuckling, Darmen set the air conditioning to maximum. When they arrived at the hospital, he dropped them off in front, "3rd floor, Room 307. Carbocci and Rice have the door."

They saw both agents as soon as they stepped off the elevator on the 3rd floor. The room was at the far end of the hall, 4 steps from the medical station.

All three checked in with the agents and Rice told them McGee and Fornell had permission from the medical staff to speak with Vance, on condition his vitals remained stable, they'd monitor from the station. Vance had been puzzled at the inclusion of Fornell but said it was all right. Rice said he'd remembered most of Tuesday morning but nothing after the meeting.

Tim rolled his neck and shoulders, forcing himself to relax. Dad squeezed the back of his neck and Fornell smirked at them. "Come on, it'll be fine. Tim, I have some news. Thought it would be better if you heard it the same time he does."

Tim resisted the urge to roll his eyes, saying, "All right."

Rice opened the door for them and in they went. Tim smiled at his boss, who was sitting up in bed staring at a book. "Good evening, sir. It's good to see you! How are you doing?"

Vance looked at him, searching his face and then sighed, visibly relaxing. "Better, now that you're here. Been having nightmares about that damn meeting."

Fornell quietly moved a visitor's chair to the far end of the small room.

Tim looked at his boss and shook his head, "Director, I knew you weren't going to like my proposal at first glance. I hoped by seeing it early, we'd have a chance to talk about it. I got it wrong, sorry."

"And I overreacted, I'm sorry."

Tim chuckled, "You are my boss and the director of the agency, you're certainly entitled to an opinion of your own. We've disagreed before and lived through it. Once I got over my hurt pride, I was good and I hope you won't worry about it either."

"Honest?"

"Honest! I'll shake on it."

Chuckling, the two shook hands as Vance heaved a sigh of relief. "I wasn't kidding when I said I'd had nightmares about it."

"I hope that was the fatigue, sir, as there really wasn't anything terrible that happened. You said you didn't like it, then you had Mayhew and Russell look at it, said you still weren't going to propose it, words to that effect, and that was it."

"What happened after that? Not with me, I know I ended up here later that day."

Tim smiled, "When we got back to Varkiza, Artie and I had a surprise, 3 nights to ourselves in a hotel in Athens, nearly 4 days being us, not Mama and Papa!"

"No wonder you're so mellow about the mess. Did you have fun?"

"I did, even if Fornell here interrupted us."

Fornell stepped forward, making a face, "Luckily, he doesn't mean literally! Do you remember Director Sailes coming in to see you?"

"He was really here? I thought that was a dream. He came in, said something about McGee asking Porter to sit in on some meeting in my place and that made me happy."

Tim tilted his head, "Happy is a good thing!"

Tobias nodded, "It is and Sailes told Tim what you said. He'd called me late Monday and I'd told him I was going to your meeting as backup for Tim. We talked again Wednesday morning, he was in London to spend some time with his family and they ended up coming here for a few days. When he arrived in Athens, he asked to see Tim's proposal and since I had a copy and you'd already turned it down, I gave him the copy. I got out of the way while he read it but eventually he caught up with me, saying he'd set up a Skype meeting with McKinley and asked me to ask McGee if he'd join us. We ended up meeting in the U.S. Embassy and once Tim agreed to go, he felt that someone from NCIS with higher rank than him should be there. He contacted your boss who agreed."

He paused to take a breath and Tim looked at Vance, "I'm a very new SSA, didn't feel right not to have director level representation. I decided I'd invoke Rule 18, better to ask forgiveness than permission. Secretary Porter didn't seem bothered by my asking."

Vance nodded, "I'm glad you did."

"Thanks. Anyway, she was at Langley with McKinley and while I was presenting the plan, Secretary Cyrus walked in. Long story short, they liked the plan although, like you, Tobias and Gibbs, they also hated it. SecDef took it upon himself to contact the head of IPF. Tobias, you said you had news?"

"I do, good news. Sailes had a call from SecDef that IPF has accepted the assignment. In fact, the head guy, Sifts, said they'd already started, working 'unofficially'. He also agreed to the restrictions in working with the military. The Joint Chiefs have signed off on it too."

Tim sighed in relief, "I hope they're as good with our real enemies as they are stalking the innocent."

Tobias looked puzzled and Vance was frowning. Tim looked at them, "What?"

Fornell said, "You wanted to go, to say the words to IPF. Sailes said not alone and Secretary Porter amended that to an electronic presence only. She made that a direct order, Tim."

Tim nodded, "My wife brought me back to reality. When I told her that I would be on Skype, she asked if it was necessary. I told her why I wanted to be there and she asked me not to do it, not even electronically. I let Secretary Porter know. Her response was, 'Thank God and Artemis'. Sorry, I didn't think of it again."

"Your father doesn't know about that part?"

"No."

Vance sighed, "Ok, now that makes sense. I couldn't figure out why he didn't have you hogtied in a closet somewhere, there is no way in hell Leroy Jethro Gibbs would have allowed you to go. I know I'd never let Kayla or Jared do something like that, don't care how old they get to be."

Tim tilted his head, "It was one of my wilder ideas, but it seemed right at the time, completely justified. And I never planned to be alone. How would anyone think I had the authority to hand another agency a mission like that, or any mission?"

Vance nodded, patting his forearm. "Thank you. I appreciate the update, that's good news. Now Tobias, I need to speak with my agent privately. I hear the good coffee's in the doctor's lounge, why don't you and Jethro go find that – and have some for me, too."

Fornell nodded to both of them and left the room. Tim settled into his chair. "How are you really doing?"

Leon shook his head, "Better but this…it's going to take more than a month before I'll be allowed back into the office. My new office. And this medical staff has already been in touch with doctors in London that I haven't even met! There's such a thing as Expatriates Health Insurance, do you have that?"

Tim nodded, "We were on it through Bedford and then transitioned from that back to the NCIS plan in June, so I didn't need it. You don't either, this is clearly job related!"

"Yeah, you're right. Anyway, I'm not going to be able to do much for at least 8 weeks and then they want to 'ease' me back into work. Tim, I need help with the agency, big help, so I've asked Joel to take on the Assistant Directorship. He'll continue with some of his regular duties but he won't be in the field. Which means Childers will have more responsibilities than a normal SFA.

"Couple things here for you. For the duration, you'll report directly to Secretary Porter. She knows about everything we've done and planned for the Investigatory Agent program and she and I both think making you a direct report is the best situation for you and Joel.

"Secondly, the London team needs two additional field agents and for one of those agents, I'd like you to recommend the transfer of whoever you want next for the INV position. That agent will first serve on the London field team and then move into the program there. Being in the squad room with you, Bishop and Piro, while he's training there, should give that agent a better idea of what the program is all about.

"That's all I have. Oh, they've cleared me to return to London with you on Tuesday because Drs. Palmer, McGee and Mallard will be with us." He grimaced, "I might not be able to go to Cambridge with Kayla. And that's 6 weeks away."

Tim looked at him, "Dad and Lu told Kayla they'd go with her if you couldn't, hope that's all right. Jared will probably go too. Maybe when they get there, they can either video chat with you so you can see everything or they can record everything. Leon, I don't know if other arrangements have been made, but we're planning on you and Jared staying with us, and Kayla on weekends and breaks from school."

"Thank you, that's a relief. But is there enough room?"

"Yes, you'll have the extra suite downstairs. Until Kayla leaves for school, she can have the extra bedroom and Jared can share Andy's room. Ducky and the Palmers are moving into one of the Airbnb homes in Brambury, they signed a year's lease, via fax, on Thursday. They'll move right in when we get home."

"Will that leave room for guests or anyone else taking refuge?"

"We'll manage, I'd rather you not worry about that. The only other folks who are staying on are LJ, Mac, Freddie, Joe, Bill and Barry. Dad has some ideas about adding rooms to the Manor, in the attic or basement. He's been emailing with our landlord."

"All right, I won't worry about that, then, it's all under control and it is your house, after all! When does school start?"

Tim smiled, "How about we talk about all that once we get home. Shouldn't you be relaxing more, not worrying about work?"

Leon laid his head back on the pillow. "I am tired. Damn it!"

"You know, when I get sick or hurt, it seems like the more I resist what I'm supposed to do, the harder it is and the longer it takes me to get better."

Vance gave a weak snort, "Been around Mallard too long! All right, I am tired, guess you'd better go. I'll see you at the airfield Tuesday."

"The airfield, not the airport?"

Vance nodded, "SecNav's in Belgium again. She's sending the jet to give us a ride to London."

"Awesome!"

"Yeah but I'm forgetting something…is somebody going elsewhere?"

"Yes, Agents DiNozzo, Barnes and Colonel Barnes, are flying to Marseille."

"Yeah, that's it. We're dropping them off."

"Great!" Tim stood, looking at Leon who looked exhausted. "Rest up and I'll see you in 3 days."

"Thanks, Tim."

Tim left the room, glad he wasn't Joel Morris, who'd essentially just been handed the agency to run for a couple of months.

He walked past his father and Fornell, gesturing with his head. He'd forgotten Darmen would be waiting to take them back to Varkiza, so he kept his mouth shut.

He'd no sooner walked in the house than his phone rang, Secretary Porter. "Tim, Leon said he thought he told you about the jet, is that right?" As he listened, Tim moved into the back yard, under a shade tree. He sat on a bench, working to strip his shirt off.

"Yes, ma'am, he did, including a stopover in Marseille."

"Oh?"

"Agent DiNozzo is the new SAIC there, Agent Barnes the new Intel Analyst and her father is with them."

"Wonderful. All right, the jet will be at the airfield by 1400, they'll be ready to depart by 1600."

"Great, thank you, ma'am! We'll be there by 1500, maybe a little earlier as there are a lot of us to check in. How long will you be over here?"

"We'll fly home Sunday evening and probably be back again week after next. Tim, are you all right with the changes, reporting to me?"

"Yes, as Leon said, you know everything about the program, what our plans are and you have our reports to date, I believe we'll be in a good place."

"That's good but I really meant you."

Tim was surprised, "Ma'am? We already have a working relationship, I'm happy to extend it."

"Good! I'll be in London Thursday afternoon for Joel's swearing-in ceremony and would like to meet with you afterward."

"That's fine, is the ceremony happening in the office?"

"Yes, in the briefing room there. He'll be moving into Leon's new office leaving his old office empty. You should consider taking it. You have 3 ½ agents reporting to you, I'm counting the agent we'll transfer once you make your recommendation and frankly, you'll need an office. It's big enough to hold meetings for your onsite staff and those will need to be separate from the field teams."

"I'll take it, ma'am! I already know who I'd like transferred, I plan to speak with Agent Childers tomorrow to ensure my candidate also matches her needs. That'll give her a chance to do her own research."

"Great, that's a relief, Timothy! I'll see you Thursday afternoon then."

She chuckled as she disconnected. Leon was right, McGee would have made a great Assistant Director but he needed a little more experience, a little more seasoning. She had no doubt that if he ever led the agency, they'd all thrive.

Tim picked up his shirt and headed back inside to the air conditioning. His father was in the living room, in shorts, sandals and pressing a cold bottle of beer to his face. Tim started to sit down, thought better of it, grabbed a cold bottle of lemonade and returned to the living room. "We're the only ones home, right?"

"Yeah. What's the news?"

"Vance won't be allowed to return to work for at least 2 months and then only part-time. He's making Joel Assistant Director and I'm reporting directly to SecNav for the duration. Joel will move out of the field but still handle some of his office related duties. Bec will be SFA with some additional duties and will transfer in 2 more agents. I've been asked to recommend one of her new agents from my list of INV candidates. When Leon returns to work or whatever happens, that agent will move over to the program. And I get Joel's office! He's moving to Leon's new office."

Dad carefully swallowed the mouthful of beer he'd just guzzled and sighed. "That's a relief, been worried they were going to stick you with it!"

"Me? Dad, I'm just getting into management and would have no clue how to run the agency! If they'd done that, I think I would have said no, quit if I had to."

"How do you feel about reporting to SecNav?"

Tim shrugged, "Other than last week, I haven't worked with her much but it feels like I've been around her, electronically or in person, a lot in the last few months. I guess since she told us about Hope. I think I'll be fine reporting to her."

He tugged at his father's arm, "Come on, let's get back to the beach!"

"Good idea!"

As they walked, Tim realized he hadn't mentioned the free ride back to London but decided to wait and tell everyone at the same time. He'd learned that with the airlines they normally flew on, instead of cancelling a flight, they'd ask to reschedule. Sometimes the change cost them a small fee but it was still worth it. He'd tell everyone to process their change, or make their phone calls, this evening, well within the 48 hours required notice. He thought about future dates and decided it would be easier to reschedule around the same time next year. He pulled out his phone and looked at his calendar, mentally noting the dates.

The two laughed at the cheers from the kids when they spotted them approaching the beach. Artie relaxed when she saw Tim's smile, nothing new was wrong, that was excellent!

Before he waded into the water, Tim called all the London and Marseille travelers together. "I have some good news for us. Kayla, Jared, you might know this already but your father has been cleared to return to London with us. The second bit is that Secretary of the Navy Porter is in Belgium this week and is sending her jet to take us from Athens to Marseille, where the Barnes-DiNozzos will leave us, and then on to London."

He waited until the excitement died down before saying, "Listen up, here's what you need to do for the commercial flight. Vances, we can do this together if you'd like. We won't cancel our flights, we'll reschedule. Now, that might cost a small fee, I don't think we've ever had to pay more than $30 but it's still cheaper than losing whatever you paid. Because we'll be in the UK for the next year, I think the easiest thing to do is book a trip here in July 2018. For my family, our kids will be out of school July 20th, so that will be our departure date and we'll fly home August 3rd, that's 2 full weeks. If you'd prefer to book a flight to somewhere else or for another time, that's your choice, this is just a suggestion!"

Larry raised his hand, "Would you suggest that if we do book for here, we also book our lodging?"

"Not a bad idea, as long as you don't mind paying a year ahead of time."

Larry looked at Cyndi, and she nodded. "Tim, Artie, we've decided to do a little more exploring before returning to London. After seeing more of Greece and an island or two, we want to see more of Italy."

Sergio and Nikolas, who'd been listening, cheered, calling out, "Come to Sorrento!"

"Yes, thanks, our goal is to visit your town, your family and your restaurant."

With a laugh, the Rowes said they planned to do that too. The Costas family beamed, excited about new friends and new visitors. Tim smiled as he noticed the Rowes and Porters talking animatedly together and with Nikolas and Sergio.

Having delivered his news, Tim ran for the water, Dad and the older kids joining him. While Andy and Greg dived into the waves with their grandfather and Kyle stopped to play with Davey Palmer, Tim stopped to lift Marissa into his arms. "Want to go out a little farther with me?" He'd noticed she had a life jacket on, he'd find out later what prompted that.

"Yes!" Rissa was fearless, so much so that her parents had some very strict rules for her. One was not going past getting her knees wet in the ocean without an adult. Not a big kid or an older cousin, it had to be a full-fledged adult. She was a good swimmer but the fearless, adventure-loving not quite 4-year old was enough to strike fear into any parent's heart.

"Ok, here we go!" Tim walked out farther than she'd been before and then, still holding onto her, they swam parallel to the shore. They waved at Rissa's mama a few times. After a few minutes, they moved closer to shallower waters near the shore, where father and daughter played together for nearly an hour.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They were still in the water when Tim spotted Liz walking on the street toward them, a familiar figure with her. He'd forgotten about her smug look, now he grinned as he realized Penny was with her! Yelling, "Penny's here!", he carried Rissa right out of the water with him. He put his flip-flops on before crossing the hot sand to his godmother and grandmother. Liz took Rissa as she didn't have any shoes on while Tim wrapped his arms, his wet arms, around Penny. She laughed, embracing her sopping wet grandson. Finally letting go, she held her arms out for Rissa who thought it was funny that she wasn't allowed to stand. When she went back into her father's arms, the quartet walked down to the umbrella enclave where Penny was happily greeted by her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the rest of their large family and friends.

She was surprised, but relieved to see LJ and Mac, she hadn't heard they'd joined the Gibbs-McGees. Nor had she been told that Tony, Maggie and Maggie's father were transferring to Marseille to live and work there. Maisie, Liz and Claire had decided to tell her only the basics so she wouldn't worry too much. She was glad to see that Rob's girlfriend was there and that Joe's girlfriend wasn't. Although she'd only met her once, she'd taken an instant dislike to the woman. She'd told Lu she thought the woman was some kind of 'gold digger', out to take financial advantage of Joe and Lu agreed.

She was through with her tour early as there'd been an outbreak of an infectious disease in two of the last cities on her lecture tour and all public events had been cancelled. She shook her head when someone asked if it was Ebola. "No, thank heavens! It's measles, which is bad enough but at least it can be prevented and treated without fatalities."

Breena frowned, "I thought the vaccine was everywhere now!"

Penny nodded, "Everyone thought that. But some poor souls weren't vaccinated, for whatever reason, and that was enough. Because the disease hasn't been a threat for 20 years, the theory is that whoever was patient Zero didn't know what they had."

"Are they all right?"

"Yes, there have been no reports of encephalitis. I'm given a round of vaccinations before my tours, so I'm not sick nor can I pass anything on."

Artie, who'd been napping when Penny arrived, was happy to hear that, slipping through the crowd to welcome her. The crowd laughed at Penny's face when Tim said he needed to contact the Secretary of the Navy to let her know Penny was with them.

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**SUNDAY**

Sunday morning, Tim said he was too tired to go to church. Artie agreed and they called Mimi, laughing when she said the same thing. Once their household was awake and dressed, they walked to Mimi's for breakfast.

Tim and Artie relaxed with the kids, feeling like they hadn't had a chance to really talk with them since their return from Athens. Now they caught up with everything the kids had done the days they were gone.

When they finished with their tales of fun and adventure, Tim said, "You know we're having dinner at our place again tonight?"

They nodded, they were looking forward to having their grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts and cousins to themselves.

The 4 adults spent some time prepping for their dinner that night, with the kids' help. They'd grill again and the tables were already in the back yard. They would be wiped down and covered with paper tablecloths but not until the grills were going. After they'd done as much as they could, everyone changed and they headed for the beach.

During another full afternoon on the beach and in the waves, they concentrated on having fun and making new memories together as Nikolas, Gaia, Ana and their families were leaving for home tonight and tomorrow would be the last full day for everyone else. They'd do some packing tomorrow so they could have more time on the beach Tuesday.

Late that afternoon, the combined family gathered in the backyard of the McGee-Gibbs' rental for their last vacation dinner together. They'd rigged a series of large canopies to keep the sun off the table and there were electric fans keeping the air moving and most of the bugs away.

While their dinner was cooking, Tim, Penny, Maisie, Jim, Dave, Greg and Kyle slipped into the house to call Patrick again. Geordie was on the other end and that made them all happy. He updated the boys with the location of their drawings and photos, saying Ms. Nikki had taken pictures before their father was moved and she'd printed them so that Geordie and Bec followed her photos when putting their wall art and pictures up in the new room. That was above and beyond, the boys and Tim had planned to do that when they returned from vacation.

With so many people there to speak with the comatose man, he didn't have a story read to him but Greg promised they'd read to him in person when they got home, reminding his sleeping father that he lived in the UK now, just like they did. Everyone said hello and a few words to him. Tim noticed that the others spoke to Geordie just as he and the boys did.

Back at the house, their prep work earlier paid off as dinner was prepared. They were once again grilling, with plenty of delicious looking side dishes.

It was different this year, no one was too sad about saying goodbye. Knowing their American family wasn't leaving Europe made it easier for those leaving for home that evening and easier for those who still had a day left of vacation. The children had already decided they'd see their cousins at Easter – or maybe sooner!

It would be hard to say goodbye to Uncle Tony, Aunt Maggie and Uncle Colonel, a nickname he'd picked up from one of the kids, when they left them in France, but the kids knew they'd see them more than 3 times a year now. They would come for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Papa said they'd go to France to visit them, too.

**MONDAY, July 31st**

Monday was split between packing, cleaning the rental, visiting with Mimi and Sophia, looking at Andy and Rissa's baby photos, and the beach. The kids helped with the cleaning and then Yaya and Mimi took them to the beach while Mama, Papa, Grandma and Grandpa packed. When everything was eventually done, they played in the waves and relaxed under the umbrellas.

Everyone brought leftovers to the beach for their last dinner together. Things got a little messy but there was plenty of sea water to help clean them. Finally, the group split for the evening.

The Porters said goodbye as they were leaving early Tuesday morning for another adventure. After their visit to Italy, they'd return to Brambury. They weren't sure yet if they were returning to the U.S., they'd been in touch with their Department Heads at MIT. While Massachusetts had its share of crimes, so far there hadn't been any murderous attacks associated with the domestic terrorists. Still, there was concern for the safety of the students and faculty. Cyndi told Artie they would probably go home but keep bags packed for a quick exit, either to the UK or the 4 hour drive to the Canadian border.

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TUESDAY

Artie and Susannah spent Tuesday morning with their mother at her apartment. It was a pleasantly sized one bedroom with big windows in the living area and bedroom, lots of natural light, drapes to keep the heat out, enough counter and storage space in the kitchen and stylish, although comfortable, furniture and decor.

With an air of elegance, it was the perfect size for Sophia and her daughters felt at home. They especially liked their mother's choice of photos. While there were photos of Sophia's 3 children, there were none with Kosmos in them. There were also several photos of Susannah and Artie as grown women, from their weddings and with Artie's children. One of their favorites was a photo taken at the beach, with Ana, the 2 sisters, their husbands and all the grandchildren.

They had coffee and tea at her kitchen table, with the door to her balcony open. There was a small table and 2 chairs out there but not enough room for a 3rd chair. When they parted, all 3 women were satisfied and happy with their relationship.

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After several hours at the beach, it was time to go. Returning to their vacation rentals, everyone cleaned up, changing into their travel clothes. The McGees' rental van led the string of Uber vehicles to the airfield. Once the rental had been returned, they checked in with the flight crew, happy to find the 3 Vances already aboard and soon were on their way home.

Knowing they would see the DiNozzo-Barnes trio at Thanksgiving made things a little less difficult to say goodbye when they reached Marseille, but as Jethro told his son, it was never easy. Tony found it exceedingly strange to be the first off the jet and he stood watching until it took off again.

As the jet landed at the airfield in the UK, Uber vehicles arrived to take the senior Powells and the Clachers to the airport for their flights to Manchester and Edinburgh. Geordie and Big Blue were also there, to take the the Vances, Palmers, McGees, Ducky, LJ, Mac and most of the luggage home. The rest took what remained of the luggage, took the train to Brambury and an Uber from the train station to the Manor.

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On their arrival at the Manor, Drs. Jimmy, Rob and Nurse Claire got Leon settled in Sarah and James' suite and then took the man's vitals, recording them for the new physician as well as the medical folks in Greece.

He'd slept nearly the whole way and his pulse rate, temperature, blood pressure and respiration rate all reflected that. Jimmy said later he thought the man was relieved to be out of the hospital and back in more familiar territory and that had helped his physical condition. Kayla decided to stay in the suite's extra bedroom until she left for Cambridge. Then Jared would move downstairs to occupy that room.

Ducky and the Palmers' new home was less than a half mile from the Manor, a relief to all concerned. Liz, Penny and the Hubbards settled into their Airbnb while they started their house hunts. The Fornells were right next door to them.

Ellie and Abby were both staying at the same residential hotel in London as the Piros and Nikki Jardine, although Ellie stayed at Rob's flat when he was off duty. As Bec was also staying at the hotel, she, Abby, Nikki, Ellie and the Piro family became better acquainted.

With Vance installed in their home and unable to do much, the McGees decided to postpone their trip to Denmark and Norway until the kids' half-term holiday the following June.

Tim went into the office very early Wednesday, had a brief meeting with Joel, moved into the man's former office and was there to greet his 2 new INV agents when they arrived. He showed Ellie around the office, Race had already had his tour, bringing them into his new office to talk. There he told them about the temporary changes. Although the changes wouldn't directly affect them, he wanted them to know what was happening in the office and with the agency.

As Race had already completed his pre-training work and had been working for the past two weeks, Tim released him to continue working. He would have another two or three weeks of on-the-job training here in London before his final training evaluation and move to whichever European office he chose to work in.

When Race returned to his desk, Tim excused himself to Ellie, he would be out of the office until mid to late afternoon. He gave his new INV agent the position description and the same pre-training material Ned and Race had been through. He told her that the next case they were on, she'd work with him, observing and contributing.

He met Artie at her doctor's office and was glad when they were ushered in almost immediately. After explaining what they hoped to do, the doctor went through the details with them, encouraged that they had consultations already set up with three gestational clinics. With the doctor's permission, Tim recorded the conversation on his phone, afraid that one of the many details would slip by them. The doctor agreed that as long as they were using birth control protection, not pills, patches or a shot, Artemis' hysterectomy could be postponed for a few weeks. She reviewed the success ratios for in vitro fertilization, according to what was implanted in their gestational carrier – fresh eggs, frozen eggs or fresh or frozen embryos. Keeping that in mind, they quickly grasped that the most time sensitive issue was finding their gestational carrier, going through all the steps required for surrogacy and getting the carrier's cycles synced with Artie's.

As they left the office, a stack of documents about in vitro and surrogacy in Tim's briefcase, they admitted to relief that they'd set up consultations for the same day. Artie chuckled, "Otherwise, I think we'd be looking up addresses and pounding on doors!"

Tim nodded, making a mental note to review their health coverage in the probably vain hope some of the expenses would be covered. Then he reminded himself they were already prepared to pay for it all, except for Artie's partial hysterectomy, which would be covered. The doctor strongly encouraged a partial, emphasizing that meant her hormones would still be active for several more years. Her problems involved only her uterus and the doctor was loath to remove healthy tissue.

Arriving at the first surrogacy/gestational center a little early, they were welcomed and invited on a tour before their 'guide' met with them. They smiled at each other, there wasn't that much to see but it was smart to offer the tour, engaging their interest right away. The waiting room was modern but comfortable and the mood was tranquil, with light background music. Their tour guide told them a little about the operations of the center and returned them to the waiting room just as their guide walked in. She answered some questions, mostly about meeting and agreeing on a surrogate along with all the pre-work, counseling, physical exams, paperwork, necessary. With a smile, she took them to what looked like a break room, offering them beverages. Another woman joined them, saying she was a surrogate with the center. Having just given birth, she wouldn't be allowed to carry another embryo for several months but would be happy to answer their questions.

They left that clinic feeling less apprehensive. The second one was similar, although smaller in size and the woman they met there was in her 3rd surrogacy. The difference in costs between the 2 centers was small enough to dismiss it. As Tim still had some time before he had to return to the office, they took the Tube to the 3rd clinic, at least they could see the outside, maybe poke their heads into the lobby.

The clinic was listed on a building directory next to the elevators and they rode up three floors. When they walked in, there were 3 women in the waiting room, all in various stages of pregnancy. They were asked by someone in a uniform if they had an appointment and for what date. When they said it was next week, they'd just come to take a look, not expecting to speak with anyone, the woman was quite short with them. They left, thinking they might return for their appointment but at the moment were mentally crossing the place off their list. The waiting room was shabby, the nicest description. They didn't expect brand new or luxurious furniture, but the chairs were worn, some were torn, the floor was dirty and there was an unpleasant smell. The floor and the smell, more than the woman's attitude (it might just have been a bad day for her), helped them make up their minds and they agreed to cross #3 off their list. They made sure to formally cancel, not wanting any bills sent them for not showing up. When Tim later compared their statistics with the other clinics, he told his wife they'd made a good decision.

He left Artie at his stop on the Tube, heading back into the office, happy to see he'd been gone less time than scheduled. Grabbing a quick bite, he ate and drank before asking Bishop to join him in his office again.

Asking how her morning had gone and if she had any questions, she shook her head, "I worked with Race on a case for Rota, I handled some input after watching what he was doing. At this point, we were just getting the basics and that's familiar. Pam gave me copies of the requirements for each country, Race says you call it our bible."

Tim nodded, "Bible or playbook, yes; they are our rules for operating in each of our European jurisdictions. I'll get you copies of the playbooks Ned and I put together for the Asian and Australasian offices too. I keep them online but I also have paper copies, tabbed by country, in that huge binder on top of my credenza. We plan to update them every quarter. It won't be so tricky here but in the other offices, we have to watch for changes to various laws. Our Legal Departments do a great job keeping on top of that."

She shook her head, "That's good to know. So, for instance, if the US Supreme Court decides law enforcement needs a warrant to track cell phones, our legal folks will tell us?"

Tim nodded, "Yeah and in that case, pray they have a workaround!"

"So if I'm working on a case for Rota and the crime scene is in Portugal, then we follow the laws of Portugal? That makes sense. Back home, working on a case outside of the U.S. is a big deal, here it's an everyday occurrence."

"Yes. It's not as nasty as it could be, in Europe most countries have similar laws, but I imagine on continents where countries don't have as much shared history, are not as cooperative or stable, following the laws of multiple countries will give us a headache. Lucky for us, the field team leader decides the country of jurisdiction. If we have questions, we ask, if there's a problem, we go to Legal for answers. Haven't had that happen yet but we came close once, which is why we have a procedure set up." Tim smiled, "And to make things even more interesting, we now have more home ports for more USN ships outside of U.S. territorial waters."

"So more sailors in more places."

"Yup."

She laughed, "I love challenges!"

Tim grinned, "I know and I'm glad you've joined us! Now, we do have a few personal issues to talk about but I think once we've figured things out, life will be easier for you, me and Rob."

She nodded, having expected this. He raised the issue of their personal relationship and urged the need for discretion as far as their work and their dealings with each other. "Although I think it's Rob who's going to have to learn to keep what you say to himself and not bring it up to me if he thinks something is wrong. He and I have discussed it. It'll be tricky for the 3 of us but to make this work, we need to find a way to keep work at work and he needs to learn not to approach me with problems he thinks you're having. If you have a problem, whether it's with the work, with me or anyone else, I expect you to tell me so we can figure things out. The same thing applies to me, if I have a problem with you, I need to let you know and not involve Rob. Although we're all adults, I realize this is a first for the three of us, working so closely with family and I'm sure there will be some bumps in the road. However, I'm confident we can do this."

Buoyed by his words, Ellie agreed and then asked a few questions. They began to put together a strategy that would allow them to work together without creating personal or professional problems.

From that, they segued to Bishop's training and they worked together for a solid hour. As they worked, they found themselves returning to the trainee-trainer relationship developed between them when Ellie formally joined NCIS. That helped immensely and when he was satisfied with her progress, Tim told her so. She returned to her desk happy, relieved and looking forward to the challenge!

There was an agency-wide meeting later that afternoon, recorded for employees in different time zones, with Secretary Porter on Skype announcing that NCIS headquarters had been moved to London, told the employees that Leon Vance was convalescing from a serious, although not life-threatening, illness and that Joel Morris, SAIC of the London office, had been appointed Assistant Director and would be managing the agency until Director Vance returned to work. She also announced the opening of the Hamburg, Germany office, to be led by Roger Martinez, the former SAIC of the Marseille office and that the new SAIC for the Marseille office was Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. Mentioning the new sub-office in Antwerp, Belgium, she gave an opening date 12 weeks off.

From there, she segued to a brief update of the Investigatory Agent pilot program, announcing that INV agents, led by their team lead Senior Supervising Agent Timothy McGee, were now successfully operating in Singapore, London and one additional European office. Finally, she thanked them for their hard and smart work, giving some recent statistics as to successfully closed cases, adding that with the current problems in the United States, their continued diligence and dedication was more important than ever.

Tim hadn't expected to be mentioned by name, that was a nice surprise. However, he was more pleased by the SecNav's plug for the program and was once again grateful for Leon's foresight in placing an INV agent in Singapore. He'd have to study the numbers but thought the next INV agent should go to the Far East Field Office (FEFO), that is, after the field/INV agent who'd be added to Bec's team. If they brought on 3 agents at the same time, one could go to FEFO, one could go to the Southwest or Northwest offices and of course, the one here. He'd probably have to train 2 of them remotely, which made him uncomfortable. Dorneget, Piro and Bishop were co-workers, he knew how they worked and hadn't thought twice about sending Ned and Race the training workbook. However, the next round would likely be agents he didn't know personally. He'd have to think about that.

Later in the week, he, Dad, Sarah and the boys paid another visit to Patrick in his new care facility. It was a nice place, with space in the room for multiple visitors, comfortable furnishings for visitors and ambulatory residents. Once again, Patrick was sharing a room and Tim smiled when he saw his roommate, Nikki's brother Eric. They put up new photos and drawings, told Pat more about their trip and why he'd been moved to London and then read a chapter of the book they'd started when calling from Greece.

Tim was relieved to see his brother in person. He'd been grateful for all the help given by their volunteers but now he felt good that he and the boys could see Pat in person at least every week if not more often. After some discussion, he and the boys decided they'd still visit on Sundays. Tim also checked with Nikki, thinking it might be easier if they didn't visit their brothers on the same day. She agreed, telling him at home she'd visited her brother during the week and would continue that. Along with privacy, it also meant Patrick and Eric were guaranteed visitors twice a week. Nikki laughed when Tim asked if she'd mind if the boys read to Eric, replying that she'd love it and appreciated the offer. She said she'd send a list of her brother's favorite books to him.

While Tim reviewed the list of INV candidates, he didn't have a chance to do much as his team was swamped over the next several weeks. They worked with the field teams on every continent but Antarctica to find suspected murderers, kidnappers, terrorists, rapists, money launderers, embezzlers and other miscreants. He also didn't have time to fight against the terrorists at home and that bothered him.

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While he was swamped at work, his children returned to school, Jared, Ainsley and Callum starting classes at the secondary and low secondary (middle) schools. Emily and her friend Pauley were accepted, under special circumstances, to the University of London. Required to live on campus their first year, the two young women were excited to move into campus housing, while secretly being relieved they wouldn't be far from their family and friends.

Returning to the first Gestational Clinic, the McGees signed a contract with them and then met with several candidates for their gestational carrier. When they knew which carrier they wanted to approach, the three of them and the woman's spouse met. From there, the McGees, their chosen carrier and her husband had counseling sessions to ensure they were as well prepared as possible for the challenges ahead.

Their gestational carrier, a woman in her late 20s named Kadie, had already delivered two healthy children. The first was her own child and she'd been a surrogate for the second child. Her husband, an affable man named Harry, reminded Artie so much of Tim that she had to work not to laugh during their meetings.

After the counseling, they got busy with legal agreements and documents. In the meantime, the doctors gave Kadie and Artie medication to get their menstrual cycles synchronized. When that happened, Artie's eggs were harvested and were fertilized in the lab by Tim's sperm and then implanted in Kadie. Now, they waited.

In the meantime, the world continued. Over the weeks they worked through toward conception, the new residents of the Manor continued to settle into their new home and the established residents continued to adapt to the others. Although Tim and Artie told Sophia, Mimi, Lu and Jethro that they were pursuing in vitro fertilization with a gestational carrier, no one else knew. Once Kadie was pregnant and with more of Artie's eggs frozen and available if this pregnancy failed, Artie's doctor scheduled her patient's partial hysterectomy for the week after Rissa's birthday.

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Leon's recovery was progressing much slower than he'd hoped and to his dismay, he was not allowed to escort his daughter to Cambridge at the end of September. Gibbs, Lu and Jared went with Kayla, staying over the weekend, making sure she was comfortable with her lodging, having a Skype call with her dad so he could meet her roommate, see her room and the campus. They stayed until after her orientation and when she took them on another tour, showing them the buildings she'd be in her first day of classes, they were confident enough to leave her. The young woman was relieved and grateful they'd come with her, standing in for her father. She kissed them goodbye when they left, promising to call her father after her first day of classes.

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Using the algorithms Tim developed to track INV participation in individual cases, at the end of the quarter, September 30th, the INV pilot program had a 98.5% success ratio, participating in 635 cases in Europe and 297 in Asia. The field teams they'd worked with were happy, many stating in their evaluations that the perpetrators were arrested days, even weeks, earlier with the help of their INV agent(s).

SSAIC Owens, who led the Far East Field Office housed in Japan, begged for an INV agent for his complex of offices. Ned was doing his own begging, the European INV agents had pitched in to work with him on several cases.

In the meantime, Agents McGee and Childers selected an additional field agent for the London team, one who would eventually move to the INV program. When the two of them contacted the agent with the offer, they smiled as they saw his relief. "Thank you! When's my report date? I'm already packed, had to leave my place in a hurry 2 weeks ago when my neighbors were gunned down by terrorists, their homes burned to the ground. I returned once the defense squad was there, packed up and got the heck out of there."

Bec frowned, "Do you have a safe place to stay? We usually give a month to prepare but if you can get everything done, come earlier, just let us know so you'll have a place to stay at this end."

"Thanks, I've been moving around, staying with friends but I don't want to bring trouble to them."

Tim looked at him, "Agent Esposito, you're in the DC Field Office, right?" The man nodded and Tim continued, "My family has a home in Arlington, currently occupied by a couple of Marines, but there is plenty of room for more residents. Contact Agent Rick Carter aboard the Navy Yard, I'll let him know you'll be calling. Do you have family?"

"I'm divorced with no kids. However, my parents and younger sister live in Richmond. My sister is a special needs young adult, which terrifies me in this environment."

When Tim and Bec started working to find a field/INV agent, one of the things she learned was that the INV program had emergency funds, approved by the SecNav, to include up to three family members, aside from spouses and children, in the transfer.

Neither of them had known if those funds existed for field transfers and when they asked, the answer was 'sort of'. For transferring field agents, airfare and one week's housing would be paid for family members who weren't spouses or children of the agent and there was fine print that the airfare for those family members would be owed to the agency. Because the INV program was limited in the numbers of agents needed, there was more leeway.

Because Esposito would be both, they'd have to figure out how to classify his transfer to ensure he'd qualify for the extended funds under the INV program but now, with a quick look between them, Agents Childers and McGee decided to figure that out after the call.

"There's room for the four of you at the house in Arlington, too. And If you want, we'll include them in your transfer."

"You can do that?"

Tim nodded, "Under the INV program, yes."

The other man closed his eyes and his shoulders sagged in relief. "Thank you, I've been so worried. Richmond is too far to commute and there's a waiting list of agents who want transfers to Norfolk Base. I'll contact Agent Carter and my folks right away."

Tim twisted his lips, "If you don't mind, I have questions about the defense squad the day your neighbors were murdered. You said 'once they were there', how long did it take them to respond and how many terrorists were there…if you know."

"There were at least 7 terrorists. I called for help and was ordered to leave. I returned, with every agent who heard about it, about 40 minutes later and the defense squad was there. I did hear the fire department wasn't allowed in until the terrorists were taken care of but I don't know how long that was."

"The defense squad didn't respond when you called it in?"

"I don't know, I got out of there fast, I thought the terrorists had already spotted me. My house is a little strange, an old farmhouse that was built before the area was developed and new roads were put in. At some point it was renovated and split into a duplex. The lot runs long rather than wide, extends from one street through to the next street in back. So one front door is on one street, the other is on another street. However, the garage was left as one big long garage, so you can drive out on either street. Well, there's a garage door in between but I had the remote. That's how I escaped, my neighbors in the other side of the duplex left weeks ago, so I drove out onto the other street. When I left, there was no sign of the defense squad, but they could have been there and I wouldn't know. Although," Esposito sat in thought, "no, I don't remember hearing anything different. Just the terrorists yelling about taking back the country and the noise from the fire."

Bec frowned, "Who's the defense squad, is that military?"

Esposito nodded, "In this case, yes, although they aren't the only ones. But nobody knows who the other ones are, they appear and disappear, do the same things the military does but they're never at the same places as the military and they're never really seen. I don't mean they're invisible, they're stealthy. "

"Interesting. That's the kind of information we don't ever hear or see."

"Oh, well, I'd be happy to tell you all about it, once I'm over there."

Tim nodded as he figured the easiest way to get the agent and his parents over here. With a look at Bec, he said, "Thanks and we'd better let you get off the phone! HR will be in touch to help set up your travel arrangements. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you when you get here. HR should be able to answer all of your transfer questions, make sure you tell them you're transferring into the Investigatory Agent Program, not the Field Agent transfer. We'll set the paperwork up that way."

They disconnected and Bec looked at him. Tim squinted, "Uh, rule 18, sorry I jumped in like that but I didn't want us to have to call him back. If we do the paperwork so that he shows as a transfer into the INV program, then we can state that he'll be training for however many months we estimate you'll need him in the field."

"Oh, so we say his training is 12 months but that's really his field work and then he'll have his INV training? That's fine for me but then do we need to add another 2 months for his INV training?"

Tim tilted his head, "He'll pick up some of it by nature of having Ellie in the bullpen with you. As soon as we know when he'll join us, I'll give him a self-training guide and after that, he'll need about 2 to 3 weeks hands-on training. That's how it's gone with the others. If we say training is 13 months, that should be enough to include his time on your team as a field agent and his INV training."

Bec nodded, "You're right, that's the cleanest way to do it and we're not lying, he will be an INV agent."

Tim smiled, "Great!"

Rick later reported that the Esposito family, parents, daughter and agent son, had moved into the house and Mrs. Esposito was enjoying taking care of her family, which now included everyone on the property. Chuckling, Tim told him to enjoy it, as the family would leave for London by the end of October.

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Rissa's birthday was a lot of fun! Sophia and Mimi flew in, the Clachers took the train down from Edinburgh and of course Victoria and Davey were there along with her little sister, older brothers and their American cousins and friends. Kayla came home for the weekend, much to Rissa's delight. The little girl had a party at school, some of her friends joined her for a party in the back garden, where they played several games, and then she had her family birthday dinner. Their house was decorated with balloons and streamers and the dining room boasted a special chair, a throne just for the birthday girl. Grandpa and Daddy made it from an old wooden booster chair, putting arms and long sturdy legs on it, inserting a solid back panel rather than support rails, then raising the back, with royal looking carvings on the crests of the back rails, with plush velvet covering the top crossing rail, seat and arms. There was also a convenient 'kick rail' so the birthday girl could either rest her feet or kick the rail. Claire and Artie fashioned a gold crown for her, with 'precious gems' glued around the band.

Marissa loved it, remembering that chair, her birthday throne, for many years. This year, she'd share it with Hope for her little sister's birthday. Between Rissa's big day and Hope's, the chair was carefully covered and stored out of sight.

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Days later, Artie checked into the hospital for her surgery. The doctors were able to do laparoscopic surgery, that is, remove her uterus through her belly button, a less invasive surgery. She came home one day after surgery, which was good news! However, walking up the stairs was too painful so she and Tim swapped bedrooms with Jethro and Lu. That was much easier and the kids thought it was fun to have Grandpa and Grandma upstairs with them.

As she'd been told, the first 2 weeks were the most difficult, mostly painful. Artie took her pain medication and that helped, she was just glad she didn't have a young baby to care for! It also helped that her mother and grandmother were there, they took care of her and helped with the children. In the meantime, Kadie's pregnancy continued without any problems, both McGees went with her to her medical appointments and were very involved with the pregnancy.

Their first trimester would be completed on December 29th, several days after their Christmas celebration. Remembering Dad's sad tale of his and Shannon's miscarriage so close to the end of their first trimester, Tim and Artie decided to wait until New Years before confirming the pregnancy with their parents, telling the children and the rest of the family.


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

In due time, Agent Piro's evaluation was complete. Tim and Tony were very happy when the new INV agent chose Marseille as his office. His wife was an artist and was thrilled at the chance to live in the area.

Vance was still recovering, nowhere near ready to return to work but he was now allowed to hear updates about the agency. He and Jared continued living in Sarah and James' suite at the Manor, while the newlyweds had moved upstairs into the 2nd master. Jared attended secondary school in Brambury while his father walked 'out the back gate' a few times a week, always joined by one or more of his housemates. Kayla was loving university life but still found time to visit her family at least once a month.

While their refugee family and friends began to settle into their new lives and their gestational carrier kept their future baby safe, Artemis watched her husband closely. She knew he was doing something covertly and that he wouldn't be able to tell her what it was if she asked. He seemed fine; however, he was tireder than usual, physically and she thought emotionally. Finally, she approached Lu and Jethro. "I want to do something special for Tim's 40th birthday. Would it be possible for you to take care of the children for a long weekend? We'd fly out late Wednesday afternoon and return late Monday afternoon."

Lu gave her a wide smile, "Yes, that's a wonderful idea!"

Artie nodded, "Thank you. We had those wonderful days to ourselves in Athens but now, I think our Tim needs time away from everything and I want him to have fun without having to break for meetings and well, things." She looked at Jethro, "Do you think he'll be able to get away?"

He nodded, "I believe so and I agree that he needs it."

"And then it will be your turn!"

Lu nodded, "We're going to South Africa for our anniversary, although we're not going until March. Liz has a friend in Johannesburg who says we should visit whether there's a drought or not."

With the children taken care of, Artie got to work planning and then waiting to spring the surprise on Tim. Finally, one evening he was home in time to play in the garden with the children for a few minutes. He'd been quiet for a few days, too quiet, although she thought he'd spoken with his father last night. She decided it was time, everything was in place and it would give him something positive to look forward to.

She waited until the littles were asleep before settling in beside him. Taking his hand, she kissed it and then smiled at him, saying, "I have a surprise for you. We're going to Morocco, to Marrakesh, next week."

His mouth dropped open and he finally took a breath. "For how long?"

"We're leaving Wednesday and returning Monday late afternoon. Your parents, Sarah and James will take care of the children. I also checked with Kadie, who is agreeable and knows we'll be available to her and Harry 24/7 on our cell phones. They've been and loved it. And this time, we'll video chat with the children every day so they'll know we're all right and we'll know they are."

"Work…"

"I wasn't sure who to ask, Joel, Leon or Secretary Porter, so I started with Joel. All of them have signed off on three days of personal leave for you."

"When are we leaving? Oh, you said…"

"Wednesday after work and Ellie knows that if you're on a case, you will have to leave by a certain time, to make our flight. The only thing is your extra work but Jethro said it would be all right."

Tim nodded solemnly, "I'm off the rest of this week and a longer break will be even better. Sweetheart, this is wonderful, thank you for arranging everything!"

She wondered why he was off, what had happened and then mentally shook her head, he wouldn't be able to tell her if she asked. She moved on, saying, "After we agreed to postpone Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo, it occurred to me that we could still take time now. It's been 6 weeks since my surgery, the doctor says I'm healthy enough for the trip, although no camel rides and I may not be on my feet more than 5 hours at a time. I know there will be plenty of walking which will be good for both of us. We've wanted to experience Marrakesh and your 40th birthday seems the best time!"

Tim chuckled, "It sounds wonderful! Dad and Malu should take some time, too."

She smiled, "Yes, that's the plan. They're finally going to South Africa. And Sarah and James are finally going on their honeymoon."

"Great!" He gathered her in his arms, "I'm all yours for the next two weeks, sweetheart."

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By the following Wednesday, Tim was more than ready for a break. His INV team had been swamped with cases at the beginning of the week and the cleanup afterward kept them almost as busy. Agent Dorneget would be in charge of all the INV agents while Tim was gone. Ned did a great job while Tim was in Greece and he remembered Leon mentioning a possible 'second in command' last year when they'd started working on the program. He wondered if he should also give Bishop and Piro a shot at it and resolved to talk with his father about it. Although he was pretty sure he didn't want his second in command working in the same office with him, so that left Bishop out. A second-in-command could also do Ellie's evaluations. He'd think about it later, he liked the idea of her taking responsibility for all the INV agents at least once, so it would be on her records.

He brought his suitcase to the office and took the train to the airport, meeting Artie there. She laughed when he told her he'd brought an empty carry-on bag, she'd done the same thing. Although, as she said, they could ship their treasures home, except for whatever souvenirs they brought the kids. He chuckled, "Thus the extra bags!"

Then he sighed, "We'll have to remember all the things Dad and Malu bought for us when they were there. All the rugs and fun stuff for the Arlington house."

She patted his arm, "They're in Brambury. They'll still be beautiful when we are able to move to the U.S., love."

He nodded, thinking about all the places that meant home to him besides Brambury: the big house in Arlington, his father's home in Alexandria, his old homes in Silver Spring, Cambridge, even Baltimore and of course his work home aboard the Navy Yard.

He'd been shocked and then grateful when he'd received a coded message last week, telling him he was authorized to talk with one person about a recent mission, as long as he did not reveal specifics. He spent a few minutes trying to organize what he could say but he quickly gave up on it, there was no organizing that mess.

The next night, after the kids were in bed, Tim went to Dad's workshop, sending a text asking him to meet him there. He was there so quickly, Tim wondered if he'd been waiting to be asked or had been looking for him.

When he asked, his father tilted his head back and forth. "I know you can't talk, son and I didn't want to make it obvious, but I also know something worse than usual has happened."

Tim shut his eyes, trying to relax as his father wrapped his arms around him. Finally he said, "It was so bad that I'm allowed to tell you what happened."

"When you're ready, Timson."

"Not in here, come with me." He led Dad into his hidden room, pointing him to a chair and turning the solar heater on while he paced. Finally he started, "Last week, Thursday, my team, the 'after-hours' team, hacked into a terrorist server we'd been assigned to access and found intel about a planned attack. We found the information minutes before the attack would be carried out. Following protocol, we verified what we could, sending the information through our emergency priority channels. We stayed with it, sometimes we're asked to observe or to take timings on the arrivals of the different defense squads and this was one of those times."

Jethro listened, realizing with a little thrill that his son was talking about the highly exclusive and secretive 'White Hat Hackers'. He'd thought that was who he was working with in his covert work, now Tim confirmed it with his descriptions.

Tim tilted his head back, still talking while tears rolled down his face, "We work via satellites, like Abby's friend Ashton from NASA did that time, do you remember?"

Dad nodded, that was the case with the young CIA techs who, while illegally using their satellite to spy on a nude bather, witnessed a murder. Ashton had successfully helped them track their suspect, the murder victim's wife.

"Heat signatures?"

Tim nodded, "It's improved since that case, but yes. Looked like it was a kids' party. There were 17 heat signatures of varying sizes, from babies being held to some as big as Andy and then 25 larger signatures, adults. Little and big people. We watched and waited, we sent the intel again, we contacted our emergency number." He gave a cry of anguish, "We watched a mass of people, heat signatures, surround the building and then they moved in. They killed them, we watched it. There was nothing we could do but witness their murders." He took a deep breathe. "The defense squad finally arrived and eliminated the terrorists. My team was ordered to stand down for as long as we need to deal with what happened."

Horrified and heartbroken, Jethro held his son in his arms, thinking that although his son had never been a soldier, he'd certainly witnessed the atrocities of war. Then he corrected his thought, Tim was a soldier now. Finally he asked, "Do you know what caused the delay?"

Tim's face twisted in pain and disgust as he said, "Found out the county sheriff had roadblocks up, to delay the defense squad. They sent drones and a helo in but it was too late. The sheriff and two of his deputies have now joined their fellow terrorists in hell."

"Terrorists, no rights, no trial, extreme prejudice if they don't surrender."

Tim nodded and then tucked his head back into his father's shoulder. "We don't know if everything was planted for us to find. So our team is offline until that's determined and we deal with what happened. If it was a plant, we'll make some changes in our approach but continue our work." He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before saying, "I'm sorry to burden you with this. I wouldn't have if I hadn't been given permission."

"Then you would have carried it alone, son, and that's too big of a burden. You're a soldier now, kiddo and soldiers, when they can, share with their fellow soldiers. I hope you'll consider me as your fellow soldier. I'm grateful you told me. Horrified but grateful that you could share."

Tim nodded into Dad's shoulder, "Our mission is to identify terrorists or their targets, whatever we can find. If we'd had access to drones, we could have told them to disperse, to run for it. But we don't have authorization for them, that's restricted to the military." He looked up with a wry smile, "The real military."

"Think they would have had a chance?"

"If it was a plant, no. Otherwise, we'll never know. Seventeen children, twenty-five adults wiped off the face of the earth. The kids, babies…" Tim shuddered, "This has to stop."

His father nodded, taking his son's face in his hands. "Yes, it does. Will you go on?"

"Yes, absolutely. I can't forget or let my teammates forget that we've also saved people. Not that day but on other days. We've saved 236 people, including children, that we know of. And we're responsible for the identification and capture of 487 terrorists. That's just our team. We decided to stop counting, it's more important to know we make a difference. We'll figure out what could have been done differently that night and implement it. As I said, we haven't been allowed to use drones but if we'd had them we might have known about the sheriff and his deputies early enough to make a difference. If the intel wasn't a plant, we'll push for the use of drones, at least in emergency situations."

"Tim, you've referred to a team. You work in teams?"

Tim nodded.

"So you're a member of a team."

Tim couldn't resist giving him a bit of a look and his father pulled him in for another hug, whispering to him, "It's your team, isn't it, you are the lead? I'm so damn proud of you!"

"I'm a lead on one of the teams, yes."

"I have too many questions, need to change the subject. Uh, are you excited about your trip to Marrakesh?"

That brought a smile and both men relaxed a bit. Tim listened as Dad told him about his favorite places and things in the city. "Since you won't be as busy shopping as we were, although I enjoyed every second of it, maybe you'll have time to also see some of the sights outside the city."

Tim nodded, "We might, although we won't have as much time as you did. And you know my wife wants to find the shop where your wife bought the dress she wore to Sari's wedding. Still, Artie and I will endeavor to see more of the countryside around Marrakesh."

"Good!" Dad sighed, "Timothy, we've lost people, personally and in our work. Children are a hot button for both of us, should be for all of us. I'm glad Artie planned this now, I hope you'll allow yourself to relax and enjoy your time away."

Tim, once again wrapped in his father's arms, nodded. "I will, it's making a huge difference being able to talk with you. I know we can't save every endangered child or adult in the world but I'll never give up trying and I know you won't either."

"Thing to remember, son, is that you have also family here that need you - your babies, your wife, your parents, your siblings and everyone else. If you feel the pressure's too much, promise me you'll step back, take a break like you are now - or step away."

Tim took a few minutes to think about that before nodding, relieved that his father raised the subject and gave his approval if he did need to distance himself from the violence and his covert work to combat it. The horrors he'd experienced in his childhood were too close to this. Although he hadn't been targeted by hate groups, as a homeless individual he'd been the victim of prejudice and cruelty. And he'd been targeted by his so-called stepmother, who was determined to wipe him off the face of the earth.

Now, he smiled as they prepared to board their flight to Marrakesh. "I'm so glad we're doing this, sweetheart, thank you!"

She turned to look at him, smiling as she looked at his eyes which were clear of the anger and grief she'd seen in them over the last week. "I also booked some of our activities. I'll tell you more about them when we get to the hotel."

"Great!"

Although the flight wasn't as long as their flights to Athens, it seemed longer. When they landed, Tim nudged his wife, "We're in Africa! I never thought I'd get to see any part of Africa!"

She tilted her head, "I thought work…?"

"Doesn't count! This is too cool!"

She smiled, happy to see his enthusiasm. As it was still daylight, the two of them were glued to the windows of their transport into town. Tim had no idea where they were staying, Artie wanted everything to be as much of a surprise as possible. When their vehicle came to a stop in front of a hotel that reminded Tim very much of his wife's apartment in Amzida, he looked at her in amazement. She nodded with a big smile, "Do you like it? When I saw it online, I couldn't resist!"

"Honey, it's fantastic! Was it designed by the same architect?"

"Not quite. The architect who designed the hotel is a mentor of the architect who designed the apartment building."

They checked in, admiring the spacious lobby, smiling at the fountain and atrium. Their suite made their smiles even wider. Although the patterns and colors on the tile work were different, the suite was smaller and their bedroom sat firmly on the building rather than the extension of the master bedroom over the building at the Amzida apartment, it was otherwise similar to the apartment in Turkey. There were other differences of course, the living area was elegant but smaller, there was a small dining table along with a tiny but functional kitchenette and the arches were architecturally different. They thought it was funny that the splash pool was bigger here.

Quickly unpacking, Tim followed his wife to the living area where she handed him their itinerary. "Tomorrow we have a half day tour mid-morning to early afternoon before I go to the project site. While I'm gone, I thought you might want to just relax, sleep or swim. Then I'll join you and we'll continue our adventure."

Tim smiled, "That sounds good. That full day tour Dad and Malu took would be 9 hours of walking, that's too much all at once!"

"That's what my doctor said. The project manager here recommended two half day tours, we will see the same things as on the full day but at a better pace for us."

"Good planning, Chief Engineer!" He grinned as his stomach growled. "Do you have a place in mind for dinner?"

She smiled, "Of course!"

They changed and headed out to the restaurant she'd selected for their first meal. It was a leisurely walk from their hotel and they noted several places they'd want to visit. Remembering the shopping and cultural tips Dad and Malu's guide had given them, the McGees decided to wait until after their first tour to do any browsing on their own.

After a sumptuous meal in a restaurant with an ambiance they loved, they walked back to the hotel, both tired after a long day.

Their first half day tour on Thursday was wonderfully informative, interesting and fun. When Tim realized their tour guide, Tareq, was the same man who'd guided his parents, he congratulated his wife. She smiled, "Thank you, the project manager helped me find him but it only took one phone call."

Tareq smiled, he'd been very happy hearing that the grown children of the older newlywed couple he'd guided last winter were asking for his services. This couple was just as curious as their parents and also remarked on the warmth of the people and the beauty of the city. He vaguely remembered a reference to a stay in Turkey and being pleased that the older man's comments were complimentary to both Marrakesh and wherever he'd been in Turkey. Now he was surprised to learn that the woman he was now guiding was the source of the stay in Turkey. He was also amused, as he remembered more about the older couple, to find that the son was also in law enforcement. He watched him that first day, telling him later that he had the same bearing, the same outlook as his parent and that no one would bother them here.

Tim was relaxed and happy, always glad to be with his wife and having new experiences with her was icing on the cake. He managed to banish the thoughts of the disaster last week, at least until Tareq mentioned the violence in America. Tim nodded, "We live in Europe, my parents live with us and our children…" He told the guide an abbreviated version of their family and friends leaving the U.S. and living with or near them in Europe. The younger man shook his head, "It does not seem real, for that to happen in America, to Americans."

After their tour, where they saw the same things Dad and Malu saw on their first tour, and hearing many of Tareq's tips, the couple were returned to their hotel. After freshening up, Artie left for her inspection tour while Tim stretched his long legs in their plunge pool. When he decided to do some laps, he grabbed a towel and a robe and walked downstairs to the hotel's full-sized pool. The swim felt great and he was back in their room napping when Artemis returned. She smiled when she saw him relaxed in sleep, glad he was able to set aside whatever trouble happened last week.

The rest of their stay was fun and interesting. Although they couldn't think what they could possibly need, they did a fair amount of shopping, buying presents for the children, for now, for birthdays and Christmas and for the extended family. After a subsequent tour, they asked Tareq to show them the souk where their parents had found so many treasures. With an amused laugh, he led them to the shop where they'd ordered the furniture, advising them to remember the hints he'd given them about shopping. They'd see him again on Saturday for an out of town tour.

With everything Dad and Malu purchased 10 months ago, they didn't quite go as crazy but they did have fun. When they told the shopkeeper about their parents having been there the previous January, he looked closely at Tim. "Americans?"

"Yes and newly married."

"With a son who lived in the UK and was moving to America?"

"Yes."

"Ah yes, we had a splendid time selecting treasures, I believe they came back after they left the shop, their son wanted something else." He paused, "Did they return to America? Are they safe? Is it really as bad there as we hear on the news?"

Tim nodded. "Yes, it is. They're safe, I'm the son who was supposed to return to the U.S., but my boss changed his mind. Instead, he moved to Europe with his family and all of us are staying until the war is over."

"War? I have not heard it called that. The media refers to it as a crisis."

Tim didn't say anything but the man nodded, he thought he understood. Sometimes governments didn't want to acknowledge how bad things really were.

After shipping their treasures to Brambury, the couple continued browsing in the souk, Artie determined to find the dress shop where Lu purchased the dress she'd worn for Sarah's wedding. When she couldn't find it, Tim sent a quick text to his father, smiling at the reply. Turning to his wife, he said, "Sweetheart, maybe it wasn't a dress shop. Could it be the shop where they found their bed covering and that fabric Lu likes so much?"

She looked at him, he was trying not to laugh. Then she looked behind him, smiling, "Yes, thank you." Entering into the shop, she stopped to survey the racks and shelves of linens, clothing and gift items. She pointed to the scarves, "Look, that scarf is similar to the one with skulls that they gave Abby!"

Tim nodded, having also spotted men's shirts similar to what Dad gave each of his boys. This was definitely the right place! While Artie looked through the women's dresses, Tim looked around the store. He was poking around in a corner of the shop when something wedged into a rack of men's trousers caught his eye. It was a woman's dress and he carefully dug it out, wondering how it had been so misplaced. Carrying it, he went to find his wife. When she spotted him with the dress, her face lit up, "Ooh, that's pretty, where did you find it?"

Still puzzled, he explained and she smirked, "Someone saw it, loved it but couldn't buy it right away. So she hid it."

"Seriously?"

Artie laughed at him, "Of course, people do it all the time! They finally find the shoes they want, but they're the last pair in their size. However, the store only takes cash and they need to run to the bank. So they put the shoes somewhere in the store where they'll be safe from other customers until they return with the money." She paused, "Or whoever hid this doesn't get paid for a few days and hid it in the hopes no one will find and buy it."

"Wow. I had no idea."

With a smile, she patted him on the face, quickly finding a dressing room to try on the dress. Now Tim was curious and he started looking for more out of place objects around the shop. He didn't find any but he did find some gifts and a handbag he thought Maisie would like.

Artie loved the dress and they purchased it. The rest of their treasures were shipped home but the dress went with them. When Tim reminded his wife that Lu had also needed a pair of pretty shoes to go with the dress, she smiled, "Yes, but in my case, I bought the shoes first and brought them with me."

"You bought the dress to match the shoes?"

"Mm, not really. I knew what colors and style I wanted in the dress and what shoes would look best."

He grinned, "Now, that's confidence!"

When they returned to the hotel, she asked the hotel to have the dress laundered and pressed, planning to wear it out the next evening.

On Saturday, they were on a small group tour that took them to the Ourika Valley and up into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. They saw Berber villages, rivers and orchards. While others went on a guided hike, Artie and Tim relaxed in a village café, Tim worried the hike would be too much for his love. Later, they visited a co-operative where they watched Berber women extracting oil from kernels of the Argan tree, a species found in this region. It was fun, they loved seeing the villages and some of the countryside.

When they returned to the hotel, they found the new dress hanging in their closet, clean and ready for its debut. Tim also had a new shirt to wear and the couple looked very smart, stepping out for their meal at an upscale restaurant specializing in Moroccan foods.

As they boarded their flight home on Monday, the couple was already discussing plans for a return trip to the country, perhaps next time they'd visit Rabat, the capital, or Casablanca.

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While his son and daughter-in-law were away, Jethro was busy with the kids and helping Joel and Bec at the office. He'd volunteered to handle some of the administrative duties. Remembering the agent's well deserved fiery reputation, Joel proceeded with caution and was pleased, relieved and grateful with the results.

That Sunday, Sarah, Lu and Jethro took Greg and Kyle to see Patrick while the other kids visited the Hubbards. Greg sat down next to his 'sleeping father', saying, "Dad, our papa and mama are in Africa right now. I was going to bring a map but you couldn't see it, so I'll tell you where they are. They're in a city called Marrakesh, which is in a country called Morocco. It's in Northern Africa, on the coast, right across the water from Gibraltar and Spain. To the east of them, there's a country called Algeria and to the south is the Western Sahara and the country Mauritania, which our great-grandmother Penny visited last summer. The Canary Islands are off the coast, but those belong to Spain. The capital of the whole country is Rabat and there's a famous movie made about another city, called Casablanca, but our parents are in Marrakesh. Mama is a civil engineer and has a project going there. Anyway, I hope that helps you picture where they are. Oh, and Grandma and Grandpa went there for their honeymoon last winter. Kyle's putting some of their photos up on your wall, so when you wake up, you'll see them."

After they finished with the photos, the boys each read to Patrick, making sure to read loud enough for Eric to hear them, and then Sarah spoke with her brother, bringing him up to date on everything happening in the family.

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Behind the scenes, Jethro and Pete Russell also provided quiet support for Bec who was the de facto Team Lead. She was doing well but occasionally needed a consult and didn't want to interrupt Joel who had his hands full with the agency. Agents Gibbs and Russell were quick to assure her that each had done the same thing, reached out to their fellow agents for consultations.

Bec had also been handed some of the administrative responsibilities. Luckily, she had an office manager who was willing to learn, to take on more responsibilities and quickly did so. Kim, the office manager in Athens, was a strong resource for Bec and her office manager. It had been her suggestion that led to Bec's asking her London counterpart to take on more.

At home, Lu worked online, at the direction of D'Arcy McKinna with Child Protection Services, to find safer foster homes in the US for the thousands of foster children who'd been evacuated to towns along the border between the U.S. and Canada, some of the Western and Northeastern states and to the cities and towns of Canada. Tim had developed a couple of apps to help identify the safe communities and individual families. Using those, Lu worked with non-profits, churches, any entity that could help them find homes for the children.

By now, Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac were well established residents and loved their new community. Both men continued to entertain their family with tales of 'little' Jethro and Jethro as a young Marine, husband and father. Tim was quite happy to learn more about Shannon and his little sister and Lu also found herself enjoying their stories.

The two older men were firm friends with Ducky as well as Tobias' father, Caesar. Ducky was happy to find that, along with poker, two of his new contemporaries played bridge and the third one was willing to learn! He'd also found a local Pilates group for seniors and inveigled the others to join him. With the family membership at the local fitness center still active, the four men also swam at least three times a week, sometimes accompanied by Artie.

When Leon's doctors approved swimming for him, he also joined the older gentlemen and his landlady in the pool. Just being around the older men lifted his spirits quite a bit. He'd been Kayla's age when his father suffered a stroke and died within weeks. He tried very hard not to think of the similarities between his health and his father's. Like Tim, as a young adult he'd missed having a dad. While he'd probably never admit it, LJ and Mac stepped right into the shoes of his long lost father.

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Barry hadn't known quite what to do in the UK, he'd always been interested in becoming a detective and had been working toward that in Baltimore. Here, he didn't think he'd ever have a chance, he'd likely have to start over in the ranks, go through additional training. While he didn't object to the training or even really to starting over, he didn't want to live on his savings or freeload off Jethro, Lu or the McGees for however long it took to become law enforcement in a new country.

When he heard that Maggie left the field for a position as an Intel Analyst, Barry researched the job and subsequently applied to NCIS. In high school, he'd taken Arabic as his language, there was someone he'd liked also taking the class, and he'd kept up with it over the years. He also spoke Spanish, understood a little Italian and knew a smattering of Hebrew from a squad car partner with a Jewish grandmother. He'd have to attend FLETC but there was a new training center opening in northern Minnesota, just outside International Falls, on the border with Ontario, Canada, a safe area, and he hoped he could attend there.

As he could not be interviewed by anyone in the family or connected to the family, he had a preliminary interview with Human Resources in London and then flew to Hamburg, Germany to be interviewed by the SAIC there, Roger Martinez. He stayed over a day to scope out the city, not sure where he might be posted, if hired.

While he was waiting, he began taking audio courses in Kurdish and Urdu. Artie, who had a good ear for languages, helped him with both while Tim and Gibbs taught him all the Hebrew they knew. When he was called for a second interview, he went to Rota, Spain where he was interviewed by the SAIC, Stan Burley. Although Burley had worked with Gibbs for several years, that was almost 20 years ago. Outside of the cases he'd worked on with Gibbs' MCRT, he hadn't kept up with the man and had only heard vague rumors about a new family. He had no idea that Barry was a part of that family.

Barry had no sooner walked in the front door of the Manor on his return from Spain than he received a call, offering him a position in the London office as an Intel Analyst, pending his successful completion of training at FLETC. He unpacked, did laundry and packed again, this time for a 3 week absence. He was on his way to FLETC, having squeezed into the first training session at the new facility!

Bill, Freddie and Jose were only home on the weekends, they were working with local contractors in Belgium to ready the new office, which had been delayed twice. Once their work was done in Antwerp, the 3 would return to Brambury to begin work as sub-contractors of a big construction company in London.

They had provisional licenses to work in their fields, all 3 had been relieved to find that their U.S. certificates and licenses allowed them to take the licensing exams right away. With help from the family, they concentrated on the items that were different from the U.S. and each passed his exam. They'd work under the provisional licenses for 6 months, when they'd undergo reviews and then be granted their permanent licenses.

Freddie and Joe had already applied for their business license and were scouting the ads for a van. Bill made or restored various pieces of furniture on his weekends home, selling them in the London flea markets. He always kept a stock of his new business cards for people to take, for home repairs, custom furniture and general carpentry work. He also handed out cards for Freddie and Joe's plumbing business.

Liking Bill's idea of selling at the flea markets, Jethro went with him several times to sell the toys he'd made, sending his profits to D'Arcy McKinna, now living in Canada and in charge of the refugee foster children and the social workers who'd evacuated with them.

The McGee children were thriving again, after a period of adjusting to the sudden arrival of their entire family. They loved having Jared with them and the Palmer and Hubbard cousins close by. Davey Palmer, Victoria and Hope were at the nursery together, having a blast. Cal Hubbard was a year ahead of Andy at their school and that was also fun. Ainsley and Jared were both at the secondary school, although in different years, and stuck together as the 'new kids'. They quickly made friends, enjoying their classes.

Abby, Bec, Ellie and Nikki found flats of their own, close to the Tube and only a few stops from the office. Abby was a frequent visitor to the Manor on the weekends, to spend time with Freddie and their family. Ellie's flat was larger than Rob's, situated about halfway between her office and his hospital. When her furniture arrived, including the items from Penny's, Rob gave up his flat and moved in with her.

Bec also reaped the benefits of the 'free shopping' in Penny's storage unit. She'd rented a partially furnished room in a private home in Piraeus, and only had a few pieces of furniture with her. When Geo's selected items arrived, they went into Bec's place, much to her delight. When Geordie had a late shift at the embassy, he continued to sleep in the officers' quarters on the grounds there. Otherwise, he lived with Bec in her new flat.

The only discordant notes in Bec's life were her parents. They were unhappy that her orders were changed, which was understandable. However, she'd noticed when she talked with them, especially on Skype, that they seemed to be increasingly nervous. Finally, one afternoon she called her mother, knowing her father would be out having morning coffee with his buddies. When Bec pressed her for the reason for their nervousness, her mother started crying. "We don't know where to go, what to do."

"Mom, what's going on?"

"They're pressuring us to join them, and now we're afraid what will happen if we don't. Your dad's been stalling them. We'd leave but we don't know where to go, who to trust."

Bec was at her desk, her team was doing paperwork. She made an odd noise and Tim, working with Ellie on a report, looked up and caught a panicked look on her face. As he rose to go to her, she started signing to him and he stopped, went back to his desk, wrote down the address she'd given him and got on his phone. She kept her mother on the phone and was relieved to hear her father's voice. "Mom, put me on speaker?"

"Done."

"Dad, were you at coffee?"

"No, I was at the bank, getting cash. I quit having coffee with those people, which was probably a mistake but I couldn't stand it anymore. Bec, we need help and we need it fast, I'm pretty sure I was followed home. So far, they've tried to bribe us, when that didn't work they switched to harassment – and that was within hours, before we could even react to the bribe attempt and by people I've never seen before. I'm afraid they'll attack and they might not wait until it's dark."

"We're working on getting you help, Dad. One of my co-workers is on the phone with a contact. Hang on. Do you have your weapon with you?"

"Yes and your mother has one now, too. I never thought any of our friends were like this, Bec, or we would have left months ago, when we could. I'm an old fool."

Tim sighed in relief as he disconnected. One of the things Tobias and Ron did when IPF was following him around DC was to give him contact info for a friend of Tobias' in the Marshals' Service. That was who he'd contacted and the man had ordered an immediate extraction for Bec's parents. Once they were out of danger, they could decide where to go from there.

As he walked towards Bec's desk, he heard her talking to her father.

"Dad, you've lived there all your life, except for the Navy. You grew up with these people, so did Mom. It's a very secretive group…hang on, Tim's here. I'm going to have him talk to you to save time."

"Mr. Childers, the Marshals Service is sending a team immediately to get you out of there. Pack suitcases with as much of your clothes and toiletries as you can. You might not be allowed to take photos or anything that can be used to trace your whereabouts, so put those in a separate bag to save time. Bec will stay on the phone until the Marshals get there."

Mr. Childers thanked him and Tim returned Bec's cell to her. He sat with her, waiting. All around them he could see tense shoulders as their teammates continued working, or trying to work, while they also waited. When Ellie signed something to him, he nodded. She'd asked if one of them should call Geordie and he'd agreed. She left her desk with her cell and went into his office to make the call.

It seemed like hours but it was less than 15 minutes when they heard the unmistakable noise of a helicopter. Mr. Childers must have put the phone on speaker because they heard a calm voice say, "Mr. and Mrs. Childers, I'm Marshal Dansworth, a deputy Marshal with the Marshals Service. I understand you'd like to get the heck out of here?"

Around them, there were quiet cheers and Bec sighed in relief. Then there was another voice, "Sir, Ma'am, I'm Agent Donnell with Homeland Security. We need to get you out of here _now_. Whatever you have packed is what you're taking. Agent Childers, we'll be in contact as soon as we're clear."

She automatically replied, "Copy that, Agent Donnell. Fair winds." Although she said it to the agent, her father would know it was for them. She waited to disconnect until they heard the door to the house close and then the sounds of the helicopter departing.

While they were waiting for the 'all clear', Geordie arrived, looking like he'd run all the way from the Embassy and that brought a curious Morris out from his office. Tim sat with Ellie, working together on their report while the field team continued their efforts to get their paperwork done.

When Bec's cell finally rang again, she pounced on it and without saying a word, put the call on speaker. "Agent Childers, Agent McGee, this is Donnell and Dansworth. We're clear…," he paused as he heard cheers from the other end of the call, "and landing at our base in Atlanta. The Childers will be flown north to Boston where they can catch their breaths and decide what happens next. They've asked us to also bring in your cousin, Charlotte Howe."

"That's good, Agent Donnell, we're her only family and she grew up in the same town you just left so, yes, she would be at risk. Thank you and Marshal Dansworth for all your help."

They disconnected again and Bec bit her lip. Knowing she'd hate to be seen crying in the bullpen, or the building, Geordie cleared his throat, "Do you have time for a short break?"

She nodded and walked out with him. Tim smiled at Ellie and the rest of them, he was proud of all of them for keeping their cool, and returned to his office, Joel following him.

Morris looked at him, "What just happened?"

"Not sure what started it, but Childers was on her cell and I was at Bishop's desk working with her on a new report I want to start using. Childers caught my eye and signed that her parents were in danger and their address. I have contact info Fornell gave me a few years ago and called that number. By that time I knew the couple needed an immediate extraction. It took the helo about 12 minutes to get there and then they took them. The call you heard was the 'all clear'."

Joel nodded, "That's a win for the good guys!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NICS

After their return from Marrakesh, Artie and Tim did a little redecorating in their room, changing the rugs to the Moroccan beauties and adding other treasures they'd purchased in Amzida and Marrakech. Liking the results, Jethro and Lu dug their Moroccan treasures out of storage, installing them in their suite.

Jethro was also restoring what had been 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom in the attic, with permission from their landlord. When Bill was home, he worked with him and Jethro allowed his wife, sons, in-laws and grandkids to help him as well. He'd found the blueprints for the last renovation of the attic and with Artie, had taken a look at what was there. Artie drew a slightly revised layout that their landlord and his architect approved.

The first thing Jethro tackled was the staircase, which had once been a permanent fixture. At some point it had been removed and a pull-down set of stairs installed. In due time, a full, permanent staircase reappeared. After that, new plumbing was installed by Joe and Freddie for a full bathroom. The project was interesting and would give more functionality to the home, with 2 additional bedrooms, a small lounge and the full bath. Best of all, the landlord was paying for the project, since the changes would ultimately benefit him. He'd already decided to advertise the attic as 'a family suite' for the planned bed and breakfast.

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With the Investigatory Agent pilot program declared a success, and the addition of future INV agent Ray Esposito to Bec's team as a field agent, Tim pressed forward. After discussing the program with Secretary Porter, Joel Morris and gaining their approval as well as approval from Legal and HR, Tim received permission from Vance's medical team to approach him with his newest proposals.

Showing Leon the latest statistics for their work, he proposed putting the next expansion into motion. He wanted to add 4 agents, 2 in the US, 1 in the Far East Field Office (FEFO) and a 'floating' INV agent who would be housed in the Southeast Asia Field Office with Ned Dorneget and would handle cases for FEFO as well as Singapore and the sub-offices of both.

Leon was very happy with the statistics, saying, "That's 15% above our projections for the first 2 quarters, great!"

He looked at the rest of the proposal, including Tim's bullet pointed rationale. He smiled, "Ok, tell me in your own words."

"If we don't get more INV agents out there, we're going to drown or severely disappoint our field brethren. It's as if field agents have been waiting for us their entire careers but didn't know it. I thought it was a flash in the pan at first, like a kid's new toy they're crazy about for the first week and then lose interest. Instead, the volume of requests keeps increasing, not leveling or dropping off. The U.S. agents in particular because there's so much going on, they have less time than ever to do the electronic work. Three of the cases we've worked in the U.S. led to arrests of 6 domestic terrorists as well as discovering an entire group, 70, of them, not implicated in the case. We turned their information over to our defenders."

"IPF?"

"They're part of the defense, yes, but we don't have any contact with them. The information went to the military."

"Were they arrested?"

"47 of them, yes. The rest resisted and our defenders have authority to use extreme prejudice."

"Is it working – the defense?"

"As far as I know, yes. At the request of our family, my father, brothers and I are not kept in the loop, outside of our jobs, of course." Tim winced, "Sir, I promised to restrict our conversation to my proposals."

"And you have, that was pertinent information. Yes, I agree with your current proposal."

He signed and dated the form Tim had prepared, with his approval to expand the INV agent population from 4 to 9 agents, the agents to be trained and then posted as proposed, with an asterisk on the proposal explaining that Special Agent Esposito, currently a London field team member, was already slated for the INV program, he was the 9th member. "Will you train them here?"

"Yes, Director. Based on suggestions from Dorneget, Bishop and Piro, I've increased the self-study pre-training material. With that, the new INV agents will only need 3 weeks of training and we'll do it here. With Bishop and Piro, there was a lot of on the job training and we'll continue doing that."

"Where did Piro end up?"

"In Marseille. His wife is an artist and jumped at the chance to live in France. Agent DiNozzo is thrilled to have his own INV agent, although Race works as many cases for Pete and Stan as he does for Tony."

Vance chuckled, "That's good to know. How's Bishop doing?"

"Like she was born to do this. When we're not busy, she's still closing cold cases like crazy."

"Great! And how are you doing?"

"I'm loving what we're doing, it's a heady feeling when we're working on cases around the world. I'm happy at work, happy at home."

"I know my kids were cuties but I don't think I was around them as much as I've been around your kids, not in a concentrated timeframe. They're such good kids, how do you do that?"

"We're not sure. We think it might be because there are so many of them. If one of them is mad at another one and not yet ready to talk about it, they just go find someone else to hang out with. Same with parents and grandparents, if one of the kids is unhappy with one of us, well there are plenty more around.

"Andy sets the tone for the tribe and he's even-tempered, doesn't yell or get angry too often. Greg also doesn't have much of a temper, he's lost his shyness but is still our quietest one. We have to be careful he isn't overlooked. Kyle and Rissa are our bold ones, although Kyle is more cautious than his sister. Rissa doesn't have any nightmares in her past, the boys do. And although Hope certainly hasn't led a charmed life, so far she hasn't had bad dreams. Although there are times she wants to cuddle all day."

Leon grinned, "Andy and Greg are so much like you it sometimes makes me laugh. Although your grandmothers say that before the hit and run, you weren't a quiet kid. Maisie says you and Patrick were at full throttle all the time, that noise and personality wise, Kyle's more like you."

Tim laughed, "Despite our own personal _Cruella de Vil_ , yes, Pat and I had wonderful times together. I'm grateful I retained a lot of those memories."

Vance nodded, "I grew up with an older brother, I have great memories too. Lost him when I was about Kayla's age."

"Like losing pieces of yourself, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it." Vance paused before saying, "As a man who's also lost his brother, father and big pieces of himself, I've noticed that you gather brothers and father figures. Have you found enough pieces yet to fill the holes in your heart?"

Tim nodded, "As far as fathers, yes, the holes are filled; in fact there are more pieces that I never had, never knew I was missing, the joy of being a son and the joy of being a son to a father who's there, present, with me. Emotionally, in person and mentally. Brothers, no, although I've never given specific identities to the missing pieces. Counting Jimmy, I have 9 brothers, 8 of whom I gravitated to and whom I love dearly. However, it's that 9th one, the one I thought I lost forever and may still, who eludes me. But I won't complain, he gave me 2 sons and they help minimize the loss of the pieces of me he took with him."

Vance nodded, "A few years ago, quite by chance, I discovered that my brother had a child. I've met that child, although he doesn't know of our connection and it's helped me in more ways than I can verbalize. So, to some degree, I understand what having Greg and Kyle in your life has done for you."

"That's good, I'm glad you met your nephew. Will you tell him someday?"

"I hope to in the future. Right now, it's difficult. Still, knowing he lives is a good feeling and he must have something of my brother in him."

"Your children have something of him too, they have your DNA which was also his, some parts anyway."

Leon looked happy at that, "I never thought of that, thank you! Ted was a scientist and that's what Kayla is pursuing. He also loved baseball which I mostly thought boring. I played basketball. But Jared has an overwhelming love of baseball."

"I know, he plays softball with my kids all the time. Next spring, his school will offer baseball as an elective sport. Suddenly Andy and Cal can't wait to start there and Ainsley is practicing, she wants to make the first girls' team."

"You play."

"We played in school, during Phys Ed and after school, in San Diego and Alameda. We played in school in Baltimore but I could never be on the school team because I had the kids with me, away games were impossible. We played for fun at MIT but again for most of my years there I couldn't do away games with 2 minor kids at home. And while Rob would have been fine, Sarah could not be trusted to stay out of trouble."

"Sassy, huh?"

Tim made a noise and changed the subject. When he noticed Leon tiring, he thanked him for his approval and the conversation and left the room. It'd been two months since his collapse and while he was up and around, walked, swam, ate and occasionally laughed, there was none of the buzz of energy that had always surrounded the man. Nobody had said anything but Tim had had a feeling since his first visit to him that Saturday night in the hospital in Athens, that his boss wasn't coming back to work.

Tim knew it was crazy but he wondered if the violence, the attacks against the innocent had been the last straw that had finally broken Leon, after Jackie's murder, the attempts to kill him and his battle against the cancer that had threatened his life. He wondered if the last of Leon's energy was spent saving his employees, his people, if he'd been running on fumes when he arrived here, fumes that abruptly ran out in Greece. He thought Sarah Porter knew the truth, whatever it was, and probably Pete Russell.

He hoped he was wrong and part of his brain was scoffing at the rather chivalrous traits he'd assigned to the director – his courage, determination to fight for honor, justice and a readiness to help those in need. But then, wasn't that what they did as federal agents? Wasn't that the reason for the whole 'Yes!' response to the armored knight at Warwick Castle?

Tim shook his head, his boss was a boxer, he might be down but he'd eventually get back up, he always had. He went to find his dad, who was in the basement.

When Tim walked down the stairs into his father's lair, his dad looked at him, "You've been talking with Leon."

Tim nodded, "I've had this feeling since Athens, since that night we went to see him but I just realized today. It's more than exhaustion and stress, isn't it?"

"Secretary Porter knows, don't know about the kids. He had a stroke that day, the day the Russells got him to the hospital. There were 2, one on Monday and the second one on Tuesday."

Tim winced, that had to be difficult, having the same health problems as his father. "His dad died of a stroke, when Leon was about Kayla's current age. But this is different, I think the terrorists broke him when they attacked Director Hutchins on a city street in daylight. Porter recognized enough to get him and the kids on the plane, to bring them here."

"Yes but she had help. That same day, early that morning, Sailes saw him somewhere, a coffee shop I think and said hello but Leon didn't say anything, didn't appear to recognize him. Sailes said his eyes were glassy, unfocused and his face was gray.

"He was so concerned that he called Hutch. Hutch was on his way to a meeting at the White House but agreed, having talked with Leon the night before. He asked Sailes to call Dr. Mallard. He did so and Ducky went upstairs to see Leon. He says he looked dreadful, noticed his eyes were glassy and his skin gray but he seemed full of nervous energy and told Ducky he was all right, he promised he'd rest once he got everyone transferred.

"Ducky was so worried he called Secretary Porter who then dropped by the Navy Yard. She also said that he looked awful but was determined to get his people to safety and she didn't want to interfere with that, she was doing pretty much the same thing, changing home ports of every ship she could to harbors outside the U.S., which would mean thousands of Navy families moving out of danger. She issued a general order that all Marines based outside the US were to stay outside the U.S. and Commandant Ellison backed her with the Joint Chiefs. After that, he sent her a list of those Marines he believed would be in danger and she transferred them either to the areas in the country that are regarded as safe or outside the U.S., along with their families.

"In the meantime, Leon kept going. That all happened over the previous week, over the weekend, the following week and that day, the day Hutchins was attacked. Leon went home that evening around 1730 when Ducky insisted he leave. When McKinley called asking him to come to Langley for a meeting, he agreed, having Kayla and Jared pack overnight bags and all three of them had their passports with them. Leon's driver took him to Langley, first taking the kids to the Navy Yard.

"In the meantime, Ducky contacted Porter about his second visit to the Director and she put her Plan A into motion, ordering her jet to be prepared for a transatlantic flight. She hoped he and the kids would come to us but decided that was his decision and didn't contact us. She sent a security detail to Leon's house to start packing for the 3 of them and then spoke with Kayla and Jared. Rick Carter, who the kids know and are comfortable with, said he'd bring them to Langley. Rick told me they had a full security detail that night, with several escort vehicles. No one was taking any unnecessary risks with the Vances.

"Porter's original plan was to call Leon at the last minute, but when she heard about the attack on Director Hutchins, she called Vance immediately. He added LJ and the Fornells to the passenger list and McKinley and Sailes asked to include their families.

"At some point in there, Leon called our Bill to urge him to stay in the UK and make sure the others did too. He slept on the jet, might have been his first real sleep in days and Russell says he slept those first few days in Piraeus. I think it was too late by then, he was too exhausted to recuperate on his own."

"He had the first stroke Monday?"

"Yes. When the doctors and the Russells put together what happened to him Monday, Trina said he'd had a bad headache after lunch and she gave him Tylenol. He went to lay down and slept all afternoon. Pete woke him before dinner and said he was disoriented, tired and dizzy. In a few minutes, he was okay and laughed it off, saying it was jet lag at its worst. The Russells haven't been to the U.S. in the past couple of years and they had no idea what kind of stress Leon had been under or that he'd spent days at the office, transferring his employees and their families out of danger.

"Anyway, the doctors believe the headache was the onset of the first stroke. The second one occurred Tuesday afternoon, after the meeting. Neither of the strokes were debilitating, as you know, he eventually regained his memory and there was no problem with his speech or movement. What they did do was sap his energy and, while the doctors were hopeful he'd make a good recovery, they have so far refused to estimate when he will be strong enough to return to the agency or if he will ever reach that point."

Tim sat, shaking his head. "I knew it was serious. And it has occurred to me over the last weeks that he wasn't bouncing back. I was so relieved when I heard about that first walk he took out back, with Rob, LJ and you. It felt like it was the first sign that he was getting stronger."

"It was, son; the first sign after he left Athens." Jethro looked at his son, "He'll be 55 next July. I believe if he doesn't regain his strength, he'll be on medical leave until his birthday and then retire. He wanted to wait until Jared was in college but it doesn't look like that will happen."

"Joel knows all this?"

"I don't know that for a fact but I imagine he does."

"Then he'll be named director." Tim said that with a sense of relief. All these 'acting' and 'temporary' designations were tiring. He understood why they were necessary but that didn't mean he had to like them.

"I don't know that, either."

"Dad, when I told you Joel would be the Assistant Director, you were relieved, said you were afraid they'd stick me with it. Why did you think that?"

"Because for years now, Leon's wanted you to take the agency after him."

Tim opened his mouth to argue but then a memory popped up, he was standing in Vance's office, turning down the job in Okinawa and the director was saying something about him needing more varied experience. There had been other comments like that over the years, mostly when he'd been given or had completed a special assignment for Vance.

Instead of arguing, he sighed. "Geordie even said that. And now that you're saying this, I realize that's why he tried so hard to get me to move off your team. For Okinawa, for…well, other things." He figured Dad knew everything.

"How do you feel about it?"

"Other than flattered and terrified? My family comes first, not the agency or any job. Unless I can leave work and be home in time for dinner and leave work at work, no travel without the family, it's not going to happen."

His father looked at him, "You got spoiled with MIT and Bedford. In the real world, we make a lot less money, have fewer benefits and work longer hours. And oh yeah, there's no glory and more crap to deal with. And a _lot_ more paperwork. And the only young adults you'll work with will be suspects facing the mirror."

Tim couldn't help himself, he started laughing, even after he saw the smug look on his father's face.

"What if you leave the office in time for dinner, spend time with your family and then work?"

"Am I getting any personal time with my wife?"

"Yes but it's a good thing she's a night owl."

"Am I getting any significant sleep?"

"Eh, sure."

"Oh yeah, like I believe that. What about the jerks on the Hill?"

"They're jerks on the Hill, it's politics, what do you want to know?" He paused, "No one is going to handle that but the director. Although if you had a very diplomatic Assistant Director, you could probably get away with not going to every meeting."

Tim made a face, "How long do you think Porter will stay?"

"Mm, if she stays through the current administration, then probably another 8, maybe 10 years. Unless she gets pushed up to a cabinet position."

Tim shook his head, "Ugh, that's another thing, I can't stand the thought of dealing with all those bureaucrats and politicians."

"Yeah, that would be a show-stopper for me too. If I ever lost my mind and wanted the job."

"Unless we kept headquarters over here."

"Doubt that'll happen, once your Marines and Shadow people have finished their jobs, we'll all be going home."

"They're not mine and it's a combined force. But yeah, I get your point. I'll be 40 in November, means I have 15 years before I can retire, although that doesn't mean I have to stay with the agency."

"How long you figure your program is going to run?"

Tim smiled, "Mm, between 4 and 5 years. By then, Field Agents will be used to the concept of INV agents and want one for each team, reporting to them. It'll move from my lead to individual teams."

"So, whatever you're going to do with the agency, you have 4 or 5 years to do it in. After that, you'll have no excuse and they'll boot you up to Director."

"But you said Vance?"

"He's not going away, he'll be a presence, likely a consultant of some sort. And you already have support in DC. Porter, Sailes and McKinley would welcome you if they had to give up Vance." He leaned in, "And then you could influence who replaces them!"

Tim shook his head, "You know FBI and CIA heads are nominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate."

"Yeah, you could still influence people."

"Sure, although that doesn't sound anything like me." He shook his head, "Nine months to wait for Bedford's offer."

"That when they can offer it to you or hire you?"

"Huh, hadn't thought of that. It's to hire me, so they'd probably make the offer a month ahead. Means eight months."

"You don't want to move home."

Tim sat on one of the sawhorses to gather his thoughts. "If it's safe. I…don't know. I love that house and we won't be able to go home this Christmas so there will be more homesickness, even with everyone here. I'm still an American, I'll always be an American."

"The weather's warming up here and not in a good way."

"Unfortunately, that's not a good argument for going home, Dad, as the weather there will be worse too."

"Right."

Tim stood again, putting his arm around his father's shoulders. "You and Lu want to go home."

"Yeah, when it's safe. It's been great living here and fun traveling but the U.S. is home. And we want our new suite!"

Tim laughed. "Truth is, if you leave, we won't want to stay."

"So you'll move home?"

He laughed again, "I'm amused that you think I would make that decision all by myself. How many times have you been married?"

"Brat!" Tim ducked, missing the soft head slap coming his way.

Returning to the main floor, they found Andy looking for them. "Want to play softball?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Tim returned to the office the next day, he met with Joel, who signed his own approval below Vance's signature. Then all the forms were faxed to the SecNav. It was official, he could move 4 additional field agents into the INV program. Joel also authorized the funds to bring the agents to London for training.

As Tim sat down to select his new people, he realized how much he missed working with Vance. He liked Joel, he was a good manager, great investigator and a personable guy, Tim considered him a friend. But Leon Vance had been a mentor to Tim almost since they'd first met in person, discounting him breaking up the MCRT when he first became Director and sending Tim to the basement. He hadn't been fond of him then. Not at all.

With a smile, he pulled out their list, the one they'd made during the Christmas season last year. He spent some time updating the information and then decided to discuss it with Bishop. She'd need to know anyway.

He walked down the hall to the squad room and catching her eye, gave her a head tilt, with a smile so she wouldn't think there was trouble.

When she came in, she closed the door behind her, smirking as they always did. The office had 2 glass walls, anything confidential still had to happen in a conference room. Still, it was nice to have the quiet.

He grinned, "Have good news, we're getting more agents!"

"Good! Is one going to Asia so Ned can get some sleep?"

"Yes! We're approved for 4 more. One for FEFO and a 2nd agent who will work in Singapore but will 'float' between all the offices over there. So if the FEFO INV needs help, Floater will work with that agent. Two others will work in the U.S., probably 1 in the Northwest office and maybe 1 in the Northeast, if the area is safe – need to research that. They're coming here for 3 weeks training after they've been through the new training modules. From here, they'll ship out to their new posts."

"Does everything else stay the same?"

Tim nodded, he knew she meant the 5 weeks to back out with no harm, no foul and the 60 day burn-in period. He'd decided to keep that term as everyone in the program was somewhat of a geek and it just sounded better than 'probation'. After all, every one of them had already been a probationary agent.

"Yes, although I'm hoping with the practical training we can shrink the 5 weeks down to 3, otherwise it gets pretty awkward."

She nodded, "The agents going to Asia will be all right, Ned's there. The U.S. agents…oh, they'll at least be on the right continent if they end up returning to their old jobs."

Tim chuckled, "True! So the question is, who are our next teammates? I have a list here and I'd like your input."

"Do you have an idea of who you want?"

"For one of them, yes. And we've had new applications since Director Vance and I last looked at this together."

"Uh…"

"I've included the salient facts for each one. Nothing confidential! Although we shouldn't mention this to anyone."

"Okay, thanks. Is it all right to work on this in the office?"

He nodded, "Yes, this is an official assignment, although new case work comes first. Unless you've got a hot lead on a cold case?"

"No, I struck out on the case I reviewed this morning."

He chuckled, "Cheer up, I'm sure you'll find something on the next one. I'd like to have your picks by the end of the day, let's meet at 1630."

Smiling, she nodded, took the folder he handed her and left the office. He opened his folder and re-read the information. Making a short list, he reviewed their current assignments. A couple of them had been transferred during Vance's marathon transfer session but they were still in the U.S. He made a note about keeping them in the U.S. and then moved on.

Within an hour, he'd made up his mind and set everything aside to work on something else. When he'd offered to help Joel, the man had given him a couple of responsibilities to handle, one of them was reviewing the quarterly evaluations and making note of those he thought Joel should review. The rest could have Joel's electronic signature applied and sent to HR.

These were the evaluations for the entire agency and Tim swallowed a chuckle when Joel complained about SSAs not sending them in on time. On the old MCRT, Gibbs usually did the evaluations right away. If his teammates had problems, they already knew about them and it was one of the few times Gibbs allowed himself to say the words, "Good job". However, he liked to torture Vance by sending them in as late as he could get away with, usually sitting on them until Vance reached boiling point. His last year on the team, Tim finally realized it had become a ritual between the two men, a sort of game.

Before he started his work, he sorted out the evaluations for his family members, Tony, Maggie, Ellie, Bec, Abby, Jimmy, reassigning them to Joel.

He was buzzing right through the evals, applying Joel's signature to most of them, when Ellie knocked on the door. "I'm done."

"Great! Let's see what we've got."

They traded 'pick' sheets and laughed. They'd chosen the same 4 agents.

Tim grinned, "I like your style, Bishop!"

"Thank you! I noticed Dawson and Tighe were recently transferred, are you thinking of keeping them…" she trailed off as he nodded. "Yes, that makes sense, keep them in the same offices. Save them from having to pack up their lives again and if they opt out, hope they can stay where they are."

"What if I'd opted out?"

He smiled, "We had another position lined up for you here, just in case."

"Great, that's good to know! Even though I didn't need it."

He looked at his watch, "I haven't looked at the office updates since early this afternoon, have you seen anything new percolating?"

"No, it's been quiet everywhere today. Marseille and Athens are working on cold cases and paperwork, Rota's doing the paperwork on their triple homicide and Hamburg is also doing paperwork for their last case. Singapore and FEFO don't have anything much going on, nothing Ned can't handle."

One of the innovations Tim set up for the overseas offices was a shared database where each team noted what was happening that day. If there was a new case, the entry was made by the office staff and usually just said, 'New Case, status unknown.' When more details were known, they'd be input. The INV team checked the database to see if there was anything they might need to jump on. With Race in Marseille and Ned in Singapore, the need to jump had lessened a bit but Tim still preferred to get on a case as soon as possible. No matter where it was.

Tim nodded, "Still getting used to Hamburg and one of these days Antwerp will also be staffed. All right, I'm going to call our candidates. Sorry I can't share the calls with you."

"That's all right, I wouldn't want anyone else on the line if it was me you were calling!"

She left and Tim picked up the phone, punching in the toll free office number for his first candidate. He remembered being here and doing this with Vance last year. When his call was transferred, his first new agent picked up the phone, saying, "Agent Dawson", Tim smiled, "Agent Dawson, this is Agent McGee with the Investigatory Agent Program. Do you have a minute?"

He heard the excitement in the woman's voice and smiled again as she replied, "Yes, Agent McGee."

"I'm happy to ask you if you'd like to join our team of INV agents."

"Now? Yes, absolutely! I didn't know this was going to happen again so soon."

"Great, welcome to the team! And yes, we have approval to expand the team. Now, I'll send the paperwork to your team lead, is that still…?" Tim named the woman's SSA and she confirmed it. "There are a few more things. First, you'll be in London for 3 ½ weeks of training and then will go straight to your assigned post. Are you someplace where you can speak freely?"

"I will be in a moment, sir."

"Okay, let me know." He'd let the 'sir' go for now but when they were here he'd make it plain he was not a 'sir'!

"Sorry it took so long, I'm in a private space now."

"Great! Here's my question, are you happy with your current location? Not the field agent position but the people in the office, wherever you're living, the area, etc."

"Yes sir, this is a great office, I love the area and I moved into my apartment 3 weeks ago. Oh, my lease!"

"Hang on, that may not be a problem. The reason I'm asking is that we have 2 positions open in the U.S. and 2 overseas and I noticed you'd recently been transferred. If it's safe there and you're happy with the location and the office, we'll send you back there after your training. New desk, new job, same people and you'll have to get used to staying at your desk when the Field team runs out the door on a case."

"That's wonderful, thank you! Is watching the field team leave on a call out hard to get used to?"

"Yes, it is and I hadn't been a field agent in 2 years when I started as an INV agent! We've all said it's the hardest thing to get used to. It's also the best though, considering we've been ready to leave the field."

"How many are there now, INV agents?"

"With you, we are now a team of 5. I'll send you an information sheet and Human Resources will call to help with your travel information. There's a residential hotel close to the London office and there will be 3 others, also at the hotel and in training with you. Couple more things and then I'll let you go. Because the flight is so long from the West Coast, if you want to break it up, say fly to New York and stay over a day before continuing on, I'll authorize an extra night's lodging. Is New York safe? Maybe fly through Canada and stay over a night in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal?"

"I believe New York City is safe, at least from the terrorists. However, I think I'd prefer to fly a Canadian airline, we're so close here. I may stay over, not sure about that. Right now, just getting there sounds more important."

"All right, I'll make a note for our travel coordinator. The other thing is I'll want you in London the Wednesday before you start training. That gives you several days to get over your jet lag. Now, you can sightsee or come in and work cold cases or do whatever you want for those days, we absorb that as part of your training. Getting through the worst of your jet lag takes several days and training is too important to have people falling asleep during it."

"So I'll leave Tuesday, land Wednesday and report in on Monday?"

"Yes, unless you use the extra night layover. Then you'll leave Monday, cross the Atlantic on Tuesday and land either late Tuesday or very early Wednesday. In both scenarios, yes, report to the office on Monday."

"Wow!"

He chuckled, "All right, any questions for me?"

"Yes, is it all right to tell people?"

"Is your team lead there now?"

"Yes."

"All right, give me a few minutes first to contact him. Anyone outside the agency, sure, go for it! One more thing, we try to have a staff meeting, by Skype or phone, every Thursday. I'd like you to join us for our next one, this Thursday. Your info sheet has the call-in number and time, UK time. If you have to call from home because of the time difference, the agency will reimburse you for the call."

"Great, I can't wait!"

He smiled, "See you soon, Agent Dawson." Disconnecting, he made the call to Dawson's team lead, then sent a note to HR with the information they'd need, and took a short walk down the hall, refilling his water bottle on the way back.

Back in his office, he made the second call, this one to an agent still working at the Navy Yard who had applied recently and didn't fully meet the qualifications for experience in the field. Still, Tim had inside knowledge of him. The man answered, "Agent Watson."

"Agent Watson, this is Agent McGee with the London office. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Yes, Agent McGee, is this about a case?"

"No, it's a job offer."

"Oh, oh! Do you mind holding while I find someplace private?"

"Not at all, behind the bottom of the staircase is the best there is in the squad room."

"Yes, I…you've worked here?"

"Yes, for several years. I'll tell you about it sometime."

"All right, I'm under the stairs."

"Agent Watson, we have an opening for another Investigatory agent and I'd like you to consider joining us."

"I uh, Yes! I'd love to become an INV agent!"

"Great, welcome aboard." Tim gave him the same information he'd given Dawson although he didn't ask about the office. This agent spoke Japanese and Korean, he would be posted to the FEFO office in Yokosuka, Japan. He answered several questions before disconnecting and then calling the man's Team Lead of record, Rick Carter. When Rick answered, he said, "Tim? Everything all right?"

Tim huffed, "Can't believe _you're_ asking _me_ that! How are you holding up?"

"It's not fun, I'll tell you that. What's up?"

Tim told him and Rick sighed, "I hate to lose him, _we_ hate to lose him. It's great you've signed him on, I know his experience level in the field is borderline at best. Can you tell me where he's going?"

"Overseas, although he hasn't yet been told."

"Good, he'll be safe. And yeah, I won't say anything." He laughed, "You gonna tell DiNozzo?"

"At some point, yes." They talked a few minutes before disconnecting, Tim glad he'd had an excuse to call his friend and former mentor.

His 3rd and 4th calls also went well and by the time he left the office he had 4 new agents! He chuckled to himself, he'd asked Agent Tighe, who'd transferred to his current office almost a year ago, whether he'd like to stay there or move on and had an immediate reply, "Moving on would be good, Agent McGee."

That was fine; either Tighe or Gage, new agent #4, would do well as the 'floater' in Singapore or the INV agent in the Southwest office. He thought about the assignments on the ride home and decided Tighe would go to the Southwest office and Gage to Singapore. Dawson, Watson, Tighe and Gage, his newbies, with Esposito as a future newbie. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun!

He managed to reach Tony with the news about Matt Watson before the agent himself contacted his former team lead. DiNozzo was ecstatic and relieved for the young man, saying he was glad the agency wouldn't lose his considerable talents.

Watson had done exceedingly well, at FLETC, as a probationary agent, and a young junior with 1 ½ years of experience in the field after his probationary year. Unfortunately, during a joint case with the FBI, he'd come to the rescue of an FBI agent under attack and had his leg broken in several places by one of the suspects. While it was healing, he was currently using a cane, the long-term prognosis was doubtful regarding a return to the field. He'd been persuaded by his mentors to apply for the INV position.

No one had said anything to Tim, but he'd recognized the name on the application and wondered what had happened to Tony's probie. After he reviewed recent events, he pulled the kid's evaluations and the case files for every case he'd been on. He thought long and hard before adding his name to his list of candidates as Watson did not have the length of time in the field Tim set as a qualification. However, the kid had been trained by Tony and Rick. That alone gave Tim a high level of confidence and trust in Watson's abilities.

There had been discussions, civilized, friendly talks, between Tim and Tony about Probie Tim's training and Tim remembered Tony saying he planned to train Watson the way McGee wished he had been. Obviously, they were two different people and Tony would have recognized that but still, Tim trusted that the young man had had the best training possible.

Watson also had more meaningful field time as a probie than most probationary agents. He'd worked closely with each member of the team, on scene and at the office, including Ducky, Jimmy and Abby, to learn his trade. Tim made his decision, yes, he'd be a good fit for the Investigatory Agent team.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim's family was most appreciative of his good mood. News from the U.S. was mixed, at best, and the adults and older boys sometimes had a hard time dealing with it.

A couple of the terrorist attacks hit dead center for the family when they learned from a friend of Barry's, a police officer in Baltimore, that the shelter had been attacked and burned to the ground. There were no fatalities, someone had spotted unfamiliar men walking around the perimeter of the property, no doubt scouting the best way to breach the building, and told the manager. As the front door was being rammed, a hidden door was unlocked and everyone fled. That door led to stairs into a basement. The shelter had once been a lot larger. Built during the Great Depression of the 1930s, it had housed a large soup kitchen as well as sleeping accommodations. Over the years, it had been reduced to nearly half its size but the original basement was still intact under the parking lot in back. As the residents fled into the basement, they followed the manager across to a ramp that led to a door opening to the outside world, out of view of the thugs who were busy setting fire to the building. It was this door that Ellen Brill and others had used to sneak out at night, many years ago.

The terrorists next attacked Nate's camp. Alerted by fleeing shelter residents and the smoke and noise from the burning building, Nate and Big John moved people deeper into the trees and to hiding places established over the years. However, Juanita refused to leave her tent and when she saw a figure in front of her carrying a flaming torch, she collapsed.

Nate and the military group that came to their aid found her hours later. Hers was the only tent still standing, the others burned to a crisp along with the city restroom. Cause of death was a heart attack.

While Nate mourned, he tried to be philosophical about it, knowing his sister, who had more than one potentially life threatening ailment, would not have lived much longer in any event. Still, Juanita was his baby sister; he'd taken care of her since she was a young girl of 12 and first afflicted with the schizophrenia that ruled the rest of her life, their lives. It helped that he was able to see and talk with his boys and Sarah, as his family rallied around him. He spoke with them frequently, by phone and via Skype from the Red Cross shelter, guarded by the military, that he, Big John, most of the shelter residents and some of the camp residents stayed in.

The non-profit camp alumni group paid for Juanita's cremation. At Nate's request, her ashes were strewn at the base of the trees still standing at the camp. Eventually a memorial plaque was placed in the former transient camp, returned to its original purpose as a city park.

When Big John's brother Randy arrived and took his brother home to Texas, Nate went with them. He hadn't wanted to, but Randy came armed with more reasons for him leaving than the old man could deal with. As he suspected the reasons had been suggested by his family, that is Lu, Tim, Sari, Robbie, Geordie, Bill, Barry, Freddie, Joe, Jethro and Tony, Nate didn't argue too much or for too long.

Randy had a ranch in the Texas Hill Country and once Nate got used to living in a house and on a ranch, he enjoyed helping around the place. Working with the animals and speaking with his family every week helped him deal with his grief for his sister. Knowing his girl, boys and Lu would not let go of him also helped. He'd see them in person again, when it was safe. As he and Big John settled in, they had a good time exploring. However, they were never away overnight and never again slept in a tent.


	60. Chapter 60

 

Chapter 60

Tim finally finished the agency evaluations shortly before the arrival of his new agents. All four were arriving Wednesday morning, although at different times, and he couldn't help fidgeting. He'd told each of them to take Uber from the airport to the hotel, it would be easier on them after the long flights.

Bec, Ellie, Abby, Jimmy and James dragged him out to a late lunch that day, to a café two doors down from the NCIS office. They were just finishing their meals when a woman and 2 men walked into the café. Their speech was obviously American and they also looked newly arrived, that is, excited, confused and bleary-eyed. Tim recognized the 3 from the copies of their agency IDs in file. He stood and approached them, smiling, "Dawson, Tighe, Gage?" They looked at him, eyes a little wild and he flashed his ID. Then they smiled and he greeted each one with a handshake. "Welcome to London! Have you been to the office?"

"We were on our way but Gage's stomach is growling."

Gage had a look on his face, "I just ate a couple of hours ago, I don't get it."

Tim and the other Londoners chuckled and then Tim explained, "It's part of jet lag, needing to eat every 2 or 3 hours for the first couple of days. Congratulations on finding the office. Or did you Uber?"

Dawson shook her head, "Nope, we decided to figure out the Tube now and not be stumbling around like idiots on Monday."

Tim motioned to the table and the 3 pulled up chairs. "Like you to meet a few of our colleagues. This is Agent Bec Childers, our Team Lead here in London." Bec smiled and greeted each one.

"And this is your counterpart here in London, Agent Eleanor Bishop. She's permanently posted here."

Ellie also greeted each one. After they'd been introduced to Jimmy and Abby, Tighe volunteered, "Agent Watson is here, too, but his leg is pretty sore so he's resting. We'll bring him back something to eat."

Jimmy frowned but before he could say anything, Bec said, "They've got a great room service menu at the hotel. Everyone here but Tim and Jimmy, stayed there when we transferred in this summer."

"You're new to the office?"

"Yes, I was posted in Athens for almost 4 years."

Ellie nodded, "And I was posted aboard the Navy Yard for several years."

Abby smiled, "I worked aboard the Yard for 16 years."

"So you're all new to London?"

Bec shook her head, "Not really. My boyfriend's a Marine, stationed here. I've been to visit several times."

Ellie tilted her head, "My boyfriend also lives here, he's a doctor. I haven't been as often as Bec but I did manage a couple of vacations."

Abby grinned, "My family lives here so I'd been a few times before I moved. It's a great place, hope you'll like it."

Jimmy nodded, "Most of my family lives here, too. My wife and I have young kids and their grandfather moved over with us. We stayed with the family before we moved to a rental."

James smiled, "I moved here from my hometown near Manchester, England, in 2014. Met a beautiful woman on a train my second month here and married her last June. Until recently, she and I lived with Jimmy and Abby's family. You see, I married Tim's sister. I'm also the Assistant Manager of IT at NCIS: London."

"Cool!"

James smiled happily and returned to finishing his lunch.

"Where are you from originally?" They told them and the three nodded, as if relieved to find the Americans still remembered where they came from at home.

They looked at Tim who hadn't yet said anything about his time here. He smiled, "I've been here for 2 ½ years. Worked on a special assignment outside of the agency for two years before beginning my life as an Investigatory Agent. I'm a Navy brat, lived in various places before ending up in Maryland, lived there until I was 18."

"Where did you work before you came here?"

Tim smiled again, "The Navy Yard. I was on the MCRT for over a decade."

"Is that the famous one?"

"Famous?"

"Yes, the one that was the top team in the agency for so many years?"

Tim nodded, feeling a wave of homesickness and glad Ellie, Abby and Jimmy were here, Dad and Ducky were only minutes away and Tony a few hours by air.

Abby touched his arm and he gave her a half smile. She answered for him. "Yes, he was on that team and Bishop was on it, too. The SSA is now retired and lives right outside London. And the former SFA is now the SAIC in Marseille. Tim brought his whole family to Europe!"

The new folks didn't get that but the others laughed. Smiling at Tim, Jimmy explained.

"Abby and I weren't part of the field team but the SSA, Jethro Gibbs, made us part of the MCRT, the team. Abby is our forensic scientist and I'm the medical examiner here; we had the same jobs aboard the Yard. When Director Vance received funding to reopen the lab and autopsy suite here, he asked us to move over. Which meant we were joining our old team. Over the years, we've become more than that, we're family. My kids' grandfather that I mentioned is our retired medical examiner. I guess an easy explanation is to say he's the dad of my heart since my own father died when I was a kid. Tim is the same way with Gibbs, and so is Abby."

"Wow, that's uh…"

Tim laughed, "Yeah, it's weird, we know! Most of our spouses and partners are civilians and they say they know more about NCIS than they ever wanted to."

The new arrivals ordered their meals and while they waited, Jimmy asked them about Agent Watson. "Do you know if he has pain medication with him?"

Dawson nodded, "Yes, we made sure he had it close, along with a glass of water, before we left him."

Jimmy looked at Tim, "You have time to go with me after work?"

"Yes, unless we have a hot case."

Ellie checked her phone, "Athens, Hamburg, Marseille and Rota are still on paperwork and cold cases. Race says they had an INO this morning. Ned's cases are still open. Oh, Antwerp's online!"

Abby grinned, "Yay, then Freddie's on his way home!" She laughed, telling the others, "Our family isn't just NCIS. When the problems at home really got hairy, everyone was pulled over here. My boyfriend, Freddie, is a plumber and a childhood friend of Tim's. Actually, he's really your stepbrother now."

Tim shrugged, "Eh, he's more brother than step. I don't think of Malu as my stepmother."

Abby gave him a little smile before continuing, "Anyway, Freddie, his plumbing partner, Jose, another of Tim's brothers, and Bill, also a brother and master carpenter, left their businesses and moved here. They were hired as sub-contractors for the new NCIS office in Antwerp. They've been working there each week and coming home on the weekends."

Gage blinked, "That's Belgium, right? A different country? That's strange, that they can easily do that."

Tim grinned, that always seemed to be a surprise to North Americans visiting for the first time. Their new Canadian friends, the Rowes. had been just as astounded.

"Yes, a different country across the English channel. Geographically, Europe is about the same size as the U.S. Europe has 3,930,000 square miles and the U.S. has 3,796,742 square miles. The difference is that the United States developed in a relatively short period of time as one country, whereas Europe's countries have existed separately for over a thousand years. Yes, they've changed names and borders but each country here has a different culture and usually a different language while in the U.S, being one country, we're fairly homogeneous. A soft drink might be called a 'pop' in some areas and a 'soda' in others but we speak a common language, with regional variations, have a central government as well as the state governments, and more or less operate the same. Tighe, you've been in…Great Lakes, right?"

Tighe nodded and Tim continued, "So Belgium is to the UK as Chicago is to maybe…St. Louis. In the US, they're in different states, these days we don't think much about it. In Europe, Belgium and the United Kingdom are two different countries, separate sovereign nations with different cultures and different languages. With the tunnel under the channel, Belgium is less than 3 hours by train from here, about the same distance to travel as Chicago to St. Louis. At home, unless you live in a border region, you're not going to reach either Canada or Mexico in 3 hours, except by flying."

Tim's watch buzzed and he smiled, "Time to get back." As he stood, his and Ellie's phones both chimed and they moved faster and Tim called over his shoulder, "Come watch if you want."

The new trio looked at the others and Bec smiled, "It's not London's case. Athens, Rota, Hamburg or Ned needs help in Singapore."

"What about Antwerp?"

"They're a sub-office of London so I'd be notified. Come on, we need to get back."

The trio tagged after them, were given visitor's badges at Security and hurried to the main floor. Ellie was focused on her laptop, talking to Tim through a headset as she input information. Bec had to get to work so Abby and Jimmy took the trainees to Tim's office and with a gesture from Tim, opened the door.

A minute later, they heard, "Let's go! Doc, we need you." Jimmy took off, Abby hurried to the lab and Tim swapped over to Bec's case, logging them into the database, and then swapping back. Without stopping his input, Tim spoke to Ellie, "Bishop, you've got Childers, I'll stay with Burley."

"Copy that, I'm London, you're Spain." The trainees watched both, moving from office to bullpen and back. The INV agents input information as it was fed to them from the crime scenes, they were linked to the teams. While Tim was waiting for information, he pulled the warrant requests normally used, inputting what he had so far. The pertinent details would autofill to each warrant request.

As Rota's junior read the victim's ID from the fingerprint scanner at the crime scene, Tim input the name, pulled up information and fed it back to the field team while they were still processing the scene. As they finished up, he was already diving into the dead sailor's life.

He was still 'in the zone' when he said, "Beeker, answer call", following that by saying "Agent McGee". The caller was Ned and he needed help. One of the open cases had a new discovery that was requiring complex work. He needed help with the other two cases.

"All right, Piro was free this morning, I'll reassign him to you. Need anything else? Agent Dorneget, you're after hours."

"It's a multiple homicide, 2 more bodies since initial discovery and now I've found links to a terrorist cell."

"Go for it, let me know if we can help…seriously, Ned. By the way, your new trainee and the one for FEFO have arrived."

"YAY! Thanks, helps just knowing."

They disconnected and Tim kept working while he spoke with his electronic assistant, "Beeker, call Piro."

He waited and then started talking, "Race, Ned needs help, multiple homicide with new bodies and a newly discovered link to a terrorist cell. Plus 2 other open cases. Overtime is approved if necessary." He waited for Race's confirmation and then disconnected.

Frowning, he looked at the information on the screen and, shaking his head, spoke again, "Beeker, call Burley." Once the crime scene was handled, the link between field team and INV agent was closed for the trip back to the office, they'd run into too many dead spots and other problematic connections. New information would be fed to the team by text until they were back in the office, or arrived at their next destination. That is, unless the new information was a show stopper as this was.

"Agent Burley, your dead sailor separated from the Navy 5 weeks ago. I've confirmed the separation. Last known location was Indianapolis, Indiana, 8 days ago."

He listened, changed the status on their database and thanking the SAIC, disconnected. Telling Ellie he was available but wanted to help Ned and Piro, he swapped over to the Singapore servers and sent Dorneget a trailer message, an instant message that ran on the bottom of the screen, that he was available. He smiled as a list of tasks and links appeared in his INV Inbox.

The trainees watched, enthralled and every single one of them itching to get in on the action. When an IT tech appeared with 3 laptops, headsets and IDs for all 3, they grinned. They'd already claimed 3 of the 4 empty workstations set up for their use. Now they hopped online, found Ellie's work and followed her, occasionally peeling off to do a search or order a warrant for her.

When Ellie told Tim they were working, he had her send Gage and his laptop into his office. When the agent arrived, Tim said, "Haven't mentioned your assignments yet but I'm planning to send you to Singapore. I'll explain more later but this is a great chance to get your feet wet working with your new colleague and field team."

He had Gage work on Ned's 2 non-terrorist cases while he, Piro and Dorneget extracted, analyzed, verified and linked the information they found on the terrorist cell. He pulled Gage off after he'd been working 90 minutes. Sooner or later jet lag was going to overcome adrenaline for all three trainees. He'd rather it not happen in the office. He alerted Ellie, who did the same for the other two.

He sent them back to the hotel in a taxi. By the end of the day, Ned, with help from his team, including the trainees, had pulled Singapore's terrorist case together and given them a new lead for one of the other cases. The London case was an accidental death, with eyewitnesses.

Jimmy left earlier than Tim, on his way to see Agent Watson. Once he'd examined the young man's leg, he called Tim. "He'll need a wheelchair while he's here, preferably motorized. Daily transport would be good for the first 10 days. Then I'll re-evaluate. Whoever cleared him for work using a cane needs his or her head examined. I saw Agent Watson and his injured leg in the hospital shortly after the attack, there is no way he should have been released for desk duty without a more comprehensive mobility aid, a wheelchair, maybe a walker. He says he rode an electric cart at both airports but even so, there's been more strain to his leg than there should have been."

Tim made a face, "I'm so used to you and Ducky getting it right, I never thought to question the release. You know, as the emergency MD of record for the office, including my trainees, you can legally contact the signatory on the Work Release."

"I'll do that once we take care of his immediate needs."

After Beeker found a medical equipment company fairly close to the office, Tim arranged for the rental and delivery of a motorized wheelchair to the hotel that evening; the owner of the business said he would bring it by on his way home. Next, he arranged for special needs transport for the next two weeks. After a quick call to let Artie know he'd be a few minutes late, and why, Tim hopped on the Tube for the short trip to the hotel.

When he arrived, he found his agent's room being changed. Despite the confirmed reservation for an 'accessible' room on the 1st floor, Watson had been given a room on the 2nd floor with a long walk, for someone with a bad leg and a cane, from the elevator. Deciding to get the story from his agent and/or Jimmy before he complained to hotel management, they'd confirmed the specifics twice, he found Watson in the new room with Jimmy. After greeting the young man, glad to hear he'd had a decent, if somewhat boring, day, he told them about the chair and the car. Watson looked unhappy and Tim sat down next to him. "What's up?"

"You shouldn't have to…"

Tim shook his head, "Nope, we're not doing that. No guilt, no regrets. I hired you for your analytical brain, your willingness to look outside the box and your ability to cut through layers of information to find the important stuff. Not to mention, I've seen the recording of that flying leap you made to save that agent's life and…wow! I imagine that guy and his family would say that whatever needs to be done to make you more comfortable, help you heal and get you from point A to point B while you heal is well worth it. I'm proud to have you on our team.

"Now, here's the deal. Instead of sending you to your new post after training, Dr. Palmer and I have decided to keep you here until he's satisfied that your leg can handle the flight, which will be a long one, and whatever challenges you'll face at the office. I've already checked, the team you'll be supporting when you reach your new post is housed on the first floor of a multi-storied building. Not that you'll be running out to crime scenes but I like that you won't have to rely on elevators.

"When I was a kid, my legs were badly smashed in a car crash. While I had walking casts within 3 months, it was nearly 2 years before I could walk without pain. So, no hiding pain from me or Doc here, we know too much. One of the things I've learned since meeting Jimmy, his predecessor, and my doctor brother, is to listen to them!

"This means we get to keep you for a few extra weeks, Doc here is thinking through November. We'll talk later about where you'll stay after the others leave. It might be best for you to continue staying at the hotel; however, I have some other ideas. We'll see. In the meantime, when you've rested, I hope the chair will allow you to see some of London. One of my brothers was riding a chair when he did some traveling with us and it made a big difference with him."

"Were you traveling around the UK?"

Tim had to stop and think, finally shaking his head, "No, we were in Greece. My wife's Greek and we visit her mother and grandmother in Athens a couple of times a year. My brother is in the military and nearly lost his leg, he was receiving treatment here in London and was well enough to walk with a cane, so he came with us over my kids' Easter vacation. He was okay getting around, although, like you, he was in pain and had to rest more often than he liked. When we rented a chair for him, he got to see and do a lot more. And because he wasn't in pain and avoided putting additional strain on his leg, when he met a girl he liked and then had a date with her, he was able to use the cane."

Matt nodded with a smile, "That's a good incentive!"

"Good! Did you see the others after they returned this afternoon?"

"Yes, Tighe checked in with me. They said they ran into you at lunch and then got to help on a couple of cases."

"They did; our agent in Singapore had active cases and got slammed with a discovery on one, a link to a terrorist cell. That ranks priority 1 for all of us. Our agent in France was working cold cases so we got him on it while Agent Bishop, she and I are the London team, and I jumped on a couple of cases with Rota and London and switched over to Singapore when we could. Dawson, Gage and Tighe helped with other cases which helped the rest of us concentrate. We found a physical link for the Priority case and that was all the field team in Singapore needed."

"Wow, an exciting afternoon."

Tim grinned, "It has its moments." He stood, "Well, I need to be going. I promised my kids I'd play softball with them tonight."

"How many kids do you have?"

"Five." Mentally, Tim crossed his fingers that number would be six in a few months.

"Wow, that must be fun!"

Tim blinked in surprise, "Most people try not to look horrified!"

"I have nieces and nephews and I always have fun with them. My sister and sisters-in-law love me for my babysitting abilities."

Tim laughed at that, "I can appreciate that! I have 11 siblings, more if I count my sisters-in-law. All of them, plus my parents, grandmothers, aunts, uncles and godparents are wonderful child minders, as long as they mind them long enough for my wife and I to have dinner out or see a movie that's not animated!"

Jimmy laughed with the other two, saying, "Amen to that!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Weeks later, Tim drove Big Blue home from Heathrow, having delivered the last of his new trainees, Matt Watson, for his flight to his new post in Yokosuka, Japan and Ellie's parents, the Bishops, for their flight home to Oklahoma. Beside him, Hope sang one of her favorite tunes. She giggled as her daddy sang along with her.

They stopped for a few minutes to see Uncle Patrick and Hope sang the same tune to him, remembering the words with Daddy's help. When they left, she kissed her sleeping uncle goodbye, saying she hoped he was having a good nap and would wake up soon. Tim blinked away tears at that, his brother had now been asleep for 5 years. Back in Big Blue, he resolutely changed his thoughts back to Matt Watson and everything that had occurred during his extended convalescence.

By the time Jimmy finally pronounced Matt and his leg sufficiently healed to take up his INV position in Japan, they'd celebrated Tim's birthday, Thanksgiving and Andy's 14th birthday. Hope's 2nd birthday would be celebrated that weekend, her first birthday with her family!

He'd had a great time at the party for his 40th birthday, the entire extended family had attended, although the Marseille, Sorrento, Athens and Thessaloniki groups attended via Skype. He'd been happy when the senior Powells and all four of the Clachers attended the party in person.

Now, as he drove with his littlest little, Tim's thoughts moved on to their Thanksgiving at the Manor. It had been fun, satisfying and strange at the same time.

Fun because the kids and his siblings made it fun, satisfying because all their loved ones were together, which also made it strange. Tim supposed that was because t people who usually didn't spend Thanksgiving with them, either at Ducky's or the Manor, were there. And, as they seemed to do every year, they'd added more people to the family, namely the Cranes, Hubbards, Penny, Grandpa Mac, the senior Clachers, Peter Lekkas and his family and best of all, little Hope. Luckily, not all the newcomers joined them for Thanksgiving, the Manor walls might have burst!

One of the more troubling aspects of this Thanksgiving, aside from the violence at home that brought most of the Americans here as refugees, was that Leon was still not well enough to spend more than a few hours with the family or guests. Tim thought about the people there and could see how the sheer numbers might have been overwhelming although there were only a few people he didn't know. He shrugged, he knew his friend and boss still tired easily and maybe the crowd did overwhelm him. That wasn't anything like the Vance that Tim and the others were used to but things changed that week in Greece.

He smiled as he thought of happier events. Breena's parents surprised her and Jimmy by flying over for the holiday, much to the joy of their very pregnant and very homesick daughter. Ducky, Dad, Malu, Tim and Artie had been in on the secret, collecting the Slaters from the airport on Thanksgiving Day, which was not a holiday in the UK, and giving them the 2nd Master upstairs in the Manor to rest in until it was time to surprise Breena. Knowing how Jimmy felt about Ed Slater, those in on the secret decided it would be smart to give him a heads up.

Before Jimmy left work the day his in-laws arrived, Tim let Ducky know and the good doctor and Jethro woke the Slaters and drove them to the Palmers' home, less than a half mile from the Manor. Artie sent a text to Breena asking her if she could come over, she needed to talk and when Breena replied, Artie let Jethro know and Ginny knocked on the Palmers' front door.

While Breena was crying with happiness in her mother's arms, Tim was telling Jimmy that Ed was there, in his house, for a few days. When Jimmy asked for specifics, Tim told him it was 6 days, discounting the current day which was nearly over. He reminded him that Ducky would be with them the entire time and that Jimmy would be at work for all but 2 of those days. In addition, they'd all be at the Manor one of the days Jimmy wasn't at work. That left only one day Ed would have to be tolerated. Bec, who'd heard all about Ed Slater and his treatment of Jimmy, offered to fake call Jimmy into work on that Sunday, giving him an excuse to leave for a few hours. Breena had often told him he didn't need to stick around when her father was there and so he made arrangements with Bec, just in case.

Although they weren't a surprise, Ellie's parents had also arrived for the holiday and would stay for 3 weeks, seeing London and the UK for the first time as well as spending time with Ellie and Rob. They were overwhelmingly relieved to be out of the tension, danger and violence of the U.S. As Ellie's mother said, they'd gotten so used to the violence and the tension, they hadn't realized how much of their energy it was consuming until they came to London, slept far more than could be explained by jet lag and felt better, happier, calmer, than they had in nearly a year. They were staying at Ellie and Rob's flat and planned to cram in as much sightseeing as possible while their daughter and Rob were at work.

The four American Bedford University students, who'd had Thanksgiving with the McGees in previous years, joined the group and were once again enjoying recipes from home. They noted that the tables had grown this year to include a lot more people, a few visitors but mostly refugees from home. The three older students would graduate from Bedford the following spring and reported they were already applying for jobs outside of the U.S. Only one of the four had gone home for the summer, the student from Washington State. The others had taken summer classes, found summer employment and done some traveling in the UK and on the continent.

When Agent Watson was invited to Thanksgiving, Tim, Bec and Ellie realized that meant he'd see their ailing director, who was still living at the Manor with his son, his daughter a weekend and holiday visitor. After consulting with Joel and Leon, Tim was given permission to tell Watson the basic facts, that the director had been ill and was recuperating. His health was improving, although very slowly. However, those who'd last seen him in Greece or right after their return could see the difference.

The day before their Thanksgiving celebration, minutes before the INV team would leave for the weekend, Tim brought Watson into a conference room. The puzzled agent sat, hoping there wasn't anything wrong.

Tim smiled at him, "I have something to tell you before you see for yourself tomorrow. Director Vance and his kids have been living with us since July. Kayla's in her first year at Cambridge, only home on occasional weekends and holidays, including this week, and Jared is attending secondary school, high school, in Brambury."

Matt nodded at that. Having worked aboard the Navy Yard, he'd seen Kayla and Jared in the office several times, especially around the holidays.

With a smile, Tim continued, "Secretary Porter ordered Vance and the kids to leave with her on one of her flights over here, to run the agency from one of the European offices, and that is classified, both her orders and the flight. They'd planned to fly over a week later and go straight to Greece for vacation. Instead, they stayed with us for a few days, till the rest of our bunch arrived and then we all flew to Greece. The Vance family has close friends in Athens, he was the SAIC there 20 years ago and they've stayed in touch." Quietly, Tim told him an abbreviated version of Vance's illness, never referring to the multiple strokes. He told the younger man the illness was brought on by extreme stress and exhaustion.

Matt sat back when his boss finished. "I'm glad he's here, people are worried about him, especially after he was gone before. There's a theory that he's laying low so the terrorists can't find him and running the agency from wherever he is, that Assistant Director Morris is more or less a figurehead."

Tim shook his head, "Morris is no figurehead. This goes no further but Morris and anyone else who needs to speak with the director has to have medical approval first. That includes me and we live in the same house! After Secretary Porter and AD Morris approved my proposal for additional INV agents, I had to write out, in script form, what I would say to the director. I was only approved to say that and nothing more. When the director veered a little off course I had to tell him I was only approved for the proposal. Even tomorrow, he'll say hello, talk with a few people and then return to his rooms, joining us later for dinner.

"He's much better than he was in August when he returned from Greece with us, but he's got a long way to go. He eats with us on weekends, but not on weekdays, to avoid talk about work and because the kids get wound up about things and he doesn't want them to have to use their church manners at home.

"We have a walking path in back of our home and he can walk out there now, I think he's up to a quarter mile, with my brother Rob, who's a doctor, or Jimmy, and my dad, Dad's godfather, whom we call Uncle LJ, and our grandfather, Grandpa Mac. He's also swimming at our fitness center, with Uncle LJ, Grandpa Mac and Ducky, that's Jimmy's dad and he's also a doctor. In addition to the walking and swimming, Vance has physical therapy twice a week and he sees his primary physician every month.

"My kids, Jared, my cousins, my dad, mom, my wife and I and whoever else is around usually play softball on the weekends. While Leon isn't allowed to play yet, he's just been cleared to umpire 1 game a week, which is a huge step forward for him.

"He knows you're coming and is looking forward to seeing you, I have permission from him, Jo- uh Assistant Director Morris and our family doctors to tell you. We didn't want you to be blindsided!"

He paused, "Seems like there are a few other things, oh, Jimmy's already left work so I can finally tell you, his wife's parents are here from Canada, they arrived Tuesday. It's a surprise for Breena, his wife, as she's been very homesick as well as pregnant. He told you that, right, that they're having a baby in January?"

Matt nodded with a smile and Tim continued, "Ok, you know the Bishops are here, you've met them already and also, Ellie and Rob are a couple, if you hadn't guessed that already. Back to the Palmers. Jimmy's father-in-law Ed Slater is a total jerk toward Jimmy, so we try not to leave Jimmy alone with him. Ed is almost always cranky so don't try to cheer him up, it's a waste of your energy.

"Maggie's dad is really good with him, as are Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac. My dad can only tolerate about 3 minutes before we have to pull him away, unless they're talking house projects, and Ducky will only speak with him in the company of Breena's mother or Breena herself.

"It's too bad Tony's biological father, whom we call Senior, won't be doing one of his infamous drop-ins, he can be a pain in the ass but he's great at keeping Ed under control. Jimmy says he thinks Ed worships Senior because he's a man of business instead of law enforcement. And I shouldn't say that about Senior, he's been supportive of me these last few years."

Matt was laughing now and Tim relaxed. "You've met all my siblings and their significant others. James' parents will be there, they live in Castleton, a small town near Manchester. They're great people and know all of us, spent Christmas with us in Virginia last year. They want to meet the Bishops, who are new to all of us except Dad."

At first, Matt was shocked when Tim said the director was living in his home, but when he later put the pieces together and talked to Tim again, it made sense. The Vances fled the U.S., expecting to stay a week or two at the Manor after their return from vacation, until they found a home of their own, but Vance's illness changed all that.

No matter how Tim described the director's condition, the young agent was still shocked and saddened when he saw him at the Manor on Saturday. He noticed that Vance greeted everyone, Matt was thrilled with a shoulder pat, and spoke with a few people before withdrawing into his suite, returning to join them for dinner. He also noticed that the Vance kids, who remembered him from the Navy Yard, and the family doctors were never far from the director.

Overall, Matt had a great time at the Thanksgiving celebration. Tony, his former boss, gave him a big hug, careful of his leg, and Maggie, his former SFA, also hugged him. He spent a little time eavesdropping on Ed Slater, moving away when he realized he had his fists clenched, prepared to slug the man. One of the best moments came when Tim's dad opened the front door to find Tony's father there, the man Gibbs called 'Chief' and everyone else called 'Senior'. Except Tony, who called him 'Dad' as if it hurt to say the word. Matt laughed to himself as the older men moved right in, smoothly keeping the senior DiNozzo and Ed Slater away from Tony and Jimmy.

Once again, Senior surprised Tim when he commented on the Manor. "Looks like a former palace, Timothy, glad things are going so well for you!"

With a smile, Tim gave him a brief explanation of the Manor, offering to give him a tour, which Tony and Matt joined. When Tony gave him a funny look, Matt signed that maybe he could help. That earned him a big smile. Matt borrowed a cane from Tim's dad's godfather, so he could handle the stairs without one of the doctors squawking at him. As the door to the Gibbses' suite was ajar, the tour group first popped in there. Matt was as impressed as the Senior guy, he'd had no idea there was a second bedroom and bathroom in there. It was like a separate apartment within the house. From there, they took a quick peek at the former playroom, now separated, with Gibbs-made partitions, into 4 generously sized sleeping areas, a full bathroom and a sitting area. Senior chuckled at the murals on the walls, "Do the kids sleep in here?"

Tim shook his head, "No, this is a playroom but we've had so many guests, we ran out of bedrooms. Dad made the partitions, you'll see some upstairs as well and when people arrived as refugees, the older men moved in here. Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac currently live in here, but when everyone first arrived, Colonel Barnes and Ducky also stayed in here and the Colonel is staying in here this weekend. The kids play in the family room or their rooms if the weather's bad, otherwise, they'd rather play outside."

Upstairs, Senior was impressed when told the 2nd master was Tony and Maggie's room. He didn't need to know that right now Sarah and James were living in it or that it was also Mimi and Sophia's or the Powells' or the Clachers' room when they were visiting. This trip, Tony and Maggie were sleeping in the library while Edith and George Powell were staying in one of the Fornells' extra rooms.

Senior glanced in at the library, surprised at the size and the large and small sized furniture. "Looks like the children do their homework in here."

"Yes. They study and do their research in here and we all use it as a quiet room. Again, when everyone arrived, we moved beds in and used it as an overflow bedroom."

Matt loved Artie's office, surprised when Tim and Tony showed them the bedroom on the other side. He couldn't believe how much room there was and how well it was fixed up. He was surprised to hear that the guy who was the new Intel Analyst and the carpenter and plumbers all lived in here.

Tim explained when Senior also expressed his surprise. "We originally put this together for Rob and Geordie as they live elsewhere but sometimes like to spend a few days with us. Bill and Barry visited over a year ago and they stayed in here and when Ducky or Dad, not sure which, persuaded Freddie and Joe to come with them this year, the other rooms were already spoken for.

"Then when it turned out that they were leaving home for good, or for the duration of the war, they had to give up their businesses. Freddie and Joe worked their tails off building their plumbing business, put their whole lives into it for more than 20 years. They were able to lease it out for a few years, but we don't want them to spend money on a place to live while they rebuild their lives. Same with Bill and Barry. Barry's been hired by NCIS and the other 3 have provisional licenses for carpentry and plumbing but even though they're working, it will take time to build clientele and at some point, we'll all be able to move home again."

Senior nodded. "I've heard anywhere from 2 to 4 years to rid the country of the terrorists. Boys, I've just been accepted to participate in the rebuilding that will need to happen. Right now, we're pulling together funding, mostly from outside the U.S. because we don't yet know who we can trust at home. Decent housing, well built homes, schools and businesses, communities, for those who were burned out and want to return or build wherever they want to go. I'd like to speak with your friends, if I may, about participating in what will be a national reconstruction. When the madness is over, of course."

He smiled when the younger men looked at him. "Low cost or no cost, possibly similar to the Habitat for Humanity program with or without "sweat equity", or something along those lines. It will likely be dependent on grassroots support as well as international and we will definitely need skilled craftspeople. If nothing else, right now it will give them hope."

Tim swallowed hard, fighting to keep from throwing his arms around Tony's dad and he did give him a one-arm hug later. Tony didn't bother to fight his instincts, he embraced his dad, giving him a long hug and whispering how proud he was of him. Senior's face lit up and Matt thought he was witnessing something very special. He had to turn away, suddenly so homesick he wanted to cry.

Tim looked at him, "Homesick?"

Matt nodded and his boss patted a shoulder. "Yeah, that's rough. You know, if you want to go home to see your folks before you go to your new post, it's easy enough to change. Go home for a week or two before continuing on to Japan. When was the last time you saw them?"

"When I was in the hospital with my leg, my parents came and then stayed with me once I got out. Dad had to go back to work but my mom took a leave of absence and stayed until I transitioned from a walker to the cane."

"How long since you've been home?"

"Uh, about 2 ½ years, a little more. I went to FLETC soon after I graduated from college. I flew home for a week in between graduation and the start of my training."

"Your family's okay there?"

Matt nodded, "My oldest sister and her family moved back to Pierre from the greater Chicago area a few months ago when things got dicey, my other sister, my brothers and their families all live within 20 miles of my folks. We grew up in a small town outside of Pierre, everyone knows everyone else. It's a great place, although not perfect and there won't be any no terrorist attacks there."

"Good! Then think about stopping over, remember you'll have jet lag from the transatlantic flight, so give yourself extra days there. The airfare is on the agency so you might as well!"

Matt smiled, "Thanks, I think I will!"

"Isn't your dad retired military?"

"Yes, a Marine sergeant."

"Too bad my dad the Gunny can't meet him. I bet they'd be swapping stories for hours!"

Matt grinned, "You're right about that! My 2nd eldest brother is a Marine, too, did 2 tours."

"Great!"

Matt carefully walked downstairs with Tim and the DiNozzos, using Mr. Moore's cane and feeling much better for the chat about his family and his last trip home. He'd check in with them when he got back to the hotel, make some plans.

As Tim returned to the kitchen, he smiled to himself. He'd had an email from Matt's parents a couple of weeks ago, wondering how their son was really doing and after hearing that he was doing well, they had more of an online chat. They'd been hoping he could get home for one of the holidays before flying to his new post and Tim said he'd see what he could do.

Now he sent a text to Mrs. Watson, telling her that he'd given Matt a little nudge to stop for a week or more on the way to Tokyo and Yokosuka. In the meantime, he looked at his watch and nodded. They had an hour before they'd start serving appetizers and drinks. Plenty of time.

He'd brought Greg, Andy, Sarah and Maggie in on his little plan. The boys were taking turns watching his laptop in the lounge area of the former playroom. Less than two minutes later, Greg ran into the kitchen, "Papa, they're calling."

"Ok, thanks, kiddo. Please go ahead and accept the call, introduce yourself and let them know Matt will be there in a couple of minutes."

His son grinned and ran back to the former playroom. Tim found Matt in the living room, talking to Maggie and gently interrupted.

"Excuse me, Maggie. I need Matt for a few minutes."

As he moved away with the young agent, he gave Maggie a thumbs up behind his back.

Matt had no idea what was going on, wondering if there was a case or Tim wanted help in the kitchen or what. When they detoured to the room with the murals, he was even more surprised.

As he walked in, Sarah and one of Tim's sons grinned at him. Distracted and confused, he took a quick glance, thinking it was a case after all. And then he saw them, or most of them, on the television screen. His family, as many as could squeeze into camera range. He stood there with his mouth open, finally smiling while tears continued to run down his face.

"Wow, this is…I can't believe it! You're all here! Or there. You need to rotate in and out so I can see you all! And Tim's got his laptop connected to a TV. Uh, Happy Thanksgiving, love you all!"

His parents were beaming at him and he smiled, "We were just talking about my stopping to see you on my way to Yokosuka. I…you guys set this up with Tim!"

His mom chuckled, "We did, sweetie. Now sit down, don't want to strain your leg."

"I will but it's ok, Mom, I only use a cane when I'm walking up or down stairs or escalators now. On the Tube or the hotel or today, here in the house."

One of his nieces looked at him, "Hi, Uncle Matty!"

"Hi, Sugar Pop! How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I'm 5 now! Is the Tube like YouTube?"

"No, sweetie, it's the subway here, like the 'El' in Chicago. Only it runs mostly underground."

"Is that scary?"

"Only the first 2 times. After that, it's not scary anymore."

He spoke with his parents, grandparents, each sibling and spouse and as many of his nieces and nephews as he could. Tim popped his head in about 45 minutes later. "Matt, we'll be serving in about 20 minutes. Take your time, we'll make a plate and keep it warm for you."

"Have you met my parents yet?"

"Not face to face, no. We've been emailing."

Matt motioned to him and Tim moved closer, sitting next to Matt, "Hi, Watsons, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm Tim McGee, Matt's new boss. His old boss is here too, the one who trained him."

They talked with him for a few minutes before asking if they could also meet Matt's former boss.

"Sure." Tim sent a text to Tony to meet him in the playroom and DiNozzo sauntered in, "Hey Tim, what's going…oops, sorry."

Matt grinned at him, "My family's online, they want to meet both of you, my old and new boss."

Tony moved into camera range, "Hello Watsons, Happy Turkey Day, or post Turkey Day! I'm Tony DiNozzo, Jr., Matt's first team lead at NCIS. Hope you're proud of him because we sure are!"

He pulled Tim back into range and the two of them gestured to Matt. "Hey Matt, want to show them the crowd?"

Matt laughed, "They'll think you hired people to come in!"

Tim and Tony laughed, "Nope, we're all family. Just be glad the Greek family isn't also visiting! We'd be standing room only!"

They stopped as a voice rumbled from the hallway, "Where are our cooks? Timothy? Anthony…Jr.?"

Tim stepped out of range of the camera, "We're in here, Dad, talking with Matt's family."

"Oops."

"Hey, Matt's dad was a Marine Sergeant."

"Huh." That brought Dad into the room and he smiled at the crowd. "Hello! Looks like you folks have almost as many as we do. I'm Jethro Gibbs, father to these 2 and a few more. Sergeant Watson?"

Matt's dad and brother both looked up and Dad grinned, "Hoo rah! Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs here. I'm sorry to tell you I failed with my 2nd eldest boy though." He leaned in, "He's an officer, but I still love him."

Matt's dad grinned, playing right along. "That's rough. Still, gotta love your kids unconditionally."

An old-fashioned kitchen timer clanged and on both sides of the Atlantic, people looked toward the kitchen. Matt laughed, "It's here, guys. Tim has it with him. I'll be there in a few minutes." That was said to Tim, Tony and their dad on their way out of the room.

Tim nodded, "I'll try to save some mezethes for you, but I don't have much self-control around them and there are more than 60 people out there waiting for them."

Matt licked his lips as the Gibbses headed for the kitchen. His sister looked at him, "What are mese…things?"

"Greek pastries, made by the gods, small g. They're wonderful. Tim's wife is Greek and they make meze, with a 'z', all the time." He grinned, "Tim brings them into work after a tough case."

"60 people?"

Matt nodded, "I think the number is closer to 70. Americans from the London office plus their families, American students from Bedford University, here in Brambury, where Tim used to teach. And the family of the people who live here, Tim and Tony's family. Tim's sister, who you met before I showed up, is married to a Brit and his parents are here today. The Gibbses, Tim and Tony's parents, have 11 kids between them, although they're all grown. All but one are adopted and 10 of them are here today.

"Tim and his wife have 5 kids. Tony's father-in-law lives with them, he's here as well as Gibbs' godfather and his former father-in-law. They moved their entire family and their extended family from the U.S. Tim, his family and his dad have been here for 2 ½ years, most of the others moved here in July. They're refugees."

"Why, Uncle Matty?" The question came from one of his nephews, who was about Tim's daughter Rissa's age.

"Because, Daniel, they're mixed nationalities or mixed race or African-American, adopted, the wrong religion…the things on the terrorists' 'Unwanted' list. Most of the grown kids work at or are attached to NCIS in some way and folks from the agency transferred here, but they left home because they had to."

He talked with his family a little longer, introducing Andy when he was sent to see if Matt was still online. Eventually, they signed off, Matt logged Tim off his laptop and he and Andy went in to dinner.

They'd tried different arrangements of the tables, finding a configuration that worked. Although they had 68 people, 13 of them were children under 16, which helped. The dining table itself accommodated 40 people, the kitchen table 20 and by adding the patio table and putting the food in the kitchen on other tables and the countertops, they managed to seat everyone comfortably. They supplemented the Dad-made benches with the original chairs that went with the dining and kitchen tables and folding chairs brought by their guests or borrowed from the neighbors. One of their neighbors laughed when Tim asked to borrow them again, "We haven't used those in over a decade. How about you keep them until you move home, you need them more than we do!"

Dinner was served on 5 different sets of china: the family's, Lu's, Maisie's, Liz's and the china Sarah and James selected from Penny's stash, which arrived with Abby's belongings. While the colors and patterns weren't the same, none clashed and they looked nice together on the tables. The Thanksgiving celebration planners in the family at first thought to buy disposable dishes but decided against it. They did use paper tablecloths, cups and napkins. The silverware they used also came from Penny's collection. The various boxes of it arrived with the McGees' belongings. They'd been a little surprised but Breena, Maggie and Ellie said they couldn't stand to leave it behind and Artie and Tim agreed. Penny was touched and amused that these grown grandchildren of hers wanted so many of Nelson's extravagant 'toys'. Her family portrait, left hanging and covered over the mantel by itself for so many years, was now hanging, uncovered, in her lounge. It had also arrived with the McGees' belongings, at Tim's request.

The guests were, as Matt said, a mix of expats, refugees and the 3 British Powells. Dad laughed when the family invited the McKinley and Sailes families. "Beau McKinley will probably grind his teeth when he hears his son, daughter-in-law and grandkids are coming here. The Sailes, well, I've been retired a few years."

Beau's son, Dan, had recently been able to transfer to London, joining his wife and children and they'd accepted the McGees' invitation to Thanksgiving dinner with pleasure. Connie, his wife, and the children had visited the McGees on several happy occasions, coming for brunch or lunch and spending the day outside with the McGee brood.

The Sailes declined, with thanks. Director Sailes was in the UK, spending the week with his family and they'd decided to explore his roots in southern Italy over Thanksgiving. When Tobias heard of their plans, he sent them Nikolas Costas' name, the name of the restaurant, 'Bella Figlie', and the address in Sorrento. Then he sent Nikolas and Sergio an email about the Sailes family. Artie and Tim heard later that the Sailes family had their Thanksgiving dinner in the restaurant. When Nikolas met the family in person, he thanked Director Sailes for his hard work in protecting the lives of his niece Artemis, her husband Timotheus and all of their considerable family, including his own beloved daughters.

Other Thanksgiving guests at the Manor included Pam Cook and her husband, along with Nikki Jardine, Mo Stempel, the other Intel Analyst transferred from DC, Ray Esposito, his parents and sister, and the Morrises, Joel and Carol. Almost everyone else was family, including Breena's parents, Ed and Ginny Slater, and Ellie's parents, Jerry and Barbara Bishop.

It took a few minutes to get everyone seated and supplied with beverages. When Rob judged Uncle LJ was about to say grace, he and Ellie stood, holding hands and smiling at the assembly. Rob looked around, "With everyone gathered here and counting our blessings, Ellie and I want to tell you something special, something we've already shared with our parents. We're engaged!"

While Dad, Lu, Timpa and the Bishops beamed, the couple exchanged a lingering kiss and upon demand, Ellie held up her left hand, turning it towards the light. Sarah and Artie leaned forward to look at the ring as Maisie said, "Girls, it was Grandma Anne Baxter Gibbs' engagement ring, now it's Ellie's!"

The couple grinned as they were congratulated, cheered and applauded. When the tumult finally subsided, grace was said and their feast commenced.

Between dinner and dessert, most of the group bundled up for a walk, Leon taking the opportunity to return to his suite. He'd enjoyed saying hello, sharing Thanksgiving with the Gibbses and their bunch but he was exhausted. There were too many people! He hated that it bothered him, drained what energy he had but right now it was a fact of life.

He'd spent some time with Ellie's parents yesterday, had a conversation with the Slaters the day before that and today he'd talked with Dan McKinley and his family. His number one professional priority today had been to speak with Agents Barnes, DiNozzo and Watson and he'd accomplished that. The former loved their new positions and location while the latter was excited about his posting to Yokosuka. Doc Palmer said the young agent would be on his way within the next two weeks. Leon felt he'd also accomplished his personal priority, spending Dad time with Kayla and Jared.

Once inside his suite, he changed his clothes and laid down for a nap. He laughed to himself, normally he and little Hope took their afternoon naps about the same time. However, with so many people in the house, he hadn't even tried to have a nap this afternoon. Now it felt beyond wonderful to lay down and stretch out, enjoying the quiet.

After the walk, most people found room for some of Lu's apple crisp, or a slice or two of the pies. There were eight of them in varying flavors: pumpkin, key lime, apple, sweet potato meringue and pecan.

The family who hadn't helped prepare dinner did the cleanup after their guests departed, several carrying covered plates of leftovers. The Bishops were staying in the 2nd bedroom in Ellie's flat and Rob was now very glad she'd liked this flat better than the one he'd liked. In this flat, the master bedroom was down a short hallway and had its own bathroom. The guest bathroom was in the main hallway with the guest bedroom on the far side of that, giving the occupants of both bedrooms plenty of privacy.

Before they left what remained of the party, they'd pulled up calendars and schedules, agreeing on the date for the wedding. Rob and Ellie would marry May 26th, next spring, in the back garden of the Manor.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Now, as he parked Big Blue, Tim smiled at Hope who'd fallen asleep. He was glad to be home, the past few months had been more hectic than usual. Or maybe this was their new normal.

Gently waking his little daughter, he smiled at her, "Umut, it's time for your birthday! You're 2 years old now!"

"I'm TWO, Bapa! I'm a big girl now!"

"Yes, you are!" He smiled as he helped her out of her safety seat. She was a big girl, she was now toilet trained, very proud of herself and she was learning her ABCs, singing them off and on, to her family and to herself. She knew 2 fingers meant 2 and she knew how many fingers to hold up for Rissa's age too. She recognized her names in print, could draw an "H" and a "U" and spoke English, Turkish and Greek.

When they entered the Manor, her face lit up at the balloons, just for her! This was her family party, she'd already had a party with her friends at nursery school. She squealed when she saw who was there, her aunts, uncles, all the grandparents and cousins and insisted on kissing each one. Mimi, Yaya, Aunty Ana and the cousins, Aunty Gaia and the twins, Uncles Nikolas, Sergio, Katerina, Damaris and Uncle Tony, Aunty Maggie and Uncle Colonel were on screen and she waved to them. With glee, she tore the wrappings off her presents, chortling with joy at all her new toys, books and pretties. She played with her toys for a little bit while her family did some catching up. When she was asked if she wanted cake, she clapped her hands, saying, "Yes, please!"

They sang happy birthday and then she blew out the candles. Rather than a layered cake, Tim and Lu made cupcakes and frosted them with Hope's favorite 'Nilachoco' frosting, a swirly mix of chocolate and vanilla. The candles were on her very own cupcake. After she blew out them out, her long distance family said goodbye while the rest of them enjoyed their own cupcakes.

At two years of age, Hope was a resilient, loving, joyful and smart little girl. She wasn't daring or adventurous as Rissa had been; her parents thought that might be because of the upheaval during her first year of life. When she was a little older, they'd tell her about her first parents and figure out how to celebrate their lives. They'd probably do something similar to what the family did for Greg and Kyle's first parents, Patrick and Kathy, that is, celebrate their birthdays, although with the Turkish couple it would more likely be their name days.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who recognized 2 of the new INV agents' names, without me even having to ask! Yes, "Gage" is a beloved character from the TV show, "Emergency!", and Tighe is the surname used professionally by one of the primary (and equally beloved) actors in that show.
> 
> Trivia: "Beeker" is the fictional butler of the fictional "Willard Phule", the main character of a series of science fiction novels by the late author Robert Asprin. I wanted a name less obvious than Jeeves, Alfred, Alexa or Siri for Tim's electronic assistant and when I saw the Wikipedia entry for the Phule books, felt they matched Tim's love of sci-fi and sense of humor.
> 
> Translation: The name of Nikolas' restaurant in Sorrento, Italy, 'Bella Figlie' means beautiful daughters in Italian, per the internet.


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

After the happy chaos of Thanksgiving, Christmas would be fairly quiet this year, especially with Baby Palmer due in less than a month. No one had to take any long flights anywhere and they'd celebrate with the entire McGee-Gibbs family, all 44 of them. However, they were a family who were comfortable with each other. As they'd grown together over the last few years and especially since the U.S. family joined the UK family, insecurities and doubts fell away, replaced by the knowledge that he or she belonged in this family, with this family.

It was a heady realization for Grandpa Mac, who'd been without family for so long and for Geordie's former tent mates, who were experiencing parental love for the first time since they were young children, if then. They belonged, each and every one of them. Even Uncle LJ, who had family and had, since his namesake found him, come to feel close to his godson, loved the warm familial feelings of the McGee-Gibbs group.

Now that Andy and Hope's birthdays had been celebrated, it was time to switch into holiday decorating mode. The day after Hope's family party, Dad and Lu helped Tim and the kids put the artificial tree together, glad the lights were already on it. Kayla was home and looking forward to decorating. This year was Andy's turn to put the star on top of the tree, but Tim wasn't sure his oldest could get to the top. His fear of heights was as severe as his father's once was. Still, he told his dad he wanted to try.

The good thing was that they now had 2 10-foot A-frame ladders, one that belonged to the Manor (and was not an antique) and Gibbs' ladder from the Arlington house. Dad thought they could put both ladders up, with Andy on one with him next to him on the other ladder. Tim shuddered when he said that, saying he'd have nightmares about both of them falling.

When Artie came up with a common sense solution to help Andy, Tim wanted to smack his own head. Of course! He and his father rolled their eyes at each other.

At 14, Andy's voice had changed, he was growing taller, filling out and his appetite was growing with him, definitely a teenage boy. While he appreciated everyone's efforts, he just hoped that no one outside his family ever heard about how the star got onto the tree. He'd never live it down! Jared, Kayla, Greg and Kyle had already promised and Ainsley, Callum, Em and P wouldn't be there to see.

Tim and Hope had been out for a quick visit to the Palmers. Hope wanted to show off her new sweater and leggings, made by Grammie, with her new warm jacket. As they returned to the Manor, Tim grinned when the older kids nearly attacked him. "Hurry, Papa!"

"Tree's not going anywhere and Hope wants to help too." She nodded, "I'm gonna put on lots of pretties, fishies and stars and monkeys!"

Taking their coats off, Tim hung them up, turning to find nearly the entire household waiting. He laughed, "All right, all right!" He grinned when he saw who else was there, Geordie and Bec, Rob and Ellie as well as Bill and Joe. Barry was working an extra shift on the Intel desk and Freddie and Abby had other plans today.

Now Tim, Bill, James and Joe picked up the entire 20 foot artificial tree and tilted it sideways and down, holding it steady while Andy, on the top step of a stool with 3 steps, supported by his uncle Rob, fastened the star to the very top branch of the top section of the tree. Then he climbed down and helped the others tilt the tree back up and put it back in place. He grinned as everyone cheered. Uncle Leon had even joined them, giving him a thumbs up.

Once the tree was back in place, the big ladders were brought in and Rob, Bill and James decorated the top of the tree. Tim, Grandpa and Artie took the next level and then Jared, Kayla, Andy, Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac took over to decorate a section, followed by Lu, Sarah, Ellie and Bec and then Kyle, Rissa and Hope.

Feeling it was important to his kids that he participate, Leon hung several decorations before the rest of the kids moved in to finish. Rissa, Kyle and Hope disappeared underneath to lay the train tracks and install the tunnel, train gate and the village, which had grown to include more people and houses.

The biggest house in the train village was of course the Manor while the other houses had identifying names on them: Hubbards, Penny, Cranes, Mallard-Palmers and the Fornells. The new people in the village resembled the real life occupants of those dwellings.

There were three new wooden people that brought moisture to more than one pair of eyes: Nate, Juanita and Big John. They had a house of their own. With a huff, Bill said they'd modeled it after the city restrooms, changing it into a comfortably sized dwelling. Tim took photos of the wooden replicas of their friends and of their dwelling and sent them to Randy, Big John's brother, with love from all of them.

Bill and Jethro had even taken the time to make tiny replicas of Ducky's Georgetown townhouse, the big house in Arlington and Jethro's house in Alexandria. Jethro told his wife that over the next year, he and Bill planned to add Freddie and Joe's office and large garage and the Navy Yard, with a model of the Barry, the Vance home if Leon approved and if she'd like, they'd add the shelter. While she appreciated that the woodworkers were giving them bits of home to remember, she wasn't at all sure she wanted anyone to think of the shelter. The people who stayed there, yes, but probably not the building.

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When the weather started getting chilly, Kayla and Jared, accompanied by Gibbs and Lu in Big Blue, visited their storage unit, rummaging through it for their cold weather clothes, although everything was too small or too short for Jared, and their most treasured Christmas decorations.

Leon didn't seem to be aware of it, but Secretary Porter had some of the contents of the Vance home packed: their beds, nightstands, bureaus, two of the sofas, chairs, the dining room table, chairs and all of Jackie's china, silver, her hutch, kitchen ware, and a large stash of Christmas decorations. Shipped with the belongings of the July transferees, the Vance container was left in storage with the moving company until Leon was well enough to move.

His children were determined to have a tree up in their suite and had been assured that Big Blue and Tim and Gibbs would help them get the rest of their holiday decorations and whatever tree they selected to the Manor. They'd also help put whatever tree they bought, and lights, up in their suite. In the end, the siblings decided it would be easier to buy an artificial tree with the lights already on. With a little help, they'd put the tree up in the lounge area of their suite while their father was at a doctor's appointment, enjoying his surprise when he saw it.

As he had his first Christmas at Dad's house, Geordie now directed the placement of the ornaments on the Manor tree while Sarah and Rob dug out the worn box with their first ornaments, purchased for their first ever Christmas tree. There was a tree at Mrs. Ferguson's every year and there were gifts under it but that was her tree. It wasn't until they lived in the studio in Norfolk that Tim decided they could splurge on a Christmas tree.

Sarah smiled at the box, "Robbie, do you remember Tim surprising us with these when we were together again? You asked him why he bought a box of ornaments when we didn't have a tree?"

Rob nodded, "He had the tree hidden behind him and pulled it out then. I remember he told you he'd promised we'd have a tree."

Their father frowned and Sarah nodded to herself, it was time to talk with him, tell him what happened. Tapping her father on the arm, she motioned to him to follow her, Tim, Rob and James watching them walk into the Gibbses' suite with anxious eyes. Lu patted their backs, saying softly, "They'll be all right, it's time." She turned to the kids, "How about some hot chocolate?"

Inside the suite, Sarah sat sideways on the sofa, facing her father. "You want to know why we were together again, in Norfolk?"

"I want to know what happened, Sari."

She nodded, "Tim and I have talked about this, he wanted to be with me but I'm a big girl, he and I are doing really well and…it's my story to tell."

She took a deep breath. "I was a hellion growing up. Not like a mischief maker but a trouble maker, a real little bitch. I did anything I could to hurt Tim and to make him angry. By the time I was 10, I'd stopped listening to him and continued hurting him whenever I could. It got worse as I got older. Sometimes we went to church on Sundays, but Tim was always careful and we rotated among the area churches so they wouldn't figure out we were on our own. When I was 7, we went to one church more than others, and he spoke with the minister, a woman, who tried to help, counseling me off and on for 2 years. After we moved to Cambridge, he found a shrink on campus who agreed to see me, I was 12. As determined as he was to help me, I was just as determined to reject his help and continue hurting him.

"As a teen, I found more drastic ways to hurt him. I drank, took drugs, broke curfew, cut school, flunked classes. When I was 14, not quite 15, I helped my boyfriend steal his uncle's supply of pot. He gave it to me to hold until he found a buyer. I stashed it in my bookbag." She stopped to take a breath as her adopted father swallowed hard.

"Tim found it and took it out. I'd left my bag open on the floor by the kitchen table, at Mrs. Ferguson's, and he saw it, smelled it. When he confronted me, I was so angry that I stabbed him. Grabbed a knife he'd been using to slice apples and stabbed him. Then I grabbed the pot, my bag and ran out the back door.

"I could hear him screaming, I'd stabbed his hand and I learned later that the knife went through his hand into the table. I just kept running. Tim…Rob was home and called for help but knew he shouldn't move the knife. The fire department had to cut a hole in the table so they could move Tim, with the knife still in his hand and in a piece of the table, to the ambulance and hospital. They had to operate and called in a hand specialist to save any function in his hand. He ended up having multiple surgeries.

"I hid, but someone saw me and I was arrested. Before Tim's surgery that day, he asked to see Social Services and then relinquished his legal guardianship of me. He said he'd tried everything, that he'd obviously failed and he hoped I'd do better, find happiness, in foster care. He wasn't being sarcastic, he meant it. What I did broke his heart for the last time. He'd worked so hard to keep us alive and to get us out of poverty and I threw it all back in his face every chance I got. Geordie, Lu, Nate, Bill and the guys, Mrs. F, Larry and Cyndi, the Donovans, everyone tried to help. When I was younger, I would listen to Geordie, Lu, Nate and Bill and sometimes it helped for a few days. Then in Cambridge, I would pretend to listen to the Porters and the Donovans, even Artie's guardians, the Biros-Santos, and behaved better when I was around them, even if Tim was also there.

"Anyway, my boyfriend told the cops I'd stolen the pot but there was evidence that we stole it together. I didn't have a trial. I pled guilty in a deal my public defender set up, because I was a first time offender. I was sentenced to 24 months in a juvenile detention facility. I had to attend school at the facility, there was no way out of it, but I made sure my grades were still bad. I also had mandatory counseling, every weekday for almost 2 years."

She sighed, "Rob called the Porters from the hospital and they came right away Mrs. F came later, from work. That night, Larry and Cyndi called Lu to tell her what happened and she drove up to Cambridge, stayed with Rob at Mrs. Ferguson's for a few days and then moved them both to the Porters. That was so there would be someone with Rob after school and with Tim when he got out of the hospital. Mrs. Ferguson worked full-time and couldn't afford to take a leave of absence or too many days off.

"When Tim was discharged, he went to the Porters too and then he was in and out of the hospital having more hand surgeries. Lu didn't leave until he was home from his last surgery and they knew it was successful, he'd have full functionality of his right hand. Geordie came too, he was given emergency leave when it first happened and stayed for 3 weeks. He tried to see me but I refused.

"After 20 months, I was released on parole and put into foster care. By then I'd done some serious growing up. Out of sheer boredom, I'd finally started talking to the shrink and he helped me start to see how out of control I was and I finally understood that the problem was me, not Tim.

"I'd blamed Tim for everything. The car crash, my daddy and brother dying and most especially, being dragged away from my mother, my toys, my playmates and my comfortable home with my pretty princess room. I believed it was all his fault and as I grew older and we were still in that shelter and then the camp, I got angrier and angrier. Oh, he told me what really happened, I knew what Natalie did and I knew she wasn't my mother but I still blamed him and grew to hate him. But I never told him, or anyone, how angry I was or why I was so angry.

"After my release, I didn't try to contact them until after my 17th birthday. I'd been out of detention for a few months, living with a foster family who didn't put up with any crap. Tim and Rob sent a card for my birthday, addressed to me and mailed to the local CPS office. When I got it, I cried. They just said Happy Birthday, we love you and they both signed it. Both of them said they loved me. I didn't understand how they could possibly love me after being such a bitch for so many years, especially after what I did to Tim but I wrote them back anyway.

"It took a few weeks but finally I was allowed to see them. There was a social worker in the room but that was okay. Tim was taller, that was the year he grew 2 inches and Rob had grown a foot. I'd written out what I wanted to say but when they walked in, I burst into tears and spent our time telling Tim – and Rob – how sorry I was, how much I loved them and missed them."

She took another deep breath, "Anyway, that was the start. By then, Tim was almost through at MIT and by the time he had his Masters and Ph.D., I was allowed to go to the ceremony. I remained in foster care until my 18th birthday. By then, I'd taken most of my classes over and managed to graduate from high school with a C average. Then I took general education courses at a community college to improve my overall GPA, while I worked part-time but stayed with my former foster parents, paying them a little rent. I saw my brothers frequently, sometimes I had dinner with them at Mrs. F's or the Porters, and we did things together, movies, pizza night, things like that. We spent holidays and our birthdays together.

"While Tim waited to get into FLETC, he worked fulltime at a bank. Eventually, he got in and I moved back in with Rob at Mrs. Ferguson's while he was away. She even rode down on the train with us to visit him.

"Then he was hired by NCIS and the Porters drove us to Norfolk where he'd rented a studio apartment. That was the first time I'd lived with Tim and Rob in nearly 4 years. I kept taking college courses and a few months after you transferred Tim to the Navy Yard, I won a scholarship to Waverly. It's been a long road for the 3 of us, getting through all the crap I did to Tim and indirectly to Rob, over the years.

"When you confronted me that time at NCIS, you were right. In my fear and anger, I'd slipped back into old habits. That blog I was writing then wasn't helping. I have a tendency to be sarcastic and that has not helped my emotional outlook at all. Even so, I thought I was through everything. I knew I couldn't be 'over' anything because it happened and I did it, but through the worst of it. And then I pissed off someone so much she hired that goon to rape me, to teach me a lesson. That sent me back to a shrink, which helped me get my head straight again. The 3 of us went to counseling together for a couple of years. And Tim and I saw a shrink together and separately for months after that.

"By the time I graduated from college, Tim and I were okay. I think when I was almost a victim and went to him for help, that strengthened us. Rob was all right too. The 3 of us coasted along for a few years, busy with our own lives, until I won a scholarship to grad school here. And then he found Patrick and the boys, got tossed out of NCIS, moved back to Cambridge and then you all moved here. I guess this time the months apart helped us because we're closer now than we've ever been, all 4 of us."

She stopped talking and looked at her father, "That's why no one else would tell you, it really was that bad."

He nodded before pulling her into his arms. Lu, Rob, Geo and Tim had talked with him about Sarah's story. Not what happened but how hard it was going to be and how hard it would hit him. They were worried that he'd lose his temper and be angry with his daughter or worse, reject her.

Tim and Rob were both afraid it was going to split the family again, and spoke with Lu about it. She sat her husband down one night and told him of their sons' fears, shaking her head, "You can't let that happen. They've worked too hard, the 4 of them, me too, Artie when she was still in Cambridge and Barry, Bill, Freddie, Jose, Larry, Cyndi, even Nate. Honey, if ever there was a time to put your feelings aside and love your children, all of your children, unconditionally, that will be it, when Sarah tells you what happened. Promise me?"

He'd been shocked that whatever 'it' was could have the power to rip their family apart, had already ripped it apart once and promised his wife to do as she asked. Now he was very glad she'd been candid with him. He told Sarah he didn't know what to say, that he'd known it would be something awful but it was still hard to hear and absorb. He did tell her that he loved her and hugged her again when he saw her relax a bit. They talked a few more minutes until he admitted he needed some time to himself.

She left the suite and found James and Tim waiting outside. After a long hug with Tim, she went into her husband's arms and they went upstairs to the library for some privacy.

Taking a deep breath, Tim gave a perfunctory knock on the door of the suite and then went in. He knew his dad would need to see him, examine his hand and make a bit of a fuss over him. Lu and Artie watched him go in, both hoping the worst was over.

Jethro was sitting on the sofa, crying. Tim sat next to him, first pulling him into a hug and then sitting back, put his right hand in his father's left hand. "Feel that. It's warm, my fingers are moving, blood is flowing, it's whole. I'm whole. I know you're upset, that's all right. I hope that at some point you'll realize I'm alive, Sarah's alive and we're whole, both of us. We love each other, as siblings, as family and as friends."

When his father pulled him into his arms, Tim went willingly. Eventually, Jethro did examine his hand, sighing when he found no sign of the injury or the surgeries. "You had plastic surgery?"

"While I worked at the bank, yes, as soon as I had enough personal time saved. I didn't want any physical reminders, for me, Sarah, Rob, Geo, Lu, the Porters, Mrs. F., not for any of us."

"Good thing you're left-handed."

Tim nodded, knowing it was easier for his father to at first address his physical injury before moving on to what happened, the emotional and psychological trauma. "Dad, one of the hardest things for me was getting through the guilt. I didn't know what was wrong with Sarah or what I was doing wrong. For a long time I didn't know anything was wrong, until Lu said something. Sarah was 8 by then. I knew she was a brat to me but she was fine with everyone else and well, this sounds lame now but she'd always been a diva with me. I didn't know any better. When we lived at the camp, Nate and Juanita kept her in line, except when she was with me and they weren't around. She'd listen to Bill and Geo but never me. I think I was so used to it by then," he sighed, "I did my best but it wasn't enough, I wasn't the person who should have been raising her. She did a little better when I was at Johns Hopkins but she told me later that's when she started taking drugs. She was only 11! I fought so hard to keep us together when she would have been better off in foster care, no matter how dangerous it might have been for her at the time."

He opened his mouth to continue when his father spoke, "It wasn't your fault, Timothy. You did the best you could and the adults around you did the best they could to help without calling in CPS, which could have made things worse for the three of you, in Baltimore. You were a kid, trying to keep your family together. This was McGee's doing, leaving you to take care of Patrick and Sarah. Natalie sure as hell wasn't nurturing any of you and from what you've said, he knew. I'm not sure who paid the higher price for his idiocy, you kids or him, being murdered." He shook his head, "No, it was you kids who paid the price, are still paying the price, for his pride and gullibility – or laziness. I am surprised that Sarah thought Natalie was her mother."

Tim nodded, "I was too. She never said anything when she was little and I don't remember Natalie ever spending much time with her. Certainly not playing with her or showing any affection. But sometimes when we came home from school, Sarah would already be home from daycare. Maybe the _zona_ had a little bit of a heart after all."

"Not much, she went to her death believing she'd had both of you killed."

Tim shuddered. They both looked up when Lu and Artie entered, smiling at their loves.

Sarah was glad they hadn't planned to be home for dinner that evening, they were going to a birthday party for one of James' friends. She told James she was more shaken than upset and she hadn't been as nervous telling her father as she'd been telling him.

Before she and James left, Tim and Sarah thought of going for a walk but as it was too chilly, they went to the library. They were really checking in with each other, making sure they were still good. It happened rarely now, they were no longer insecure with each other but telling their father was a big deal. When Rob and Geo slipped into the room, they wrapped them into their arms. Sarah sighed, "Thank God that's over." Tim nodded, "Amen to that, Sari."

She wrapped her arms around her brothers, "I love you so much."

Each said, "Me too." They held on for another long moment before parting, smiling at each other. They really were okay, they were still a family, they'd always be a family. They fought their way through their troubles, got help and were whole again. Scarred perhaps, but healed and whole. Not just Tim and Sarah, but the four of them. Tim, Sarah, Rob and Geordie.

Back downstairs, James had Sarah's coat and hat ready, they needed to get going. Geordie took them to the Tube while Tim joined Greg, Andy, Kyle and Jared in the kitchen, the boys were making dinner for everyone.

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The next day, family and friends threw a baby shower for Breena. Although the party wasn't a surprise, Breena did not know who would be there. Breena worked part-time at a local mortuary and was happy that two of her co-workers, new friends, were there along with her mother, sisters and Ellie's mother on Skype. The Slaters and Barbara Bishop were a little bleary as it was 7 AM in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and 6 AM in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, but they managed. Maggie and Tony also attended via Skype.

All the women of the extended family were there as well as several of the men, Ducky, the Uncles Dave, Jim, Ian and James and Grandpa Mac. Also in attendance, with their wives, were two men who hoped to someday be attending parties for their own grandbabies, George Powell and Alastair Clacher.

With the cold weather, they'd decided to have an early lunch, followed by presents and cake. That way everyone could get home before it got even colder in the late afternoon. The senior Powells took the train, bringing overnight bags. They'd stay over, catching an early train to Manchester, where both worked, in the morning.

The kids didn't know what to expect and for once neither their cousins nor the Vances, Em or Pauley knew either. None had been to any baby showers, except perhaps in utero at their own. They liked the lunch part, that was quite yummy and some of them helped cook.

Afterward, when the McGee kids walked into the living room and saw the mounds of gifts, their eyes widened and Kyle looked around to see if anyone had noticed them yet. Maybe they could…nope, the stairs were out in the open, no way they could sneak. And the playroom wasn't theirs anymore.

Their father came to their rescue, "If you want to stay, that's fine. There will be a lot of baby clothes and stuff like strollers and sleep sacks and mobiles for the crib, stuffed animals and…" he chuckled at the looks on their faces. "Or you can go upstairs and play quietly or hang out in the family room."

Greg frowned, "Aunt Breena won't mind?"

"No, she's hoping you'll take Victoria and Davey with you. Your cousins, Em, P, Kayla and Jared will probably join you. These things really aren't for kids. Hope will stay with us for a while."

"Are they going to try and guess names?"

"They can try but the Palmers said they haven't chosen them yet."

"Ok, can we play in the library?"

"Yes, that's a great idea, Greggers! No roughhousing though. If you decide you want to watch a movie, you can hookup to the TV in our room. Or in the family room, don't worry about coming back downstairs or having to show your faces at the party!"

"Thanks, Papa!"

As one, the four McGees, Victoria, Davey, quickly joined by Em, Pauley, Ainsley, Callum, Kayla and Jared, turned toward the family room. Kayla, Emily and Ains had talked about it, deciding they would pop back into the living room in an hour or so. While they were interested in seeing the cute stuff the baby would be getting, they really didn't want to stay long.

Kayla laughed when they closed the pocket doors from the family room to the rest of the house. "I looked up baby showers online and it says usually the dad-to-be and maybe the grandfathers are the only guys there. I think it's nice that the Admiral, Captain Hubbard, the Powells and Ian's parents are there too. And the other guys. My dad said he'd pop out to say hello at the end. I asked if he went to Mom's baby showers and he said he had. The Russells had the one for me, in Piraeus and the one for Jared was in Chicago. He said that wasn't as much fun because it was cold out, like now and there wasn't a pool or an ocean."

"But that's all they do? Open gifts and eat? Don't they play games or anything?"

"Yes, there are thousands of different games mentioned, all about babies."

She laughed at the looks on their faces. "Come on, let's decide what to do. Play a game or watch a movie?"

Kyle looked at his friend, "If we watch a movie, can it be one Rissa and I are 'lowed to watch?"

"Of course, Train man. Your family has a great collection of old Disney movies. Let's look through those!"

They watched two old Disney movies, one that was funny and one with animals. It was fun being in the family room, they could grab snacks from the kitchen. Kayla and Emily went out to the living room for a while. When they came back, they told them that the baby would be very well dressed. And they brought Hope with them. She squealed when she saw them, very happy to see her playmates.

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The Sunday with the baby shower marked the beginning of several weeks of winter and holiday activities.

The first day they had available, Tim, Jimmy and Jim Hubbard took Jared, Cal, Andy, Greg, Kyle and Davey shopping for new winter clothes. They had fun, taking the Tube into London. Each of the boys picked out a parka, with Andy, Greg and Kyle helping to ensure the newcomers' outerwear would be warm enough. After that, they purchased trousers, long-sleeved shirts, pullovers, pajamas and snow boots. Once the boys were happy with everything they needed, the group headed to a favorite spot for lunch out.

Kayla returned to the University to complete her first term and then came home for Christmas break. Jared moved upstairs, sharing Andy's room so his sister could have the extra room in their suite. They had fun decorating their Christmas tree. The best thing was their dad helping them, even singing their favorite carols with them, although he had to lip sync more than he actually sang. Kayla thought that was all she needed for Christmas, to see her father smiling, healthier and willing to join in.

All kinds of holiday activities kept the kids and their adults busy, from ice skating at the Natural History Museum's open air rink to a winter festival, winter markets, visiting the annual "Winter Wonderland" in Hyde Park, seeing St. Nick in Leicester Square, caroling concerts to seeing a performance of "The Nutcracker Suite" in London.

Mama, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa and frequently Grammie, Penny, Granducky, Grandpa Mac, Uncle LJ, the aunties and uncles escorted the kids, always including the Palmer, Hubbard, Fornell and Vance kids, to the festivities, which were fun for everyone who went.

Breena occasionally joined them but with her baby due within the next few weeks, that wasn't often.

Like Thanksgiving, the Christmas holiday season, even with all the fun activities and almost everyone living close by, still felt very strange. No packages were shipped directly to Arlington or Georgetown, only the DiNozzos' flights were reserved, no group discounts haggled over and suitcases remained empty, except those hiding Christmas gifts, and those with jobs saved their vacation days.

Of the Americans who'd been in Greece with them, the only folks who would be missing on Christmas Day were Larry and Cyndi Porter. When the greater Boston area experienced no terrorist attacks, experienced no more crime than usual, they flew home, resuming their classes at MIT. After their lengthy stay and explorations in Europe, they'd stay home over their Christmas break. Larry joked that it would probably take their entire break to sort their photos. Tim told Artie that it felt good to know that someone at home was not living in danger.

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Even with the holidays, Tim and his family never forgot what was happening to their fellow Americans at home. The attacks continued, although Tim and Jethro, who was doing his own covert work, knew that there was progress in the war against the terrorists.

For Tim, that meant leading his 'White Hats' team in searching through cyberspace for any information, targets, names, anything that could lead to saving lives and/or identifying and stopping the criminals. Once they knew the murders they'd witnessed were not the result of deliberately planted information, their resolve grew even stronger. Tim thought that for a bunch of geeks, that had been a horrible baptism of fire and blood and most of them made it through. Two of his team dropped out and Tim understood, recommending they seek help.

Jethro's goal was also to defeat the terrorists and he was now working covertly with a group of retired military personnel that he, Tobias, LJ and Colonel Barnes organized. Just as the defense squad was a combined group of Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard, so was the retired group. Still helping Tim at night when he could, during the day, Jethro would slip into the basement with his phone to assist the group who were operating, for all intents and purposes, a modern version of the pre-Civil War's Underground railway. In the 1800s, that had been organized to help slaves escape into freedom, in the 21st century, potential victims were identified, approached, encouraged and then helped, financially and physically, to move out of the 'hot zones' into the safer areas of the country, into the northeast, the northern Midwest, along the Canadian border, into Canada and a few were accompanied to safety on the West Coast. In some cases, once the targeted people left their homes, retired military personnel would patrol the area, helping the defense squads defeat the terrorists.

Part of the extended family was happy to be of assistance to his group. Larry and Cyndi Porter, living in relative safety in Massachusetts, helped to organize the relocations of the people Jethro's group were moving. Whether it was finding lodging, temporary or permanent, providing transportation, even grocery shopping or providing a few hot meals.

When they first started working with Jethro, the Porters quickly realized they were taking on some of the actions and responsibilities the former camp alumni non-profit group had developed. They'd been donors to the non-profit and as such were members of the Facebook group. Going through the entries, they found the mission statement with a list of the assorted duties and responsibilities and copied it for their own use. When they told Jethro, he was proud of his kids and his friends but asked them to keep it to themselves for now.

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Because he wasn't taking time off for Christmas in the U.S., Tim scheduled a few days off before and after the holiday and an extra day in January for the Greek Christmas. Things had been going very well with the INV agents' work and they continued to receive excellent reviews from the field teams they supported. Tim thought the next step would be another INV agent in the U.S. but placement would be tricky.

Over the holidays, Tim, Ellie, Race and Ned arranged their days off so that at least two experienced INV agents were always available. The new INV agents were doing well and the newest one, Matt Watson, was settling in at the Far East Field Office in Yokosuka with few problems. He'd spent 12 days at home, reporting that his family celebrated an early Christmas while he was there. Ray Esposito, Bec's new field agent and future INV agent, was also settling in well, studying the INV pre-training manual when he had time.

Wanting remembrances of their happy Christmases in Arlington, the family decided to have beef roast, Yorkshire pudding, fresh vegetables, chopped salad, mashed potatoes and gravy for their Christmas dinner. All they wanted for dessert was Lu's apple crisp. The cooks, Tim, Lu and James, along with Kayla, Jared, Ainsley, Andy and Greg as sous chefs and kitchen helpers, were thankful for the simple menu. Although Artie was now fully recovered from her surgery, no one wanted her on her feet for any length of time, something she found frustrating and endearing.

With the addition of a new NCIS office in Europe, the holiday schedule had been revamped. Because their host countries celebrated the Christmas holidays in December, four of the NCIS offices would be on call for one of the holidays rather than on duty at the office. One office would have no duties for any of the four days, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. That office would take the next American holiday, Martin Luther King Day, in January. This season, Athens had the Christmas Eve on call, Hamburg was on Christmas Day, Rota had New Year's Eve, London had New Year's Day and Marseille had MLK day in January. That made Jethro and Lu very happy, all of their kids could join them for Christmas!

The DiNozzos arrived Friday evening to spend the holidays with their family, planning to stay through Christmas week. The Piros had also been invited, declining with thanks. Race's father and his wife's aunt were flying in from Canada to spend the holidays.

In lieu of the usual adult gift exchange, this year everyone was chipping in for the meal. In addition, the McGees and Palmers asked that each person, couple or group draw one child's name only and stick to a stipulated dollar amount. When Granducky, the Gibbses, Mimi, Sophia, Grammie and Penny objected, an exception was made for grandparents and great-grandparents.

Christmas morning was fun, happy chaos, with the added bonus this year of Hope's excitement. She'd made her first visit to Santa this year, along with Rissa, Kyle, Victoria and Davey and talked nonstop about her visit for days, enthralled by the whole Santa Claus/St. Nick/Father Christmas mystique.

Christmas Eve found the McGee-Gibbs-Hubbard clan, including the kids, all 4 McGee siblings, their significant others, their parents, grandmothers, godparents, aunt, uncle and cousins visiting Patrick. The adults read the classic Christmas poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" while the kids pinned up photos of some of their holiday activities and then they all sang a few carols for Patrick and Eric, his roommate. The small tree Patrick had at Restful Haven traveled with him and was lovingly decorated, standing near his bed. The boys had taken all the old decorations off and put new ones on, including festively decorated framed photos of themselves and their siblings.

Tim and Artie had also made a private stop earlier, delivering Christmas gifts to Kadie and Harry. Their surrogate was doing very well, enjoying a fairly easy pregnancy and their first trimester would be complete on December 29th. Even though that was only 4 days past Christmas Day, the McGees decided to wait until New Year's Eve or New Year's Day to tell their parents, children and the rest of the family. Tim and Artie both remembered Jethro's painful tale of Shannon miscarrying just a few days shy of 12 weeks. While they weren't especially superstitious, neither wanted to take the chance of reminding Dad. Besides, there was another surprise to share Christmas Day.

It snowed early afternoon on Christmas Day, just late enough so that everyone was already at the Manor. That made a nice change from their Arlington Christmases, when it had snowed before or after Christmas but not on the big day itself. Just about everyone was in the living room, enjoying a light snack while waiting for Artie, who was changing her clothes. After the morning chaos with the children, she'd decided to dress up for the afternoon and put on a wool dress, almost immediately finding it too warm.

While Artie changed, Tim was hanging out with his uncle and godfather, he'd been too busy since they'd come home in November to spend much time with them. He found the two had great stories to tell, always making him laugh. Most of them were about their experiences aboard ship but there were plenty about young Tim, Pat and Sarah.

When Artie entered the room, it was if someone shot a starter pistol at the beginning of a race. The adults rotated wearing Santa hats as they handed out gifts. The next hour was a blur of laughter, surprised and happy exclamations along with the sound of paper ripping. Despite the agreement amongst the adults not to exchange gifts, everyone had a little something. Maisie and Claire knit warm caps and either a scarf, warm socks or mittens for each member of the group, much to everyone's delight. Uncle LJ, who'd made sure he got Kyle's name, gave him a new Engineer's cap as his old one was too small and rather tattered. Kyle gave him a big hug and kiss. "Thank you, Unca LJ! I'm gonna save the first one too, is that okay?"

LJ nodded with a big smile, giving his favorite train engineer another hug. Maisie smiled, watching them, she'd already hand stitched LJ and Kyle's names and the date Kyle had originally been given that old cap into it. That cap would be preserved and well documented! She chuckled to herself, perhaps Sarah and James should share custody with Kyle. After all, it was the lost Engineer's cap that brought the two of them together in the first place!

Penny brought gifts from her travels and had fun explaining what the items were.

Bill and Jethro gave handmade wooden items to everyone, some fun, some practical, all beautifully crafted. They laughed as they admitted they'd worked together on some of them.

Freddie and Joe gave everyone framed photos of their fun times on the beach in Varkiza. Each recipient was featured in the photo given him or her. The guys chuckled as they said that Lu helped them figure out how to do the frames as they were made of pipes, parts of pipes or pipe fittings.

Sarah and James, Rob and Ellie, Geo and Bec gave Breena and Jimmy, Tim and Artie homemade 'gift cards' for several hours of babysitting, including an overnight stay for each couple. George and Edith did the same thing, although they hadn't thought of an overnight stay. With a grin, George grabbed their cards back from the McGees and Palmers, scribbling 'one overnight' on each and returning them. Ducky and the Gibbses grinned at each other, the overnights meant they could have time away too!

Mac and Abby joined in handing out several gifts, ranging from clothes, toys, to artwork, purchased last summer during their sightseeing trips in the air conditioned rental car on hot Greek afternoons.

Lu, Claire and Liz combined their sewing skills, making winter weight shirts or tops for everyone and Breena had 2 new mix and match winter outfits to wear post-baby, much to her delight.

After the living room was cleaned up, the cooks, now also including Tony, got busy and within an hour were announcing dinner would be served in 10 minutes. The kids and young adults already had the tables set. Hope was proud to help, she carried piles of napkins to the table, helping Ainsley and Kyle distribute them.

Leon, who'd spent time with people as they arrived, joined them for dinner, smiling at everyone. After everyone enjoyed the feast, Leon stood and thanked his hosts for making his family part of their family, going so far as giving them a home.

As Tim listened to his boss and friend, he noted that his voice was starting to sound like the director again. It wasn't quite there yet, but it gave him hope.

After Leon sat down, Geo stood up, "Before we begin our feast, I've been informed there are a few announcements. And kids, the food is not getting cold, the meat has to rest for a few minutes before we eat. Malu, you're on first."

She smiled as she stood, holding up a piece of paper. "This paper is the approved adoption, by me, of Anthony, Jr., Bill, Barry, Geordie, Freddie, Jose, Timothy, Patrick, Sarah and Rob. I am now legally your mother!"

Cheers and applause erupted. When the noise died down, Geordie rose. "Thank you, Mom! Dad, you're up next."

Jethro stood, beaming, "With their agreement, I've also adopted Bill, Barry, Freddie, Jose and Patrick. Sarah, thank you for approving his adoption. Boys, you've always been part of the Baltimore family, now I'm happy to be your dad and officially make you card carrying members of the Gibbs clan."

More cheers and applause and then laughter as Jethro smirked, "I can't wait for someone to ask me how many kids we have! Abby, Anthony, I'm still including you."

In unison, Tony and Abby called, "Thanks, Pops!" That brought more laughter.

Bill stood, looking at his new parents. "Speaking for all of us who grew up at the shelter and camp, thank to both of you. Barry, Fred, Joe and I have felt like part of your family since Tim pulled us into that first dinner 3 years ago, when we helped explain his life, our lives, as homeless orphans. Tim and Geo are the only ones who remember having parents at all and with the exception of Tony, Geo is the only one who remembers having a mother. We're adults, but knowing we now have parents is a heady feeling, it feels like we've won a wonderful prize."

When it was quiet again, Geordie stood, "Okay, two more and I get to announce the first one. Dad, Tim performed some magic and all of your kids, adopted and you know, Tim, and the grandkids, are now legally named Gibbs. That's Bill, me, Barry, Fred, Joe, Tim, Patrick, Sarah, Rob, Andy, Greg, Kyle, Rissa and Hope."

Gibbs blinked away tears as his kids, including Tony and Abby, and grandkids swarmed him and the rest of the crowd gave them a standing ovation. It was several minutes before the noise died down and then Tony and Maggie stood.

Maggie spoke, "We're pregnant! We completed our first trimester November 20th, but decided to wait until today to tell everyone. Because we're older expectant parents, we've already had ultrasounds and yes, Rob, Jimmy, Ducky, all the testing has been done. Our child is fine and is due to arrive May 20th, 2018. We don't know gender yet, we hope to find out next month. I tried to convince Tony to wait and have it be a surprise but you know how he hates mysteries."

They laughed at that and Tony grinned. He turned to Dad and Malu, "We won't use your surname, for obvious reasons, but we'd like to use some parts of your names for our child. And of course, we expect you to be Grandma and Grandpa to him or her."

Maggie gave them a coy little smile, "Or them."

"Them?"

"In the ultrasound, there was a shadow behind our little one, we'll know more from the next set of images."

Her father smiled happily, "My father had uncles who were twins, so you never know!"

Tony looked at Tim with a wild look and Tim grabbed him, "You'll be all right. Got plenty of help."

Richard looked at Tony, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Huh? Oh yes, sorry. We're married! We had a civil ceremony as soon as we found out about the baby. There was a lot of paperwork but we had everything so it wasn't too difficult. Race Piro was our witness, he said he was standing in for all of you. We didn't tell you because I was afraid I'd blurt out everything and it was too soon. Uh, Dad, Mom, Rule 18."

They were still laughing about that when the timer rang, the meat was sufficiently rested, ready to be sliced and served. Before that happened, the family stood to toast Maggie and Tony on their marriage. After that, they all sat down, only to laugh some more when Geordie stood again, "I've been asked by my siblings to make one more announcement. While most of us are now Gibbses, we propose that the title of 'the junior Gibbses' go to the Timothy Gibbses."

Jim Hubbard raised his hand, "I so move."

Jimmy was next, "I second the motion."

"All in favor?"

The vote was unanimous, even little Hope put her hand up, giggling. Tim rose, grinning, "On behalf of Mrs. Junior Gibbs, our children and me, we accept, thank you. However, Artemis will continue as Dr. Midei in her work and I will continue as Agent McGee in my work." He grinned at his parents and Leon, "My boss has enough headaches already!"

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Christmas night, Tim was a little surprised when Rob and Ellie asked if they could stay over. However, he was always happy to see more of his little brother and he and Ellie had successfully reestablished the working relationship and friendship they'd had on the MCRT. He'd been pleased to find out she was continuing to see a counselor. He'd researched, after that little hiccup between them a year ago, and now had a better idea how difficult Post Traumatic Stress could be. He'd seen both victims and perpetrators suffer from it during his years in the field, even now in his current position. He also knew to watch for signs in his covert work, personally and with his teammates.

Now, when Rob picked up what Tim thought was an oversized overnight bag, he saw it held an inflatable bed. "I couldn't remember how many Cal King inflatables you had and bought one of my own. We just need pillows."

Ellie chuckled, "We also brought a sleeping bag, thinking your blanket supply was probably stretched pretty thin."

Tim shook his head, "We seem to be in the habit of buying blankets whenever we see them on sale. I think it's a holdover from our non-profit days, buying blankets for the camp. You'll at least need 2 under the bed and one under the sleeping bag. You know what, we have an extra memory foam topper that would be great between the bed and the sleeping bag."

He ran downstairs and then came back up. "No one's in the extra room in our parents' suite. Why don't you sleep in there?"

"Wasn't sure what size bed it is."

It was a Cal King, so Rob and Ellie moved in for the night. Tim waited nearly an hour after they'd turned in before he headed to the basement and his secret lair.

As he brushed his teeth after the night's covert work, he wondered why his brother and Ellie had stayed over. Not that he minded but it didn't make much sense. They'd have to be up and out early as they were both working in the morning. He shrugged, he'd ride in with them, ask his brother.

It wasn't until he was walking through the living room to the kitchen for breakfast the next morning, dressed and ready for work, that he realized he had the day off. Shrugging, he continued into the kitchen. Ellie looked up, smiled and then frowned, "You're going in? I thought you were taking the day off?"

He rolled his eyes, "I am, just remembered on my way through the living room. Unless you want to trade?"

Rob shook his head wildly, "NO! We have plans, no trades!"

Ellie smirked at her boss, who chuckled. "Relax, I was just teasing!" He took a breath before saying in a rush, "Rob, why did you stay overnight? Is everything all right?"

Rob almost choked on his coffee. "Tim, yes! Everything is all right! I…look, this is our first Christmas here, all of us and I just wanted to spend a couple more hours last night with our family. I love everyone but sometimes there are so many of us I don't get to spend any time with Tony or Geo. Weird because Geo's in London same as us but with our schedules, well you know how it is. We figured it would be too cold to travel if we stayed late, so we came prepared."

Tim nodded, "I feel the same way about Tony and Geo. Tony and Maggie are here until Saturday, maybe we can grab a couple of hours with Geo too – hit a pub somewhere, even if it's lunch in the City. And I forgot about the cold."

Rob chuckled, "That's okay, I didn't! Not to change the subject, but I noticed Kyle's reading one of the 'Freddy the Pig' books!"

"Oh yeah, Kyle loves them as much as his brothers do."

"Awesome! I might borrow one sometime, read it again."

Tim grinned, "One of the benefits of being a parent, I read several of them aloud at story time."

"Do you use your special Freddy the pig voice like you did with us, with the oinks?"

"Of course. But Hope doesn't like the oinks, she says Freddy is a people pig, not a piggy pig. However, she likes the rat voice for slimy Simon."

With a grin, Rob imitated Tim's slimy Simon voice. Ellie's eyes widened, she'd never read these books, maybe she should take a look!

Tim returned to work on Wednesday, glad he'd had the extra day off. It had snowed all day Tuesday and was so cold the kids didn't want to play outside. That was fine with their father, he just wanted to take it easy. They watched 3 movies, had popcorn, hot cider and played a couple of board games. Tony and Leon joined them for one of the movies, a Disney favorite and stayed to play "Go Fish", Uncle Leon playing his own hand while Uncle Tony partnered with Rissa, who hadn't played before. Hope played with her daddy, becoming quite competitive.

Tim and Artie celebrated their wedding anniversary a few days late this year, waiting until the 29th so they could quietly celebrate the completion of their first trimester as well as their 2nd anniversary. They laughed at that, feeling they'd been married far longer than 24 months! Tim got out the calendar and counted. "We re-connected in London the summer of 2015. You moved in, we had Rissa's birthday, Susannah moved to Edinburgh, I proposed and we got married the day after Christmas, December 26, 2015. Right?"

Chuckling, she nodded. With a grin, he said, "This is 2017. 17 minus 15 is two. We've been married two years, amazing!"

"Because it seems far more?"

"Because so much has happened in 24 months!"

Now she laughed outright, "I don't think I can even list everything that's happened! Life with you is full of wonderful surprises and I know there will be many more."

With a look, he gathered her to him, showing his appreciation.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Dad and Lu were hosting their annual New Years' dinner on Saturday afternoon this year, the eve of New Years' Eve. They'd have the dinner on Saturday and then everyone could enjoy their New Year's Eve in whatever manner they wanted. Lu told her husband that Bill and Nikki, who were dating again, Sarah and James, Abby, Freddie and Joe with a woman he'd met recently, were going to a party somewhere while Rob and Ellie were also going out but not with the others. Geordie had to work but would be off before midnight so he and Bec were having a late dinner. Tim and Artie had the afternoon planned with the kids and then were having dinner out with Tony and Maggie while the kids, the grandmothers and the older men 'hung out' together at the Manor.

For Tim and Artie, that meant telling their parents and the kids about the baby on Saturday before the family dinner. They requested a Skype call with Sophia and Mimi for that morning and set up Tim's laptop in their bedroom, connecting it to the TV in there. When Jethro and Lu joined them, they were surprised to find the couple chatting with Artie's mother and grandmother.

They were given seats near the TV, in a semi-circle so the couple could address the four of them together. Lu could see that Sophia and Mimi were as puzzled as she and Jethro were.

Tim started, "On Dad's old team, we had a number of rules to follow, Gibbs' rules. One of them was, still is, rule 18, better to ask forgiveness than permission. It's kept me out of trouble more than once and I hope you'll forgive Artemis and me for withholding information from you until now."

Nodding, Artie continued, "Since we married, we've had 3 miscarriages and my problems grew to the point where my doctors decided I needed to have a hysterectomy."

Tim took up the next part, "What you don't know is that when Artie decided to go ahead with the surgery, we also decided to have another child. Remember that in Berlin, the boys found that old game of ours? We earned _a lot_ of money for that, along with 20 years of interest."

Artie's turn again, "We discussed several things and having a baby is one we decided to pursue right away. Mama, Yaya, I believe you know the story of Sarah's conception and gestation? She was what used to be called a 'test tube' baby, conceived from her mother's frozen eggs and her father's sperm. Then the fertilized embryo was implanted in their stepmother's womb. These days, that's called in vitro fertilization with a gestational carrier, and it's very expensive. If it weren't for that game, and for Martin Fernsby failing to send us our share of the profits but keeping and investing it, it would have been far more of a stretch, although my husband assures me Mr. Gemcity would have been happy to pay. Anyway, the week we returned from Greece, we met with my gynecologist and toured 2 gestational clinics. They say the most difficult part of this is finding the right gestational carrier. As Tim says, we got lucky."

Tim nodded, "When we told Artie's doctor what we wanted to do, she agreed that the hysterectomy could safely wait a few weeks. After that, we selected which gestational clinic we wanted to work with and then met with several potential carriers. We both liked Kadie immediately – she was the third woman we met. When she too was interested, we did a lot of legal work and then underwent counseling for the three of us and her husband, Harry. We're not Kadie's first set of intended parents, so she and Harry were comfortable with everything and that kept us relatively calm. We also underwent physical exams and a number of other things and then Artemis and Kadie had to take medication to synchronize their menstrual cycles. After they harvested Artie's eggs, I…the eggs were fertilized and successfully implanted in Kadie. Our pregnancy is doing well, Kadie is feeling fine, very healthy. We go to her medical appointments with her and we're paying for all her pregnancy expenses."

Artie smiled, "We completed our first trimester on December 29th, yesterday! Being a little superstitious, we decided not to say anything until after the 29th and after Tony and Maggie's announcement, we're glad we didn't say anything at Christmas. Our child is due to arrive on May 29th, 9 days after Maggie and Tony's baby."

Mimi and Sophia exclaimed loudly, hugging each other while in Brambury, the room was quiet for a few seconds.

Tim looked at his dad who was sitting very still, his eyes wide as he processed everything. Lu got there faster and her smile looked painful, it was so wide, "My first new grandchild, oh I'm so excited! That's not right, they'll be my two first new grandbabies!" She jumped up to kiss and hug her kids, laughing at her tears.

"Dad?"

With tears in his eyes, he pulled his son and daughter-in-law to him, kissing their foreheads, "I love you both so much, so proud of you! Will you know the gender ahead of time?"

"We thought it would be fun to be surprised but Kadie wants to know, which means her husband Harry will know and we aren't sure the secret can be kept."

Sophia and Mimi had questions but the four parents decided they first wanted to know more about the woman currently growing their grand and great-grandchild.

"Tell us about Kadie and Harry."

Tim took that one, telling them about the couple who had a little boy of their own and also loved to travel. Artie grinned, "They're splitting the money Kadie earns between funds for their son and traveling. And they've given us more ideas for places to travel with children."

Sophia asked, "How does this work? Will they be part of our lives after the baby is born?"

"No. We met her through a clinic and we signed legal contracts. One of the rules is no contact after baby is delivered, unless for medical reasons."

"And the baby's all right, all the chromosomal tests have been done?"

"Yes, because at 37 and 40, Tim and I are considered 'older', we've already had an ultrasound and all those tests were done. Baby is good. We have copies of the ultrasound that we'll mail to you; however, we'll be able to see more with the 20 week images."

Dad made a noise, "That's 8 more weeks!"

Tim nodded while the women laughed at him. Lu patted his leg, "We'll just have to stay very busy for those 8 weeks, Jethro. It'll give you time to build the bassinets and maybe a crib or two. And then we'll have 2 new ultrasounds!"

"What about names?" The question was from Mimi but the others nodded, they also wondered.

"We want to follow Greek custom, naming Baby after the grandparents. Lu, Hope already bears your name, although we wouldn't mind using it again, or using your original surname." Tim turned to Sophia, "If Baby is a girl, she will have your name, either Sophia or Alexandra and one of her paternal grandmothers' names. We have a little list but we won't make a final decision until she's born." He turned to his dad, "We have a list of boys' names too. Jethro is one and possibly Alexander, Peter, Andrew or Midei as the other name. Lu, we really do need to know your original surname."

She chuckled, "Camilo. My 3 times great-grandparents moved from Valencia, Spain, to the West Indies. I don't know the circumstances but I believe they were indentured servants. Anyway, after their time of service was completed, they were in danger of being forced into slavery. They must have been very resourceful because they jumped islands a few times to avoid that. My great-grandfather was born in Puerto Rico and he brought his family to Virginia. When my father married my mother, a girl with an Italian surname of Detti, my grandfather considered her too white and booted my father out of the family. Eventually my abuela, my grandmother, persuaded my abuelo, grandfather, of the error of his ways. I didn't meet my father's family until I was Greg's age."

"Wow, that's some story! It's good to know some people were able to avoid slavery."

She laughed, "I think they had to become outlaws to do so, there are rumors that at least one of the greats was a pirate but that hasn't been confirmed. What I do know is that I'm Spanish, African, Hindustani, Puerto Rican, Italian and possibly a few other ethnicities. Which makes me, I'm proud to say, a woman of color." "

"Ever had your ancestry done?"

"No, although your father highly recommends it."

Tim just nodded, making a mental note to talk with his dad and siblings about a special birthday gift for Malu.

Artie looked at her mother, smiling when she saw how happy she was. They would use the Greek tradition of naming children for their grandparents but would tweak it a bit by naming either a boy or girl after his or her Yaya, either Sophia or, since there was no male form of Sophia, Alexander, after Sophia's second name, Alexandra.

The 6 of them chatted a few minutes longer before disconnecting, all of them with big smiles. Tim looked at Artie, "Ok, now it finally seems real. People besides us know! And I've never seen your mother so happy. "

She nodded with a smile, "Yes, telling her our plan to use her name for either a boy or girl has shown her our love and respect or her." Then she chuckled, "The baby will be very real very soon, sweetie. And we still need to tell our children and figure out where to put Baby!"

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After the talk with their parents, Tim and Artie took the kids ice skating, just their family. They had a great time skating, went to say hello to Greg and Kyle's sleeping father and then, to the kids' surprise, also had lunch out, a big treat.

When they got home, their parents asked them to join them in their room, there was something special they wanted to tell them. With all of them sitting on the bed, Artie smiled at them. "We have a surprise for you!" Tim grinned, "We're having a baby!"

The kids were all surprised and Andy was confused. He knew what the hysterectomy meant and wondered how his mother could be pregnant again. When Papa and Mama grinned at him, he returned their smiles. His mother said, "Our baby is being carried for us by a very nice lady who agreed to keep Baby safe until he or she is born, then Baby will come home to us."

Kyle frowned, "Are we adopting the baby, like Hope?"

"No, she or he will be ours from the start and baby will look like some of us, we don't know who yet."

Tim tilted his head, they'd tried to figure out how to tell the younger kids and finally decided just to keep it simple. "Because of your mama's surgery, she can't carry the baby in her tummy like Aunty Breena is carrying their new baby."

Ok, they got that, the kids remembered the surgery and how their mama and papa lived in Grandpa and Grandma's room afterward until Mama got better.

"So instead of your mama carrying the baby, we found a nice lady to carry our baby for us. Her name is Kadie and she's married to a nice man named Harry and no, he's not Harry Potter."

Kyle, Greg and Andy grinned and Greg said, "That's too bad, our baby might have been magic!"

"When will our baby be born?"

"After Kyle's birthday in May."

"And then he or she gets to come home to live with us?"

"Yes!"

"Yay!"

Kyle frowned, "When will we know if it's a girl or boy?"

"When the baby is born, sweetie. We decided we want to be surprised, like Aunty Breena and Uncle Jimmy."

Greg was deep in thought, finally looking at his dad, "Did they do that with Victoria, too?"

"Yes, son, what a great memory!"

"Do you know what name we'll call our baby?"

"Not yet. We'll make a list. You may add your suggestions but first you have to promise there will be no sulking if the names you suggest aren't picked."

One by one they agreed. Rissa was thinking and now looked at her parents, "Where is the baby going to sleep?"

"We don't know yet, sweetie, that's one of the things we have to figure out. When the baby first comes home, he or she will sleep in here with us. Babies are so tiny, they have to eat more than 3 times a day and that means they get hungry at night too. It's easier to feed him if he's in here with us."

Greg nodded, "So we don't have to have the baby's room ready right away."

"Correct."

Kyle's face lit up, "She can have my room and I'll share with Greg, like we did when I was little. Or I can share with the baby if it's a boy."

"That's a very generous idea, Kyle, we'll think about it. If you share with Greg, we can build another train track for you in his room." This was an idea they'd already kicked around and asked Jethro that morning if the train track could be moved. He said it would be easier to build a new one.

"Cool!"

"Any more questions?"

"Are we going to meet the lady who's carrying our baby?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Maybe right before the baby's born."

"That's good."

"All right, now there's one more thing…your grandma, grandpa, yaya and Mimi know, but no one else."

"It's a secret?"

"Until dinner tonight, yes. Then we'll tell everyone."

"Oh good, that's not too long!"

Rissa nodded, her eyes big. "That's a big secret, I don't think I could keep it very long."

"Is dinner okay?"

She nodded with a smile. Hope grinned at them, she liked babies and was happy because her family was happy. She looked at her mama, "Will Baby wear diapers like I used to?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

Hope giggled, "Baby isn't big yet like me."

"No, not for a long time, sweetie. Baby will be younger than you, you'll be a big sister!"

"Oh!" She liked the idea of being a big sister, just like Rissa was!

Deciding it was again too cold to play outside, the kids decided to have a movie day and selected several movies to watch. They put up card tables in the family room, draping blankets over them and making forts or as Greg decided to call them, igloos. From their igloos, they had fun watching the movies and playing games with Victoria and Davey, who came over to spend a few hours with them.

Andy and Greg helped entertain by playing 'round robin' where one of them would start a story and then the next kid would continue it. Today they decided to have more adventures with the Beach Kids, who hadn't been visited since their vacation in Greece. There were varying numbers of the Beach Kids, depending on who was creating the latest tale. Greg always included a Beach Kid named Kathy, his and Kyle's first mother. However, in the stories, she was always a kid.

Today they added Patrick and Eric because Kyle said the sleeping men needed to have some fun. Listening in, Tim smiled, feeling his brother and Eric would love being included. Kyle decided they were sailors, true in his father's case, and they sailed around their island chasing mermaids, fishies and babies riding dolphins.

After they'd heard about the baby, the kids thought the day would be really long but with all their fun, it went quickly and before they knew it, Papa was gathering them to wash for dinner.

Artie suggested they tell the family their news before they ate, afraid their children would burst with the secret. Tim agreed and when everyone was seated, the couple stood. "We have some news we'd like to share. We're also expecting a baby, he or she is due May 29th, we've just completed our first trimester."

Artie smiled, "Obviously, I'm not pregnant, we used in vitro fertilization and…" she gave a brief explanation of their child's conception and current gestation. When she finished, Tim saw several people were still processing the news so he added, "Turns out our baby will be the youngest of 3 born next year! First is baby Palmer in January and then baby DiNozzo in May and 9 days later, our little sprout will join us. We'll probably know gender, which will make it easier to decorate the nursery, in whatever room that will be in!"

Uncle Jim laughed, calling out, "Jethro, you finish the attic rooms yet?"

He chuckled, "No and now I need help!" He was thinking that for family gatherings like this, they'd need a room with space for 3 or 4 babies to sleep and play. They could use the playroom but then Mac and LJ would need someplace else, preferably on the first floor. He shook his head, they'd figure it out later.

Artie laughed when she noticed that during dinner, Maisie, Liz and Claire were planning wardrobes for all three babies. She knew they had additional items ready for the Palmer's little one and in the last week had probably already started working on the DiNozzo baby's layette.

Saying goodbye to the DiNozzos was tough but the McGees had tentative plans to visit them, either in February for the kids' half-term or for one or some of the two weeks at Easter. Their parents planned to visit then and at least one other time before their child was born.

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They'd all noticed Leon was spending more time outside of the suite but none of them said anything, just happy to accept the change. He, Kayla and Jared were invited to join them for their Greek Christmas festivities and dinner. He laughed when he heard how few people would be there, only the Gibbses, senior and junior, Mimi, Sophia, Susannah, Ian and his parents, Geordie and Bec, and probably the Cranes, Maisie and Penny. They'd have to remove some of the leaves from the dining room table and the food could be served from the table, not in the kitchen!

The 6th was on a Saturday this year and the Hubbards and Fornells were going skiing in Glenshee, Scotland that weekend, flying up Thursday and back late Sunday afternoon. They'd invited Kayla and Jared to go with them and Leon knew the kids really wanted to go, although they were reluctant to leave him. Feeling they needed fun in their young lives, he urged them to go and then accepted the McGees' invitation to join the family for their Greek Christmas dinner.

Ginny Slater arrived on the 5th, prepared to stay for 2 months or longer if necessary. She was excited about the impending birth of her new grandbaby and wanted to do everything she could to help. Because she was there, Ducky felt comfortable attending the Greek Christmas festivities and when Grandpa Mac realized Maisie, Athena (Mimi) and Penny would be there, he also decided to take part.

While LJ was fond of them all, he'd already made plans to visit another friend who'd recently arrived in the UK with his family, a fellow refugee. He'd have a ride to the Tube station on Saturday and then be picked up by his friend's son on the other end. He'd stay overnight with the friend and Tim, Geordie or Jethro would pick him up on Sunday. Tim was nervous about his father's godfather taking the Tube by himself but LJ said he'd done so before and Ducky and Mac assured Tim he'd be fine. With all the exercise walking out back and into town and back, he was much steadier on his feet than he'd been even last year and had good upper body strength for his age.

None of the 'Baltimore Uncles' would be home, they took Friday, Monday and Tuesday off, traveling by train to France and Disneyland Paris. None of the four had ever been to any of the Disney parks and decided to remedy that! James and Ian worked by email, mapping out the park for them, including instructions for the train, so they knew where to go and what to attractions to see. Artie taught Barry and Freddie some key phrases in French and wrote out a few more. Tim sent them a translation app he'd found useful, although for him, taking language lessons from his wife was a lot more fun.

The travelers thought if they weren't too tired on Sunday, they might visit Paris as well, taking the train home on Tuesday. The family had fun planning a few surprises for them. When James handed them a manila envelope full of maps for the parks and the different rides, names and locations of restaurants close to the park, the packet also included vouchers for 2 rooms for 2 nights at a hotel in Paris, detailed instructions on how to get there and vouchers for meals in the City of Light as well as in or close to Disneyland. Lu, Jethro and Tim laughed when their phones lit up with thanks from the four, obviously they'd found the vouchers!

The ski holiday group took the train to the airport Thursday and reported in from their lodgings near Glenshee when they arrived. The Clachers, junior and senior, took the train down to Brambury from Edinburgh, arriving late Friday afternoon and Mimi and Sophia flew in, their flight arriving close to an hour before the Clachers' arrival. Artie drove to the airport early, before the Friday afternoon traffic got too bad. She met a friend for lunch there, a strange place for two old friends to meet but it worked, before meeting Mimi and Sophia. From the airport, they were just in time to meet the Clachers when their train pulled into Brambury station. Sophia, Mimi and Artie had been talking about the baby-to-be nonstop between the airport and Brambury train station and then had to be quiet when Susannah, Ian, Fiona and Alastair joined them.

Figuring out the rooms for their weekend guests wasn't nearly as challenging as it had been for the onslaught of family and friends over the summer. Mimi and Sophia would have the 2nd master upstairs, Susannah and Ian were in the library and Alastair and Fiona, Ian's parents, were in the Gibbses' extra bedroom.

The visitors enjoyed their weekend with Artie's family, laughing at how few people there seemed to be. They had their Christmas celebration on Saturday, Christmas Eve, starting with the gift exchange in the morning. They had a great time watching the children open their gifts and the adults had a lot of fun with their gifts to each other. As it had snowed overnight, most of the group played outside that afternoon, with the exception of Mimi and Sophia, who watched from the warmth of the conservatory. Sophia finally suited up, wearing extra winter clothing loaned by Sarah and Fiona Clacher and ventured outside.

The children and adults had fun as they divided into teams for snow ball fights and then built several snow people. Yaya Sophia helped pack snow for the snow people, remembering how they'd done that in Virginia when she was there for Artemis' wedding.

Toward the end of the summer, before the kids went back to school, Grandpa, Papa and Uncle Bill built a ramp in the back garden and now the kids had fun using it as a snow hill. They normally took their saucers and sleds outside the back gate to the hills, but didn't want to be rude to Mimi.

Before dinner, they had a Skype call with Nicolas and his family, Ana and her children and Gaia, Theo and the twins. During that call, Artie and Tim announced the impending birth of a new baby, explaining the process. Sophia had been in touch with each of the Skype callers ahead of time, advising them to have a bottle of bubbly something handy for a toast during the call, although she wouldn't tell them why. When Jethro stood, calling for a toast to Tim, Artie and the new baby, the others understood and raised glasses of their own bubbly beverages in celebration of the good news.

Dinner was delicious, Sophia, Artemis and Susannah cooked their meal together, with Tim as their sous chef of the day. They served several favorite Greek favorites and the family's guests, Leon, Ducky, Mac, Maisie and Penny, thoroughly enjoyed the repast.

Leon watched the interactions between Ducky, Mac and the three older women, Mimi, Maisie and Penny, and thought they needed one additional older gentleman to even things out. LJ had ruled himself out with his jaunt to London and Leon realized Colonel Barnes was also missing. He chuckled to himself when he noticed Ducky seemed a bit overwhelmed with the attention he was getting from Maisie and Mimi.

 


	62. Chapter 62

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to a reader on fanfiction.net for letting me know the creator of the green bean casserole has died at age 92. We'll likely have it at Thanksgiving this year, it's great comfort food. Maybe we'll raise a glass in honor of the inventor, Dorcas Reilly. 
> 
> Huge thanks to my beta reader, Alix33! Sadly, this chapter has not yet been beta'd as I just finished writing it and am impatient to post it. My bad!

Chapter 62

January and February, 2018

With the arrival of Ginny Slater, and after the ski trip and the Greek Christmas celebration, the focus of the extended family turned to the next event, their normal routine for most of them but for the Palmers, the birth of their baby.

While the Palmers waited, Kayla returned to Cambridge for her second term, Em and Pauley returned to their colleges for their next term and the secondary, lower secondary and primary schools resumed classes. The youngest ones happily returned to the nursery.

Breena was so ready to have the baby that she asked her doctor to induce labor and was gently refused as she hadn't yet passed her due date! Her labor started very early the morning of January 12th and Jillian Mallard Palmer was born 14 hours later, a healthy 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Ducky was nearly overwhelmed with joy at the baby's middle name, knowing his surname was now officially part of the Palmer family and would live on for another generation. Victoria and Davey were very excited to have a new little sister and impatient for her to get bigger so they could play with her. However, with Kyle, Hope and Rissa's help, they'd come up with another plan, they'd sing to the baby whenever she was awake.

Tim and Artie went to see Breena and baby Jilly while they were still in the hospital. Artie watched as Tim sat holding the baby, cooing to her, counting her tiny little fingers. He looked up at her, "I remember doing this with Hope when you brought her home."

She chuckled, "We thought she was so tiny, remember?" She couldn't wait to see Tim with their own newborn, counting fingers and toes.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While the Palmers were adjusting to life with their new daughter, something Tim watched a little nervously, he and Artie talked about their next adventure, during the children's Spring Half-Term holiday in February.

With everything going on, Tim had been procrastinating about visiting his team members in the Asian offices. However, a couple of changes in staffing took place during the week between Christmas and New Years and he felt compelled to take the trip without any further delays. After discussing possibilities with the adult Manor residents and a separate conversation with Andy, he and Artie came to an agreement.

Tim's trip to Japan and Singapore would take place during the kids' Spring Half Term holiday and his wife, Greg and Kyle would travel with him. They'd hoped to take all the kids, but Tim's flights and lodgings would be the only ones paid for by the agency and the cost of flying 6 people across the world and from country to country would be hugely expensive.

When they spoke with Andy, he asked to stay home. He'd already seen a lot of Asia and although he had wonderful memories, he also remembered the horribly long flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Santiago, Chile. Granted, the flight to Japan from London and then home to London from Singapore wouldn't be the 25 hours the Thailand to Chile flight had been, but 11 ½ hours and 14 ½ hours were more than Andy wanted to deal with.

With a smile, he told his parents that Hope and Rissa would probably be happier if one of their brothers stayed home with them. All three of them agreed that it was important for Greg and Kyle to go as they should see where their first mother was born and raised and their first parents married. And the two were citizens of Singapore, a country neither had yet seen.

With Sarah and James away on their delayed honeymoon at the same time, they'd wanted to make sure that Jethro and Lu would be all right parenting Hope, Rissa and Andy for ten days. They said they'd be fine and smiled happily when Mac and Joe promised to help, as did Bec and Geo, Rob and Ellie, Bill, Barry and the Hubbards and Cranes.

From there, the plans took off. No visas were required for citizens of the U.S. or Greece to visit either country, Tim smiled as he marked that off their checklist. Artie took the next item, what to pack. While the weather in Singapore would be hot and humid with probable rain, the weather in Tokyo would be cool, around 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next was deciding how many days in each location. Tim had the same amount of work at each location so two days apiece with a day between for travel. Then came where to start and where to stay, the latter applicable only to Japan. The Far East Field Office was located in Yokosuka, a city 43 miles south of Tokyo and 18 miles south of Yokohama. There were so many fun and interesting things for Artie and the boys to do in Tokyo that they decided to start there first. They'd leave London Thursday night, the boys taking school work for the classes they'd miss. The flight was nearly 12 hours long, they'd land in Tokyo Friday morning and check in to their hotel. They'd sightsee over the weekend so Tim could join them. They'd stay in Tokyo, it was easier for Tim to commute by train to Yokosuka than for Artie and the boys to travel between there and Tokyo for their fun. Monday and Tuesday, they would visit the parks, museums and Tokyo Disneyland while Tim worked. Tuesday night, they'd make the 7 ½ hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore.

While Artie and the boys mapped out what they wanted to do in Japan, Tim and Artie figured out Singapore together. Not only did they want to see the sights, they also planned to trace the life of Greg and Kyle's first mother. They wanted to visit her birthplace, the home she'd shared with her parents until she was almost 5 years old, and if possible find her parents', the boys' grandparents', graves, as well as the orphanage in which Kathy grew up, wherever she lived when she met Patrick and where they were married. After Malu joined them in combing through Kathy Hart's journals for information and combining her entries with online searches, they found most of the information they needed. They found her birthplace, first residence and the cemetery where the boys' Hart grandparents were buried. Tim wondered if they should move Kathy's remains there but decided to wait until Greg and Kyle were old enough to decide for themselves. Who knew where they'd end up living as adults?

An extra bonus would be meeting anyone, besides Malu, who'd known Kathy. They went back to her journals and found the name of the university she'd attended and the primary school where she'd taught. Tim remembered Patrick's former CO offering to tell the boys stories of their parents. Finding the man's APO, his military address, he wrote him a letter.

While Tim had work to do in Singapore, he also wanted to see some or all of those places, hoping it would make him feel more connected to his sons' first mother, the sister-in-law he'd never met.

With Vance's approval, the flights and hotels were booked through the agency, with Tim and Artie reimbursing NCIS for the additional airfare and hotel rooms.

While they were planning this trip, they looked ahead to the kids' Easter vacation which they normally spent in Greece. One evening while they were looking at flights and lodging, hoping to once again stay in 'their' Varkiza Airbnb, Tim's phone chimed with a call from Rob. Tim showed the caller ID to Artie, smiling.

"Hey Rob, how are you and Ellie and what's up?"

"We're fine, thanks. If you have a minute, need to talk about something with you."

"Sure, Artie's here too."

"Oh good, put me on speaker?"

"Done."

"We've decided to move our wedding up to April, either the 7th or the 14th. We can't go any later than that or Maggie won't be able to come, I'm afraid even the 14th is cutting it too close, especially if the next ultrasound shows more than on fetus. However, I also know the 7th is a holy day, the day before the Orthodox Easter, and we were hoping our Greek family would come to our wedding."

Artie leaned forward, "Rob, Ellie, the 7th will be fine, we all love you, and everyone will be there. Please don't worry!"

"That's good, thanks. You know that will cut into the usual Easter vacation in Varkiza."

Tim smiled at Artie, he had this one. "Rob, the important thing about our vacations, especially the vacations in Greece, is that we all get to see each other, spend time together. This year, we'll do that in the UK instead."

"Thank you! Huh, one more thing. I took it for granted you'd know this but Ellie says you might not. I'd like you to be my best man."

Tim grinned, "I'd be honored!"

"Great! I almost forgot, if possible, we'd like to have the wedding at the Manor."

"Not a problem, remember that Artie and I had our vow renewal here after the wedding in Virginia. How many people are you inviting?"

"I have another question before I answer that. Do you know when the uncles are sailing?"

"Hang on, let me check my calendar." Tim looked it up, saying, "They're sailing late this year, scheduled to sail April 29th."

"Yay! Then we're inviting 102 people. Most of them are family, Ellie's parents, brothers and their families are coming as well as her great-uncle, aunt and cousins. We're also inviting friends, mine from the hospital and med school and Ellie's from the office plus her best friend Emma will be here."

"Great, sounds like fun!"

They heard Ellie in the background and then she spoke directly to them. "Artie, will you please be one of my bridesmaids? I'll ask Sarah too. My friend Emma will be my maid of honor, she's flying in from the States. I wanted to ask Maggie but Dr. Rob says she'd be too uncomfortable, too much standing. Do you know of anything else she could do?"

"I do but if I may make a suggestion, why don't you ask Maggie to be a bridesmaid first, let her make the decision? Then if she says no because she'd be uncomfortable, maybe she could handle the guestbook."

Artie pulled back from the phone and looked at Tim quizzically. He had no idea what specifically was on her mind and shrugged. With a smile, she spoke again. "Ellie, are you considering using a wedding planner as we did? It was so much easier for us, let us relax and enjoy ourselves without worrying about all the details."

"That's a good idea, thanks Artie. Uh, I only remember the one at Jethro and Lu's wedding, at home."

"We also hired a wedding planner for our second wedding, which was really a renewal of our vows. I'll send you her name and context information."

"Thanks!"

It was Tim's turn to look quizzical as he said, "When will you know which date?"

"When Maggie's at 20 weeks and has another ultrasound. If she's having twins, we'll have the wedding on the 7th. If she's having one baby, she might still be able to fly for the 14th."

Artie frowned, shaking her head. "Rob, she won't be 20 weeks until close to the end of February, that's more than a month away and if you go with April 7th, that's less than 6 weeks for people to plan. You need to send out your invitations before then. If everyone was local, that might be all right, but for Ellie's family, her maid of honor and our Greek family, that will cost them more money, waiting to book flights and lodgings. Not to mention scheduling time off work."

"Oh, we thought that was enough time."

"Not when people are traveling internationally!"

"How long do you think we can wait?"

Tim could feel Artie's building frustration and took her hand, replying in her stead. "How about you ask Jenna, the wedding planner? And Rob, have you talked with Mom and Dad yet?"

"Oops, old habit. No, they'll be our next call and then the Bishops."

"Our parents went to the movies, so no risk of Dad having heard us!"

Eventually they ended the call and Artie looked at Tim, "I thought Ellie had been married before."

"She was, for a few years, I don't know how many. His name is Jake Malloy, an attorney with an American federal agency. He cheated on her, she caught him, that was the end of that. Why?"

"Did she have a formal wedding? She doesn't seem to know much about wedding planning."

Tim thought about that. "I don't know much more about her personal life but I do remember her saying once that she hadn't had to do much of the planning for her wedding. She said she and Jake just showed up, her mother and maybe his had done everything. She said it was a fairytale wedding and an ill-conceived marriage."

"Ill-conceived?"

He nodded, "She and Jake worked for the same federal agency. They met there, dated there. Their marriage did fine until she decided to stretch her wings, leave that agency and join NCIS. Apparently, their only common interest was their agency and their work. Working at two separate agencies meant they could no longer talk about what they were doing. They tried, or she did, I only know what she said. They thought buying a house together would help but they looked for several months without finding one they both liked. After that, it seemed like things went downhill fast. The next thing I knew, Jake came into the office and was a no-go with Ellie. I think Gibbs told him not to come back. Or something like that, I don't really remember now."

Artie made a face, "What a horrible discovery! And he cheated rather than try to work through it, develop common interests?'

Tim nodded, he was tired of talking about cheater Jake.

Changing the topic, Artie said, "Sad for Ellie, but good for Rob! And I guess that answers our question about Marseille as part of our Easter vacation."

"Yes, I know neither of us wants to leave Greece any sooner than we have to. Glad we're going back in October!" Tim tilted his head, "So, we leave for Greece after school on March 29th, or maybe they can skip school that day, take work with them? Huh, I forgot Rissa's in school now, not just the boys."

Artie made a face, "We can try to take them out a day early. If not, we leave on the 29th, get in very late."

Tim did a quick search, "There's a flight that leaves London at 4:30, that gets us in around 10. We'd still need to pull them out early, though, need to be at the airport by 2:30."

They figured out their flight choices and made notes, it would be dependent on their children's teachers and of course the date of the wedding. Which seemed to be dependent on whether the DiNozzos were having one baby or two.

Deciding to go upstairs before Jethro and Lu came in, they were running up the stairs, hand in hand and laughing when the senior Gibbses came in. The older couple smirked at each other.

Lu turned, looking around the living room, "All of the Bishops, that's Jerry, Barbara, two sons, their wives and…5 grandchildren, I think. And Ellie mentioned a great-uncle, aunt and two cousins."

"They can stay in hotels, guest houses or Airbnb lodgings. April isn't peak season, lodging will be less expensive."

"True, airfare will be lower too. I did remind Ellie of the group discount."

Jethro smiled, thinking of the reason for the rescheduled wedding. "Two new grandbabies, Hon!"

"It might be three, J, if Maggie and Tony have twins."

Jethro snorted, "That would work out great since you, Richard and I will have to share their kid, or kids, with Senior."

She huffed, "What makes you think he'll be around more often than he is now? Especially when the baby is too little to do anything but sleep, cry, eat, pee and poop?"

They both laughed and Jethro added, "He'll show up for the baptism and want photos for bragging."

"So? We will too!"

"I know, you're right. Funny, I don't mind sharing with Sophia and Mimi and I don't think I'll mind sharing with Richard. It's just Senior. He already botched Tony's childhood and he's so clueless."

Lu laughed at him, "Don't discount Maggie! There's no way she'll let him be alone with Sprout until the kid's old enough to yell for help. And I'm sure Tony will be just as fiercely protective of the child, there's no way he'd trust Senior alone with his baby."

"More than that. Tony was…12, I think, when Senior abandoned him in Hawaii for a few days while he pursued a woman in California."

"He WHAT?"

Jethro nodded while his wife made a stink face. "Why is that boy not ours?"

"Abused kids, Luella. You know the drill. And he is ours! He's officially yours and unofficially mine."

"Never stop hoping and yes, I know, I'm his mother now. Which gives me the right to keep Senior on the right track!"

"Richard is good with our Tony and for him. He says he calls him Gibbs, Jr. every so often, seems to cheer him up."

"Aw, that's sweet. Speaking of Richard, he, LJ, Mac and Cesar are talking about going to Greece for the rest of the winter. I imagine they'll come home with us for the wedding."

Jethro started laughing. When he could finally talk, he choked out, "Does Mimi know? Or Maisie or Penny? Or Ducky for that matter?"

"I don't think so. But Ducky won't leave the Palmers for any length of time and why do you think Mimi or the others…oh, the four older men, five with Ducky, and the three older women?"

He nodded, still chuckling. She shook her head, "It's Ducky's fault, he can't seem to decide between Maisie and Mimi."

"He and Maisie were close before, weren't they?"

"Mm, yes. They had a few dates before Drew got up the nerve to ask her out. That was the end of the young Dr. Mallard."

"Ouch!"

"To be fair, Maisie says he left for a new life with "Doctors Without Borders" about the same time."

"Before or after she started dating Drew?"

"I'm not sure exactly in what order that happened but my impression is that Ducky was distracted by his dreams while they were dating, so much so that he didn't communicate very often, she wasn't sure if they were even still dating and that led to her accepting Drew's attentions."

He shook his head with a pained look, "Ducky lost 'the One' because he wanted to save the world and she wanted a family?"

"Or at least a partner who was with her physically, mentally and emotionally."

"Oh. Yeah, I can see that. I've, uh, been told that myself in the past."

She gave him a quick kiss, "In the past, maybe. You're very much here with me now." She shook her head, "He still can't make up his mind, which tells me that Maisie was not and is not 'the One'. She had a good marriage with Drew. I'd rather see her with Mac, those two are better suited."

"Except he's also enthralled with Mimi and a little shy with Penny. Maybe they'll all remain good friends, how's that?"

She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, "Works for me!"

Behind the door of the hallway bathroom, Mac stood still, thinking about what he'd inadvertently overheard. He did like Maisie, he liked her a lot but he thought Ducky… Turning, he opened the door from the bathroom into the former playroom and went back to the movie he and LJ were watching, his thoughts on Maisie.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While he and Artie made plans for their baby, a wedding and travel, Tim continued his covert work with his 'White Hats' team. He was finding it harder and harder to disconnect from his regular life to electronically pursue terrorists and equally as hard to disconnect from the covert work at the end of his late night/early morning sessions. His sleep was becoming erratic as his mind kept working to find terrorists. However difficult it was, he pushed forward, working with his team to isolate and decrypt the terrorists' electronic records although in general, the White Hats had so far only uncovered useful information in bits and pieces. Yes, it was enough to stop attacks, get their targets to safety and have terrorists arrested but it was frustrating not to find what they'd begun to refer to as the 'keys to hell', that is, the records they were sure existed for the entire terrorist organization, the records they believed would lead directly to the end of the attacks and undeclared war. There were a few times Tim had been sure they'd found the terrorists' central server, only to discover it held information for a smaller group, a subset of the larger one. With no cyber connection they'd been able to find. Yet.

The belief among the geeks was that if they could find that server, all the names of the terrorists would be on it, they would be stopped for good, and that it would happen within days of acquiring the information. Tim's experience in law enforcement told him differently. It would take time to sort, coordinate, make sure no word, no plans were leaked and then to execute what might be a massive takedown. Still, he didn't say anything to discourage the others, they needed something to believe in, to hope for.

Although he'd told his father that they'd quit counting the busts for which his team was responsible, that never really happened. Tim kept track of the number of lives they'd saved but he knew at least one member of his team tracked the numbers of terrorists they'd busted to the defense squads. He didn't mind, the more slime was removed the better. He hoped this war would be won soon, then people could return to their lives and live peacefully. And his family could move home.

It'd been so long now, the Arlington house he'd seen only a few times and the renovations Bill did for them were starting to get a little fuzzy in his brain. They'd had a virtual tour of each room and of the whole house after the work was done, but they'd never seen it in person. He tilted his head, thinking of the woods he and Artie had been so excited about, knowing their children would love exploring. Now he hoped they'd still be young enough to want to explore, otherwise it could be their grandkids doing the exploring! He made a face at that, surely they'd be able to move home before Andy was through school!

Those thoughts led him to redoubling his efforts to track and identify the terrorists. With the cold weather, he was grateful for the heaters he'd purchased for his hideaway but this winter was frigid both outside and inside his lair, the ancient, drafty secret room. The solar heater, which also used batteries when the sun was not available, was joined by 2 larger, expensive battery operated heaters that put out more heat and kept the room at a 'toasty' 50 degrees Fahrenheit. With all three heaters going full blast, it sometimes edged up towards 55 degrees.

It was a big room with no insulation, although Tim and Dad had now hung blankets on the walls which helped a little. When it was windy outside, it was miserable inside the drafty room and nothing really helped, although Tim doubled up on the balaclava, scarves and blankets, wore insulated ski pants with thermal long johns underneath and at least three shirts under his sweaters and jackets. When he bought a sleeping bag rated for Arctic temperatures, he was more comfortable but some nights it was too cold to concentrate. Determined to keep going, he bought two more of the big heaters, along with rechargeable batteries, and finally brought the room up to a temperature warm enough for him to concentrate on his work. Although the heaters and batteries were expensive, he was finally able to work without fear of frostbite and continued to help save innocent people and hunt terrorists and that was what counted, no matter how worn out he was physically and emotionally.

While they were planning their trips, the family continued their routine. Tim and Artie saw their gestational carrier, Kadie, a few times every week, dropping treats off for her and her husband Harry, and accompanying her to her appointments. Fifteen weeks into their pregnancy, the young woman was doing well, taking into account all the challenges women face with pregnancy, and made sure that Tim and Artie both felt the flutters she did as the Baby developed, grew bigger and moved around. Because this was Kadie's 3rd pregnancy, she was more attuned to the slight motions she felt. While they were with her, both would speak to her belly, talking to the baby. Tim even sang to their developing child, smiling when Kadie placed his hand on her baby bump, saying Baby liked the music! They made recordings for Kadie to play so the baby would know their voices even when they couldn't be with Kadie.

Their 20 week checkup and ultrasound would take place after their return from Asia and they were impatient to see their child. By now, they'd decided they wanted to know Baby's gender, much to Kadie's relief. She'd been worried that once she knew she'd slip up and refer to the baby as 'him' or 'her'.

Greg, Kyle and their dad visited their sleeping father on Sundays, sometimes accompanied by one or both of their grandparents, their mother or their siblings. Occasionally their aunt Sarah went but she didn't talk to the sleeping man, she would only read to him. Hope liked to go, she had a good time telling Uncle Patrick all about her adventures at the nursery school. When Tim heard a few things that were new to him, he told Artie and the two gave their little girl more attention, asking to hear about her adventures.

The boys didn't know but Tim often stopped in during the week to see his little brother. Patrick was the only one he could talk to about everything, provided he first made sure there were no electronic 'ears' around. While he never gave specific details and no names were spoken, he told his brother about the horrors he was fighting in his covert work, finding some relief in the telling.

He knew he was quickly approaching the point Dad feared, the point where he'd promised to step back or away from his covert work. While he felt he was still successful in leaving his anger, grief and horror inside his hidden room, it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so. He feared and yearned for a break, not wanting to leave the work and yet almost desperate to do so.

One afternoon after work when he was visiting Pat, he sat in silence for nearly an hour before finally saying, "I have to stop, Twick, I can't keep doing both jobs. I don't mean to sound melodramatic but my wife and children need me, my family…we have a new baby arriving in a few months, I need to be there for her or him. And I'm exhausted, I never feel all the way rested." He huffed, "I guess I shouldn't expect that with 5, soon to be 6, kids anyway, but the afterhours work really drains me. I feel like it's sucking the soul right out of me. I want to help, these are innocent people who are being murdered. And the children, I can't…it's like stepping into Hell, seeing what's happening. And if we don't see the attacks, we see the plans and the comments made in their records after an attack. At least we have the victims' names from the records we've found."

He took his brother's hand, rubbing his thumb over Pat's knuckles. "Because of the way Dad McGee put us second after the Navy, actually third after Natalie, I promised myself years ago that I would never let anything come before my family. I thought doing this work was still doing that, protecting them. But now I feel like it's devouring me. I'm so tired…I'm as tired as I was for 9 years on the street, trying to feed Sarah, Rob and me, keep us alive, out of danger and then study like mad so we could get out. I'm not a kid anymore, I have some of the same goals but not the same energy levels. I can't help anyone this way and if I get sick because of exhaustion or because my psyche can't handle this anymore, that'll be even worse."

He sat in silence again before saying, "I'm stopping, now, today. I'll take a month, maybe more away from it. My boss told me it was a priority over the work I do for the agency but right now I have to be with my family and get my head straight. I need to be able to breathe and think clearly."

He sighed, feeling the power of his decision. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead on Pat's for a few seconds before kissing the sleeping man. "Thank you for listening, little brother. I miss you as much today as I did the day they told me you were dead. Seeing your eyes open, seeing you smile, hearing your voice…it would be so wonderful if you could find your way back to us. And you knowing Sarah and I are alive, it would fill the empty places in our hearts."

Whispering, "I love you, I'll be back with Greg and Kyle on Sunday, that's in four days." Tim stood, putting the visitor's chair back against the wall, squeezing his brother's hand again before he put his overcoat, boots, scarf, hat and gloves on and headed out of the building for home. For once he didn't feel like crying. Instead, the decision he'd made left him feeling more buoyant, more himself than he'd felt in weeks, maybe months.

In the basement early the next morning, Jethro found the untouched coffee on his workbench with the recharged heaters he'd left for his son underneath it. He sat on one of his sawhorses, taking a deep breath and exhaling a deep sigh of relief. He knew how serious, how necessary Tim's work was, but he'd feared his child was rapidly approaching burnout. Now he hoped the break wasn't just the one night. When he remembered the cause of the last break, the massacre Tim witnessed, he shuddered, praying for everyone's sake that there hadn't been a recurrence.

Feeling as tired as he thought his son must be, he left the coffee and the heaters and returned upstairs for a few more hours of sleep.

When Artie woke that morning, she found her husband still sound asleep next to her. He'd left a note on her pillow, he was taking the day off. She smiled, relieved, and hoped he would allow himself more than one day to rest. She knew he was exhausted, physically and emotionally.

With a different kind of smile, she curled up with him, laying her head on his chest where she could hear his heartbeat. Eventually, she drifted back to sleep.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

With the change in Rob and Ellie's wedding, they pondered their plans, whether they should skip the Easter trip to Greece and go somewhere else or stay home and plan things to do in the UK. The next thing they heard surprised them. Maggie had approval to fly until April 16, which meant the wedding was now scheduled for April 14th. They didn't know what that meant as far as the DiNozzos' baby or babies but decided not to worry.

Tim was a little embarrassed at how happy the change in the wedding date made him. Now they could make their annual trek to Varkiza, leaving March 28th or 29th and they'd be there almost all of their usual two weeks, leaving for home the Wednesday before the wedding. He was even happier when Tony and Maggie called to say they were also going to Varkiza and then would fly to London with them. Others in the family decided to join them in Varkiza. The Palmers, Ducky, the Fornell group and the Vances passed. However, Geordie and Bec, Bec's cousin Charlotte, who'd recently arrived in London, the Powells, senior and junior, Hubbards, Mac, Cranes, Barry, Abby, Freddie, Jose and Bill were in, excited about another trip to Greece. Susannah and Ian and Ian's parents would also be there, staying with Mimi. The Gibbses cautioned them that the Mediterranean might not be warm enough to swim in, but no one seemed to mind, most of them planned to see more of Greece.

Bec and Geo were excited about returning to Greece. They planned to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of their meeting that week and were also looking forward to introducing Bec's cousin Charlotte to more of the group. She'd left her home in a hurry the same day Bec's parents were rescued and had been living in Quebec city while her aunt and uncle settled in British Columbia, in a town close to the Canadian/U.S. border.

As Charlotte worked online, she could work from anywhere with good internet connections. She'd spent the months since leaving home exploring beautiful Quebec, Montreal and the surrounding region. However, she was lonely and when Bec, whom she regarded as a sibling rather than a cousin, talked to her about moving to London, she decided to move across the Atlantic. Now she was excited about seeing more of Europe!

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Uncle LJ and Tobias' father Cesar left for Greece a few days after the first wedding date conversation and Colonel Barnes met them in Athens. With the help of Artie's 'property guy', the three men sublet a flat in Varkiza through April and smiled happily at the warmer weather as they walked out of the airport terminal in Athens.

Mac stayed behind in Brambury, not giving a reason although Maisie seemed happy he wasn't going anywhere and Jim Hubbard wondered if he should have a talk with Jethro's former father-in-law.

Ducky was so busy with the Palmers, he barely noticed that all but one of his new friends had decamped for the winter. Breena's mother, Ginny, would stay through February. She and Ducky split baby and child care duties so Breena and Jimmy could get some rest and spend a little time together and on the weekends, Jimmy, Breena and Ginny insisted that Ducky rest. Victoria and Davey also loved the extra playdates at the Manor with the Gibbs kids.

After dinner one night in mid-January, Leon stood with a grin, beside him Jared was also grinning. By now, most of the family had noticed the director was significantly stronger, he ate with the family every night, no longer avoiding any stressful topics and Tim and his father thought his energy levels were almost back to normal.

So as he stood, the family smiled, anticipating good news. He nodded at them, "I've been released to return to work, to the office! It'll be part-time until the end of the month. My goal is to resume full-time work by the 1st of February!"

The family gave him a standing ovation. When they'd quieted, he bowed, "I'm the one who should be applauding each of you, it's been a long recovery and I could not have done it without your help. Thank you so much for everything you've done for Jared, Kayla and especially for all the tender loving care you've given me. Although I'm returning to work, my doctors don't want us to move for a month after I go full-time. They insist on monitoring my stress levels and we all know how stressful moving is! During that month, Jared, Kayla and I will look for a place here in Brambury. I don't want Jared to have to change schools again nor do we want to be too far from all of you."

He grinned at Tim and James, "For the next 6 weeks, you two can ride to work with me."

James' mouth made a little 'o' while Tim smiled. "Thanks! Hope you don't mind if we sleep, that's what we usually do on the train."

Vance chuckled, "As long as there's no snoring or drooling! I'm sure I'll be doing the same thing."

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While Leon prepared to return to work, Bill, Freddie and Jose prepared for their 6 month evaluations, necessary to qualify for their permanent licenses in their respective fields. Once they had those, they could legally work for themselves in the UK and with some additional paperwork, within the European Union. Bill planned to remain with the contractor he'd been working for since finishing with the Antwerp office, feeling winter was not the time to strike out on his own. Although they'd been in the UK for nearly 6 months, he knew he hadn't yet built up enough of a reputation or the necessary contacts to go independent. His goal was to branch out on his own beginning in the spring. The flea markets where he sold so many custom made items would open again in May and this year he would post his license and advertise his new business. While he would do renovations, repairs and additions, he doubted he'd be doing any new builds right away.

The four men had been discussing leaving the Manor, moving out, for a few weeks. Barry's first evaluation at NCIS went very well and that's what had started the conversation. On the walk home from the Tube station the day of his evaluation, Tim asked Barry how things went and Barry smiled, "Great! I didn't know what to expect and just kept telling myself that I'm new at the job, not to expect too much. I knew I hadn't done anything requiring a disciplinary action or worse, an international incident needing a cleanup, so I thought I should be all right." Now he grinned, "But it was far better than that! I got high marks on things where I thought I'd done just an 'okay' job."

Tim clapped him on the back, "Not only are your personal standards high, your years of experience, of listening to and reading people certainly helped! And your willingness to continue learning is great, for instance voluntarily learning new languages before you even started working. That's initiative!"

Barry chuckled, "Not that you're biased or anything! Although you're right, I work hard, I work smart and it's great to be recognized."

"So proud of you!"

Tim planned to prompt their parents before dinner but then Greg wanted to talk with him and Rissa needed help with something. He needn't have worried. As soon as they all sat down to eat, Lu looked across the table at Barry, "Did everything go well today?"

He smiled, saying, "Yes, it went very well. I've been promoted from a fledgling Intel Analyst to a permanent one!"

The family cheered and Barry laughed, enjoying the accolades. He loved being part of this family. Of course, he, Joe, Freddie, Bill and Geo had been family for many years, with Geo essentially being a member of two families. However, the adoptions and general recognition as Lu and Jethro's son gave Barry a stronger feeling of belonging than he could have imagined. Yes, he knew at some level that the guys, Lu, Tim, Rob and Sarah would have always been family, but this was beyond measure.

That night in their room, Barry looked at his brothers, "I also got a nice raise in salary with the promotion. I can afford my own place now, but I don't want to be the first one or the only one who leaves."

Bill nodded, "I have my evaluation with the Licensing Board on Thursday this week. If I get my permanent license, I'll be able move out, too. I'm not going independent right away, though. I'll stick with the main contractor for at least another 6 months and build up my own business on the side. I've got enough money saved to pay a year's rent, you know, in case the bottom falls out of the construction industry."

Freddie looked at him, "Has Jethro talked with you about that?"

Bill smiled, "Yeah, isn't it great to have backup? I mean parental backup?"

The four laughed at that as they'd been each other's backups since they first met.

Barry tilted his head, "Are you planning to move out as soon as you hear from the Board?"

"No, that's when I'll start looking."

"Here or in the City?"

"I'd like to live in the City, hope I can find a flat I can afford."

"With parking for your truck?"

Bill had a used truck he'd purchased and now he gave Freddie, who'd asked about the parking, a pained look. "I'd like that. Unless you know differently, I haven't seen a neighborhood yet that has enough street parking."

Joe shook his head, "Parking on the street would mean you'd have to take everything inside every night, Bill. Can't leave your tools out, not even under the hard shell."

"Yeah, I guess not. So, yes, Fred, I'll need a garage." When he gave the word garage the American pronunciation, his brothers corrected him and they laughed again.

Freddie looked at the others. "When we get our licenses, I'll be moving out, too. There's a studio flat in Abby's building that might be available in the next few weeks, it's affordable and on the same floor as her place."

"Are you taking the van?"

"No, Jose will keep it. Then if we have jobs outside of the City, I can take the train and meet him wherever we're working."

Barry frowned as he looked at Joe. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere, I'm staying here. I'm not ready to face the world by myself yet. And I like it here. Like Freddie said, I'll keep the van in the garage here, so our tools won't have to go in and out every day and there's plenty of room in there to store some of our most frequently needed supplies. Tim already knows, says it's fine."

"That's good, man, glad you're doing that. It'll be weird not to be here together after the last six months!"

Joe nodded, "I know, that's part of why I'm staying. I went from living with Freddie for 20 years, more than that including the tent, to moving to Tim's old place, then Chelsea moving in and then moving here without her. I need people around me, these people. Well, and you guys too but except for recently, we haven't all lived in the same place since…wow, I guess my first year at the camp!"

Bill nodded, "That's right, I was still in school when I turned 18 and increased my work hours, enough to feed me and pay some rent. Then I had to wait for someone to move out of that first apartment before there was room for me."

They chuckled at that, remembering that Bill's first post-camp apartment had usually housed at least ten young men. With two bedrooms and two bathrooms, three guys shared each bedroom and the remaining four, always the most recently arrived, slept in the living room on airbeds or foam pads. As long as there was a roof, indoor plumbing, a refrigerator, something to cook on, central heat and windows that could be opened in the summer, no one cared about the crowded conditions. They had strict rules about picking up after themselves and keeping the place clean. As the young men saved their money, they'd move into their own places. Sometimes two or three would move out together, financially able to share rent with fewer people in another apartment. Bill smiled now, remembering he'd slept in the living room for four months before two bedroom dwellers left and he scored an actual bed. He'd lived there for two more years before he finally got up the courage to move to another apartment, this one with only six tenants.

Barry was thinking about looking for rentals, "Too bad Artie's Greek property guy doesn't live here!"

Fred looked at him, "How they'd find this place?"

The four of them looked at each other, trying to remember and then in unison, said, "Sarah!"

Joe nodded, "Her friend who met us at that pub before Christmas – Bets, with the purple streaks in her hair? I think she had something to do with finding the Manor."

They looked at him and he rolled his eyes, "What? I'm healing slowly but I'm not dead! I had a date New Year's Eve, remember?"

Freddie poked him and he poked him back, something they'd done since they were Greg's age. Joe grinned, "I'll ask Sari about it, maybe get her number and see if she can help."

The next time he saw Sarah, he asked her and she smiled, "Bets helped find this place, but it was really her sister, Michelle. She's an estate agent, like a real estate agent at home."

"Oh. Barry and Bill want to start looking for their own places but didn't know how to go about it and I remembered that Bets helped you find the Manor. I offered to get her number but I guess I should call her sister instead."

Sarah grinned at him, "They're both single, Joe. Bets is Michelle's baby sister."

"Oh, huh."

Sarah took pity on him, "Here, I'll give you both numbers, you decide who to call."

"Thanks, Sari!"

Before Joe had a chance to call either of the two women, he and his new dad had a chat. Lu told Jethro that Jose wanted to stay on at the Manor and while he was glad that his new son knew his own mind and heart, he wanted to touch base with him. It was one of his first chances to be paternal with him. He invited him to his lair, the basement, and motioned to a step stool that had migrated down there at some point. "Jose, you know I've been married a few times."

"Sure. Shannon, your first wife, died and then it took you a few tries until you and Lu found each other."

Jethro chuckled, "Great way to put it, thanks! I'm glad you've decided to stay with us, glad you know you're not ready. Not only newly single but new to the country. But I hope you don't think you won't ever love another woman or find one who will love you the same as you love her. If you do feel that way, look at Tim's experiences and mine as examples. Although, please let's not have any serial marriages and divorces!"

Jose huffed, "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure Chelsea loved me at all. And I know she didn't like any of my family. And she was mean, I didn't realize how much until I'd been around you and Mom, Tim and Artie and Sarah and James. You don't bully or criticize each other. Chelsea did. She was always telling me what I should do differently, you know? And she'd make fun of me and Freddie unless one of the others was around. When I called her on it, she'd say she was just teasing and we shouldn't be so sensitive."

Jethro huffed, "That's a classic comeback from bullies. And I suppose it is possible that some bullies really do believe they're teasing. But once told, they should stop."

Making a face, Jose said, "Freddie thought she was after our money. It was all in our business but he was afraid she'd marry me and then get everything we worked so hard to build in a divorce, that she was planning to do that. She could only get my share but that would still have hurt the business, a lot. Sarah says she and some of the others were planning an intervention before we got married. They were worried Chelsea would catch wind of it and talk me into eloping. Barry says he worried that she'd file for divorce and start spreading lies about me, that I cheated or hit her or you know, used faulty parts, shady practices in the business."

Jethro put his hands on Joe's shoulders. "That hurts more, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I thought she loved me but she was using me to get what she wanted." He sighed again, "You know we leased our business out for 5 years?" When Jethro nodded, Joe continued, "We warned Len, the guy who's leasing it from us, about her. He has a photo of her and said he'd already told his attorney about her. And the staff."

"Aren't they your old staff?"

"The plumbers are, they are three of the few US citizens who don't qualify for that 'Unwanted' list. We sent our two office staff to Oregon. One of the guys we apprenticed with owns a plumbing business out there, big enough to give jobs to our folks. We were going to use some of our savings and possibly borrow money to help get them to safety, pay for their airfare and give them enough money to pay for food, a deposit and rent for new apartments. Even with the new jobs, they'd be short for a few paychecks. Then Leon paid for our airfare here so we used our Europe airfare money for them." He chuckled at the look on his father's face. "We were planning to ask you and Malu, honest! But then we didn't have to. I'm just glad the director really did need us. We kept an eye on what was going on in Antwerp, a few times we went back in after dark and fixed things. One time, we had to change out a pipe that was the wrong size. We used pickaxes on newly hardened concrete to get it out, put in the correct pipe and then poured more concrete. Luckily that was a Friday night! It's all built according to their code, but we made it right. At least we earned our fees and the money the agency paid to bring us and our stuff over here."

"Attaboy! What did Vance say when you told him?"

"Thanked us and when the job was done gave each of us a bonus for the extra work."

"Good, you deserved it! Next question, is there enough room in the garage for all your parts and tools?"

"Yes, there's plenty of room. We won't stock as much as we did in Baltimore. We only did that when there was a good price on something that we used a lot and because we had room to store it. The only drawback to parking the van in the garage is maneuvering around Big Blue, but Tim's already figured out the angles to use for parking Blue so I can get the van out. I'll back in so it'll be easier to leave."

Jethro chuckled, "You've thought of everything!"

Joe tilted his head back and forth, "It's familiar, you know?"

"Yes, I do. If you run out of room in the garage, there's room down here for a few boxes."

"Thanks!"

Smiling, Joe went upstairs where he closed his eyes and put his finger on the piece of paper Sarah gave him, with the two sisters' phone numbers. Tapping in the number, he smiled as the call was accepted, "Hi, is this Michelle the estate agent? My name is Joe Maier, one of Sarah McGee's brothers."

"Oh, yes, I heard all of you moved here from the States. I'm so sorry about what's happening there, it must be awful."

"Thank you and yes, it is. My brothers and I are grateful that we were able to join the rest of the family here. There are four of us still staying at the Manor; however, three are ready to find places of their own and I volunteered to call. I'm not yet ready to move but the others want to find places to live in the City. Is that something you can help with?"

"Yes, I'll be happy to. Do you know when would be the best time to contact them?"

"Evenings, if that's possible, anywhere from 5:00 to 8:00. They can probably meet with you earlier than that but they'd need to plan ahead."

He gave her their names and numbers and then smiled when she asked if he'd be around when she met with the others. "I'm sure I will be! While I'm not ready to move, I'd like to see the neighborhoods you show them."

"Then come on along! That will mean you'll be familiar with the areas when you are ready to move."

Joe was still smiling when he disconnected, looking forward to meeting Michelle in person and also about tagging along on the apartment hunts.

With everyone busy, January passed quickly. When they had more snow, they got out the sleds and saucers and cut a path in the snow to the path that led to their favorite place, Butterfly Hill. There they spent many happy hours, kids and adults, playing in the snow and taking turns sliding down the hill. Lu and Jethro found several pairs of cross country skis at an online swap meet and purchased enough pairs for two of the adults and the three boys to use. Rissa didn't mind, she told her parents she'd ask for a pair for her birthday and anyway, when the boys were skiing, she and Hope had more time on the sleds and saucers. Even so, her parents and grandparents kept an eye out and finally found a pair of cross country skis suitable for her.

That left Hope on her own with the saucers and sleds but the Palmer kids were almost always with them for their snowy adventures so she wasn't the only kid around.

One weekend, the Hubbards took Andy and Greg with them to another ski resort and the boys had a blast with their cousins, aunt and uncle, learning the differences between cross country and downhill skiing. When they returned home, Andy spoke with his parents about including Kyle the next time, pointing out that he was the most coordinated of all of them and at age 6, would have fun with the lessons on the beginner slopes.

With that in mind, the junior Gibbses decided to join the Hubbards on their next weekend trek and both Kyle and Rissa took skiing lessons, along with their parents. Grandpa and Grandma already knew how to ski, although it had been a few years. And there were plenty of activities for little Hope, although her favorite thing was sledding with her parents and grandparents.

While the Gibbses were enjoying winter sports, the Vances were searching for a new home. Sarah also gave them the contact information for Michelle-the-estate-agent and she was kept busy looking for rentals for Bill, Barry and the Vance family as well as helping Freddie.

Leon and Jared looked at several houses before finding just what they wanted. They leased the house for a year, beginning March 1st. The house was currently occupied but would be vacated during the school's spring half term, leaving the owner plenty of time to clean the place and handle any repairs before the Vances moved in.

When Bill, Freddie and Jose passed their evaluations with flying colors and were issued permanent licenses, they started looking in earnest. While they hadn't planned it, Barry and Bill found flats in the same building and were happy and relieved that they'd be neighbors. They'd be on the same floor, across the hall from each other. Bill was also happy there was secured underground parking for his truck along with a locked storage area and with Jethro's help, built a container on wheels that he could use to transport his tools to and from the storage area. The parking and storage cost extra but it was worth it for him. Barry didn't intend to buy a car, they were close to the transit lines and if he wanted to drive somewhere, he'd rent a car.

As he'd hoped, Freddie rented a studio flat in Abby's building. They were a floor apart but both felt that was close enough. With everything that had been shipped for all of them, he had a bed and was 'loaned' enough other furniture to be comfortable.

Jose stayed at each new flat at least once, enjoying being away but glad he didn't have to leave the Manor. Although he missed the others, he felt an enormous sense of relief and happiness when he arrived home from work every night. He guessed he just wasn't interested in living by himself. While he and Michelle had a couple of dates, they found they didn't have enough in common to pursue a relationship. Joe was all right with that, he felt like he was making progress in putting his life, and his heart, back together.

Canon Characters:

NCIS: Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee, Tony DiNozzo, Ducky Mallard, Abby Sciuto, Jimmy Palmer, Breena Slater Palmer, Victoria Palmer, Leon Vance, Jared Vance, Kayla Vance, Elaine at the diner, Clayton Reeves, Ned Dorneget, Eleanor Bishop, Pam Cook, Nikki Jardine, Eric Jardine, LJ Moore, Henry the Security Guard, SecNav Sarah Porter, Megan Porter, Tobias Fornell, Emily Fornell, Ron Sacks, Ed Slater, Tom Morrow, Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., Susan Grady, D'Arcy McKinna, Cassie Yates, Natalie from the next aisle over, Delores Bromstead, Barbara Bishop, George Bishop, John Bishop, Robbie Bishop, Penelope Langston, Ashton (NASA, Eye Spy), Director Hutchins ("Hutch")

Madam Secretary: Elizabeth, Henry, Stevie, Allie and Jason McCord. Jay Whitman.

Criminal Minds: Rossi

List of Original Characters:

The Gibbs Family:

Artemis (Artie) Midei: Tim's wife

Jason (Andy) Andrew Gibbs: Tim and Artie's son

Gregory Griffin Gibbs: Tim and Artie's adopted son; biological son of David Hart, aka Patrick (McGee) Gibbs

Kyle Timothy Gibbs: Tim and Artie's adopted son; biological son of David Hart, aka Patrick (McGee) Gibbs

Marissa (Rissa) Athena Gibbs: Artie's daughter, Tim's adopted daughter

Hope (also Umut) Luella Gibbs: Tim and Artie's adopted daughter, rescued from airport in Turkey

Luella (Lu or Malu) Rose Gibbs: wife of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, adopted mother and grandmother of…everyone. Formerly ran the Baltimore shelter where Tim, Sarah and Rob lived for a few years.

Sarah McGee Powell: Tim and Patrick (David)'s sister, adopted daughter of Jethro and Lu; husband James Powell

Rob McGee (Gibbs): adopted son of Lu and Jethro; previously adopted (legal ward of Geordie Perry and Timothy McGee). Fiancée is Special Agent Eleanor Bishop;

Geordie Reid Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro; girlfriend Special Agent Bec Childers

Bill Colter (Gibbs): adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles' ;

Barry Rudd (Gibbs): adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles';

Freddie Brooks (Gibbs): adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles', dating Abby Sciuto;

Jose (Joe) Maier (Gibbs): adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles';

David Hart/Patrick McGee (Gibbs): Tim and Sarah's brother, Greg and Kyle's 'sleeping father', husband of the late Kathy Hart. Also an adopted son of Lu and Jethro;

Kathy Hart: deceased first mother of Gregory and Kyle, wife of David/Patrick.

Maggie Barnes: wife of Anthony DiNozzo, Jr., (unofficial) daughter-in-law of Jethro and Lu

Mac Fielding: Shannon Fielding Gibbs' father, Grandpa Mac to kids, Mac to adults

The Greek Family:

Athena Midei (Mimi): Grandmother to Artemis and Susannah, twins Matthaíos and Cassie, the Gibbs' kids, Ana's kids and Italian grandkids Caterina and Damaris. Mother of Sophia Costas, Nikolas Costas and Gaia Costas. Mother-in-law of Theo, Gaia's husband and Sergio, Nikolas' partner.

Sophia Costas: Mother of Artemis, Susannah and imprisoned son Dimitri. Mother-in-law of Tim Gibbs, Ian Clacher and former mother-in-law of Adriana (Ana). Yaya (grandmother) to Tim's kids, and Ana and Dimitri's kids. Former wife of Kosmos Galinis.

Nikolas Costas: Artie's uncle. Partner Sergio, daughters Caterina and Damaris. Master chef in Sorrento, Italy

Gaia Costas: Artie's aunt. Husband Theo, children Matthaíos and Cassie. Gaia and Theo are both archeologists.

Susannah Midei: Artie's sister. Husband is Ian Clacher.

Adriana (Ana): former wife of Artie's half- brother Dimitri, former daughter-in-law of Sophia and Kosmos. Mother of 4 of Sophia's grandchildren and Mimi's great-grandchildren.

Kosmos Galinis: will remain in prison for the rest of the story.

Others in Greece:

Peter Lekkas: biological father of Artemis and Susannah

Rhode Elytis: Peter's wife; they have 4 children together.

Tim, Sarah and Patrick's birth family:

(See Penny in canon characters)

Maisie (Grammie) Hubbard: Tim, Sarah and Patrick's maternal grandmother

(Captain) Jim Hubbard: maternal uncle of Tim, Sarah and Patrick. Wife: Claire, children Ainsley and Callum

Liz and (Admiral) Dave Crane: godparents of Tim, Sarah and Patrick

Extended family:

Davey Palmer; foster/adopted son of Jimmy and Breena Palmer;

Jillian Mallard Palmer; the Palmers' new baby daughter

Colonel Richard Barnes (Uncle Colonel); father of Maggie Barnes, father-in-law of Tony DiNozzo

Larry and Cyndi Porter; MIT friends and mentors to Tim McGee

George and Edith Powell; Sarah's in-laws, James' parents

Alastair and Fiona Clacher; In-laws of Artemis' sister Susannah. Ian's parents

Jerry Bishop; Ellie Bishop's dad. Will travel to Brambury for her wedding to Rob.

Gail and Pauley (P) Tehema; Gail is Tobias Fornell's girlfriend and Pauley is Emily's best friend.

Cesar Fornell; friend of Mac Fielding and father of Tobias Fornell.

Nate Eastman, Juanita Eastman, Big John: from the Camp in Baltimore. Juanita is killed when the domestic terrorists attack the camp. Nate and Big John move to Texas to live with John's brother Rand.

NCIS Agents and Employees:

Joel Morris, wife Carol (London)

Bec Childers, boyfriend Geordie (Perry) Gibbs; Junior agent, Athens, SFA , London

Lydia Worden, SFA, London & Athens; partner Marty

Pete Russell, wife Trina, kids (Athens): close friends of the Vances.

Rusty Mayhew, agent in Athens

Lynne: agent in Athens

Roger Martinez, wife Marla (formerly Marseille, now Hamburg)

Rick Carter, wife Denise (Navy Yard)

Jim O'Brien, wife Annie (Navy Yard)

Evan Fuller, DiNozzo's former SFA (Navy Yard)

Ray Esposito (DC Field Office, London)

NCIS Investigatory (INV) Agents:

Race Piro (Navy Yard, Marseille)

Matt Watson (Navy Yard, Asian office)

Dawson, Tighe and Gage: various locations

Others:

Ginny Slater: Breena's mother and wife of Ed Slater

Colonel Martin: Geordie's CO at the U.S. Embassy in London.

(Elaine – see canon) and Jacob: owners and operators of Gibbs' favorite diner in VA

Kadie: Tim and Artie's gestational carrier, husband is Harry;

Christopher Malet: Owner of the Manor, the Gibbses' landlord. Descendant of the original owners (lord & lady) of the Brambury Manor

The Shepherd: Shepherd who tends a flock of sheep in the countryside 'out the back gate' from the Manor. Waves to the Gibbs' kids and helps Tim.

Childers: Bec's parents, who had to be rescued from an imminent attack, now live in Canada.

Charlotte: Bec's cousin, who also had to leave home, has been living in Canada, currently visiting the UK.

Jenna Laurence: in the UK, wedding planner

Sheila: in Virginia, wedding planner for Tim & Artie, Lu and Jethro

Bets: London friend of Sarah, helped her find place to live.

Michelle: Bets' sister, an estate agent. Found the Manor for Sarah and years later, helped Barry, Bill and Freddie find flats.

Marvin Lee Hatman: head of IPF who ordered harassment of Tim McGee, now imprison.

Avrit Coffey Sifts: the new head of IPF, replaced Hatman. By the way, Avrit Coffey Sifts is an anagram. Has anyone figured it out?

Secretary of Defense Cyrus: shows up on Skype during McGee's meeting with Fornell, Sailes, Porter & McKinley at the U.S. Embassy in Greece

Director Henry Sailes: Director of the FBI; wife Joy

Director Beau McKinley: Director of the CIA; son Dan, daughter-in-law Connie;

US Attorney General Geoffrey Peterson: Boss of Director Sailes

Fred Christopher: Diplomat who helped Tim with the judge during Greg and Kyle's adoption hearing in Greece. Also appeared in Finding Home.

Drs. Biros-Santos: husband and wife who were legal guardians of Artemis while she was an underage student at MIT. (Tim & Artie's wedding)

Dr. B (full surname Baghdassarian): Tim's Department Master while teaching at Bedford in the UK

Dr. MacAdam: President of Bedford University, wants to offer Tim a job in 2018.

Places:

Alexandria: Gibbs' house, you know it's canon, although I think I've stretched the insides a bit. And does anyone else think the show is now using a different house for the exterior shots? Or else the real world owners have made enough money from the show that they've done an extensive renovation on the exterior! It doesn't look sad anymore, which is a good thing.

Arlington: Property with big house and several outbuildings purchased by Tim and Artie from Penny Langston. Former tobacco plantation. Fictional although I based the look on a real property I saw in the Midwest on a road trip when I was 9. I wanted to live there.

Cambridge, Massachusetts: home of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Real.

Brambury, UK: home of Bedford University (both the town and the university are fictional)

The Manor: Former Manor house, now much reduced in size. The Gibbses live there. Fictional.

Varkiza: Town near Athens in Greece where Artemis' grandmother Mimi lives. Real town, but except for having beaches, everything else is fictional in the story.

Baltimore shelter: fictional

Nate's camp: fictional although there are organized camps for the homeless and some municipalities around the U.S. are putting in 'tiny houses' for them. No Nate in control, though.

I'm sure I've forgotten some OC, I hope it's not somebody who is currently in the story! Ellie's family, who are mostly canon, will be visiting for the wedding. A few other canon characters may appear in future chapters.


	63. Chapter 63

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe, wherever you are. For those who have expressed concern fo my safety regarding the newest wildfires in California, thank you, I am safe. Aside from the heavy smoke from the 'Camp Fire', we're all right here. I'm 90 miles (145 km) from that fire in Northern California, which has killed 25 people and burned an entire town to the ground, and nearly 400 miles (644 km) from the fires in Southern California. We need rain!

Chapter 63

As three of his brothers moved out of the Manor and on with their lives, Tim continued to struggle with his decision to stop his covert work. He wasn't surprised when his father carefully questioned him after that first night 'off'.

When Tim finally dragged himself out of bed just before noon the next day, he headed for the kitchen, he was starving. He was scrambling eggs, making toast and a fresh pot of coffee when Dad walked into the kitchen.

"Afternoon, son. Artie's in a planning session; I told her I'd wake you at noon if you were still asleep."

Tim looked at him with a half-smile, "Hello and thank you. I really needed that sleep."

"So was that one night off or more?" He quickly added, "No one else is home; just the three of us – and Artie's upstairs in her office, she can't hear us."

Tim nodded, "Ok. I don't know the answer to your question, Dad, I'm struggling with it. It's become clear that I can't do the covert work, plus the agency, plus be any more than a zombie husband, father, son. This one night felt good, my brain quieted long enough for me to really sleep and, well, other things were even better than sleep. Leon specifically said that the covert work is my priority, even though he has no authority there, but I feel that I need to choose between the agency and the other. And the other is volunteer, no pay, no benefits. We have a very healthy savings account now, thanks to our game and Martin Fernsby, enough to pay the rent here and of course we have Artie's salary, but we need health insurance and money for the kids' schooling.

"I don't mean to whine, but the truth is, I don't want to leave the agency again. I like what I do, I know we're making a difference and I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the other work too, but again, it's volunteer and I'm afraid it's starting to eat away at my soul. And now I'm realizing that as much as I value your input and experiences, I should be talking with Leon about this."

Dad smiled and Tim relaxed as his father wrapped his arms around him. The two men snuggled until the toaster dinged. First helping his son plate his breakfast and pour coffee, Jethro sat with him while he ate his meal. He didn't say much but he did remind his son that one of the problems with the covert work was the covert part of it; nothing that happened, nothing that Tim or others experienced, could be shared. He thought that was probably a big part of Tim's problem.

Tim gave him a raised eyebrow for that and Jethro chuckled, "Ok, so I've never been big at sharing feelings, although I hope that's changed in the last few years! Anyway, that was never because I wasn't allowed to, except if something was classified. If I had shared, I might saved myself a lot of misery."

Thinking through the issues with 'sharing', Tim shook his head, "To change that, we'd have to change the nature of our organization and lose the advantage of being anonymous, which would mean we'd also lose most if not all of our geeks. One problem with that is that there are a lot of glory seekers who would love to brag on social media. Those are the geeks the White Hats don't want, can't keep their mouths shut."

"Do you know if there are others leaving?"

"Most of the hackers I know , and I only know them by screen names, don't spend as much time as I do on this. Like me, many of them have jobs and families to support." Tim smiled, "Not all of us live in our parents' basements. However, they also don't have bosses who've told them to make their covert work a priority. I don't know how Leon knew in the first place. I've never said anything to him or anyone else!"

"Do you know uh, who any of the others are?"

"No, as I said, I only know their screen names, that's part of the agreement we make when we join. This started out decades ago when one hacker saw something bad going on, decided to stop it, called in his or her fellow hackers and next thing you know, there's a name and a basic organization. Dad, even if Leon is part of it, he shouldn't know."

"So when private information is being hacked and that group blocks it, none of the good guys know each other's identity?"

"Correct, only screen names and I randomly change mine. I "know" some hackers because I recognize their code, but that's their cyber identity, not their physical identity. Although someone always alerts the company or government entity of the hack and the block. And the alert would have to be confirmed. "

"So not 100% anonymous."

Tim frowned, "Maybe, I don't know how that works. But that still wouldn't explain how Vance knows."

"Maybe it was an educated guess, like mine. I've suspected, to tell you the truth, I hoped, that you were involved, but I didn't _know_. Until you were given permission to talk, you'd never given the slightest indication." He snorted, "You think DiNozzo would have let that get by him?"

Tim nodded. "He would now; probably not back in the day unless you gave him a direct order." He rolled his shoulders and his neck, "Ok, going to make an appointment with Vance."

"That's good, son, proud of you. Whatever you decide, whatever you do, I'm damn proud of you!"

Tim smiled, "Thanks, Dad!" Resolutely, he cleaned up his breakfast dishes and then headed back upstairs to contact his boss.

Leon was a little relieved to hear from his agent after the cryptic message he'd received from McGee about taking the day off. They scheduled an early morning appointment for the next day.

Artie finished her work less than an hour after Tim's brunch and she and Tim spent a few hours on their cross country skis, in the snowy countryside. That was fun and Tim was glad for the fresh, chilly air and exercise. Time spent with his wife was always a wonderful thing and time spent alone with his wife was even better. Back inside, they warmed up with mugs of hot chocolate and idle conversation, wandering from one topic to another.

The kids were surprised and happy to see their father home so early and even more surprised when they learned he'd been home all day. Finishing their homework before dinner, they played a favorite board game together after they ate, stopping at the start of their bedtimes. First Hope, then Rissa and then Kyle went through their nightly routines, ending their days with their father reading to them. He would read a story and then Kyle would read a story to them. While Rissa wasn't reading yet, she and Hope had active imaginations and frequently would make up stories for their parents and siblings. All three children noticed their daddy seemed happier than he'd been recently. Back downstairs, Tim spent more time with Greg and Andy, relishing hearing more details of their lives.

Artie worried he wouldn't sleep that night, having slept so late that morning. However, her lover was out within a minute or two of laying down. She smiled, hoping he could take another couple of nights off soon.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Up at dawn, Tim gently kissed his still sleeping wife goodbye before he left for work. He was surprised to find James downstairs, pulling on his snow boots to walk to the Tube station. "You're going in early too?"

"Yeah, we're finishing testing today and if all goes well, we'll move into production this afternoon rather than waiting until Monday. And, Sarah and I are having a date night tonight, dinner and a movie, so I really want to leave on time."

"That sounds great! We went skiing by ourselves yesterday, it was wonderful!"

James started to say something but instead smiled at his brother-in-law. They rode in together, both dozing. The cold air on the walk to the office quickly chased away the last of their drowsiness.

Hanging up his overcoat, Tim left everything else and headed upstairs to the director's suite. It was early enough that Pam wasn't in yet so he knocked before entering the inner office.

A little nervous, he had no idea where this conversation would take him, he nodded to Vance. "Good Morning, Director."

"Good Morning, Special Agent McGee." Leon moved from behind his desk to the conference table, gesturing to Tim to sit.

"Coffee, tea?"

"No, thanks, but could we please…" Tim made a whirling motion with his hand and Vance chuckled, "Sure, although I can't believe that you of all people used the 'Cone of Silence' gesture your father made up."

Tim tilted his head, "He says that came from a old TV show about an inept spy. Seemed appropriate today."

"Not the inept part!"

Tim shrugged. "Hope not, at least not yet, but I fear that's where I might be heading. Director, I'll come right to the point. I'm rapidly approaching burnout handling what is essentially two full-time jobs as well as maintaining my family life. You've said my after hours work is my priority. However, it's taking a real toll on me. I'm exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally and I'm afraid I'm going to miss something or misinterpret something, either here at the agency or in my other work. Either way, it could affect lives.

"I'm becoming fairly useless to my family, I go through the motions but Artie and the kids see the difference. Kyle, Rissa and Hope attach themselves to me as soon as I get home and Andy and Greg look like they'd like to do the same. They were so happy when I took the day off yesterday…I knew how I felt, but thought I'd hidden my exhaustion and emotions from them. Not Artie or my parents, but the kids.

"Having said all that, my question is about options. I don't want to leave the agency again, I…" Tim had to stop to swallow and Leon frowned but didn't say anything, wanting his agent to say what he needed to say. "I didn't want to leave the first time; it was very difficult. Aside from emotions, I'm proud of the work we do, as an agency, here in London as a team within a field team, and around the world, I'm proud of our INV team and each individual on it.

"Practically speaking, the after hours work is voluntary and we can't pay the rent, feed the kids or provide the medical care they need without two incomes.

"Having said all that, I understand how important the after hours work is right now. However, I don't feel I can continue to do both the agency work and the other full-time."

Leon looked at him closely, noticing the bags under his eyes. He'd also lost weight and Tim McGee's standing joke over the years had been that the holidays and winter months were his downfall as far as weight gain.

He nodded, "That's a good assessment. What would you like to do?"

His eyes grew wide as Tim paled, his eyes looked a little wild and his breathing changed.

"McGee, I'm not throwing this back at you! You usually come prepared with a suggestion or a proposal."

Tim nodded, taking his time to respond verbally. Finally he said, "Working part-time here and part-time on the after hours work. Part of the week here, the other part working at home. A schedule, dedicated hours and then I'll take one day off a week. That puts more on my team though."

"And when this is all over, we'll thank them for their contributions to the war effort. I agree that part-time for both is the most practical answer. Here's what we'll do…"

Leon proposed that he once again put Tim on special assignment. This time, his pay and benefits would continue without any change and he would still be working for the agency two or three days a week. Tim would schedule his time every month and share his agency work calendar with Vance, Joel, Bec and his INV team. After Tim got through the shock at the offer to be paid for full-time work when in reality he would be working part-time for the agency, he agreed. He even managed a smile when Vance said the amount of energy he knew his agent would give to his agency work, even part-time, would be more than enough to merit his full salary.

His thoughts were that his work for the agency would take place Mondays through Wednesdays and his other work would be handled Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Both men agreed there could be exceptions to that.

Rather than appoint a specific INV agent as his second-in-command, Tim decided to add that to his calendar so that each of his agents, even those new to the program, had a chance to be Acting SIC for a month each. That way everyone would have some management experience on their records and the whole program would not land on Ned, Race or Ellie's shoulders.

Leon did have one stipulation, that Tim still make the planned trip to the offices in Singapore and Japan. He could even discuss his new schedule with his INV agents, the team leads and SSAICs if he chose, as long as he maintained that the 'special assignment' was classified. Tim agreed and then thought about something he'd said.

"Sir, my other work, that doesn't happen in the house."

"Huh?"

"I said something about working at home and I do but it's not really in the house."

"Okay. Someday I look forward to hearing more about that."

"When this is over, yes. Sir, have there been any recent updates?"

"Yes." Leon took a breath before continuing, "I attended a meeting Friday night, our time. There is progress, the number of attacks has been reduced in some areas of the country, which is heartening and the number of attacks that have been stopped has also risen. But there is still too much bloodshed, no one is safe yet, and there are too many of what we know to be false alibis. Terrorist A is good buddies with Citizen Doe and asks him or her to cover for him. Doe may or may not be an active terrorist but she or he is willing to go as far as providing a false alibi for the terrorist buddy. There are whole communities that will swear they played cards, shot pool, worked on their car, watched a movie, slept with, whatever, with Terrorist A on any particular day or night. Why, they'll show you their calendars, yep, there it is, that card game last month. Problem is, no one's been able to really break these people. Either they're in too deep or possibly more afraid of their 'buddies' than they are of law enforcement.

"The profilers have developed a fairly detailed profile by now, I should say profiles as there are several. That's great once we have suspects but we'd have to round up, separate and interrogate hundreds of people to find them ahead of time." Vance sighed, "Newest estimate for this to be over is another 36-40 months. And that is dependent on other things."

Tim nodded, he'd understood that since the beginning.

After discussing more administrative issues, Tim solemnly thanked the director. Vance looked at him, "I wouldn't do this for just anyone, McGee. You contribute more to this agency than you realize, have been at least as long as I've been director. I don't want you to leave the agency either, I'm still unhappy about the first time that happened.

"After I rescinded your transfer order, I was called to a meeting that night with Sailes and McKinley. Both requested that I keep you over here. Specifically, they asked if there was any chance I could keep 'our white hat' over here. I've always thought you might be involved with the White Hats. I guess I should say I hoped you were, never really knew, although you've certainly done plenty of good guy hacking for this agency and I believe that's what Henry and Beau were referring to. I, uh, might have bragged about you once or twice.

"I do understand what a strain this is, believe me, and I do not want you to go through what I have with my health problems. So yes, I will make special accommodations for you. You're fighting this war, both here and in your other work. I'm glad to find a way for you to continue with both, glad you came to me before things got worse."

Visibly relaxed, Tim eventually left the director's suite, happy and relieved. Not only would he be allowed to stay with the agency, Vance gave him the answer to how he knew. He hadn't really known, he'd made something between an educated guess and a leap of faith. Tim didn't care so much about the FBI and CIA directors. If they reached the conclusion because of Leon's bragging, fine. If they knew some other way, Tim was sure he'd never find out and decided to let it go.

All the necessary decisions made, Tim got right to work. He'd tell Artie and his parents tonight and then tell his team tomorrow. He'd work on his schedule over the weekend and have a trial run the following week.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By the time the kids' half-term vacation rolled around, Tim was fairly well settled into his new routine. He'd told his family and the teams that he'd be working at the office 3 days a week and on a special high priority assignment outside of the office the other days. When he didn't specify how many days per week he'd be working on the special assignment, Artie hoped it would only be the rest of the regular work week while Jethro was afraid it would be more. What Tim ended up frequently doing was working in his secret room for three hours Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights as well as during daytime hours on Thursday and Friday. He was careful with his time. If he needed an extra hour to complete his work on any given night, 4 hours instead of 3, then he'd cut that hour off the rest of that week's schedule. That gave him Saturdays and Sundays to rest and be with his family.

Tim thrived on structure and ultimately he, Leon and Jethro each realized that had been part of the problem, a lack of structure or schedule. With the order to prioritize one job while still doing the other, without any set boundaries, he'd given both as much as he could, along with his family, until he realized he was about to crash and burn. Once he had the new schedule, or structure, in place, he could handle the rest. His renewed energy evidently showed in his work and he and his team found several important pockets of terrorists over the next few weeks. It still wasn't the "Key to Hell" but it helped saved lives and remove the hate-filled, dangerous terrorists.

Tim's family was so happy to have him with them for the weekends as well as 3 evenings a week that the kids decided to make him breakfast in bed every Saturday morning. Luckily, Lu heard them talking about it that first Saturday, before the kids barged in on their parents and praised them for making breakfast for their parents but persuaded the children to serve it in the kitchen.

As January rolled into February and their plans for the trip to Asia were confirmed, Greg and Kyle's excitement continued to grow. The week before the Gibbses departure, Sarah and James left for their delayed honeymoon on an island resort in Thailand. They were excited, even more so when Artie gave them a list of her favorite places on the island they'd visit, along with a contact number or two, just in case.

Tim drilled them on the signs of an incoming tsunami and where to go. Sarah had a college friend who'd lost a brother in the 2004 tsunami and for once she didn't tease Tim about being overprotective. He gave them each the best waterproof cases available for their cell phones and they'd promised to find the highest point as soon as they got to the resort. James pointed out that it would likely already be marked but that he and Sarah would walk to it from their bungalow and from the beach, to see how quickly they could get there.

Once the Powells were on their way, the junior Gibbses felt their own excitement build. Originally, Tim and Artie thought to have Greg and Kyle go to school Friday morning and collect them at lunchtime for the flight. However, after discussing the plan with the teachers, the two boys left school Thursday with work to do for Friday and the week that classes resumed. They'd arrive home the first day of class but the adults agreed that with a 14 ½ hour flight from Singapore after a very busy week, jet lag would probably be fierce. As Greg and Andy did after their Christmases in Virginia, school officials would rather the children do their work at home, around their jet lag naps, than distract their respective classes by falling asleep at their desks.

While Artie had lived in Japan with her parents as a young adult, she was excited to visit again, making new memories with her husband and two of their children. Greg and Kyle were very excited about visiting Asia! With this trip, they would have been on 3 of the 7 continents. Tim was similarly excited. Although he too had lived in Japan, like Artie his memories were not especially happy ones and he'd be glad to replace them. With the trip to Morocco and now this one, he could claim to have been to 4 of the 7 (or 6 or 8, depending on who was doing the counting) continents.

He'd never dreamed he'd be able to travel as much as he had in the last few years. Then Penny told him he'd also been to Australia! She said that when he was 6 months old, he and his mother Lily joined Dan McGee for 3 weeks in Australia. He was there for a training course, Lily and baby Timmy were there to sightsee and play in the ocean. Penny told her grandson that Dan had been in line for a Permanent Change of Station in Australia, but those plans had changed when Lily realized she was pregnant and had cancer. Hearing that from Penny broke Tim's heart, it was only later he realized Patrick must have been conceived in Australia. He made a point to tell his brother during their next visit.

Friday morning, the four kissed and hugged Andy, Rissa, Hope, Grandpa and Grandma before climbing into Big Blue, driven by Grandpa, for the quick ride to the train station. From there they traveled to the airport, where they checked in, went through security and then stopped in a shop in the gate area for bottles of water and snacks.

While they waited to board, the four of them went to the closest Family Facility and had fun with all the activities there, including racing up and down a marked pathway. When Tim's watch alarm finally buzzed to return to their gate, they'd had more than an hour of exercise.

Both boys were excited about the trip, experiencing another Disneyland, plus the DisneySea Park and other things they'd read about Tokyo and Japan.

Greg wasn't sure how he felt about going to Singapore, he thought it might be sad but he also knew his parents would have other things to do with them, both interesting and fun. Even so, he was more excited about Japan. Kyle was very excited about all the fun and interesting things they had planned and couldn't wait to ride the bullet train. His mother taught him the proper word for it, the Shinkansen and he practiced saying it.

Although the younger boy knew his first mother was born and grew up in Singapore, he didn't know exactly what they were going to do there, besides Daddy's work. At 5 ½, Kyle's memories of his first mother were really Greg's memories of their mother with him as a baby. There were things he missed that eventually he'd figure out came from his first mama, but he was still too young to know that now.

Greg and Kyle felt strange and sad that Andy, Rissa and Hope weren't going with them but Andy convinced them it was all right and that maybe sometime Papa and Mama would take Rissa, Hope and the new baby somewhere without their brothers. All of them were happy that they'd be able to see and talk with each other every day except when they were flying somewhere.

Here at the airport, Kyle was feeling proud that he wasn't a 'little' anymore. He didn't mind when Daddy or Mama took his hand, or when Daddy would pick him up, and he still liked to sit on their laps and cuddle, especially when he was scared or sad, but today, he was happy to walk with his brother, Daddy and Mama.

Without Hope, they didn't qualify for pre-boarding and Tim remarked that they'd gotten a little spoiled. Greg smiled at him, "Don't worry, Papa, our new baby will qualify us again."

With a flight of 11 ½ hours ahead of them, Tim and Artie planned activities for the four of them. Sitting together, they would play cards, they had little decks of cards perfect for playing on the airline pull-down trays, take walks, have dinner, have another stroll or two, play with their toys, Kyle had a tiny locomotive and several train cars that would also fit on the pull-down trays, read to themselves, have a wash-up and then have story time with Papa and Mama reading some of their favorite stories to them and then it would be the boys' turn to read to their parents. After story time, the boys would settle into the beds their seats would fold into lengthwise down the row. Their parents would have beds too, but to accommodate their heights their beds were at opposite ends of their row of seats and the boys would have part of each parent's bed next to them.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Although they'd slept and the boys had been very good, the Gibbses gladly disembarked in Tokyo. Once again, Tim congratulated himself for marrying the smartest woman in the world as Artie slipped right back into speaking Japanese, a language she'd learned 20 years ago and hadn't spoken in at least 14 years. The kids sighed in relief as they checked into their hotel, no more planes for a couple of days! After sending a text to let the family know they'd arrived safely, they took quick showers. Feeling refreshed, the four of them went downstairs to eat, they were starving. Using Sarah's rules for managing jet lag, they changed into their swimsuits after they ate and swam for over an hour before drying off and heading back to their room for their first nap.

They would have a Skype call with Hope, Rissa and Andy later, it was too early now, with Tokyo ahead of London by 9 hours. They thought that would work out pretty well. They could talk with their London family when their days were done here in Japan, before Andy and Rissa left for school. Singapore was 8 hours ahead of London, so they'd follow the same pattern there.

On Sunday, Geordie would visit Patrick and the travelers would once again speak and read to him through their volunteer. The sleeping man had been told they'd be away and that they were going to Singapore. Sadly, he made no response.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I was taught that there are 7 continents on this planet, that number is apparently now in flux. Many geographers and scientists claim there are only 6 continents, as Europe and Asia are one solid landmass that they're calling Eurasia. I've wondered about that since learning more about the countries bordering Europe that are considered to be on the Asian continent.
> 
> To make things even more interesting (to me, at least), geologists and scientists are now saying that New Zealand is not an island but the tip of a continent and are calling it "Zealandia". They're also saying that the island of New Caledonia, which is 1500 miles distant from New Zealand, is part of the same land mass ("Zealandia") as New Zealand. I don't know how I'd react if I lived in either of those places, but as an onlooker, I think it's pretty cool, as long as there are no negative consequences.


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A belated Veterans Day/Remembrance Day THANK YOU to all who serve and who have served your countries – and all of us.
> 
> Thanks to first responders everywhere. Also, a shout out to whoever invented the particulate filtering (smoke) paper mask, now a very necessary accessory here in California.
> 
> Reminder: In canon, Ned Dorneget is gay and one of the last times we saw him, he'd been working in Cyber Crimes.

Chapter 64

That first day, Saturday, they followed a plan the four of them developed together. After their first nap, Artie led them on a tour of several of her favorite places. They walked to some and took the Tokyo Metro to others. Their tour included gardens as well as beautifully serene temples. They spent the longest time at the National Museum of Nature and Science, enjoying both the Global Gallery and the Japan Gallery.

On the way back to the hotel, they stopped to purchase dinner, which they ate in their suite. As they ate, they talked about their day, each of them satisfied with what they'd seen and done. Tim, in particular, wanted to see and do as much as possible over the next two days. Tomorrow, Sunday, they would spend the day and evening at DisneySea Park, the only one in existence in the world.

On Monday, they'd have a morning tour followed by a trip to the Railway Museum and would make some stops on their way back to the hotel.

While Tim worked in Yokosuka on Tuesday, Artie and the boys would sightsee before spending most of the day at Disneyland. They'd meet Tim and his INV agent for dinner in Yokohama that evening, which meant a train trip that had Kyle and Greg quite excited.

On Wednesday, Artie and the boys would see their last sights of Tokyo and would probably return to Disneyland. In late afternoon, Tim would meet them back at the hotel and they'd head for the airport and their flight to Singapore. The 7 ½ hour flight would give them a chance to sleep for several hours.

The next day, Sunday, they had a blast at the DisneySea Park, unique to Tokyo. A water based park built on Tokyo Bay, the rides and attractions are all oriented to the water, such as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" , a "Journey to the Center of the Earth' and a Mermaid Lagoon. They found the visuals stunning, taking many photos and enjoying the parades. It was a long day. They found a place where they could nap for a few hours before returning to the park. That evening, as they climbed into their transport back to what the boys called their "real hotel", Tim and Artie were very glad they'd prearranged everything.

Monday, they had an early breakfast before their tour guide arrived for their tour. They enjoyed that, napping on the way to the Railway Museum. The museum was the highlight of the day for the boys! They made one stop on the way back to the hotel, buying a few souvenirs along with their dinner. Once in their room, they ate, had showers and story time. After that, they had their third Skype visit with Hope, Rissa, Andy and their grandparents. That felt really good and after they disconnected, all four of them went to bed, quickly falling asleep.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim's trip to the office was an easy ride Tuesday morning. They'd figured out which station he needed in Yokosuka and he'd purchased a two day rail pass. He had his translation app on his phone and, after a great deal of teasing for her mastery of the Japanese language, Artie admitted she'd taken an audio refresher course. She'd phonetically written several key words and phrases for Tim, adding any protocol that might be expected.

Once on the train, he found a seat almost immediately. He meant to look out the window, to see everything he could, but woke to his watch alarm. He shook his head, hoping he'd be able to stay awake on the return trip that evening. Of course, his agent would be with him on the ride to Yokohama and after their dinner, he'd ride with Artie and the boys back to Tokyo. Although it would be dark, he'd enjoy seeing the lights and hoped he'd stay awake for tomorrow morning's train ride from Tokyo.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

He smiled as he disembarked, easily spotting the tall figure of his INV agent waiting for him. The two men bowed to each other before hugging. Tim was more relieved to see Ned than he cared to admit. After they'd finished greeting each other, Ned led him to their ride to the office.

On the way, Tim took stock of his friend. He looked well, no circles under his eyes and he smiled easily. When Tim nodded to himself, Ned grinned, "Do I pass muster?"

"Yeah, you look healthy and happy. I hope that means life is better here?"

"It is, thank you again for the swap! How's Watson doing?"

Tim tilted his head, "He's fine, adjusting to life in Singapore. We should have sent you here in the first place! If I'd realized…"

"Or if I'd realized! It wasn't any worse than I've experienced at home. I'm used to having to live like a straight man. My grandparents raised me and they still don't know I'm gay." He shook his head, "The scary part was realizing that if I slipped up, if anyone even suspected, it wouldn't just be harassment, I would be arrested and could be imprisoned. It's so different here in Japan. While gays can't legally marry and there's little to no civil rights protection for us, there's also not the hatred or the religious issues there are in so many countries. In the bigger cities, it's commonplace, not an issue. That's a huge difference from Singapore." He smiled, "That's a beautiful country and I loved just about everything about it. The laws are very strict for a reason and with one major exception they worked for me. I just hadn't realized how frightening it would be."

Tim huffed, "It's hard to imagine and I'm sorry you had to go through that. So, how's business?"

Ned brought him up to date, not just on their cases here in Japan but also including the other offices. "The Northwest team was called in for a case on Saturday and Dawson let me know she was working. She needed a little help but I'm set up at home and between us, we got it done. I'm sure you'll hear about it but they broke the case and uncovered another nest of vipers, er, that is domestic terrorists. After the suspects for the case were brought in, the defense squads moved in on the others. Haven't heard how many there were."

Tim blinked, "That's great news, that they found them and busted the case but that was in Washington state? That's frightening!"

"The case was in a town on the border with Idaho, the terrorists were reportedly camped somewhere over the border. They might not even have been permanent residents. Anyway, they were not in Washington."

Tim nodded, "Glad you were able to help. Was it something new or more difficult?"

"It was new to Dawson and not something we run into very often. Even in Cybercrimes, we rarely needed to run something that intricate. She set it up but wanted someone to check her coding before she executed. She contacted Tighe who said he wasn't sure enough, so she emailed me."

"Good, I'm glad she did that and that Tighe passed on it too if he didn't feel confident."

"He knows now, I had him link in with us while we went through it. I thought you'd want to know, maybe set up a training session."

"Yes, I'll set that up as soon as I get home. Excellent work, Agent Dorneget, congratulations!"

Reaching the office, they went upstairs to meet Supervising Special Agent In Charge (SSAIC) Richard Owens and the SFA, Jeff Andresen. Although Owens was nominally the Team Lead, with his responsibilities for several offices, Andresen was the de facto Team Lead. He led this office's field team. Both men shook Tim's hand, welcoming him to Yokosuka and Japan. After exchanging pleasantries, Owens said, "I should know, but what's your background? I remember you worked aboard the Navy Yard."

"Yes, for over a decade. I was on the MCRT there."

"Gibbs' team?"

Tim nodded with a proud smile. "Yes."

"I worked a case with them when I was stationed at Pearl. I'd been an Agent Afloat a few years before and an old case of mine re-surfaced. Gibbs or DiNozzo, one of them, questioned my case notes and next thing I knew, I was on a C-130 to DC. I stuck with them while they resolved my old case and the newer one."

Tim grinned, "I might have heard a little about that. Tough case and amazing that you all busted the dirtbag after all those years."

"I was sorry to hear about Agent Todd. She was smart as a whip and not afraid of anything, I'm sure she would have gone far in the agency."

Tim nodded, "She was killed my first year on the team. It's been over a decade now, but we'll always remember her."

"I know DiNozzo got the SAIC in Marseille but what happened to Gibbs?"

With a grin, Tim glanced at his watch, "He retired in 2015 and DiNozzo took the MCRT. In another few hours, in a big house in a small town outside London, Gibbs will be helping my two youngest children get ready for their day and driving or walking them, and my oldest son, to school and nursery, depending on the weather." Enjoying the look on Owens' face, Tim paused briefly before continuing, "After I left the team, we discovered I'm his son. I have 4 siblings and he adopted them. Two years ago he married the woman my siblings, friends and I relied on during our childhood and she adopted all of us. They now have 11 grown children and 5 grandchildren with 2, possibly 3, on the way." He added, "DiNozzo is one of Gibbs' kids; he and his wife are expecting their first child, who might be twins. My wife and I are expecting our 6th child."

Owens' face registered his shock, eventually he said, "Wow, he, Gibbs, has mellowed a lot! DiNozzo seemed like a good agent, knew his stuff. Funny that he's married, I had him pegged as a player."

Tim nodded, "He was and is, one of the best investigators I've met, he's got a real nose for it. I didn't think of him as a player but I never thought of him marrying, not until he met Capt. Maggie Barnes, one of the USMC's finest."

"DiNozzo married a Marine?"

"She was in the reserves by then, she's also with NCIS."

"And your wife?"

"Is a civil engineer only connected to the agency through me and several agency in-laws."

Ned chuckled, "One civilian in the bunch!"

Tim tilted, "We do have a few other non-NCIS folks in the family."

"So you're now stationed in Europe?"

"Yes, the London office. One of the reasons I'm here is to fill you, Jeff and Ned in on the recent change. I've been given a special assignment that will keep me away from the agency for a couple of days a week until the end of the year, possibly longer. Agent Dorneget has done a stellar job serving as my second-in-command and mentoring our fellow INV agents. For the duration of my special assignment, we'll be rotating the second-in-command position so that no one agent or team is overly burdened and everyone gets management experience."

Ned already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask but decided to help Tim move things along. "Will you schedule your days or be in or out?"

"I'll schedule my days in the office before the beginning of each month and share my calendar as I do now. Generally I'll be in the office Monday through Wednesday, out Thursday and Friday."

Andreson frowned, "Will you be out of contact on those days?"

"If there's an 'all hands on deck' case, I'll be available. If there's something the current SIC doesn't know, I'll ask that he or she ask the more experienced INV agents. We may end up assigning that position too, so Ned isn't flooded with emails, texts or calls from the less experienced agents."

Tim smiled, "With all this going on, we're also bringing two more INV agents on board. One will be assigned here as a floater to assist your subordinate offices, just as Special Agent Gage does in Singapore. The second new INV agent will be posted to a safe office in the U.S. and will also have 'float' responsibilities."

"Do you know what office that will be, at home?"

Tim shook his head, "Not yet."

After that, it was time for work, but first Ned took Tim on a quick tour of the office. He was happy to see there was room to fit another INV workstation in with the field team. He and Ned did an evaluation of cases among Singapore's subordinate offices and came to the conclusion that the floater would likely be working most frequently with the NCIS office in Seoul, South Korea. Ned was happy with the prospect of having another INV agent in the same office and Tim was satisfied with Ned's transition from Singapore to Japan and the field teams' appraisals of him. Andresen was pleased with his work and, repeating other field leaders, made note of several cases they were able to close successfully and much sooner with Ned's expertise.

After lunch out with Owens, Andresen and Dorneget, he and Ned discussed his evaluation. He'd been in Japan for 6 weeks and both Owens and Andresen reported he'd hit the ground running, that both he and his predecessor, Agent Matt Watson, were excellent agents. After Tim gave him his evaluation, including the facts, figures and conclusions of Joel Morris, Lydia Worden and Bec Childers, the SAIC and 2 London SFAs he'd worked with, the SSAIC and SFA in Singapore and Andresen here in Japan, Ned walked out of the conference room beaming.

Once that was done, Tim settled in to catch up with London and the other offices. If the field team had a case while he was here, he and Ned would work on it together.

Tim was finishing the last of his email responses when Ned knocked and then entered the conference room where he was working. "Tim, do you mind if I bring a friend to dinner?"

"No, not at all!"

"He works here, in IT."

Tim's eyes widened, "That's great, Ned! And I'm glad you mentioned him working in IT, I totally forgot something James asked me to do!"

"What's that?"

"One of the IT techs here helped London with something a few months ago and James gave me something to give him in thanks. His name is Daniel Ibarra."

Ned chuckled, "You can give whatever it is to him now or wait until dinner, Daniel's my boyfriend."

"You're kidding?! Hmm, how about at dinner, that might be more fun." Tim paused, thinking about the name. "He's Spanish? Or…Filipino?"

Ned nodded, "He's Filipino-American. Dad's an U.S. expat, Mom's Filipina."

"Oh, that's interesting. Does he know the kids will be there?"

Chuckling, Ned said, "Yes, he knows the kids will be there. He has two kids of his own, a girl and a boy. He and his wife split when their son was two. Now they're good friends who share custody."

Tim grinned, "This is awesome, we get to meet…how serious is this? Aw Ned, I shouldn't be asking any of these questions!"

"I started it and right now we're talking as old friends, not boss and agent. And we're pretty serious, although we've known each other less than 2 months."

"You're right, that's great and I can't wait to meet him!"

The other man grinned back at him, "I can't wait either, feels like he's getting to meet part of my family!"

Tim nodded, "Feels that way to me, too."

When there wasn't a new case to work, Tim and Ned worked on cold cases until it was time to leave. Tim sent Artie a text about Ned's boyfriend and smiled at the happy faces that were her reply. He showed Ned, who was even happier.

While Ned loved his life here and was very happy with Daniel, he missed having other friends around him, especially members of the family he thought of as the 'Gibbs tribe'. He'd really enjoyed his brief stay in London, reconnecting with them, happy when DiNozzo and Maggie were at Sarah's wedding, making his circle of friends complete, even if it was temporary.

He'd been happy with his posting to Singapore, glad to work with Cassie Yates, although a little worried about the laws against homosexuality. He personally hadn't had any trouble but when a club he'd been planning to go to was busted one Saturday night and everyone there arrested for being in an illegal homosexual establishment, he got scared. Luckily, as soon as she heard about the raid, Yates' first thought was to contact Tim and before Ned got to work the Monday after the raid, Tim had already contacted him and arranged to move him to Japan. He was on his way before the end of that week. He'd arrived here before Agent Watson left for Singapore and was glad to spend some time with him, to know the man was excited about another new adventure. When Matt told him their boss questioned him extensively about moving to the island nation, Ned felt even better about the swap.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Although their father had to go to work and take a train to get to the NCIS office, the boys were happy when they were told that they too would ride the train this afternoon. They were meeting Papa and Mr. Ned in Yokohama, a city between Tokyo and Yokosuka and they'd have dinner there. Kyle and Greg were excited about seeing Mr. Ned! They knew him from Virginia, the weddings and of course his time in London last summer and had been very sad when he left for Singapore.

This was a revelation to Greg, that even though people might move away from you, you still might get to see them again. He realized that had happened with his family, the American family lived closer now, but he hadn't thought about friends. That cheered him up and now he thought that moving back to the United States might be okay, when it was safe. He still might see his Brambury friends again.

When Tim and Ned were ready to leave the office, they were joined by Daniel. Tim had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from exclaiming aloud when he saw the man. He looked like Dad McGee, Patrick and Greg. He immediately dismissed his surprise; Ned said Daniel's father was an expat and despite Dad's rule, in reality coincidences did exist. After all, there were millions of Americans of Scots, Irish and English ancestry.

After being introduced, Tim handed him the package from James. "This is from James Powell at NCIS: London. You helped him with a tough problem a few months ago and he asked me to bring this to you."

Daniel smiled, "Yes, back in November. They ran into a strange problem and broadcast a plea for help to the other NCIS IT centers. I responded because I thought it might be similar to something we'd encountered two years before and luckily I was right! We each wrote up the problems and solutions and posted it in our shared IT database so the next person will know what to do. This was very kind of him! Do you know him well?"

Tim grinned, "He's married to my sister and I consider him one of my brothers."

"Great! Wait, _one_ of your brothers? How many do you have?"

Ned laughed while Tim silently counted, adding in Jimmy and Ian. Finally he said, "11, counting my 2 brothers-in-law, my DNA-sharing brother Patrick, my chosen brothers Tony and Jimmy and my adopted brothers, Geo, Rob, Bill, Barry, Jose and Freddie." He made a face and turned to Ned. "Did I miss anyone?"

Still laughing, he shook his head no. When they turned to Daniel, he had a funny look on his face but then seemingly shook it off, saying "11 brothers?"

"Yes, and 2 sisters, one with whom I also share DNA and another one who is chosen."

"Adopted is different from chosen?"

"In our family, yes. Most are adopted. I'm not because our dad is my biological father. The others who aren't adopted we refer to as chosen. My brother Tony's biological father is still alive, so Tony won't let Dad adopt him so he's chosen or called Dad's 'unofficial' son. However, his mother's been gone since he was 8, so our mother, who married Dad a year ago, adopted Tony." He smiled, "I forgot how confusing all that is!"

"So you have one sister and one brother with whom you share DNA?"

"Yes, they're my half-siblings, we have the same biological mother. Found out a few years ago that the father who died when I was 9 was really my stepfather and the boss I'd known for over a decade is my biological father."

"Wow! I thought our family was different! My dad was born and raised in the U.S., we know he's Irish and English but that's all he'll say. We have no idea who our grandparents were or if he has siblings."

Ned tilted his head, "You can build a family tree on one of the heritage sites and then have your DNA run. Anyone who is related to you and has their DNA on that same site will be matched up with you. Or if you have similar names and dates on your tree, you'll be shown possible matches."

"Yeah, we should probably do that, if for no other reason than knowing our medical or health history. I'll talk with my siblings about it, guess we can chip in and have one of us tested."

Tim tilted his head, "You can do that, sure. Just know that siblings don't always have the same genes passed to them. It's strange, you'd think they would but they don't. Same parents, different genes. Except if there are identical twins, they will always have the same genes."

"Uh, I didn't know that. I guess you know from experience?"

"Yes, but not mine. My blood siblings and I only share our mother's DNA and the DNA tests don't show what came from which parent. They only show percentages of ethnicity anyway, not the actual details of the DNA. My sister Sarah, who shares two parents with our brother Patrick, looked at his DNA and noticed the difference. She did some research and found out."

"Huh, I hope you found out the 'half' part when you found your dad."

"Mm, around that time, yes." Tim didn't think the 2 years between each discovery mattered to this conversation. He changed the subject by asking Daniel a question about his family.

During the rest of the train ride, he learned a little more about Daniel. Born in the Philippines, he and his siblings, he was the oldest of 4, moved to Japan with their parents when Daniel was 12. His father had an offer of a partnership in a law firm and his mother, while sorry to leave her family, was excited to experience life in another country.

Daniel married his high school girlfriend, Trinity, the week after their graduation and their oldest child, his daughter Liesl, was born in their first year of marriage. Daniel shook his head, "That was a wild time. Newlyweds, new baby, Trinity worked part-time and I worked full-time plus went to college at night. Our parents were wonderful to us. However, by the time I graduated from college and our son, Mark, was born, I knew we were in trouble. By the time Mark was two, and Liesl four, Trinity and I were separated. During our separation and through the process of divorcing, we worked things out and now that I'm no longer trying to be something I'm not, we have a great relationship. She's met Ned and likes him, approves of him. So do my parents. Trin's parents don't speak to me, haven't since we told them why we were divorcing."

Once again moving the conversation along, the three of them were laughing as the train pulled into their station in Yokohama. They found Artie and the boys in the waiting room and Tim kissed his wife quickly as their boys threw themselves at him. "Hey! Are you two okay? Did you have fun today?"

Holding onto his father, Greg said, "Yes, we did but we really missed you."

Kyle nodded into his father's leg and Tim handed his briefcase to Artie before picking up Kyle and wrapping an arm around Greg. "I'm here, it's all right, I didn't get lost anywhere. Mr. Ned and his friend helped me get on the right train."

Greg looked at the other two men and Daniel did a double take, the kid looked a lot like him and his younger brother when they were much younger. The boy left his parents and held his hand out for a shake, "Hello, I'm Greg Gibbs."

"Hello, Greg. I'm Daniel Ibarra."

With a sniff, Kyle rolled his shoulders, just like his dad, and turned to meet the new guy and say hello to Mr. Ned. "Hello, Mr. Ibarra, I'm Kyle Gibbs." He looked at his father. "That's right, isn't it? You're still McGee at work but we're Gibbs all the time? Except Mama, she's Midei."

"Yes, that's right Kyle. It's easier to keep my old name at work."

Greg was happily greeting Ned. "Mr. Ned, we're really happy to see you! When Papa told us you were here now, we cheered!"

"Thanks, Greggers, it's great to see you too." Leaning down, he gave the boy a hug, which was enthusiastically returned. Kyle joined them and Daniel laughed as he watched them. "Great kids! Oh, I'm being rude, Ms. Midei, I'm sorry! I'm Daniel Ibarra, Ned's boyfriend."

With a smile, she kissed his cheek, "I'm so happy to meet you, happy that you and our Ned have found each other."

"Thanks, us too! Uh, please call me Daniel."

"And I'm Artie, short for Artemis. If you don't mind, the boys will call you Mr. Daniel, we're a bit old fashioned about that."

"I understand, believe me; I'm Daniel to you and Tim."

When the boys and Ned were through greeting each other, Greg and Kyle rejoined their parents. When Kyle's tummy rumbled, they all grinned and Daniel told them about a restaurant he and his children enjoyed. Tim and Artie had looked at reviews and picked a restaurant, now they were more than happy to have a personal recommendation and following Ned and Daniel, hopped on the subway. The boys grinned at each other, they loved taking any kind of train!

Dinner was delicious and the boys' parents thanked Daniel for his recommendation. Artie found one of her old favorites on the menu, the kids loved their selections and Tim, not a fish lover, had been happy to find Sukiyaki, a beef dish, and Tempura, vegetables (or fish) in a delicious batter, on the menu.

The boys were full of chatter about their day at Disneyland along with a stop at Ameyoko, a large street market. Artie laughed as she told Tim what they'd purchased and shipped home.

The next morning, Wednesday, Tim packed his suitcase, leaving it in the room. Today he'd leave Yokosuka in the early afternoon and meet Artie and the boys at the hotel for the trip to the airport and flight to Singapore.

After working on a case together, he and Ned had a quick lunch and then Tim left, glad he'd only have to do this once a year or possibly once every two years. Although he'd enjoyed the visit and found it useful, he wasn't sure it was worth the agency's expense. As he walked to the elevator, SSAIC Owens stopped him, "Do you have another 5 minutes?"

"Sure!"

Joining Owens in his office, Tim sat, wondering what the man might have to say. Owens smiled at him. "I remember at Pearl when the director, Morrow, Shepard or Vance, used to come through once or twice a year. We'd think, sure, free trip to Hawaii. However, with the mess our country is in now, and the agency's main operations moved offshore, having a visitor from our Headquarters is very welcome. We don't know if what we hear on the international news is true, or exaggerated. You've just come from London, our current HQ, you know what's really going on and willingly shared that with us, that's already helping morale here. And for us, meeting the agent who's heading the INV program is also a very good thing. The offices who have INV agents understand what they do and the advantage you've given us. The offices who don't have INV agents and haven't ever asked for help from one have no clue. This program is a success, ask any of us SSAICs and Team Leads! Just a suggestion, compile our evaluations, put our comments into a "First Annual Report" or something like that, with the numbers of cases worked and the time saved and send it out agency-wide."

With a smile, Tim removed a folder from his briefcase, "Something like this?"

Owens took a quick look, "Yes, exactly and I'm glad to see you're way ahead of me! When's it coming out?"

"As soon as I'm back in the office after Singapore. Next week, Tuesday or Wednesday."

"Excellent, I look forward to seeing the completed report." He grinned, "And tell Yates hello for me."

Tim nodded, "I will. I haven't seen her in nearly a decade!"

"You know her then?"

"Yes, I was a case agent at Norfolk my first year with the agency and our assigned parking spaces were next to each other."

Owens laughed, "I like that, a simple parking space leads to friendship."

Shaking hands with the SSAIC and promising to pass along greetings to Gibbs and DiNozzo, Tim left. Once the train left for Tokyo, he spent the ride updating his notes.

Back at the hotel, he found the boys still keyed up after their day at Disneyland and Artie held onto him, whispering she had no idea how they routinely parented five children. Chuckling, Tim hugged her back, reminding her they normally had a lot of help and that these were special circumstances. They'd known it would be tough to be the only adult with two boys at Disneyland and had discussed it thoroughly. Artie had been adamant she could handle it and they'd finally told the boys. Now she was glad that experience had been a happy one for the kids, although a bit stressful for her and best of all, it was over with!

With everything packed, they checked out of the hotel and said goodbye to Tokyo as their transport took them to the airport. Once there, they checked their bags, went through Security, and found their gate and then the closest Family Area. Once again, the family had fun expending some energy. Returning to their gate, they didn't have long to wait to board.

Finally aboard the plane, they were happy to find the flight wasn't full and settled in for the 7 ½ hour flight. They'd booked a late afternoon flight which would have them landing in Singapore about 11:30 PM. Tim and Artie felt it would be easier to get their boys to the hotel and into bed tonight rather than taking a late night flight, arriving shortly before dawn, and then trying to sleep while the sun was shining. Naps were one thing, trying to sleep for 7 or 8 hours during the day in a hotel room was another.

After they were served dinner, they took turns walking, one adult with each boy, and washed up in the restrooms. The four of them again played cards and then the boys each read a story or a chapter to their parents before swapping to listen to their parents read aloud. After that, the four of them took out their e-readers, reading on their own. Kyle dropped off to sleep within 20 minutes while Greg took nearly an hour, each boy snuggled into one of his parents.

All four of them were asleep when the cabin lights were brought up and the flight crew announced they were beginning their descent into Singapore. Tim grabbed their carry-on bags and they took off their sweaters, shoes and socks. Each of them put sandals on and then took turns in the restrooms changing to a lightweight dress for Artie and shorts and summer tops for Tim and the boys. Artie also made sure their rain ponchos were within easy reach.

When they stepped out of the airport into the evening air, they were very glad they'd changed, it was 11:55 PM, hot and humid. Having done his research, Tim had downloaded the app he needed and ordered a "Grab" taxi while waiting for their luggage and it was waiting for them when they emerged from the airport. Their hotel was near the Sembawang Station on the MRT, the public transit system, and Sembawang Park.

Once in their rooms, this time they had a suite, they had their Skype call with the family at home and then went to bed. Tim's only thoughts before he fell asleep were that he was glad they were here, the suite was clean and quiet and he was very glad he didn't have to be at the office until late morning.

After a decent night's sleep, the family had breakfast at the hotel and then Tim went to work while the others returned to the suite to clean up and review their itinerary for the day.

Today, Artie and the boys were going to the beach, one of the last natural beaches in the area was in Sembawang Park. Tim would meet them there after work and after he'd had a swim, they'd meet Matt Watson and the other INV agent, Randy Gage, for dinner, Ned had recommended several restaurants in the area, and have an early night.

Tomorrow, Friday, Tim would go to work in the morning and then join his family in the late afternoon for a hop on/off bus tour and later, he hoped, another swim.

On Saturday, they planned a 'driving tour' of all the places they'd found that pertained to Kathy Hart. Rather than attempt to deal with everything themselves, they'd splurged and hired someone, recommended by Cassie Yates, to act as guide and driver for them. They hoped there would be time for a swim afterward, then that evening, they had tickets to a Night Safari Park which sounded like a fun adventure!

Tim smiled as he hopped on the subway to get to the office. He hadn't really minded the 1 hour and 43 minute train ride from Tokyo to Yokosuka but he was very glad he didn't have to do that again here.

When he walked into the office, he smiled at the sign welcoming him to Singapore and the office. After the security check, he was escorted to the SSAIC's office.

Cassie Yates was waiting for him and the two exchanged hugs. When they parted, Cassie put her hands on his arms to take a good look at him. "Tim McGee, all grown up, running the best new program we've had in years, traveling the world, married and how many kids?"

He grinned, "5 with number 6 joining us in May."

She frowned, "I thought your wife was with you. She's allowed to fly?"

Tim tilted his head, "She's not carrying the baby, we have a gestational carrier. If she was pregnant, she'd probably still be flying. Tony's wife is also pregnant and due in May; she has approval to fly until 4 weeks before their baby is due."

Cassie leaned back against her desk in surprise, "DiNozzo's married?"

With a grin, Tim told her about Maggie. Then he asked Cassie what she was up to. With a smile, she showed him a photo of her own wedding. He congratulated her, saying, "Not only am I glad for your sake and your husband's, I'm also glad to see other federal agents who successfully handle marriage and the job."

She laughed, "I remember that from the Navy Yard, Director Morrow, Rick Carter and Jim O'Brien were the only ones who were married! And I hear Gibbs is married again?"

Tim told her about Lu and his own change of status with Gibbs and she chuckled. "I did hear about that, took me some time to get over the shock of you being his son! I know Watson and Gage are joining you for dinner tonight, any chance I can barge in too?"

"Sure. We'll be casual, with the kids."

"You only brought two of them with you?"

Tim nodded, relaying his original relationship with Greg and Kyle, along with an abbreviated version of his brother and murdered sister-in-law.

"Wow, that's so sad. I'm glad you were there to take them in." She frowned, "Is that when you left the agency?"

With a huff, he told her that story, up to and including living in the UK and running into his college sweetheart, discovering they had a son and their marriage.

She closed her eyes, "Tim, so many changes, so many stressful situations for you. It's hard to imagine Gibbs as Grandpa; however, I'm really glad he was there for you!"

"He's a great dad and grandfather."

"Well, come on, I know Watson is waiting to see you. He's told us how kind you and Dr. Palmer were to him in London. Is that Ducky's replacement?"

Tim nodded and anticipating her next question, told her where Ducky lived and how he was doing. She laughed then, "I need to make a chart!" She patted Tim's arm, "My SFA is someone you've met. Do you remember Dwayne Wilson?"

Tim frowned and then nodded, "Sure, years ago. He was assigned to us for a week before his FLETC class. He's your SFA?"

"Yes and yes, although he won't be for long, he's up for promotion to Team Lead. Not sure where yet, safe offices are staffed to capacity, I hear some are bursting at the seams."

Tim nodded, "Yes, I want to post another INV agent in a U.S. office, but finding one that has room and is safe will be tricky."

"Know of any offhand?"

Tim shook his head, "Haven't done the research yet."

She rolled her eyes at him and then took him to the bullpen where he was reunited with both Matt Watson, Randy Gage and Dwayne Wilson, who he remembered had quickly thought of a creative way to help in a case. Meeting the rest of the Singapore team, he smiled as their junior agent said, "You've met my brother, Rusty, in the Athens office."

Tim nodded, "I sure have. He came over to our beach in Greece last summer with his team, for a barbecue. He and one of the other agents had new paddle boards."

Cassie looked at him, " _Our_ beach?"

"My wife's grandmother lives in Varkiza, outside of Athens, within walking distance of a beach. Her family and most of our American family have vacationed together there for the last few years."

"Wow!"

Tim chuckled, "My wife's grandmother gets teased about all of us being her family. Last summer, I think we had a group of 32 plus our Greek family, which numbers 15."

When Matt said that was still less than the number they'd had at Thanksgiving, Tim nodded. "Oh yeah, that was a record crowd!"

After meeting the team, he was given a tour of the office, winding up back in the SSAIC's office with SFA Wilson and his INV agents. After reviewing his new schedule, he added the details about each INV agent handling the whole team as the Second in Command for a month each. Watson and Gage both looked excited, terrified and then relieved when Tim added that each month there would also be a mentor on the schedule for the newer Investigatory Agents. After answering their questions, noticing that Cassie didn't have any, he asked Wilson to join them for dinner. With a smile, Dwayne declined, explaining his in-laws were visiting from the States.

He smiled, "They retired and moved from Virginia up to Vermont last June. On the first cold day, they emailed to ask if they could visit for the winter. They arrived a couple of weeks ago and will leave at the end of March. Then they're going to visit a Marine buddy of my father-in-law's for 10 days. They decided they can stand a few weeks of winter if they get home in mid-April."

Cassie gently teased Dwayne, "It's too bad they can't babysit, you're missing a chance for your wife to see that other agents have wives and children."

Matt's eyes widened as he looked at Tim, "The kids are with you?"

Tim chuckled, "Only Greg and Kyle. Andy, Rissa and Hope are home with my folks."

Matt smiled, "And everyone else at the Manor."

"It's not as crowded as it was when you, Randy and the others were there. Everyone but Joe and Mac moved out. Uncle LJ didn't like the cold, so he and two of the older gentlemen are spending the winter in Greece. We're down to my parents, my sister and James, my brother Joe and Grandpa Mac. And the 7 of us, of course."

Dwayne's eyes bulged, "In one house?"

Chuckling, Matt pulled out his phone and scrolled through until he found a photo of the Manor. As the others exclaimed, Tim told them about the Manor.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While Tim was working, Artie and the boys put their swimsuits on, Artie wearing a sundress over hers, picked up the picnic lunch the hotel kitchen made for them and, carefully following directions, went to Sembawang Park. The boys were happy to see a playground and played there for an hour before walking to the beach with their mother. Finding a table in the shade, they ate their lunch and drank their hydration drinks and then continued walking along the water's edge, getting their feet wet. Although they'd found mixed reviews about the cleanliness of the water, the hotel concierge had assured them it was now very clean and very safe for them to swim. Artie waded in first, smiling in relief from the heat of the day. The boys watched impatiently from the shore but she didn't keep them waiting. "It's fine, come on in."

She met them at the edge of the water and had Kyle stand next to her, noting where his waist reached on her body. The boys waited again while she waded out to the spot that would be the deepest they were allowed to go. Then she walked up and down, several feet in each direction, but found no holes. Nor were there any rip currents here. Finally, she nodded to her sons and they joined her, jumping right into the waves. While they played, she looked out over the water and saw another landmass in the distance, Malaysia. Telling the boys, they stopped to look while she told them a little about that country and how Singapore had been a part of it for a few years. While the boys played, she sat in the shallow water and watched them. As the only adult and with very few other people around, she stayed close to her sons all afternoon.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim laughed to himself at the lack of new cases either here in Singapore or in Japan. When Ned had been the only INV agent in Asia, he'd been swamped with cases coming in from all the offices, including Japan and its subordinates.

Being caseless worked out all right, it meant each of his agents had their evaluation and then the three of them worked cold cases. During the afternoon, Dwayne contacted his wife and told Tim they would join him for dinner after all, his in-laws would babysit.

When Dwayne told him, Tim chuckled, saying, "If my wife and I don't plan to go out by ourselves, my parents will kick us out, saying they need some time with the grandkids. And they live with us!"

Dwayne nodded, "We're just realizing that we should be taking advantage of her folks being here! We've never lived near them before and they've never visited for more than a few days at a time."

"Cheer up, you've still got a month!"

"I know! Wow, there are all kinds of things we can do by ourselves."

Tim offered, "Adult meals out, movies that aren't animated."

"Yes and seeing and doing all the things we want to around here, without having to include time for naps or kids' activities."

"Oh yeah. We had more time in Tokyo and did a fair amount of sightseeing but we'll only have Saturday here in Singapore and we have some family things we'll be doing. I've enjoyed sightseeing with the kids when we travel, it's fun and gives me a different perspective, seeing things through their eyes. Although planning around naps isn't always fun and adult time feels like playing hooky, maybe because it is a novelty. Still, our kids are used to traveling, we have our routine wherever we go."

"What's your family doing today?"

"They're at Sembawang Park. They played on the playground, had a picnic lunch and walked on the beach before going swimming. They're good kids but two long flights in a week will tire anyone out! Not to mention an entire day at DisneySea Park and most of a day at Disneyland."

"Huh, I bet they slept well those nights."

"Yes. As I said, they're used to traveling, although our flights in Europe usually aren't more than 4 hours. Still, we bring decks of cards, books and toys for all of us."

"Ah, you're organized, that helps!"

"It's essential!"

Matt tried not to laugh at them while hoping he'd be a dad someday. Gage had to suppress shudders at the thought of being a parent.

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Tim finally left the office and reaching the hotel, quickly changed into his swimsuit, checked with the concierge to make sure the directions he had were correct and then headed for the park. He grinned when he saw his family, sitting on their towels in the shade playing cards. Greg spotted him first, jumping up and running to him. Tim caught his 9 ½ year old son and lifted him for a hug and kiss. "Hi, Greggers! Have you had fun today?"

Greg nodded, "It was really nice. We didn't have to be anywhere, we walked on the beach, had a picnic lunch and then we swam. Other people with kids were here, too. Kyle and I played with them and their mother told them they could only go out as far as us. Mama played with us, too, and now you're here. How was Agent Matt, Agent Gage and the office?"

"They're fine, they are having dinner with us, along with three people you haven't met before: Agent Yates, Agent Wilson and his wife. Wilson worked with your grandpa, uncle Tony and me several years ago, but only for a week!"

"A week? How come?"

"I don't remember why but I do remember he was a big help and now he works for my old friend Agent Yates. Huh, I don't know if her husband is joining us or not. His name is Mitchell Shaw."

Kyle joined them for his own hug and kiss and the three of them, the boys each holding one of Papa's hands, joined Artie. Tim leaned forward to kiss her while the boys started to tug him toward the water.

Tim protested, "Hey, you guys had your hugs and kisses, let me have some time with my wife!"

Tim vaguely heard two voices saying, "Sorry, Daddy!", but he was busy kissing Artie.

Eventually they parted, laughing as the boys waited, trying to look patient. Tim thoroughly enjoyed his swim, trading off with Artie so she could have her first real swim of the day. Greg offered to get out so they could swim together but neither of his parents were willing to leave the brothers alone on the beach either. Under her breath, Artie murmured, "How much would it have cost to bring your parents?"

He told her and she took a deep breath. "Ok, that was the right decision."

He started to laugh but realized she'd had the boys to herself, in countries unknown to them, since Tuesday morning, he should be thankful and more supportive! They swam for another hour before they needed to get out, dry off and head back to the hotel. There, they'd shower, dress and leave for dinner.

Artie had been briefed about the additional diners and Tim had updated their reservations, so they could relax and enjoy the evening. When Tim told her that Wilson's wife Lynn and Agent Cassie Yates would be joining them, she cheered. While she knew and liked agents Watson and Gage, she was very happy that she would not be the only woman!

They had a wonderful time at dinner. The food was great and the group had fun. Each agent there had a link to Tim at some point in his or her career and that meant more stories. Greg and Kyle loved the stories and remembered some of the tales Agent Matt told them during his 'extra' time in the London office. Having visited his family on the way to Japan, he had new stories of life in South Dakota and everyone listened intently, glad to hear positive stories from home. That made them all feel better as well as homesick and each spent some time talking about his or her hometown. Greg and Kyle entertained the adults with stories about their Christmases in Virginia, going to the tree farm and the sleigh rides as well as their visits to 'their' mountain in Virginia, the weddings, and the snow families they'd built.

Here they were in the tropics, sitting outside under ceiling fans in late February, eating up every word about snowy, cold winters at home. By the time the group split up, each of them felt as if she or he had spent some time at home. A home most of them hadn't seen in months, some of them years and none of them knew how long it would be until they could safely return home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Agent Richard Owens appears in the NCIS Season One episode "The Curse". He was also featured as one of Tim's deputy directors in my story Finding Home.
> 
> Dwayne Wilson appears in NCIS Season Six episode "Collateral Damage". He is a future agent spending a week with the MCRT before going to FLETC. In the episode, he shows his wedding ring to McGee and DiNozzo, although his wife's name is my choice. He also appears, 'off screen' in my story At What Price.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS!

Chapter 65

Friday morning, Tim was in the office early, bringing treats for everyone. After dealing with his email and checking the INV database, he began reviewing a cold case when Wilson answered a phone call and then told his team to 'gear up'. Tim smiled to himself at the familiar phrase while Watson logged on and Gage worked a case with the Perth, Australia, office. Although Tim was sorely tempted to join them, he knew his agents would do their best, asking for help if they needed it. Resolutely he stuck with the cold case.

Two long hours passed, 120 minutes that Tim spent handling electronic paperwork after finishing his review of the cold case. Signing off a batch of case notes and case reviews, he got up to stretch his legs, hoping to spy a soda machine or a pitcher of iced tea. The air conditioning worked well in the office but he still wanted something cool to drink. Gage looked up, "There's a refrigerator in the break room, the next floor down, with pitchers of iced tea, help yourself."

Tim nodded, "Thanks. Want anything?"

Gage started to shake his head and then nodded, "Yes, a cold can of Coca Cola, please. They're also in the refrigerator. No ice for me."

Tim looked at Watson who nodded as he furiously coded. When Matt tilted his head toward Gage, Tim decided he also wanted a cold Coke. Remembering where the stairs were helped and from there he found his way to the break room. First making sure there were 2 cans of Coca Cola, Tim left them in the 'fridge and then poured himself a large tumbler of iced tea. The tumbler had a lid with a straw in it and he smiled, it reminded him of the Navy Yard. He'd brought one of the morning treats with him and sat down to enjoy it, his iced tea and a look at the local paper, this morning's edition.

Ten minutes later, he delivered the cold drinks and sat down at the desk he was using, his iced tea next to him. He worked on additional paperwork until both his agents had done everything they could on their respective cases. Perth's was a triple homicide while Singapore's was a drug case that came in via a tip from an anonymous caller. While they waited for results and/or additional information, they ordered lunch and Tim stayed with them as they ate while they worked.

Before he left the office, he stopped in to say goodbye to the SSAIC, who thanked him for his visit. "It always bumps up morale when someone from HQ comes in and especially someone who works while he's here! And it's been great to see you after all these years."

Tim chuckled, "Pretty strange that we finally see each other thousands of miles from DC. But oh no, wait, we work for the Federal Government!"

She grinned, "Oh yeah. I count myself lucky I was already here when the troubles started. I can't even imagine the chaos at home."

Tim shook his head, "Me neither, we were already in the UK, moved there in the spring of 2015. I can only tell you how surreal it was last July when Vance called to rescind my transfer to the Navy Yard and told us what was going on. Then he asked us to take in his kids for a few weeks, saying he'd send a custody agreement with them! And then the next morning, he's calling saying there are 8 refugees who will need homes, may he and his family stay with us and by the way, they're already in the air and will be landing in 4 hours. The next thing we know, DiNozzo asks for a family Skype call and when he pings us, he has everyone with him, Maggie Barnes, Abby, Jimmy Palmer, Ellie Bishop – and they've all been transferred to Europe! For several days, we had a very full house, although not everyone stayed with us for long."

Cassie shook her head, "That house gets bigger every time you mention it."

Tim huffed, "When we arrived, there were 6 of us, Gibbs, me, Greg, Kyle, my sister and younger brother. The Manor had 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, an unreachable attic, an old schoolroom, and a library upstairs while downstairs there was a playroom, a bathroom and two separate apartments or suites, each with two bedrooms, a lounge and two bathrooms, plus a large kitchen, living area, family room and a huge dining room. Now we have 10 bedrooms in addition to the suites, including an attic suite Dad built, with room to sleep about 20 people, 24 in a pinch."

"How many people live there now?"

"Right now, we have 13, although it's usually 14. My dad's godfather normally lives with us but he didn't like the British winter and decided to spend January through March in Greece with Tony's father-in-law and another older gentleman. Do you remember Tobias Fornell?"

"FBI? Yeah, sure."

"He, his partner and their respective daughters rent a house down the street from us and his dad joined them from Florida. Tobias' father is the third man in Greece for the winter."

"Wow, sounds like everyone landed with you."

Tim smiled, "Semper fi!"

"And Vance?"

"Lives less than a mile away."

"Is he all right now? He was gone for so long."

"He's doing well. Before Secretary Porter ordered him to leave the U.S., he'd spent something like 52 hours straight working on identifying staff who were in danger and transferring them out of harm's way. The last day he worked, Ducky ordered him to go home but when he got there he was asked to Langley for a very important after hours meeting. Things were already so bad in the DC metro area that he took his kids to the Navy Yard while he was at Langley. While he was there, they heard about the attack on Director Hutchins and then Secretary Porter called to say he and the kids were leaving on a flight out at 0200. He never did make it back to his place. She had a heavily armed security detail pack it up and the kids were escorted to the airfield."

He told her a somewhat sanitized version of Leon's stress and subsequent illness. "The stress took him down. We had room, his daughter was starting college in the UK and Jared, his son, is a couple of years older than my oldest, Andy. So they stayed with us while the director recovered."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, it was a long haul but he did it."

"Was it weird?"

Tim laughed, "You forget, Dad and I worked aboard the Navy Yard longer than you did. Dad, at least, knows the director pretty well, and I knew him well enough not to worry about it. Other than making sure Jared felt at home, we didn't do anything but feed them and occasionally drive Vance to a medical appointment. It's been good to see his recovery. You know that buzz of energy he always has around him?"

Cassie shook her head, "I haven't spent that much time around him."

"Oh, well, he's always had this energy around him and when he got sick, that disappeared. It wasn't until around Thanksgiving that he started regaining that and by New Year's, his voice started to sound like him again."

"So what's next?"

Tim looked at her and she smiled, "For you?"

He chuckled, "We have a busy spring ahead of us. We'll spend about 10 days in Greece over the kids' Easter vacation. Then my brother Rob is marrying Agent Eleanor Bishop in mid-April and we'll have out-of-town guests as our Greek family is coming from Greece, Scotland and Italy and Bishop's family is coming from the States. Our baby and the DiNozzos' baby are due in May and after that, don't know. Some of our family members will take our kids somewhere for their June holiday, maybe to Scotland. We normally spend two weeks in Greece at the end of July but the babies will be too little this year, so we're planning to go for the kids' break in October."

She shook her head, "Those are your family plans. What about with the agency?"

"The INV program keeps me very busy and now Vance has assigned me to a special project, which looks like it will be long-term."

"Not looking any further ahead?"

He huffed, "I hope we can move home someday! Greg and Kyle are the only ones of our kids who have lived in the U.S. Andy and Rissa have spent Christmas vacations there and Hope was there with us for several days last Christmas but she's too young to remember. We bought my grandmother's house in Arlington last year, planning to move in right after the boys were out of school in July. Now Rick and Denise Carter and Jim and Annie O'Brien are living in part of it and several Marines live there too. Andy's 14, if we move home in the next 3 years, and I hope we will, he'll be new to the country and have at least one year in an American high school. Greg was 6 and Kyle almost 3 when we left, their memories of home are fading and Artie hasn't lived in the U.S. since we were at MIT together." He shook his head, "We won't go home until it's safe. I won't risk my family.

"No big plans to advance in the agency?"

He shrugged, "Don't know what will happen. With everything going on at home, right now I'm concentrating on my work and family." He smiled, "What about you?"

She tilted her head, "We're working on adopting a pair of siblings in the U.S. Their parents were killed by the domestic terrorists. At the time, the kids were on a play date with friends and didn't get caught in the violence. They're currently living in a group home along the U.S.-Canadian border."

"How does that work?"

"We saw an article online about children orphaned by the attacks and contacted the person listed as the head of the foster care/adoption process for them. What?"

Tim was smiling and she looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"

"Not sure yet, keep going."

"Oh, well, this woman is wonderful to work with, she knows everything and has contacts everywhere."

"What's her name?"

"McKinna, D'Arcy McKinna. I recognize that look, you know her!"

"I do. Aboard the Navy Yard she was our CPS liaison for cases that involved children. She would sit with them at the agency, if they were left orphaned, like my boys, or alone until a relative could take them, or if a child needed an advocate. When Greg and Kyle's mother was murdered, she helped me with them, she even stayed with them at the agency while we were busting the case. When Artie and I were adopting them, she showed up in the U.S. courtroom to provide support. My mom works with her now, online of course, finding suitable adoptive or foster homes for the kids who've been left orphaned or who had to be evacuated from the U.S."

"Your mother isn't named Janet Francini, is she?"

"No."

"Darn it, that's our case worker. She's nice but it would have been great to have an extra edge."

"Tell me about your kids. Have you met them yet?"

"Yes, we talk with them every day and on the weekends, we go with them, via video chats, to various social outings. With their guardians and other children, of course."

"What are their names, how old are they?"

"They are brother and sister. Isaac is 5 and Riley is 3."

"Poor kids. Losing your parents is awful but to lose them to hate crimes…this has to end!"

She considered him for several seconds before asking, "How old were you?"

Tim huffed, shaking his head, "19 months when my mother died and 9 years old when my father died. Of course, he was my stepfather but I didn't know that until recently."

"Who raised you?"

"My sister and I grew up in Baltimore, on the street."

"Homeless? You were homeless?"

"For 9 years, yes." Telling her a little about Lu, Nate, Sarah and his brothers, he then changed the subject back to the kids Cassie and her husband wanted to adopt, ending with, "Let me know if you need a character reference or anything."

"I'm hoping just name-dropping will do the trick. We really haven't had any problems, but they have a process to follow."

"Looking for relatives and they can't count on everyone having their DNA in a database. And they really have to be careful about placing kids. Too many foster care nightmares out there."

"Oh yeah, we're heard wonderful and horrible stories!"

Tim nodded, "It's for the benefit of the kids, especially during this war when other family might not know what's happened to them."

"You refer to it as a war, too."

"Yes, as far as I'm concerned, the "Unwanted List" was an open declaration of war."

She nodded her agreement and he stood, smiling. "Let me know when the adoption goes through. Will you have to go through hoops here?"

"No, we've met with people from our embassy and they've let the appropriate people in the Singaporean government know what we're doing. The children will have U.S. passports and we'll have all the paperwork together before we leave the States."

"Ah, so you'll meet them at home and bring them here?"

"Yes, that's too long a flight for them to make by themselves and Ms. McKinna says money is too tight to send someone with them."

"It's a very expensive flight. All right, I need to go, good luck, tell D'Arcy hello for me and thanks for the welcome sign!"

She laughed, "It's been great seeing you after all these years and meeting Artie and your boys, last night was fun! Enjoy the rest of your stay here. And don't worry about Watson and Gage, they're great agents with bright futures ahead of them. We're seeing strong results from their work and Ned's before the swap. I know the next INV person will be Richard's but I'm glad we'll have four of them over here! How many agents will that make?"

He grinned, "10, including me. And thanks, Cassie, I see the numbers but it's good to hear the words."

He finally left the office, hurrying back to the hotel, stopping only to buy dinner for the four of them. He'd pop it into their little fridge now and heat it later. Or eat it cold. He reached their room a little earlier than planned. As his wife and sons were napping, he slipped into the bathroom and had a quick shower, pulling on cargo shorts and a cotton shirt afterward. He smiled at the shirt, it was one that Dad brought back from Morocco. Artie insisted on buying a few more when they were there, pointing out they'd be perfect to wear in Greece. He thought he'd buy a couple more here. He might not wear them in Brambury, but they'd be great for Greece, Italy or wherever else they traveled, including at home in Arlington.

When he walked back into the main bedroom, Artie was awake and they greeted each other with a long kiss. Finally, they pulled apart and Artie patted his face, whispering, "Are you done?"

He nodded with a grin and she pulled him in for another kiss, parting only when Greg and Kyle swarmed them.

Putting their sandals on, making sure they all had enough sunscreen on, they grabbed their sunhats and sunglasses and headed for the hop on/off bus. On their first hop off, Greg said this was the strangest time, to be on an on/off bus without Andy, Rissa, Hope, Grandma and Grandpa. Kyle nodded and their parents smiled at them, "We'll see them tonight after our new adventure and then we'll be home in three more days!"

That brought the boys' smiles back and they set out to see the sights. After three hours, they called a halt to the bus and headed back to the hotel. They'd planned to go for a swim at the beach but Tim, despite all his precautions, was getting a little pink, so they decided to swim in the hotel pool, which was indoors. They laughed when they found it was a salt water pool and the boys were excited when reminded that the pool at the house in Arlington was also salt water. Kyle was a little confused when there weren't any waves; he said he'd decided there must be an underground tunnel for the ocean to come into the pool. His parents were impressed by his imagination.

When they were hungry, they dried off and took the elevator to their suite for dinner. It was still too early to call home, they'd call when they got back from their adventure. Before they left for the Safari, they hung small battery-operated fans around their necks, one of the tips Tim and Artie heard about. Tim also tucked extra batteries in his pocket. They had one of their smaller insulated bags and they tucked juice boxes and bottles of water in them. Tim's pack had their specially made herbal insect repellant, the only insect repellant that Tim could tolerate, ordered from a small home business in California, their rain ponchos, along with two small towels for drying off if necessary.

Making sure Papa had their tickets, the group set off. They planned to walk on the wildlife trails, they especially wanted to see the Asian elephants and the giraffes. Artie and Tim also wanted to see a few other animals, so they'd planned it out. They knew it would be crowded, overcrowded. Not only was it the most popular family adventure around, it was Friday night! So, they'd decided to see the Thumbuakar Performance, a fire show at the entrance, first of all. After that, they would have a private tour that would take them to the Asian elephants, the giraffes and many of the big cats. Eventually, they'd take a tram that would travel through many other animal habitats. Between their tour and the tram, they would see the "Creatures of the Night" show. Reviews showed that kids and adults both found it funny, entertaining and especially enjoyed the interaction.

They loved their private tour, Tim and Artie once again silently thanking Martin Fernsby for 'cheating' them out of their game profits while smartly investing the money. They were very glad for their fans, it not only kept the air moving, it helped keep the bugs away from their faces.

All in all, they had a wonderful time viewing the Asian and African animals. Though the park was very crowded, they'd managed to circumvent the biggest crowds by taking the private tour, watching a later showing of the "Creatures of the Night" and only then setting out on their tram ride. It was pretty late for Kyle but he was determined to stay awake and it was worth it!

While they waited for their taxi back to the hotel, another splurge, they grabbed their ponchos and put them on at the first spits of rain. They were glad they had them as by the time they got in the vehicle, the rain had turned into a truly torrential downpour, typical of the tropics. Once they were seated, they used the hand towels to dry their hands and faces. The rest would have to wait.

When they got home, they had their Skype call with Andy, Rissa, Hope, Grandpa and Grandma, along with Aunt Sarah, Uncle James, Grammie and Grandpa Mac. The kids at home gave their update first, Andy had turned his science project in today, the science fair was next week so his parents would see it then, Rissa had worked on a craft project that was a 'surprise' and Hope learned how to make the letters that spelled Hope Gibbs!

When it was their turn, Papa and Mama gave the general outline of their adventure while Greg and Kyle told them about all the fun, giggling as they hinted at bringing treasures home! When Kyle's yawns became too frequent to ignore, they said good morning and good night and disconnected.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday morning, they went for another swim in the hotel pool before breakfast. That was funny to the boys, they'd never had a swim before breakfast! Their driver and tour guide picked them up early. She was a Canadian woman named Kelsey, an expatriate who'd come for a tropical vacation in the dead of the Canadian winter and returned to Canada only long enough to pack her belongings and apply for a residential visa in the land of perennial summer. She'd been here 15 years, married a native, was raising their children here and loved showing visitors around the 'real' Singapore.

Kelsey already had the list of addresses that pertained to Kathy Hart's life here in her native Singapore. She'd texted Tim that she'd already driven to each of them, partly to get an idea of where to go first. Once they were settled in their wonderfully air conditioned vehicle, she set out, saying she wanted to show them some of her favorite places before they started tracing the life of their family member. That was fun and interesting because while Kelsey would tell them the 'official' information about the place, she'd also include a few 'real life' stories. She had all of them laughing at her descriptions and Tim made a mental note to thank her for that.

They were so interested in her favorite places that it was a surprise when she announced they'd now visit the hospital where Miss Kathy was born. On the way there, she didn't try for more laughs with the boys but asked them enough questions about their experiences that they were pleasantly distracted.

The hospital was an old-fashioned maternity hospital, built in colonial times, now used as an administrative building for the government. Kelsey told them some information about the building, when it was built, who designed it, how many babies were born there, when the last baby was born there and when the hospital closed.

From there, they jumped ahead in Kathy's life, visiting the apartment building where she'd lived as a young adult. Tim thought Patrick had probably visited her here, either when they first met or later – or both. The building architecture was sort of a hybrid colonial meets mid-20th century look that was a little strange but not off-putting or outright ugly. There was a model apartment open and they went in to look at it. Kyle liked the ceiling fans while Greg liked the big windows with the slatted blinds to keep the sun out. After that they visited the school where Kathy taught and were able to walk around the grounds, all of them smiling at the football, or in the U.S., soccer, field. They knew she'd taught third grade and were able to peek in the windows of the classrooms.

From there, they went to the building that had once been an orphanage, the one in which Kathy grew up. It was open, in the process of being renovated. They looked at the first floor, seeing a large kitchen and huge dining room on one side, what looked like classrooms along the back, offices on the other side with one small room with a single ancient iron bedframe and chair that Artie said was probably a sickroom, and a foyer that opened to a large lounge area with built-in bookshelves. To the left was the remains of what might have been a grand wooden staircase and Artie told the boys that's where the bedrooms would have been, upstairs on the second floor. Once they viewed everything on the first floor, they didn't stay long as there was no way to get to the second floor.

After that, they stopped for a cold drink. When Greg asked how much more there was to see, Kelsey said there were two more places. One was the home where Kathy lived with her parents before the boating accident and the other was where her parents and grandparents were buried. Greg was sitting between his parents and leaned into his dad, who kissed him on the head.

Artie leaned over, quietly asking, "Do you want to skip the rest, sweetie?"

Greg thought about it and then shook his head. "No, because I'm never coming back here and I want to see."

Artie looked at Tim, who nodded. He understood Greg's reluctance to return. If it was in his power, he'd never return to the place in California where Natalie killed his father. It wasn't the same, Kathy Hart had died in Baltimore but it was the place where she'd been left alone to be raised by strangers. Close enough.

Kyle was old enough now to understand what they were doing, seeing and why but as long as he had his parents and brother with him, he was all right. Although he was sad, he wasn't as sad as Greg. When Kyle told his papa that later, Tim closed his eyes, remembering toddler Kyle's anguished cries for his mama and Greg's tears. And that night in Brambury that Kyle dreamed that someone was taking him away from Mama and Papa. And some of his own grief, fear and anger after losing his Dad, brother and being abandoned. He pulled Greg onto his lap and settled Kyle there too. "I want you both to remember something. You're not alone. Your mother and I love you, we'll always love you. Your brother and sisters love you too and you know all your grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins are nuts about you. Whether you're 9 and 5 ½ or 59 and 55 ½, you will always be loved. Even though your mama Kathy is in heaven, the love she felt for you is still in your hearts. It's in your blood. She loved you, your dad loved you and your mama and I love you, for always. When you are sad, upset, tired, lonely, happy, remember that. You have people who love you. Even if any of us are not around, we love you. Got that?"

They both nodded, hugging their parents. Artie touched her husband's shoulder, "You remember that, too, love. Your mother Lily loved you, your father Dan, as flawed as he was, loved you. It's also in your blood, in your being. I believe that's part of the reason you survived, their love, Patrick's love and the love of people you didn't even remember, Penny, Maisie, Jim, Dave and Liz, your uncle Mark and your grandfathers."

With a quiet nod, he kissed her. The four of them had another cuddle and then it was time to go. Four pairs of eyes grew wide when they pulled up to the house little Kathy lived in with her parents. A sprawling, two-story colonial, it sat on what Tim estimated was at least an acre, backing onto the sea. They could see a tennis court and Tim spotted the top of a high dive, indicating there was a pool as well. Greg made a noise, "It's big but not as big as the Manor!" Kyle nodded, "That's right, Greggy, and there's no walking path with sheep and a shepherd and a hill with butterflies but that lawn looks like fun."

Artie chuckled, "Do you think it would be fun to roll down, sweetie?"

He nodded with a big smile, "Oh yeah, that would be awesome!"

From there, Kelsey drove them up a hill where they could look down at the house. The back sloped down gently to the sea, they couldn't see what the beach, if there still was one, looked like. But the rest of the place looked like something out of a movie, a huge, manicured lawn that was so green Greg said it looked like it was painted. A playground that Artie said was modern, Kathy had not played on that. The pool, now that they could see more, lay half in and half out of the house, with the diving board at the outside end. They supposed that way they could stand to swim on the hottest days. After they decided they'd looked long enough, Kelsey took them to the cemetery where Kathy's family was buried.

When they got there, she parked and the Gibbses got out of the car. The boys holding their parents' hands, they walked to the spot Kelsey told them. It was easy to find, there was a pentagon or 5-sided obelisk in the middle of the plot. Each of the sides had a name, followed by birth and death dates and below that, a few words. They saw Theodore (Teddy) Hart, whose words said, "Beloved husband, father and nephew", another for David Hart, whose words said, "Beloved uncle and great-uncle", one for Mary Elizabeth Cabot Hart, whose words read, "Beloved daughter, wife and mother", followed by what Tim supposed was her father, Robert Cabot, whose words were, "Beloved husband, father, grandfather, soldier of steel and respected businessman" and the final one, Jean Teck Cabot, whose words read, "Beloved to her family. Wife, mother, grandmother and cousin". Underneath the words was a coat of arms. Stepping back, Tim took a photo and then walked around taking photos of each side of the obelisk. When he got to Mary Elizabeth's again, he frowned, there was something he hadn't noticed the first time around. A small marker, at the base of Mary Elizabeth's side of the obelisk, said "Kathy Hart", giving her birth date and the same death date as the others. He took several photos of it, his mind racing in at least 6 different directions.

When he finally turned to go, he found Artie reading a plaque on a small pedestal in the corner of the plot. Joining her, he read, "Here lie 6 souls lost to the sea when the yacht "Destiny" capsized in the waters of the Strait of Johor." The Strait of Johor was what separated Singapore from the country of Malaysia. The date on the plaque was two years after the death dates on the obelisk and the marker. After he looked at the plaque for several minutes, taking photos, Tim went back to Kathy Hart's marker and looked at it. He was no expert but that marker did not look anything like the obelisk, but it did bear some resemblance to the plaque. Finally he turned away, already working on a plan to investigate the marker, the various possibilities regarding Kathy Hart, the yachting accident and the coat of arms on Jean Cabot's side of the obelisk. Her maiden name, Teck, was tickling his brain but he couldn't yet place it.

While Kyle was nearly falling over, examining the obelisk for secret openings, Greg was sitting several feet away on a visitor's bench. He'd seen the marker for Kathy Hart and was confused. He knew his mother was buried in the U.S., Papa's friend Mr. Rick and his wife Mrs. Denise had called them from her grave on Mama Kathy's birthday so they could see that everything was all right, nobody had bothered her final resting place. They'd seen that the flowers he, Kyle and Papa put there three years ago were still there as well as the flowers that Grandma, well, she was Mrs. Lu then, put there for her. Mrs. Denise brought a balloon for Mama Kathy's birthday and she'd changed Grandma's flowers for some different colored ones. So Greg knew his mother, Kathy Hart, was still buried in the same place. He wondered why she also had a little marker here.

Tim sat next to Greg on the bench and Greg started talking, "Papa, why is there a marker for Kathy Hart? Our mama Kathy is buried at home, I mean in the U.S., we saw her grave on her birthday."

"I remember, son, and I don't know why – yet. I'll check into it. It might take me awhile to find out."

Greg nodded, "That's okay. I don't think this Kathy Hart is my mama Kathy. So we'll need to know the real name of whoever is buried there."

"Yes, we will. There is another possibility, Greg. Markers like this one are usually for memorials, not meant to be gravestones. Sometimes when people die far from their homes and families, they might not be sent home for burial, they might be buried closer to where they died." Tim paused and Greg looked at him, "Like the cemetery at Normandy?"

That had been a memorable weekend trip, to see the D-Day beaches and the vast cemetery and memorials. Grandpa helped Uncle LJ find the graves of two buddies who'd died during the D-Day invasion and then found the grave of someone his father had mentioned, only because of his unusual name. Tim thought his father and LJ would go back again in June, for the next anniversary.

Tim nodded, "Yes, like that. But sometimes people at home, family or friends, want some reminder, so they place a small marker, like the one you saw, to memorialize the person who died."

"So that could be why there's a marker, there's really nobody buried under it?"

"It's one possibility. However, that still leaves us with a mystery, who thought Kathy was dead back then and why."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Greg gave his father a half-smile, "I'm not fully trained yet."

"As a detective, like Mr. George?" James' father George was a detective with the Manchester Metro Police.

"No, I want to be a federal investigator like you and Grandpa, Uncle Tony, Aunt Maggie and Aunt Ellie. And Ms. Bec."

"Your uncle Jimmy and aunt Abby investigate too, in different ways."

"Did Granducky do that, too?"

"He did, for many years. He taught Uncle Jimmy! And your Uncle Leon was, still is an investigator."

"Did he go out in the field like you used to do?"

"Yes, but he specialized in decrypting and analyzing electronic files."

"Like you do!"

"Yes. I did that when I was on Grandpa's team too."

"You did both?"

"Yep."

Greg nodded, "So we have a couple of mysteries. Is there anyone buried under the marker, who put the marker there and why did that person think Mama Kathy was dead and that she died in the boat crash?"

"There's one more mystery and something else I want to look into, although I don't know that it's a mystery." He paused before saying, "Did you notice anything unusual about any of the sides of the obelisk?"

"No. Don't tell me yet, please? I'll look again."

Tim waited, noticing that Greg engaged Kyle in his new search. Artie watched from behind them and noticed the coat of arms at the same time as her sons. With a grin, Greg pointed to it, "Papa said there was something unusual and that must be it, there isn't anything like that on any other side."

His mother nodded, "That's a great observation, sweetie."

Kyle nodded, "Very good, Greggers, I didn't see anything either. I've decided there are three ways the tower could open. From the bottom, the whole tower could tip open from the flat part it sits on. All 5 sides probably don't open though, maybe one or two of them and the other sides would be connected. Or any of the sides could open out, like a closet door, but I can't see a seam or a latch or anything. The third place is where the sides come together, at the small flat part where the smaller point starts."

Artie smiled, delighted in her son's observations. "That's very good, Kyle! Now, shall we go share our observations with your father?"

Nodding, they joined Tim, who was Googling something on his phone. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he listened to the boys. "Excellent, great powers of observation, both of you!"

"What is that thing called, with the lions and the crown on top?"

"It's called a coat of arms. I believe it's a coat of arms for that lady's family, she is your great-grandmother, like Grammy, Mimi and Penny. And since it was on her side and not her husband's, it's probably for her birth family, her father or mother's family coat of arms. A coat of arms is a collection of various symbols of what a family has done in the past to support their country or their king or queen, what they've done that they're especially proud of or that someone has awarded them with. I'm sure there's a lot more to them. I took a photo so we can research what everything means."

"Good!"

Looking at her watch, Artie told them it was time to go, they had a surprise for the boys. Back in Kelsey's car, she delivered them to a hotel in the city and after thanking her for her help and waving goodbye, she left.

The boys looked at their parents, who smiled, "We're going on a tour to Sentosa Island! We get to ride a cable car over the harbor and then we'll see a special show and have some other adventures."

The boys' faces lit up, "Cool!"

They waited in the hotel's air conditioned lobby, for their tour guide and the bus. They'd asked for a family version of this tour and were happy to see other families with kids of all ages already on the bus.

They were driven to Mount Faber cable car station where each family was carefully loaded into their own compartment, Tim very glad he'd taken an extra dose of ginger root and had extra sea bands on his wrists. The cable car ride was pretty cool, over buildings and tree tops, out over the harbor to the island.

Once they got to the island, their first stop was a Dolphin show and one of the features was a pink dolphin, a freshwater species of dolphin. Willing to brave the splashes, the family sat close to the dolphin pool and both kids were thrilled when asked to help feed the friendly mammals. Excited, after they fed the dolphins, they told the dolphineers, that is, the humans working with the dolphins, about the dolphins they'd seen in Greece, swimming along with the ferry between the mainland and 'their' island. Tim and Artie grinned at each other, glad they'd found something fun to do for all of them after the sad tour they'd had this morning.

From the Dolphin show, they followed their guide to an underwater tunnel that ran through a huge aquarium with more than 40 different habitats. Kyle was a little nervous at first but they moved through the tunnel on a moving walkway. Whenever there was a particularly scary water creature, they'd move away fast enough. It was a beautiful trip through a simulated ocean.

After that, the group stopped for snacks and beverages. As the Gibbses weren't hungry or thirsty, they opted to visit the gift shop and had fun selecting souvenirs for Hope, Rissa, Andy, the new baby and colorful photos and postcards for Patrick and his roommate Eric. Tim found a video recording of the walk through the underwater tunnel and purchased it so the other kids could watch it and feel like they'd been on an adventure too. They had a carry bag with them so the lighter items went with them while a few heavier or awkwardly shaped things were shipped home.

Back with their tour group, they next went to a show called "Songs of the Sea", which was fun, colorful and entertaining. Then they had options and the Gibbses chose to ride a few of the theme park rides. That was fun! Following that, they went on a boat ride that showed them more of the island and then, finally, it was getting dark and time for the "Winds of Time" light show. Artie and Andy had been to a few of these in their travels, but it was new to Greg, Kyle and Tim. With the use of different colored lights, the history of the island that eventually became Singapore was told, with great drama. They enjoyed that and when it was over, once again followed their tour guide.

The bus dropped them at their hotel, a surprise for the boys who supposed it would take them to the hotel where they'd caught it. That had been arranged to save them some time and make it easier for Kelsey, their morning tour guide.

They bought dinner from a 'hawker' and ate in their rooms, enjoying every delicious bite. Artie had read several reviews about food sold by the hawkers and was pleased they'd tried it. Once they ate, the boys retired to their room to read or play.

Tim and Artie went through everything they'd purchased and started packing. They weren't checking out until late Sunday afternoon but from experience knew that there would be items needed or missing and then mysteriously turning up at the last minute. It was easier to get started now.

After they had their last Skype call with their family, happy to see Geordie and Bec with the others, the boys started their nighttime routine. Both fell asleep quickly, after a long, fun, sad, entertaining and interesting day. Before he went to sleep, Tim sent the photos from the cemetery to his father and Geordie.

Sunday morning, they were up early, had breakfast in the hotel, changed into their swim things, picked up a picnic lunch and several bottled beverages and then headed to the beach at Sembawang Park.

Ninety minutes later, they were taking a break in the shade from playing in the water when Artie exclaimed, "Look, Tim, it's the Wilsons! Oh and they have their kids with them, too!" They happily welcomed them, meeting the Wilson kids, two girls, ages 6 and 8 and a baby boy who looked to be about a year old. Or at least that's how he appeared to Tim, who remembered Hope at 12 months. They were getting acquainted with the kids when Tim spotted Cassie Yates, her husband Mitchell Shaw and his agents, Matt and Randy approaching them. He grinned, "Hey, a surprise party, awesome! How did you know we'd be here?"

Matt grinned, "I emailed your dad last night, asked if he knew what you were planning to do today and he answered right away. I think you'd just Skyped with them."

They had a wonderful afternoon, playing with the kids in the water and at the playground, everyone relaxed and having fun. When Tim's watch buzzed, Greg and Kyle groaned and Artie laughed. "Yes, it's time! Thirty minutes to dry off and then it's back to the hotel to change so we won't miss our ride to the airport!"

"Our ride?"

"Kelsey, our driver from yesterday, is driving us to the airport."

Greg smiled, "Oh, she's nice! Uh, Papa, are we calling the hospital?"

Tim shook his head, "No, son, it's too early in London. Either your grandparents or an uncle or aunt will visit him today. We'll go see him when we get home."

"Okay."

Tim pulled him into a hug. "Nobody will say anything about yesterday, Greggers. We didn't tell them, remember?"

"Oh yeah! That's good."

As they dried off in the shade, most of the others joined them, the Wilson kids and their parents were still in the water. It was odd, although Tim knew each of them when he arrived, except Wilson's family and Cassie's husband, now they felt as if they'd all known each other for a long time. Cassie remarked how great it was to reconnect with people from home and they decided that was the common denominator, they were all Americans.

Artie laughed at that, "I'm not, you know. Although I'm married to an American and have 5 American children, I am a citizen of the Hellenic Republic, even if I've only lived in Greece for about 3 years in total." She continued, "However, I have spent more time in the U.S. than in Greece as I lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at MIT, for several years."

Mitchell lifted a cup of iced tea to her, "Then among us, you are an honorary American."

She grinned and bowed, "Thank you!"

And with that, it was time to go. The Gibbses gathered up their belongings, said goodbye to everyone, invited them to visit in the UK or in Arlington, Virginia, if that ever happened, and walked across the beach and park, back to the hotel.

Tim smiled at his family, "That was nice, wasn't it? Having a relaxing afternoon at the beach with new friends."

Greg returned his smile, "Maybe I will come back here someday."

After that, as prepared as they were, they went into their travel mode and the next time they spoke was at the Family Facility area at the airport. Once again, they ran, walked, climbed and generally tried to get as much exercise as they could before their 14 ½ flight, the longest of all their flights. They were again prepared with cards, games, e-readers, toys and snacks. They'd stopped in the airport shops to buy last minute souvenirs, they'd spend a few minutes looking at those, sorting them. Tim was amused and glad that he found the cotton shirts he wanted in the airport shops!

Once they were in the air, they got comfortable, playing cards until dinner was served. After that, the four of them took turns quietly reading aloud to each other, some of the stories were in Greek, and then Tim took the boys to wash, brush their teeth and change into their pajamas. When they returned, both the boys' beds were set up and Greg grinned, holding up his e-reader.

Kyle quickly fell asleep while Greg read for about 30 minutes before carefully tucking his e-reader in his carry-on bag and snuggling down into the covers. Two hours later, Tim and Artie, their nighttime routines completed, crawled into their respective beds. It had been a very interesting 10 days, full of fun, adventure and some sadness, good feels for Tim at both offices and they were very happy to be flying home.


	66. Chapter 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note: you shouldn't expect to find things 'as written' when visiting Japan or Singapore, except for the weather. Creative license!

Chapter 66

By the time the jet landed at Heathrow, the Gibbses were more than ready to disembark, get through Customs and go home.

Greg hadn't slept well. Although he dreamed, he didn't remember any of the dreams but woke several times. His bed was positioned close to his father's and Tim, also not sleeping well, felt his son's tossing and turning enough to know when he needed a steadying hand. Artie dozed off and on, concerned about Greg and Tim. Kyle was the only one who had a good sleep.

Strong coffee helped the groggy adults while Greg and Kyle each had hot chocolate. Their hot and generously sized breakfasts helped too. After the flight attendants had been through picking up trays, the family left their seats and managed nearly 30 minutes walking in the aisles. Then they got in line to wash up, brush their teeth and put their winter clothes on. Back in their seats, Kyle giggled as he exchanged his sandals for socks and shoes. "This feels funny, like my feet are too heavy!"

Greg nodded, "I hope we don't have to wear snow boots right away!"

Their parents laughed, agreeing with them. After a few days in the tropics wearing shorts, sandals and light tops, their winter weight jeans, long sleeve shirts and sweaters did feel heavy! Still, they would be glad for them once they left the airport.

Finally, they landed and then waited patiently to disembark. Once off the plane, they walked to the stairs to Customs, kissing Artie at the bottom as she headed off to the "EU" line. Tim wondered how that would work after the UK left the European Union. Selfishly, he hoped they'd be able to move home before that happened. There were all kinds of rumors about airfares rising, particularly the flights to EU countries. He huffed to himself, grateful they'd been able to see and do as much as they had over the past three years!

Finally in line for Customs, he spotted his dad, who caught his eye, smiled and tilted his head toward the EU Customs room. Tim nodded, he understood that Dad was going to help Artie first. He grinned as he noticed Dad pushing a rental cart.

They had all their purchases together in the same bags and their paperwork in hand, which made Customs a little faster. Dad was back with Artie by the time they got through and after exchanging hugs and kisses, he helped load the luggage onto the rental cart. "Geordie's driving the van. If he's not there right now, he'll be around shortly, so we can wait inside. Better button up, do you have your hats, scarves and gloves with you?"

He smiled when his family started laughing and then Greg asked, "Do we need to wear our snow boots?"

"No. Joe's already left for work so we'll pull into the garage and go straight into the house. Once you get home and want to go outside, yes, then you'll need your snow boots."

Artie handed out their scarves, hats and gloves while they waited for Geordie. Kyle huffed, "Mama, I think my toes are freezing!"

His grandfather answered, "We'll be in the van in a minute, Train Man, and it's warm and cozy." He looked at Tim, "So the tropics, huh?"

"Oh yeah, changed from winter clothes to shorts and sandals on our flight from Tokyo and then back again this morning. Feels pretty strange!" He looked at the boys, "We'll get used to it again pretty quickly. And then we'll go to Greece and thaw out again!"

They grinned at him through their scarves. He had Dad snap a photo of the four of them wrapped in their winter clothes, sending it to Cassie. Dad laughed, "I know you've only been gone for 10 days and you were in wintry Tokyo for five of those days, but you still managed to come home with tans. Even you, Timson."

They laughed again, telling him about their afternoon at the beach yesterday and the surprise gathering of their NCIS: Singapore friends. "Sounds like fun! I wondered if Watson was up to something with that email."

Kyle nodded, "It was fun, Grandpa, and there were kids to play with, too!"

Greg sighed, "I hoped Andy, Rissa and Hope would be here with you. We really missed them."

"And they missed you, sweetie. Andy and Rissa had school today and Hope went to nursery school. We thought you'd be tired and might want sleep off and on."

Geordie honked as he drove up in Big Blue and the boys cheered. They helped load all the suitcases and carry-on bags and then climbed in, ready for the trip to Brambury!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Geordie and Dad laughed quietly as they pulled into the garage at the Manor forty minutes later, the travelers were asleep. Tim woke as soon as the vehicle stopped moving and woke the others, smiling sleepily at his father and brother. "Thank you for picking us up! If we'd taken the train, we might have slept through our stop and ended up in Scotland!"

Geo shrugged, "Then you could have had a nice visit with Susannah and Ian."

Artie shook her head, "Oh no, she can't see me until I've lost my Singapore tan! She'd be jealous!"

Laughing, they entered the house. Tim looked around, "Where's Mom? It's not that early, is it?"

His father made a face, "You were probably already in the air, Lu had a little accident…" He stopped when Tim and the boys paled. Grabbing all three, he hugged them. "It's all right. She hurt her foot and she has to keep it elevated as much as possible."

"Dad?"

"She'll tell you. Go say hello to her."

They nearly ran to Malu and Dad's suite and Tim put his arm out to keep Kyle from jumping onto the bed. His mother smiled, "I'm so glad to see you all! Come give me hugs and kisses, yes, you big kids too!"

When they'd all properly greeted her and she them, she patted the bed, "Sit, Artie, boys. But don't jump around, you'll hurt my foot."

"Mama, what happened?"

She rolled her eyes, "So silly, really. I was teaching Rissa how to skip and came down at the wrong angle on my foot, and then fell. I sprained my ankle and broke a little bone in my foot. The break's not too bad, but the sprain hurt like crazy. The A&E doctor and our doctors say that sprains can hurt worse than breaks. Anyway, once the swelling's gone, I'll have to wear a boot on that foot for a few weeks." She made a face, "We've postponed our trip to South Africa."

"Oh, no, Lu!" That was Artemis, who knew how much her mother-in-law was looking forward to their trip.

"We'd been talking about it anyway, with the trip to Greece, then the wedding and the babies due in May. We've rescheduled for October, we'll fly from Athens to Johannesburg."

Tim frowned, "That works, but I'm sorry this happened."

"Rissa was a big help, told me not to move, got me a pillow and then went to find her grandpa." Lu looked at their faces, "Oh come on, kids, it's not the end of the world! If I behave myself, follow the doctors' orders, I'll be able to dance at Rob and Ellie's wedding. No Greek dancing, but dancing!"

Greg frowned, "Will you be able to swim in Varkiza?"

"Yes, we'll have access to your Pappous Peter's pool again."

Kyle nodded, "That's good, remember how it helped Uncle Geo's leg when it hurt?"

His grandfather and uncle joined them and the seven of them sat together for close to an hour, the travelers telling them about their adventures. They finally stopped when Kyle's tummy rumbled, followed by his papa's. Tim rolled his eyes, "Let's eat and then we'll take our stuff upstairs, we'll probably be ready for naps by then."

His mother smiled, "How were the beds on the plane?"

"Pretty comfortable. We slept pretty well on the way to Tokyo and when we flew to Singapore. Coming home, Kyle slept well, the rest of us tossed and turned, but not because of the beds."

Greg nodded, "I had a lot of dreams. They weren't scary but I kept waking up. Papa was right next to me and he woke with me. And Mama must have heard us because she didn't sleep much either."

Tim nodded, "It was tough seeing their mama Kathy's house, the orphanage and then the cemetery."

Kyle tilted his head, "The orphanage building was kind of cool but it was all torn up inside."

Greg whispered, "The cemetery was weird."

Kyle wrapped his arms around his brother. "Papa will figure it out, Greggy."

Tim thought about that, "Boys, I'm going to need your grandfather's help with our mysteries. And probably other people's help. Remember I said it will take time? It might take a long time."

Greg looked at him, "You mean for the marker part?"

Tim nodded, silently adding his other questions.

When Kyle's tummy rumbled again, they headed for the kitchen where Geordie insisted on cooking them breakfast. Tim chuckled, "Careful, we're already spoiled!"

"Ah, one more meal won't hurt. How many pieces of bacon?" Geo laughed as Kyle and Greg smacked their lips. They made toast while their mother made coffee and hot chocolate. Their father poured juice and set the table. Then they sat down to a feast, laughing again when Dad and Geo ate with them. When Geo yawned, he grinned, saying, "I traveled vicariously with you, now I have vicarious jet lag."

Puzzled, Kyle looked at his uncle but big brother explained the new word to him. After their feast, they cleaned their kitchen, moved the luggage upstairs and then the boys took showers followed by naps.

Realizing he and his wife would have privacy for the first time in 10 days, Tim hugged his dad and brother, "Love you both, thank you for everything. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need a shower and…I'll see you later." He kissed them both and nearly sprinted to the master bedroom, where Artie was already unpacking.

When her husband gave her a kiss so hot she thought they must both be steaming, she left the unpacking without another thought and they didn't stir from their love nest until several hours later when they heard Jethro call through the door saying he was leaving to pick up the children from school and the nursery in 30 minutes. That gave them time to shower and dress. Artie won the coin toss to ride along in Big Blue but when they found Geordie still downstairs and willing to stay with the boys, Tim rode along too.

They were overjoyed to see Andy, Rissa and Hope, admitting to each other later they also experienced a huge sense of relief, they had their babies all together again. All but the newest one and they'd see their gestational carrier, Kadie, on Thursday.

The kids were overjoyed to see them too. They rode home with Rissa and Hope in their safety seats and Andy snuggled between his parents.

Greg and Kyle were downstairs, waiting impatiently for their siblings. When they came in, the five of them hugged, kissed and jumped up and down, laughing. Watching them, Tim took a deep breath, smiling when Sarah and Geo wrapped their arms around him and Artie. They smiled, having already agreed that they would never split the kids like this again, if they could help it. Sure, New Baby would still be at home when most of the others were grown and on their own, they might do so then, but not under present circumstances.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Before they fell asleep that night, Tim told Artie everything he felt should be looked at regarding what they'd seen at the cemetery. The cause of the yachting accident, perhaps the background of Kathy's parents and grandparents, who her guardian should have been, who placed the plaque and the marker with Kathy's name and 'death date' . Was their Kathy Hart simply another Kathy Hart or did someone have reason to believe 'the real' Kathy Hart was dead, or did that someone want other people to believe that? And what did that Coat of Arms mean?

When Artie murmured, "Follow the money", Tim nodded. "Yes, and I know some of this is in her case file but I've never been allowed to see the full agency file."

"So you need to start with Leon?"

"Probably. I don't want to go behind his back but I don't want all this to be shifted onto someone else, either. This is, was, a civil case, unless there's a link to an American sailor or Marine."

"How will you get information from the Singaporeans?"

"Good question! I'll look online for records, but the accident took place 35 years ago. If it's a closed case, it's probably never been digitized."

Afraid he was about to disappear down a rabbit hole, her term for his sometimes overly diligent attention to his work, Artie distracted him with a kiss and all thoughts of anyone but his lover disappeared.

Tuesday morning, Tim woke just before dawn, made himself breakfast and carried a thermos of coffee upstairs to his office. Then he got to work. After checking the INV database, he sent a 'Good Morning' email to his agents, Vance, Morris and Childers before taking a quick look at his new messages, especially those from his team and the director. His last new message from Vance welcomed him home and congratulated him, saying he'd heard good things.

He was reading through reports of the cases his agents worked over the past 10 days when he felt his head dropping, jet lag! With a sigh, he logged off and went back to bed, glad he hadn't bothered with more than sweats. He woke once, to use the bathroom and found himself alone. Hearing the kids, he went out to the hallway to kiss them good morning and then he crashed again. He laughed to himself, the jet lag here at home was worse than it had been in Japan! Later, they decided it was the excitement of the trip that helped them in Tokyo and Singapore.

He was back at work a little after 11 and made it to 2:00 before he was down again. He and Artie napped at some of the same times, Kyle was up and down, managing to get some of his schoolwork done between naps. Greg slept most of the day, Sarah woke him at 3:00, afraid he wouldn't sleep that night. Then he was up until 8:30, completing 2 days of schoolwork. He'd been given 6 days of work, but he and Kyle did the equivalent of 2 days before they left Singapore.

Wednesday was much better, each of them managed to stay awake for 5 or 6 hours at a time. After their first naps, Tim, Artie and the boys gathered the new things for Patrick and climbed into Big Blue, chauffeured by Sarah. Since moving Patrick to London, she'd become a more frequent visitor to her brother, saying it was easier to see him in person than through a video chat. Tim didn't care what the reason was, he was happy that his sister was establishing some sort of connection with their brother. Today, she'd admitted to curiosity about their findings in Singapore.

Finding the sleeping man unchanged, Artie and Sarah got busy making space for new photos, while the others spoke to Patrick. Tim started the conversation, telling him about the trip, how they'd been to Japan first and how much fun that had been. The boys told him about sightseeing in Tokyo and their fun at DisneySea Park and Disneyland. They segued straight into 'their beach' in Singapore and then Greg stopped talking. Tim wrapped an arm around him as Kyle looked around to see what was going on with his brother. Reaching out, he took his brother's hand and fell silent. Tim took up the narrative. "On Saturday, we hired a guide to take us around to where Kathy grew up, her family's house, the orphanage, her apartment building, her school. We're sure you saw those too, right? Probably stayed over in the apartment. Lastly, we went to the cemetery. That was the toughest, to see the obelisk and the marker with Kathy's name, even though she didn't die with her parents and grandparents. Dad and I are looking into that, why that happened. I haven't found a mention in Kathy's journals so I'm hoping someone else will know." He paused to see if Greg or Kyle wanted to say anything more. Greg was now burrowed into him, crying, and Kyle was holding onto him. Best friends with his big brother since the day he was born, Kyle knew Greg was hurting, that he remembered their father, the sleeping man, and mother. Tim pulled both boys onto his lap, holding on through the storm. There wasn't anything he could say to mitigate Greg's grief, or his own, but just held on. Artie pulled a chair close and wrapped her arms around the boys and Tim, as far as she could. Sarah stood behind them, shedding a few tears herself. Remembering an old prayer Timpa used to say with her and Robbie when they were little, she started saying it aloud.

Tim didn't have any hands to spare but he did manage to tilt his head to his shoulder, where Sarah's hand lay, and gave it an affectionate nudge. They sat that way, wrapped around the boys for several minutes. Finally Greg moved his head, took the tissues his mother offered, wiped his face and blew his nose. Then he started talking again.

"Dad, it was really hard, at the cemetery. I didn't know any of those people but I knew they belonged to Mama Kathy and left her all by herself. There's a little marker with her name on it, by her mother, but that's all. She's not buried there, we've been to her grave at home. Friends of Papa's went to see her, we saw them while they were there. Mama says they'll go again around Easter, if it's safe. And Papa knows how to find her grave online, so we can say hello and make sure no one has bothered her. Anyway, Kyle and I know she's not buried under that little marker in Singapore but it was really weird to see that. It made me upset and sad, I had dreams all the way home on the plane. I don't think they were bad dreams, they weren't scary, but I couldn't sleep. I was crying just now, telling you made me sad again, but I know it's okay to be sad. Papa was sad for a really long time when he thought you were dead, he and Aunt Sarah are still sad that you're not awake yet and Mama was sad when her grandfather died."

Talking to his sleeping father seemed to help and he continued, Kyle joining in, telling him about their day at the beach on Sunday with some new friends. Then the boys talked about catching up with their schoolwork, their grandmother's injured foot, their Easter trip to Mimi's in Greece and the plans for Uncle Rob and Aunt Ellie's wedding.

Finding the book they'd been reading to their sleeping father, the boys each read to him before they left. When they were ready to go, each of the visitors kissed Patrick goodbye, even Artemis, who whispered something to him. The new photos were up, including the one Grandpa took at the airport in their winter clothes again. They'd also put a couple of interesting items up on Eric's corkboard. They'd be back on Sunday for their regular visit.

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Back home, the boys resumed their schoolwork and their parents resumed their jobs. All four of them joined the rest of the family for dinner.

When he saw the travelers at the dinner table Wednesday evening, the first time all four of them had dinner with the others, James couldn't help teasing, "You know I heard a rumor that some people showed up Monday morning. I hadn't seen or heard them yet but my thermos went missing yesterday and someone's been eating the bacon and eggs. And I keep smelling toast at odd hours of the night. Any idea who that could be?"

Tim reached an arm across the table, hand out for a shake, "Timothy Gibbs, sorry about the thermos. Your name is?"

They all laughed at that. It felt very good to be home, to eat with the family. After they'd finished dinner but hadn't yet started clearing the table, Jethro and Lu smiled at each other and Jethro stood, holding one of his wife's hands.

"We waited until you were home to spill the news so here goes…Here's a copy of the newest ultrasound from Tony and Maggie." He grinned, "They're having twins!"

That woke everyone up and after they passed the ultrasound photo around, Artie and Tim pointing out specifics, they called the DiNozzos to congratulate them. The image they had didn't give any hint as to genders but that didn't mean this was the only image taken! Maggie laughed when they asked her, "Sure, we know and my darling husband has managed to keep it a secret for 12 days." She paused before saying, "Not! The babies weren't sharing all their secrets so we'll have to wait and see."

Artie tilted her head, "Have they moved up your delivery date?"

"No, although we've been advised that might happen. They're right on track for whatever week we were when that was taken, so we'll see. And now we'll let Rob and Ellie in on the secret; they haven't said anything but I know Rob's been concerned."

"Do you have a list of names yet?"

"Yes, a tentative list. We'd like to compare to yours to make sure we don't have duplicates! Aren't you having another ultrasound soon?"

"Tomorrow and we're hoping Baby will be more cooperative this time!"

Tony chuckled, "Great, then at least we'll know one third of the triplets."

Tim blinked, "Triplets?"

"Cousin triplets. Their birthdays will be within days of each other and we plan to raise them within the family, provided we're on the same continent. It's kind of inevitable we'll call them that, don't you think?"

Tim nodded, his mind still whirling at the word triplets. Chuckling, Artie patted his arm, replying to the DiNozzos, "Yes but please have a care when you throw around terms like that, at least until we have a more conclusive look at our child. Tim's still trying not to hyperventilate!"

"Oops, didn't think about that, sorry, Bro!"

Clearing his throat, Tim managed to say, "That's all right, Tony. However, I do owe you one for that. When you least expect it…"

By now the kids were laughing, entertained by their father and his siblings, especially their uncles. After they disconnected, Malu started collecting dirty dishes, much to her family's displeasure.

They'd borrowed a wheelchair so she could get around the house while still elevating her injured foot. The swelling was nearly gone, the pain had lessened, as long as she didn't move much and while she looked forward to being able to walk, she was not thrilled about wearing the boot. Even with that boot, stairs, driving or walking to town were out of the question for a few weeks.

All that being true, they had not procured the chair so that she could clean up after them and her grown kids immediately protested.

Tim rose, "Our turns, we're back on rotation! Greg, Kyle, let's get the table cleared." He shook his head at Artie, he and the boys would handle this. After her having nearly 24/7 childcare for the duration of the trip, she needed a break!

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Thursday morning. Tim woke abruptly minutes after midnight and, feeling very awake, quietly changed into his warmest clothes and then crept down the stairs and into the basement, carrying his jacket, balaclava, gloves and scarves. As he entered his father's workshop, he smiled at the thermos full of hot, fresh coffee, he could smell it, and a note that said all the heaters had new batteries and asked when were they going to talk about the photos Tim sent him. That was followed by a heart and his father's unmistakable signature, Dad.

It took him a few minutes to get set up and the room warm enough to work in. He spent that time in Dad's workshop, writing an answer to his question.

" _Thursday after Baby doc appt.,, about 2:00 (u/sound!), ok with you? Still trying to organize Hart issues/questions in my head, darn jet lag!"_

He also signed with a heart and, smiling, wrote one of his favorite nicknames, Timiny. He'd never been thrilled when Abby called him Timmy and loved the alternate nickname his father created.

Once the temperature around his workspace in the hidden room was in the mid-60s Fahrenheit and rising, he got to work. First, he checked the logs to see what happened in his absence and was glad to see they'd uncovered a town with several residents matching the FBI's profile. His second in command had turned the information over to their liaison in the Defense Squads. They were still keeping an eye on the group for any unusual, that is terrorist, activities or anything that looked like they were preparing a terrorist attack. His team had also been part of a successful effort to stop a group of hackers. The log entry said they had data to be reviewed but would need their TL to look at it. That was him and now he dug into the data.

Tim was relieved to find the hackers were fairly routine; if he had to guess, he'd say it was a group of kids in their late teens, possibly older but not much. One of the fears the White Hats shared with the military Defense Squads (they never mentioned or worked with the stealth Defense Squad comprised of IPF operatives) was that countries or entities hostile to the U.S. would find the means in cyber space to help the terrorists. So far, their cyber defenses had held against that and Tim suspected that they'd sometimes had other White Hat communities helping them. The U.S. was not the only country with secret, anonymous 'White Hat' hackers. It amused him that the other groups also used the White Hat name even though not everyone spoke English and he had no idea if they'd ever seen any of the old Westerns or watched any TV shows that referenced white cowboy hats as signifying good guys.

He worked for 2 ½ hours before he logged off, he could feel the need for sleep creeping up on him. Making sure the heaters were off and returning the half-full thermos to his dad's workbench, he returned to his nice warm wife in their nice warm bed, remembering to keep his socks on.

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When he woke later that morning, he smiled at the note Artie left for him on her pillow, thanking him for remembering his socks. She was working in her office and after he ate breakfast, he ran back upstairs, glad he could still do that and scolding himself for yet another break in his exercise routine. He knocked on the door of her office and then, opening the door and poking his head in, he found her close enough to the door for a kiss and a question. "Want to leave around 10:30?" Today was their doctor's appointment and the new ultrasound!

They'd pick Kadie up before continuing to the doctor's office for their 11:30 appointment. After the appointment, they were taking her out to lunch.

Artie agreed and Tim hurried down the hall to his office. He worked for a few hours before his watch buzzed, it was time to gather his winter gear and warm up the van again. Once the cold weather set in, they'd varied their routine with the van and garage.

In the past, they'd parked Big Blue in the garage and set the thermostat in there so the garage would be warmish and the van warmed up faster. Now that they had two vans, Joe's and Big Blue, Joe had altered that routine. He'd first warm up his and Freddie's van and then leave it running in the driveway while he moved Big Blue into the garage, turning the thermostat up. He was usually on his way an hour or more before the kids were driven to school and that hour was enough time for Big Blue to lose whatever snow, ice or frost had accumulated overnight.

When Tim and Artie first started the process of growing their baby inside someone else's womb, they took the Tube and a bus to Kadie's home and then another bus to the doctor. As their pregnancy progressed and the weather grew chillier, they decided to drive Big Blue. It was easier for Kadie and warmer for the three of them.

Once they were on their way, Artie smiled, "This is the appointment I've been looking forward to, well, our second try at it."

Tim nodded, "Me too!"

"I hope we'll be able to see if the baby is a boy or girl this time!" Artie sat back, thinking of that disappointing 20 week ultrasound. Their baby had not been cooperative that day and other than seeing that he or she had two legs, feet, arms and hands, its face was turned away. Today she hoped they'd see more.

Now she couldn't wait for Tim to experience the same joy she had when she'd first seen Andy's image during an ultrasound. She wondered if Mimi still had a copy of Andy's first ultrasound, she'd have to ask. If she didn't, maybe the OB/GYN did, although it'd been so long now. She tucked it in the back of her mind.

Although they were early, Kadie was ready. However, Tim and Artie had presents for her and her husband Harry, some fun and practical things from Japan and Singapore, and insisted she look at those first. Finally, they returned to the van and headed for their appointment, Kadie still exclaiming about the beauty of the two kimonos they'd brought her, thinking she could wear them as her baby belly grew and then after the baby was born. She smiled, "Authentic kimonos, that's so cool! I'll keep it forever."

Tim dropped the women off and went in search of a parking space. He waited patiently as a large truck pulled away from the curb two doors down from the doctor's office, leaving a parking space nicely sized for Big Blue. When he joined Artie and Kadie, the younger woman laughed, "Does that always work for you?"

"What's that?"

"Parking! I've only ridden with you three times but each time it seems like a parking space opens up just for you."

Artie chuckled and nodded, "It's true, Kadie, I've noticed that, too."

Tim smiled, doing his best not to roll his eyes.

The nurse came for Kadie shortly after they checked in with the receptionist and Tim and Artie waited nervously as Kadie disappeared into the examination room. In minutes, they were beckoned inside the room and were relieved to see smiles. "Your baby is doing well, developing and growing right on target, as is Kadie. Now, how about we see what else we can find out about Baby Gibbs?"

They walked down the hall to the imaging center and the doctor ushered them in. The tech greeted them, remembering the couple and their gestational carrier from their previous ultrasounds. As Kadie settled, Artie reached for her hand and with a smile, Kadie took it and then reached for Tim's hand too. The couple had been coached but Tim had decided to wait to be invited before touching. This was a strange enough experience as it was!

As the tech ran the transducer over Kadie's belly, they could hear the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of Baby's heartbeat and then Tim involuntarily gasped. There on the screen was their child, this time facing them. Tiny, to be sure but arms and legs and…he grinned, looking at his wife. "You've got your boy!"

"Are you disappointed?"

"No way, sweetie! As long as he and Kadie are healthy, that's all I want." He chuckled, "Rissa will be happy, finally someone younger that she can mentor!"

Kadie looked puzzled, "What about her younger sister?"

Artie huffed, "The boys still think it's funny but we're working on teaching Rissa to know when to say no and stick to it, and teaching Hope to realize when she's being bossy."

Their attention returned to the screen and they watched, enthralled as Baby Gibbs spun around, doing a few acrobatics for his audience. Artie commented that Baby did not have the Hubbard bowed lip and Tim nodded happily, he'd noticed that too. Although his wife loved his lips, he'd been teased about his cupid's bow upper lip all his life and he was glad his youngest child wouldn't have to deal with that. While Andy and Kyle's upper lips had small bows, neither were anywhere near as bowed as their father's.

When Baby stretched out, the tech snapped a still and measured his length. With 3 months to go before Baby would join the outside world, he already measured 14 ¼ inches.

Tim watched their child as he moved around, this time more than happy to entertain his parents. Although the ultrasound was recorded, the tech was also snapping a few stills and Tim laughed as he swore his son stopped to pose for a photo. That wasn't logical but Tim didn't care.

They left with enough photos for everyone they knew, taking Kadie to her favorite pub for lunch. After they took Kadie home, Artie drove them back to Brambury. Tim looked at the sky, "I think we're going to get that snow they promised. The kids will be happy."

"Really? Snow?"

Tim's grin was so wide it looked painful, "Ok, I'm trying not to be too caveman but WE'RE HAVING A BOY!"

Now she laughed at him, "And if he were a girl, you'd be shouting just as loud."

"Oh yeah. But a boy, our first from the start Gibbs, wow!"

"I know, I'm so happy! Now we need to get to work on his room and our name list." She paused, "You know, there are Costas and Midei family names we can use."

Tim nodded, "I like that idea, I just wish Dad would be okay with us using Jethro."

"Do you think he'll change his mind now? With twins and our son?"

"No, I don't and as much as I want to honor him, I understand. Kids can be horrible about another kid's name, plus he had the added disadvantage of being named for his parents' African-American best friend, in the rural U.S. in the 1950s. In a small town like Stillwater, where he was already pegged as an outsider because his daddy didn't work in the coal mines, that was a double whammy, maybe a triple whammy. Don't get me wrong, I love Uncle LJ and both his names, I'm just saying Dad had to grow up with that in a very small, tightly knit, everyone-does-the-same-thing town. He believes he's looking out for his grandson by turning us down."

"All right. So what names do you suggest?"

"I've been thinking about that. Gibbs is a really easy name to match. We probably don't want 'Gary Gibbs' or anything that starts with a "G" but other than that, it should be easy. I've always liked Timothy because it's a strong name, easy to spell, write and say and there's a good strong short name."

She nodded. "You know, the trend these days is to use the nickname for the name and let go of the longer or more formal name. For example, our son would be Tim, not Timothy."

"Oh. I, well depends on the name. I've always wondered how the baby girls from the 1950s and 60s feel about their 'ie' names now. Sherri, Debbie, Nancy, Kerrie, Carly, Patty, Barbie..."

"You want a name for our child that will stand the test of time as he grows older?"

"Yes. Guys' names are easier that way."

"Yes, perhaps, but you realize we cannot predict what names or nicknames will be popular or unpopular in 50 years!"

"I know." Tim huffed, "I guess we just go with our hearts and best judgment."

"I agree. So, boys' names?"

He shook his head, "We'd better put a list together, get the kids' suggestions. Ok, off the top of my head: Jackson, Alan, Aidan, Austin, Alec, Remy, Tate, Cade, Liam, Noah, Caleb, Tom, Sawyer, Jackson, Nicolas, Tyler, Silas, Max, Rhys…phew, is that enough?"

"For a start! I veto Liam and Noah, too trendy, I don't want another child who has to go by his middle name! And I don't like Remy or Cade with Gibbs."

"Cade Gibbs, yeah, I hear that now. The hard consonant at the end of the name makes the whole name difficult to say. So Caleb's out too?"

"Yes, anything that ends in a 'b', 'd' or 'p' sound."

"What don't you like about Remy?"

"It sounds too…slick, too slippery."

Tim shook his head, "I think it's a nickname for Jeremy."

"I like that name much better than the short version."

"All right. How about Matthew and call him Matt?"

"Or use the Greek version, yes, I like that."

Tim huffed, "Nicholas won't work for his first name, he'll be Nick Gibbs. You have to stop to say the 'k' sound, darn it!"

"Jack is the same."

"Phooey."

She laughed, "Let's put a list together and let it sit. Maybe those hard sounds won't bother us as much as we think they will."

"Hope not, otherwise my grandfather's name is out. And we already have Andrew, so Grandpa Drew is out too and there's no way I'm naming my child for Dan or Nelson McGee."

"Who's Nelson?"

"Sarah and Pat's grandfather, Penny's husband."

"Ah, I'd forgotten. It's too bad, though, because I do like the name Daniel."

"I don't know if I could ever get over my prejudice against Dan McGee to be comfortable with the name."

"Of course, we could name him Timothy, Jr.!"

"Er, no thanks! Kid deserves his own name!" He chuckled, "You know, I've seen Artemis used as a boy's or girl's name."

She rolled her eyes, "Touché!"

"Scott."

"It's already on that first list we started."

"I guess we will have to work with Tony and Maggie."

"I want to reserve Jackson and Nicolas for our son. And a few other names."

"Good idea. I bet Maggie will want to include her father's name."

"Oh, I'm sure. And if they have a girl, I believe her mother's name was Patricia."

"Huh, might have to get the other sibs in on this, in case Sarah wants to reserve the name Patrick or Daniel."

Artie smiled, "You can do that but she already has a boy's name all picked out."

Tim was surprised, "They're planning on having kids? I thought she didn't want to be a parent?"

"She didn't, until she found out she loves being an aunty. Now she believes that, with James' patience and good humor, the two of them can raise a happy child."

"Wow, good for them! Guess I need to catch up with my little sis."

They pulled into the driveway just as Tim's phone buzzed with a text. It was from Joe, he and his van were staying in the city tonight. He and Freddie had to be at their job site very early tomorrow morning and as it was on the other side of London, they'd paid to park the van in a secured garage near Freddie's place.

Artie smiled, "Thank you, Jose!" as she pulled into the garage. Gathering their folder full of Baby Boy Gibbs' photos, they walked into the house. Giggling, they went in search of Dad and Malu, finding them playing Cribbage in the family room.

Tim smiled when he saw his dad's eyes light up. "Photos?"

"Yes, Baby Gibbs was very cooperative today. And yes, he is a singleton, no multiples for us."

"He? He!" Tim's mother was grinning like a loon, "We're having a boy?"

"We are! Your first-ever named Gibbs from the start grandchild."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I hoped for a girl for the girls' sake but now I'm excited about a baby boy!"

Tim handed her the folder with the photos and Dad sat down next to her again. They laughed and commented as they went through them. Dad looked thoughtful, "He looks like a great blend of you two. No bowed lip, Timson."

"No, lucky boy!"

His mother squinted, "Lucky?"

"You don't remember all the teasing I got for that?"

"Oh, yes, from jealous boys who knew the girls would love that lip!"

Artie giggled, "Thank you, I did and I do!"

Tim's parents examined every photo, asking about names. Tim and Artie looked at each other, "Dad, we really want to name him for you and one of Artie's grandfathers. Will you please at least think about it?"

"I'll think about Jethro, how's that?"

"Yes!"

"Although Jackson's a perfectly good name and we already know it goes well with Gibbs."

"Yes, but you're his grandfather and we love you."

"You know LJ agrees with me."

"LJ, who's gone by LJ his entire life?"

"Are you trying to talk me into this or out of it?"

"My point is that he probably never experienced any problems because of his name, so how would he know to agree?"

"Hmm, good point. All right, I promise to think about it. Got a middle name?"

Artie chuckled, "A few dozen of them right now or we'll use a Costas or Midei family name."

"So the baby could be 'JP' or 'JT', something like that?"

"Possibly."

Dad just nodded. Tim put their jackets away and then he and his father wandered upstairs to his office.

When Tim closed the door, he jumped a little as his father wrapped his arms around him. "Wanted to do this since the airport! Missed you something fierce, son. I don't like to be separated for that long or over that much distance." He chuckled, "Remember when you came home from Canada, after Paloma? I was so relieved and glad to see you."

Tim hugged back, "I remember. I missed my team and I missed seeing Jack for most of his stay. The Canadians kept asking why I was there, what was I going to do differently than they would if the Reynosa cartel showed up there? Not to mention there were teams out of the Northeast office who were perfectly capable. However, I learned a lot, made a lot of contacts."

"I'm glad something good came out of that. Back to the here and now, Tim, the photos you sent from Singapore…"

"Yeah, Dad, I've got a number of issues or questions about the Cabot-Hart burial plot. The first is what caused the boating accident and I'm hoping that will just be background information. The second is why is there a memorial marker for Kathy Hart with her date of death the same day as the boating accident, why not her actual death in 2014? That one is my top priority. Then there's the plaque and the obelisk, who paid for those? In addition, the plaque and Kathy's marker are similar materials. The marker bears no resemblance to the obelisk. However, the plaque has a date two years after the deaths."

Dad nodded, "And that brings you back to the boating accident. What happened and when did they find the bodies? And was never found or found two years later? Do you know when the obelisk was installed?"

"Yes, I found a groundskeeper who was able to tell me that. It was five months after the accident. I can see that, someone had to decide what to put up and then have it made."

"Yeah, that's a beautiful piece of work, it would have taken some time to craft it. Is there more?" He was smiling as he asked and Tim rolled his eyes, "Of course, what is the meaning of the coat of arms on Jean Teck Cabot's side of the obelisk. I can take a good guess, considering her maiden name and the wording on her memorial."

"Her maiden name?"

"Yes, Teck is the family name of Queen Elizabeth's grandmother. I believe she was Princess Mary of Teck when she married one of Queen Victoria's grandsons, George, who later became George V. They were King and Queen during and after the First World War." Tim paused and thumbed through the photos to find the one he wanted, "Look at the wording for Jean, 'Beloved to her family. Wife, mother, grandmother and cousin'. I'm wondering if Jean was some sort of cousin, who knows how many removes, of Queen Elizabeth."

"And she was Kathy Hart's grandmother, so our boys' great-grandmother. I like your theory, son, especially with that Coat of Arms. Have you looked it up yet."

"Not yet, want to look with me?"

"Yes and then let's Google Jean Teck Cabot, see what we find."

"All right. We can only look at public records, this is not an NCIS case."

"Let's see what we uncover. We did a little background work on Kathy Hart during the case. Wanted to see if there were any other relatives in the US she could have gone to, aside from you and Sarah."

"Someone paid for that obelisk and still is paying for that plot, Dad, it's big and it's immaculate. The cemetery is old but there are a lot of big ornate works of art in there."

"So no Joe Schmoes."

"No, definitely where the upper class were buried."

"Were?"

"The groundskeeper told me it closed 20 years ago."

"When was the accident?"

"1983."

"So it didn't close after they were buried."

"Which is another question, were there any bodies recovered? And if our Kathy Hart survived, why is there a memorial marker with her name? If she didn't survive, why a marker instead of making the obelisk a hexagon, 6 sided?"

"Was she an only child?"

Tim blinked, "As far as I know. I have no authority, no jurisdiction to ask questions and expect any answers."

"But I do. I could do it as a follow up for the case file."

"Dad."

'Did you mention this to Yates at all?"

"No, I didn't think it was appropriate and there were too many people around."

"Ok, what do you think of this? I'll call Cassie, tell her I'm doing some background follow up on an old case, true, and see if she will refer me to someone in local law enforcement. Then we can ask about Kathy's parents and grandparents, how many children they had and I'll ask about the accident too. We probably only want that for background anyway."

His father chuckled as Tim thought it through, obviously having some problems with it. "I'm fine with the plan but first I want to let Leon know."

"Because?"

"Because you're retired and there is no real reason to poke around in that case. And because I'm still related, still shouldn't have anything to do with it but I really want to work together with you on this." He huffed, "The woman's dead, everything that happened will still have happened. There are no legal events coming up that I could possibly harm or disrupt. But my sons, Kathy's sons, are asking and I think they deserve some answers." He thought about that, "I'll open with that."

Dad grinned, "Good idea. I still want to help with this, you've got more than enough on your plate and it's winter, I'm on the verge of boredom and Lu can't go anywhere. Besides, I want to know."

"That's fine, I don't want to work this alone."

By the time they hashed that out and did some Googling of the accident and Jean Teck Cabot, it was time to pick the kids up from school.

Once the kids were home, Tim brought them upstairs where their mother and brothers joined them. The boys relaxed when they saw their parents' grins. "We have news for you! We took Kadie to the doctor's today and we have new photos of our baby…and it's a boy, you're going to have a baby brother!"

"Yay!" The kids cheered. Kyle explained, "We would have cheered for a baby sister, too. We just want our baby to hurry up and be born."

"He won't be born until after your birthday, Train Man. The DiNozzo twins will be born first, then our baby."

Greg grinned, "Aunt Maggie and Uncle Tony will have two babies crying all night, we'll only have one!"

Rissa frowned and turned to her father, "Did I cry all night?"

"Not all night, but yes, you did cry when you needed feeding or changing. You couldn't talk yet so crying was the way you let your mother know you needed her." Tim made a mental note to talk with Artie about Rissa. He didn't know when they should tell her he wasn't her biological father. He thought that at four, she was still too young but truthfully, he had no idea.

Over dinner, Sarah, James and Grandpa Mac were told and then Tim and Artie sent an email to everyone else, with an attached photo.

Tim sent two other emails that night. One was to D'Arcy McKinna, telling her about his family, attaching their Christmas photo, and recommending Cassie Yates and Mitchell Shaw as adoptive parents. He told her how he knew Cassie and why he recommended her, adding that he'd met Mitchell twice last week during a visit to Singapore and found him to be a good man.

The third email he sent was to the director, asking for a meeting in the morning. The reply from Vance agreed and set the time. He'd already seen his agent's trip and expense reports and was curious to hear why McGee wanted to see him.

Thursday night, Tim managed a few hours of White Hat work. As strange as it seemed, he was looking forward to his meeting with Leon, hoping he'd be allowed to contact Cassie for help.

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When it didn't snow overnight, Tim and James decided to walk to the Tube station early Friday morning and were moving very quickly when the director's SUV pulled up next to them. With a laugh, they climbed in, glad to get out of the cold!

As the two men warmed up, Vance wished them a good morning and then looked at McGee, "Is this classified?"

"No, but I haven't mentioned it to Sarah yet. It doesn't directly affect either one of us."

James nodded, "If it's agency business…"

Tim smiled, "Not sure about that, thus my request to talk with our boss." He turned to Vance and gave a synopsis of what they'd found at the cemetery and Greg's reaction. He tilted his head, "Trouble is, I've haven't seen the case file since I recused myself so I don't know how much background they did on Kathy. Dad and I talked about the situation, we want to work on this together but I need your approval. First, to see the case file, second to find out why Kathy Hart has a memorial marker at her parents' and grandparents' gravesites, with her date of death the same as theirs. I haven't done more than look up her grandmother's maiden name but I stopped there as that isn't relevant to my other questions. Sir, my purpose in this is to give Greg and Kyle answers about their mother's life as well as some of the history of their birth family. Greg saw the marker, we all did and he's troubled by it."

"All right, come up to my office and I'll pull the file for you. It's been 3 ½ years, there's no further legal activity expected, I was told the suspect died in jail of an aneurysm…Timothy?" McGee had given a little shake of his head.

Tim looked at James, who nodded, zipping his lips. "He was in a mental hospital, being evaluated, had been there for several months. They autopsied him before NCIS could get a warrant approved for the agency to do it. The cause of death was an aneurysm with no outside influence, i.e., natural causes.

"We'd been here in the UK for a few weeks already so I'd been through the attack in Cambridge and knew more about Hatman's IPF and how ruthless he was. I've always wondered how 'natural' that aneurysm really was. Also, one of the law enforcement folks who visited Hatman in prison said something later that I overheard, something the head rogue said. He didn't understand his boss, that is Hatman, not following through with the Harts. Said he'd given the usual orders for the Commander, and 'took care' of the wife but left the boys alive and didn't understand that."

He thought about what he'd said. "At the time I overheard the comment, I didn't know the speaker had been in on that visit, I found that out later. Also, he didn't know me, still doesn't, it was a chance remark at a meeting. And he wasn't an American."

Leon nodded, "Thank you for clarifying. So you suspect that Hatman had something to do with your sister-in-law's murder?"

"Yes."

Vance nodded and thought for a minute. "That doesn't change my decision. Whatever Hatman did or didn't do as far as Ms. Hart, we'll likely never know the truth. We'll call this a file review, that will give you and Jethro the permissions you need. Once you've read the file, what's your plan?"

"I'll contact SSAIC Yates to ask for a referral to a local contact, preferably in law enforcement, someone who can help us figure out why that marker is there." He looked at Vance, "There is the possibility that our background information is incorrect and that there were 2 Kathy Harts born in the same year."

"Both in Singapore."

Tim nodded and now Leon rolled his eyes at him. "I think we can cross that off the list. Even if I don't subscribe to your father's rule regarding coincidences, that one is too much of a stretch. I remember something about diaries."

"Yes. Kathy kept journals her whole life."

Leon wanted to tease him about not being the only journal writer but decided to save it for later. Instead, he said, "It's early enough, one of them might still be in the office. Go ahead and text Yates."

Tim smiled his thanks as he sent Cassie a text asking if she or Dwayne were still in the office and had time for a phone call in about 15 minutes. He added that he had some questions regarding his sons' Singaporean family and hoped to find someone local who could help. Then he sent his father a text, telling him that Vance had authorized their 'file review'. When he read the text, Gibbs nodded in satisfaction. That gave them permission to use agency resources and use the name when calling.

Before the SUV carrying the director and his passengers reached the office, Tim had an answer from Cassie with a name and contact information. Her text said she'd already sent a message that he would be emailing or calling for information about an old case.

Having already had his meeting with Vance, Tim went right to his office and got to work. The Hart case file appeared in his Inbox but he left that for now. He hoped he could reach his new contact in Singapore, even if it was Friday afternoon at 1545 there.

He smiled as his call was answered. Explaining who he was and how he had the number, he asked if the other person had some time to talk, or set another time or would he prefer that Tim send his questions via email.

The man, who gave his title and name as Detective Ng, chuckled, "This is fine, Mr. Gibbs. I just started my shift and it has been a quiet day. Agent Yates says you are a trustworthy old friend who is somehow related to one of our citizens."

"I am. I also work for the same agency as Agent Yates. Currently my father, who is also an agent with NCIS, and I are doing a file review on a case that was closed nearly three years ago. There is a tenuous connection to an old case of yours."

"Ah, all right. So we're not looking for bad guys."

"I hope not! Our questions surround a yachting accident back in 1983."

"Oh my, that is an old one. I was a child but I remember what happened then, my father was a detective on the force. I followed him onto the police force."

"That's great, I followed my father's footsteps too." Mentally, Tim added, "Sort of."

"If the yachting accident is the one that killed the Cabots and Harts, it is the one I recall."

"Yes, that's it. We're relatives of the Hart family and visited the cemetery last week on a business trip."

"Oh, you were here, that's wonderful! Now, what is your question? Or your first question."

"I do have a few. Are you familiar with the gravesite?"

"Yes, with the obelisk?"

"Yes, sir. My question is about the marker at the base of Mary Elizabeth Cabot Hart's side of the obelisk. Why is it there?"

"Do you mean why didn't the child have a section of the obelisk?"

"No, sir. The Kathy Hart I know of survived, grew up in an orphanage in Singapore, married an American Naval officer and moved to the United States. She died in 2014." Tim decided not to say anything about the boys just yet.

"You knew this woman?"

"We never met in person, however, I spoke with her a week or two before her death and I saw her body after her death, before the autopsy. She was murdered and I was the lead investigator - until I discovered my family connection."

"Ah, I see. I've been digging through archived files while we talk and I have the Hart file with me now. What I remember is that there was an unexpected storm that day. Here are the notes…the yacht was struck by lightning and nearly cut in half. There was a PCG, that is a Police Coast Guard ship, that witnessed the event. Part of the yacht sank immediately, before the PCG ship could reach it. The adults were found dead on the part of the yacht that was still afloat. At the time, the PCG had no knowledge that anyone else was aboard. It was only later that day or perhaps the next that it was concluded that the Harts' young daughter had been with them.

"The sunken part of the yacht was not recovered for nearly two years and then it was only due to an unusually low tide. Part of the yacht's structure showed through the water and that led to the recovery. While there were no human remains, none were expected to be found, considering the violence with which the yacht was torn apart and the length of time before the sunken portion was recovered. I don't know why the little girl's name was left off the obelisk at the beginning, though. In the end, the marker was decided on."

Tim sighed, "She was the Harts' only child?"

"Ah, that I do not know for sure. Let me see what's in the file."

There was silence for a few seconds and then the man started reading bits and pieces aloud. Tim listened, interested. The man cleared his throat, "There's a lot of information in here about the various "business" dealings of Teddy Hart, the word business has quotation marks around it, and how he got the yacht in the first place. He won it in a poker game and apparently there was some talk about him having cheated. I don't know what that would have to do with a bolt of lightning, unless someone was attaching some religious significance."

"He was a businessman?"

"Uh, according to this, he didn't do anything to earn a living. Married a rich English girl, an only child, and lived a life of leisure. He had an uncle, David Hart, who raised him. His parents aren't mentioned but as a small child, he arrived in Singapore with his uncle. His uncle…oh, they did have money. Seems Teddy ran through an inheritance from his parents before he married Miss Cabot."

"Who inherited the Cabot estate?"

"Ah, that's not in here either. You know, I'd like to have you speak with my father, he'll know a lot more – or direct you to someone who does. Do you want to wait while I call him or call me back?"

"I'll wait, thanks." Tim figured that would be less expensive than calling back and forth numerous times. Remembering the name of the hospital where Kathy was born, he Googled it and then looked for specific birth records, both in the hospital records and the city records. If they were online at all, they were not accessible to him. He made a note of that and then said, "I'm here," as Detective Ng came back on the line.

"Good, I have my father on the line with me, I'll put us in conference mode."

Tim repeated what he'd said about his interest in the case and the older Ng gave him a little more information.

"There was an attorney involved for the estate, the firm is still in business although that attorney's son is running it now. I believe the father is still alive. He will be able to give you more information than we can." Carefully, he read the man's name, the name of the law firm and the contact information.

Tim thought that Dad Ng probably had something he was not willing, or allowed, to say. That something might be meaningful in Singapore while inconsequential to Tim but he didn't push. Instead, he thanked the two men for their time and efforts. Detective Ng the younger asked that he let him know what he found and said that he enjoyed talking with him. Tim said he'd enjoyed it too, thanking him again.

Overall, he was satisfied. He'd gotten further than he'd estimated for his first call. Although he would love to keep going, it was too late in Singapore now to call the attorney's office. He'd wait until Monday morning, come in early again. Inputting his notes, he saved them to a secured file before turning to his agency work, smiling when he heard Bec call to the field team, "Grab your gear!"


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The promised snow arrived that weekend and the extended family had a wonderful time. Saturday, the Hubbards, Cranes, Fornells, Vances, Penny, Bec's cousin Charlotte, Jose and the junior Gibbses had a great time cross-country skiing and sledding in the surrounding countryside. Ellie, who'd learned to ski in the mountains of Colorado, taught Rob and the two of them joined the others. Rob skied for a couple of hours and then went inside to warm up. He was in and out like that most of the day. Geo, who decided he didn't want to risk his leg, Bec, Jethro, Lu, Maisie and Mac stayed indoors, watching from the nice warm conservatory while playing cards and board games. Lu and Jethro were happy when Freddie, Abby, Barry and Bill arrived, announcing their intention to join the crowd, sledding with the others. Several people, including Bec and the senior and junior Gibbses, noticed that Charlotte and Joe spent a fair amount of time sledding together.

When Tim casually mentioned it to Geo, his brother held his hand up to signal caution. "Careful! Joe wants to take this very slowly, because of his experience with Chelsea and also because Charlotte is Bec's cousin. He's terrified he'll mess it up."

Tim frowned, "He didn't 'mess up' with Chelsea."

"Not directly, but Tim, he took her at face value, even while Barry, Bill and the rest of us were telling him there was something not quite right. He says now that he was so excited that someone cared about him, about getting serious, that he ignored all of us. Realistically, he didn't know what to expect and besides, how would any of us camp kids know if something was good or bad? Lu, divorced, Nate, his sister took all his energy, along with the drinking in his early years, Jethro, married four times, divorced three. You, dumped by your girlfriend in college and never had another successful relationship until London. Freddie, scared of his own shadow – and justifiably so. Barry, no relationship has lasted more than a few months, same with Bill, although he and Nikki are doing well. Rob, dating but nothing serious until Ellie, same with Sarah and James, although she has the most dating experience. Oh and me, I suppose I'm the most extreme example, moving around under cover and for over a decade, only available for hookups."

Tim was laughing now, "I hadn't thought about our collective experience, you're right, it is pretty sad!"

Geo joined him in laughing, "We are pathetic. We used to be pathetic. Now we have partners who believe in us, respect and love us. Funny how you reconnecting with Artie kind of kicked all that off."

Tim shook his head, "Wasn't me, brother. Our baby sister moved to London and met James. She was intrigued by the Brit, he was intrigued by the Yankee, thus the flame was lit, apparently for all of us."

"So all we needed was one of us to have a successful relationship?"

Tim shrugged, "Hey, I'm not about to question it! We're happy, our partners are happy, that's what matters." He added, "It even worked for Dad and Lu."

"Who actually met before Sarah and James did. Huh, maybe they were the catalysts?"

Tim snorted, "You wouldn't say that if you knew our initial reactions to their interest in each other."

"What?"

Tim told him and Geo laughed so hard his sides hurt.

Back outside, Ducky, Victoria and Davey Palmer arrived to take part in the fun. The kids had a great time sledding on Butterfly Hill with their cousins, big and little, and friends while Ducky, trusting the adults to watch over his littles, joined the indoor group, declaring his old bones had dealt with enough snow, thank you very much!

After such a fun day, none of the family wanted to leave, resulting in an impromptu family dinner. That was a lot of fun, everyone was relaxed and there were no expectations of anything but a good time. Dinner was a bit of a catchall but that was part of the fun and they ended with a _smorgasbord of dishes, ranging from an egg, spinach, tomato, cheese and potato casserole to half of a leftover meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, several pieces of grilled chicken, a hot dish of risotto with green peas and mushrooms, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, a mixed green salad with lots of crunchies (made by Sarah) and a few hot dogs, which the kids polished off. After they ate and cleaned up, those who lived nearby said goodnight, while the city dwellers hung out with their parents, siblings and the kids. They always enjoyed their holidays together but something like this was even more fun. When Andy, the last child standing, said goodnight, Geo made a noise, "That's it, the eldest grandkid has turned in, it's time for us to go too!"_

Lu laughed as each of her boys and girls trooped by her and their father, kissing each of them goodnight, although Rob and Ellie were staying over. After the others left and the group was down to the engaged couple and the Manor residents, she chuckled, "I didn't dare mention it, but as they were leaving, all I could think of was that Farewell/Good Night song from "The Sound of Music", where the little girl is the last to go."

They laughed, understanding. They'd watched a TV broadcast of the play a few weeks ago and had been sporadically humming the tunes ever since.

Tim and Sarah looked at each other grinning but James and Artie stopped them. "Your parents are tired and besides, we need the kids for that song."

Artie added, "And we don't want to wake them up at this hour with our singing!"

"Oh, all right, fine." Tim and Sarah grumbled to each other but both were smiling.

After the others had gone to bed, Tim worked for a few hours in his hidden room, but cut it short when he realized sitting in a cool room was a mistake after a fun day of using muscles that hadn't done much more than sit for the past 2 weeks. He was so stiff when he stood up that he feared he'd have to walk like Frankenstein's monster, but he was all right once he got upstairs. Going into the family room, he did several minutes of stretches and then rode the stationary bike they bought themselves for Christmas.

It snowed again on Sunday but as it was also bitterly cold, no one wanted to play outside and Rob and Ellie stayed put, it was too cold to travel anywhere. The kids did their homework, Greg and Kyle made sure they had everything ready to hand in to their teachers on Monday. Andy had a maths exam he studied for, with his parents running him through various problems. In between, they did laundry and cleaned the house. After last night, they were low on groceries so, armed with a long list, James and Tim put their snow gear on and drove Big Blue to the nearest supermarket and bought enough food to last a month. Jethro was content to let his kids do the shopping, that meant he could stay home with his sweetie and play with the grandkids who weren't busy with schoolwork.

When the temperatures hadn't warmed up by Monday morning, Vance called to invite Tim and James to ride in with him, however, he wasn't leaving until 09:30, after the main roads were de-iced and plowed. When Tim asked if Ellie and Rob could also catch a ride, Vance agreed with a chuckle. Shortly after that, they had an automated call that the schools were closed for the day. Andy tilted his head back and forth, "I was ready for the exam! Now I'll have to study again tonight."

Tim pursed his lips, "Just a quick run-through, son, you know the material. It's not like you're memorizing the largest cities on each continent!"

He looked at Sarah who was chuckling. "Have you ever told them your theory?"

"No."

Artie looked curious, "What theory, love?"

"You've forgotten! The theory that if you want something like an exam to be canceled or postponed, you study as hard as you can beforehand, do the absolute best job."

His wife laughed, "Yes, I'd forgotten about that! Children, your father believes he has proven this theory to be true during his scholastic career. If you want something to not happen, do the absolute best job of preparing for it. If you don't and leave it to fate, the exam or whatever it is will happen as scheduled and then you're in trouble. If you're prepared, then it might be postponed or even canceled! Because you did such a good job of preparing, you don't have to do any more studying, just a quick review when it's time."

Andy made a face, "But I wanted to take the exam!"

"Maybe someone else didn't want to."

"Oh, it's not just us!" Andy started laughing, "Papa, do you think you're Harry Potter?"

"Nope, but I used to be lucky with getting exams and things postponed."

Sarah huffed, "I wasn't so lucky, Andy, it backfired on me. One time when I was about Greg's age, we were still at the camp, I had a geography test on Monday. I had a hard time in that class, I'm still not very good at remembering bodies of water and mountain ranges, much less what cities are where. Anyway, Tim told me his theory, so I studied really hard and he and Robbie helped, quizzing me all weekend. When we went to school on Monday, a water pipe had burst and school was cancelled. I was so happy! However, our teacher posted a notice on the bulletin board that because we had more time, she was adding more to the test. So then I had to study more!"

They laughed at that, Greg asking how she did on the test. She smiled, "I think I got a B, which was really good for me, especially in that class!"

Tim grinned at her, "Actually, you got a B+. I remember because Ms. Lu gave me a couple of dollars so we could celebrate."

Lu smiled, she remembered that. Tim's difficult times with Sarah had been getting worse and her mark on the exam was the best grade she'd had in two years. But she didn't remember how they'd celebrated. "How did you celebrate?"

Rob smiled, "I remember! Timpa bought cans of roast beef hash and Nate let us use his fry pan to heat it over the fire. We ate one whole can the first night and a second whole can two days later. That was a huge treat!"

Rissa was surprised, "You didn't have a treat, like ice cream or cake?"

"No, honey, we were very poor, eating what we considered real food was our treat. We ended up with 4 cans of the roast beef hash and shared the third and fourth cans with Geo, Freddie, Jose and Barry."

Rob rubbed his stomach, "Oh yeah, meat, that was so good!"

Belatedly remembering the call he wanted to make to Singapore, Tim checked his watch but it was 0830 here, which meant 1630 there. He and Dad decided to try anyway and went upstairs to his office.

They reached a receptionist who said she'd take a message but the attorney he asked for was unavailable until the next day. When he told her he was calling from overseas, she told him the best time to call and said she'd note his location on the message.

Tim shook his head as he disconnected. He'd rather call from his office phone anyway and after more than 30 years, he doubted one more day would make a difference. He'd already told Dad about his conversation with Detective Ng and his father. Dad went downstairs and Tim logged into work, noting in the shared database that the London INV team would be in late that morning, due to the weather.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

With one thing or another, it was the following week before he and his father spoke with the estate attorney. The woman Tim spoke with the first time he called, explained on his second call that Thursdays were generally their 'late nights' and made an evening appointment for them to Skype with the attorney. The delay suited Tim as it gave him time to run a background check on the law firm, the retired father and the son running the firm. He was satisfied when everything looked good.

The delay also made things easier for Jethro as by that time, Lu was wearing her boot and able to get around the house all right. Mac and Sarah would be home while he was at NCIS.

Jethro had to admit, it felt good to be back at the agency, even if it was only for an hour or so. When Leon heard he was coming in, he asked him to come to his office after he and Agent McGee were done.

When they connected with the attorney, Josef Che, he smiled and introduced himself, "What can I help you with? I'm sorry for missing you, I won't try to guess how expensive it is to call here from the UK."

Tim nodded and introduced his father and himself, saying, "We're Americans living in the UK, working for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS, a U.S. Federal Agency. We normally handle criminal cases but right now we're doing a file review on a case our team handled a few years ago. We're looking for more background information on our victim, not bad guys."

"Your victim?"

Gibbs spoke, "Yes, the victim of the crime we investigated. She was a Singaporean native who was married to a U.S. Navy Seal. She was murdered in September of 2014. During our investigation, Agent McGee discovered that her husband, who was and still is in a coma, was his younger brother, who he believed had been killed when they were young boys."

The man looked at them, "May I know her name?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, Kathy Hart. Her husband's original name was Patrick Barry McGee. After a car crash, he was told his father, brother, that's me, and sister died. Months later he was adopted by a woman named Hope Blair and he became known as Patrick McGee Blair. His adoptive mother died shortly before Patrick and Kathy married. We were told because Kathy was the last of a distinguished family of Harts, she wanted to keep her name and Patrick changed his name to David Hart." He took a breath, "Two weeks ago, I was in Singapore on business…" he told Mr. Che what he'd seen at the cemetery, about speaking with Detective Ng, adding senior and junior and noticed a smile, and the senior Detective Ng had given them the attorney's name. "He gave me your father's name but he said he thought you were running the firm now."

"That's so and yes, we are the estate attorneys for Kathy and David Hart. We learned of Kathy's death through social media and unfortunately lost track of Commander Hart a few months later. He'd been at Bethesda Hospital in the state of Maryland, but then disappeared. We asked your State Department for help, first to locate the boys and secondly, David. However, in both instances, they advised us to drop the searches, that the boys and their father were safe and they'd let us know when it was safe for their whereabouts to be known. We've heard nothing since."

Jethro nodded, "Patrick wasn't provided adequate security at Bethesda. We moved him to a secure location to keep the people who put him in the coma from completing the job."

"My word! And the children, Gregory and Kyle?"

Tim replied, "They're safe, as is Patrick."

"Please, where are they, the boys?"

"With our family. My sister is Patrick's legal guardian and I became the children's legal guardian. Eventually, with the boys' consent, my wife and I adopted them. They see their 'sleeping father' as they call him, every week." Tim paused, "I know our U.S. adoption attorney spoke with someone here in Singapore, in Social Services. I'm an American citizen, my wife is a Greek citizen and we filed for adoption in both countries. Our American attorney reported that he'd contacted someone in Singapore who confirmed that the boys would remain Singaporean citizens and that since there was no change in custody, they would abide by the rulings of the adoption courts."

That surprised Che and Tim saw him scribble a note. He added, "We have a stack of papers regarding the boys' adoption, I'll look through them and see if there's a name and/or contact information."

"Thank you. As an estate attorney, I'm used to challenges but the Harts are truly a special case. Now, you called me."

"Yes, I have several questions. My first is why there's a marker with Kathy's name, date of birth and the date of death the same as the yachting accident."

The attorney sighed and then shook his head. "You represent Kathy's sons so I will tell you. However, first I have a question for you. What do you know of Teddy and Beth, that is Mary Elizabeth Cabot Hart?"

"Not much." Tim told him what they knew.

Che nodded, "At the time of the accident and for some years afterward, there was doubt about the cause of the sinking of the yacht. Yes, it was struck by lightning but there were rumors that the Cabots and Harts were already dead when that happened and when the police went to the house after the boat accident, they found the bomb squad there, dismantling 2 bombs after a 3rd one had already exploded, destroying a large part of the house.

"Teddy Hart was an opportunist and from what my father tells me, a questionable card player with more than one angry person after him. The idea that he won the yacht without cheating did not sit well with many people. When the authorities decided the Harts' daughter must have also been aboard the yacht, no one refuted their conclusion. It made sense, the girl was not at the house, nor were there any bodies in the debris caused by the bomb. No one brought her forth or called the authorities to say they had her. The truth is more complicated.

"Beth Hart had finally realized what a wastrel she'd married and was preparing to sue for divorce. Her father would offer a settlement and it would be up to Teddy to live on that. She was afraid that Teddy suspected she was preparing to leave and came to my father and a few trusted others, for help."

"As for Kathy being with her family that day, Teddy wanted to take his wife, daughter, his uncle and his in-laws out on the yacht that day. It was his big victory, he finally had something to show off, something of his own. However, Kathy was coming down with a cold and Beth wanted her to stay in the care of her nanny. As she often did when both she and Teddy would be out, she asked the nanny to take the little girl to what had become a second home to her, the nanny's home.

"When the police realized there was no sign of Kathy anywhere in Singapore, nor had there been any ransom note or sign the girl had been kidnapped, they decided Kathy had been on the yacht with her family and no one who loved the Cabots, Beth and Kathy said otherwise. Letting people believe her dead meant safety for her, considering the bombs as well as the rumors. For all the years Kathy remained in Singapore, there was a conspiracy of silence in an effort to keep her safe."

"From Hart's fellow card players?"

"Yes, and others. After Hart's death, my father was besieged, by his debtors and by liens against the estate. Teddy not only ran through his own inheritance, he'd done a good job of spending most of the money Robert Cabot settled on Beth at her marriage. Luckily, Beth realized what was happening and transferred the rest of her money offshore, where no one could get at it. "

Tim sat back, absorbing the information while Gibbs pressed on. "Were there autopsies performed on the Harts and Cabots?"

"Yes. However, when the lightning struck, the fuel tank in the yacht exploded and the bodies, well, there wasn't much left by the time the Police Coast Guard could extricate them from the wreckage. The coroner ruled their deaths accidental, from the lightning strike."

"So there was no way to prove whether or not they were already dead?"

"I was told there were only bones left and nothing to show anything but nature's violence." He sighed, "My father told me the yacht had no protection from lightning and that this can be a problem with leisure boats in general. Larger vessels, navy ships, for example, have protection built into their hulls."

Gibbs nodded, "Yes, they do. Smaller boats can be protected but it would be up to the owner. And this was 30 years ago, manufacturing standards have changed since then. How old was the yacht?"

"I don't know its exact age, but it was known as a 'classic'."

Gibbs nodded and then Tim returned to the subject of Kathy.

"Mr. Che, who was Kathy's guardian and if she had one, why was she raised in an orphanage?"

Che smiled. "Because it was the easiest way to hide her. With rumors continuing to circulate about her family's deaths and the bombers of her home never caught, she was considered to be in danger if word of her survival ever surfaced. My father was one of her guardians and her nanny, Anna Goh, was the other. One of the challenges they faced in keeping Kathy safe was how and where to raise her. With the Harts gone, Anna Goh was publicly in need of a new job. My father arranged for Anna and her husband to acquire an old colonial house which was turned into an orphanage for the express purpose of raising Kathy out of the public eye. They gathered several orphans, 7 in addition to Kathy, and raised them. Anna is an accredited teacher as is her sister and the two of them, with my father's financial help, taught all the children privately. The Gohs and Anna's sister lived on site and raised the kids. I believe they also had a resident nurse. Anna's husband maintained the building and the property and taught the boys various practical things, I believe he called it 'shop'. He also taught physical education to all the kids. Kathy may have been an orphan but she was raised with love, with someone who'd been with her since birth, and always had a home." The attorney frowned, "Haven't you seen her photos?"

"Only with Patrick and then with the boys."

"Do you have her belongings from her storage unit?"

Tim shook his head, saying, "I don't know anything about a storage unit."

Che frowned, "I will check the status."

A minute later, he looked up. "It must still be intact, we're still paying the bill."

"Is it in Singapore?"

"No, in the US, in the state of Maine. David was stationed there and Kathy said she was tired of moving everything from place to place. Later, after she lost the house, she sent us the key and address, asking us to pay the monthly fee from her estate." He sighed, "We couldn't legally release funds to help her save her house and keep her and the children safe but we could pay small bills like that."

When both men were puzzled, he explained, "A few weeks before the accident, Robert Cabot set up funds for his daughter and granddaughter. As his daughter was still young, he hoped she would remarry and accounted for the possibility of additional children, as well as any children that Kathy might have. Because he was afraid Teddy would find a way to get his hands on the money and to avoid the same scenario, someone courting and marrying his daughter for the money, he stipulated that his daughter be 45 and his granddaughter or future grandchildren be 35 before inheriting. Any great-grandchildren would inherit at age 25. My father told me Robert felt that by setting the ages of inheritance far enough ahead, Teddy would have drunk himself to death or have been killed by one of his highly questionable acquaintances. He also disowned Teddy Hart and refused responsibility for any of Teddy's debts.

"Kathy was 30 when her husband was injured and 32 when she lost the house and was forced to go to the shelter. My father and the Goh family wanted her to return to Singapore, we were more than willing to pay their way. But she wouldn't leave David, wouldn't take the boys so far from him and she wouldn't allow anyone to help her financially.

"She felt she was being watched and any additional funds could be traced and possibly used against her. She wasn't sure what to do. She was angry that the U.S. Navy had not adequately protected her husband against whoever hurt him and also that they weren't helping David's dependents. Although she wasn't an American citizen, she had her paperwork, was able to find a job and there was a woman at the shelter who was very helpful. Kathy told us she was the only person in the U.S. that she trusted. This woman was the one who took the letter Kathy wrote us, addressed it in her own handwriting and mailed it for her."

He stopped at the looks on the faces of the two men. "What?"

"The woman who helped her, do you know her name?"

"Yes, it's here in the notes. Luella Morgan."

Now they nodded, neither seemed surprised. He looked at them. "Did she have troubles because she helped Kathy? Do you know her?"

Gibbs nodded, "Yes, we know her and no, she did not have any problems because she helped Kathy. Tim and his sister spent a few years at the same shelter when they were growing up and Lu helped them, too. When we received word that Kathy had been killed, we needed someone to make a positive identification and Lu stepped up. That was the first time I met her and we married a little over a year ago."

"Ah, that's a happy sidebar in the midst of this grim tale."

Tim nodded, "If the estate was tied up until someone inherited, who paid for the orphanage, salaries and all the upkeep for the kids and the adults raising them?"

"Not all of the Cabots' money was tied into the inheritance. Because Mr. Cabot was worried about something happening to him or his wife, he set aside a trust for his daughter and granddaughter, a trust neither his daughter nor son-in-law knew about. That was set up the day after Kathy was born so that by the time of the accident, it had increased nicely. After the family died, the trust handled the expenses of raising Kathy and the other children. After being fully repaired, the house was sold and at my father's discretion, those funds went into the trust rather than the inheritance. Kathy won a full scholarship to university, that was the only major expense that did not fall under the trust."

"Was she able to use her real name?"

"She might have been able to but my father begged her not to. Instead she used my great-grandmother's maiden name, Rogers. She worked under that name too. You can imagine the fuss when she announced she was keeping the name Hart and that her husband would also use it! She was of legal age by then and, although grateful for all the care given her over the years, wanted to use her real name. Still, my father's fears were somewhat mitigated when she and Patrick left Singapore for the U.S."

"Did the other children raised there know Kathy's story?"

"They knew a version of it, how she'd lost her parents. They did not know her real surname, the rumors or about the bombs. My father has said that it was amazingly easy to hide Kathy. Having been told by the police and the press that Kathy had died in the yacht with the others, no one looked for her and no one ever questioned her name or background. Of course, it helped that she and the others were privately educated until they finished secondary school but at the time that was common enough in Singapore, no one questioned that either."

"Where are they now, the other orphans?"

He smiled, "One is the woman you spoke with when you called, she works here part-time. She's married to my cousin and they have two children who call Anna Goh Nai Nai, or grandmother. Two of the others have stayed here in Singapore, one is a teacher and the other works in finance downtown. The other four left the country, although they keep in close touch with Anna Goh and her husband and each other. One lives in Hawaii, two live in Malaysia and the fourth is in Australia."

Tim brightened at that, it made him think of their camp family.

"Thank you, that's good to hear! Next question: Kathy's grandmother was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth's and I believe she and Prince Phillip were godparents to Jean's daughter, Kathy's mother, Mary Elizabeth?"

"Yes, although she was always called Beth."

"Was the royal family told Kathy survived?"

"Not by us and I doubt that the authorities here made a connection between a 4-year old supposedly killed at sea and a 23-year old leaving for America 19 years later."

Tim smiled, "I think you might be wrong about that. I'd say Senior Detective Ng, at least, knows. He advised me to contact you, saying you would be able to tell me more than he could. He didn't say he didn't know, he said 'not able to'. My impression at the time was that he knew something he either couldn't or wouldn't say.

Che smiled, "Huh, you're right, thank you! I'll tell my dad that. He might have slept better at night if he'd known that someone else knew and was keeping it quiet."

"Back to the royal family, as far as they know, their cousin, the Queen's goddaughter and her daughter all died that day."

"Yes."

Tim just nodded, he couldn't imagine the royal family knowingly leaving one of their own in an orphanage to be raised. Unless it was safer.

"Mr. Che, that raises another question. Does the perceived danger toward Kathy exist only here in Singapore or does it extend to the UK or other places? You said your father's fears were lessened by Kathy and Patrick's, sorry, David's, move to the States."

"There wasn't any reason to think there would be trouble for them in the U.S., unless the car bomb that injured Patrick was related?"

When both men shook their heads, although Tim was no longer as sure as his head shake indicated, Che relaxed, continuing to speak, "The Harts in the UK that are related to Teddy and therefore your sons are a distantly related branch, they were never in the same line of inheritance as Teddy. The danger to Kathy was only in Singapore and probably parts of Malaysia. She would have been safe in the United Kingdom. However, my father felt responsible for her and chose to keep her here."

"Does that danger still exist here and would it extend to our boys?"

Che thought about that, finally saying, "We've kept very close watch on those we believed to be the ringleaders of the bombing and behind the threats and rumors. There is only one of Hart's acquaintances still alive now. He lives in a nursing facility specializing in caring for Alzheimer's patients and is without family or friends to carry out any kind of vendetta. The boys were both born in the U.S. and unless you know differently, have never been here."

Tim tilted his head, "They were there two weeks ago, with my wife and me."

"And there was no trouble?"

"None."

"That's good, no trouble! Will you return at any time?"

"I may; however, I'll be by myself and it won't be any time soon."

After they disconnected, Tim sent a quick email to his own family attorney, asking for the name and contact information of the Singaporean official who'd approved going ahead with the boys' adoptions.

When he and his dad sat down again, they ran through the information they now had. At some point, they would contact the former nanny, Anna Goh. She might want to meet the boys over Skype. They decided they would think about the boys' inheritance later, there were many years before either of them turned 25. Tim would tell Artie and Sarah, in her role as Patrick's legal guardian.

Although neither were convinced it would be safe for the boys to visit Singapore or the surrounding region again, that wasn't likely to happen anyway. They weren't comfortable with the bombing of the house that was apparently never solved. Tim frowned, "Ng never mentioned it and since I didn't know, never saw any kind of reference to the house being bombed, I didn't ask."

Dad nodded at him with a half-smile, "Probably not a cold case. The bomber or bombers were never publicly identified."

"No trial?" Tim looked at his dad as they contemplated that before shrugging. They'd probably never know and a couple of other things to think about.

One was whether IPF and/or Hatman had had anything to do with the deaths aboard the yacht. They had resources and responsibilities in many countries and if something they were doing or had done was discovered by one of the deceased, it would have been easy enough for their operatives to plant a bomb aboard the yacht. In that case, the lightning would have been 'serendipity' for them, a force of nature nicely destroying any evidence. The two men spent some time discussing that. Hatman hadn't become head of the agency until 1987, four years after the yacht explosion. However, he'd risen through the ranks, had been an operative since the early 70's. Tim thought about the timing, "If he was high enough in the hierarchy to be named the new head four years after the bombs, it could have been him. What if his vendetta against Patrick was really against Kathy and the boys? Take out the strongest first, then close in the perceived weaker ones."

Gibbs looked at him, "Let's say it was Hatman. What would we have to do to find proof and what would that gain us?"

Tim nodded, "I'm with you, Dad. I don't want to disturb that hornet's nest again, even if IPF isn't under Hatman any longer. Kathy's dead, her sons are safe, although I'm not feeling that as strongly as I was before."

"Agree."

"We'll make sure all the children learn how to protect themselves." He shook his head, "I hope we're wrong."

His father huffed, "We're both cops, automatically suspicious of things like this and overprotective of our loved ones."

Tim nodded, "I know." He tilted his head in thought, "Do you suppose Jimmy could find more from the remains now than their coroner all those years ago?"

"Probably. How would you go about it?"

Tim shook his head, "Leon and then we have a case and we're back to endangering our family."

"Still, what would be the point now? Whatever the estate is, it won't be inherited for another 15 years. Hart's dead."

Tim swallowed, "What…what if it wasn't Hart? Cabot was one of the last Navy officers stationed in Singapore before the Crown Colony was dissolved in 1963. When Singapore declared themselves an independent nation in 1965, he resigned his commission and went into business in the new country. What if the "thing" that got them all killed wasn't Hart but something that happened to Cabot or because of Cabot?"

"And whoever did the deeds had an easy cover with Hart's misdeeds. Bomb the house, keep the rumors circulating. That makes sense, but son…"

"I know, not our case and even more convoluted than Hart. Plus political backlash because Robert Cabot is still highly respected in Singapore and the region. But think about this: Hart never earned a penny, Cabot did. However the will is laid out, whatever Beth salted away, it all came from Cabot."

"So if there was a business, a cartel or mob involved, it could be a long term goal, to get that money back. And if they're strong enough financially, they might be willing to wait." Gibbs sighed, "We'll stand vigilant, Timothy. How's your gut feeling?"

"It's not twitching at all."

"Mine isn't either. It could be Cabot but I'm willing to stick with Hart and no IPF. Or no further IPF involvement if there was any."

Tim had to think about that but finally agreed.

The next topic for discussion was what to do, if anything, about the boys' connection to the British Royal Family. While Tim wasn't thrilled with the idea of the boys' lives, the family's lives, being put under the microscope, he thought it was cruel that the Queen had been left to mourn family when there had been a surviving member. His father counseled him to think hard about that, knowing why he felt that way. The reasons given for the Navy's lack of notice to Patrick or Tim and Sarah that the other was alive were logical but then emotions are rarely assuaged by logic.

In the end, Tim decided to 'sleep on it' and then discuss the issue with his wife. Later he reflected that, although it had been the last question, it was the most difficult to answer.


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sporadic posting! I'm still working on the story; however, I don't have as much time to write as I used to. I hope to continue posting one chapter a week but that might not always happen.

Chapter 68

February gave way to March as the snow continued to fall, although the temperatures rose a few degrees.

With only weeks to go before the wedding, preparations began to kick into high gear. Ellie and Rob hired Jenna, jokingly referred to as 'the family wedding planner', and she scheduled a visit to the Manor. She'd been surprised when Rob told her how many people had been living there and relieved to find that the census was now almost down to the residents there last spring for the Powells' wedding. When she thought about the crisis in the U.S., she realized some of the new residents might have been fleeing from that. When she asked Rob, he nodded, "That's why Ellie is working here now. The head of the agency she works for transferred those in danger to safety. With only two exceptions, our entire extended family is here now, close to fifty of us. And the two who aren't here live and work in a safe area in the U.S."

"Fifty? Oh my goodness, they can't all be living at the Manor?"

Rob chuckled as he shook his head, "Not now, but it was very crowded for a few days last summer. Almost everyone ended up living in Brambury. One of our brothers and his wife were posted to Marseille; they brought her father with them, but they were only here for a few days. Another family member and his wife have 3 kids, they persuaded the owner of a local Airbnb house to rent the house to them full-time, so they were also at the Manor for a few days. We have 3 brothers who had their own businesses at home and they've started over here; all but one of them moved into their own places last month. My dad's godfather and his former father-in-law live at the Manor now, although a few of the older gentlemen decided it was too cold here and are in Greece until the wedding, then they'll return."

Ellie chuckled at the look on the woman's face, "It's all right, although there are more people, we know they're safe and that's the important thing. And it won't change the setup for the wedding, the common areas haven't changed. Unless you count the playroom, the former playroom, as a common area."

When Jenna looked puzzled, Ellie explained, "The older gentlemen live in there. Jethro made partitions so that each has a somewhat private sleeping area, there's a cozy lounge area and a door into the hallway bathroom."

"Ah, that is different; we'll have to make sure that door remains locked. Don't want guests to get confused and wander into the older gentlemen's room!"

She smiled when she saw the shopping list and the cooking rosters in the kitchen, grinning when she saw the weekly list of chores. She nodded when she turned to the engaged couple, "I can see that several things have changed. I'd hazard a guess that the children are also growing older and participate in the cooking and cleaning?" She chuckled at the nod from Rob, continuing her thoughts, "That's got absolutely nothing to do with your wedding, just an observation on my part. My first visit here was shortly after Tim and Artemis became engaged."

Rob grinned, "Yeah, a lot of things have changed since then!"

With more guests anticipated than on the other occasions Jenna had handled, she had to rethink at least two issues: seating for the wedding and feeding the guests. By turning the entire wedding away from the fireplace, in the opposite direction previously used, they could add a few more rows of chairs. The officiant would stand to the side of the staircase, rather than in front of the fireplace, giving them more room at the back of the room where there were no curves, corners or a wide staircase taking up vital chair space. Measuring, she found there would be room for an aisle in the middle for the bride's party to walk down. It would be a narrow aisle, but an aisle nonetheless.

The groom's party would enter from the hallway and that was fine. The only downside that Janna could see was the possibility that someone would need to use the hall bathroom during the ceremony, which would mean nearly walking through the wedding party to get to the hallway. Ellie said she would ask Sarah and James if they could use their suite's guest bathroom, that would be in back of the guests rather than the front.

Then came the toughest part, finding a way to seat and feed the guests. Rob wanted a hot meal to be served, that is, until he saw the numbers. They'd managed to serve 68 people in the dining room on Thanksgiving but that had been a squeeze and the food had been self-serve from the kitchen.

Between the Bishops, the Gibbses, the Greek family and the invited guests, they expected 106 people, with another few people in the U.S. and Ellie's brother Robert and family, who lived on a ranch in Argentina, attending via Skype sessions. Jenna also had to figure out where to place the laptop so that people could see and hear the ceremony. When she said that, Ellie shook her head, "Don't worry about that, please. James and Tim have it all figured out. They'll hook a laptop up to the TV over the mantel there," she pointed to the back of the room, "so our remote guests will have a bird's-eye view of us."

"Lovely and then we won't have electronic equipment cluttering up the front."

"Exactly. My nephew will record the whole thing."

"Good, I can put a check mark next to that on my list of questions! Now, let's take a look at the wedding party and how you want everyone placed during the ceremony."

"At the previous family weddings, we've stood in a sort of a horseshoe or upside down 'U' shape, with the officiant in the middle of the curve."

"Hmm, let's look at that." Jenna looked at her list. Rob wanted his brothers and his brother-in-law to stand with him, 7 brothers plus James. That was a surprise for the wedding planner, she remembered a family of 3 brothers and one sister and that was less than a year ago.

Ellie would also have 8 attendants, her maid of honor and 7 bridesmaids. That was just the adults. In addition, the couple's nieces and nephews were also part of the wedding party, all ten of them! While the little girls, Hope and Rissa, would be flower girls, their brother Kyle and Ellie's nephew Matt would be ringbearers. The Bishop nieces Chesney and Kenna, who were roughly Greg and Andy's ages, would be junior bridesmaids while the remaining nephews, Ellie's Nick and Ethan and Rob's Andy and Greg, would be junior groomsmen.

That took some time to organize but by the time Jenna was through, her bride and groom were satisfied, happy and excited about their big day. Throughout the day, Jenna had heard bits and pieces about the problems in the States and she looked around the Manor, glad these people were here and would stay for the duration of what she'd been surprised to hear called a war. She made a mental note to contact Sheila, her counterpart in DC for two of the family's weddings.

When Rob and Ellie told his parents about the large wedding party, Jethro had nodded, "That's great, Rob, Ellie. How about you let your mom and I pay for the wedding attire?"

"I was just going to have them wear suits. You and Tim can wear your tuxes, Geo his dress blues."

Lu smiled at Ellie, who nodded. The maid of honor and bridesmaids' dresses were already in the process of being made and Lu and Jethro had paid for all of them. Rob hadn't asked so Ellie hadn't said, the plan was to wait until he brought up the subject of his groomsmen's attire.

"That's fine, sweetheart, but you know, with your brothers' businesses getting started, their expenses in moving and buying the truck, van and new equipment, how about you let us pay for their fancy duds? What did you have in mind?"

"Dark suits, white shirts, ties to match a color in Ellie's bouquet, or the bridesmaids' dresses."

"Great idea, Robson, they can wear those again." That was Jethro and Rob beamed at his nickname. Each of Dad's sons, and James, had one and of course there were affectionate nicknames for Sarah, Abby, Artie, Maggie, Ellie and Bec as well.

Rob nodded, "Okay, that will be easier for them, thank you!" He kissed both of them. Jethro nodded, he and Jerry Bishop, Ellie's dad, had already decided that, if Rob and Ellie agreed, they'd pay for the children's suits and dresses.

Lu looked at her daughter-in-law, "What colors have you selected?"

"My bouquet will be a combination of sweet peas, peonies, light purple, not lavender, tulips, stock, all spring flowers but nothing too pastel or too dark. My maid of honor will have a smaller version of my bouquet while my attendants will each carry tulips with greenery. Hope and Rissa will each have a little basket of flowers to carry."

"Sounds wonderful! And Robbie, it should be easy to match colors for the ties and boutonnieres. Remember that Tim and your dad's tuxes are light gray. Ellie, I remember you wanted Maggie to be one of your attendants."

Ellie nodded, "Yes, she'll sit with you and read a prayer. I hoped she could be an attendant, since they didn't have much of a wedding."

Gibbs grinned, "That's nice of you, Ells, but you know Tony. I don't know if he would have made it as far as a wedding with more than a witness or two!"

She chuckled, "You're right."

After they left, Jethro frowned, "I know we didn't have much time to plan our wedding, Tim and Artie didn't either, but isn't this really late to be deciding on basics?"

"It is, but they're doing fine. If Rob wanted anything other than dark suits for our boys, that might have been a problem."

"Tony has more than one dark suit."

Lu nodded, "I know the others can buy off the rack and have them altered, but I want each of them to have a tailored suit."

Jethro chuckled, "And you'll pick their ties."

"Ellie and I will pick their ties."

"You didn't ask what all her attendants are wearing."

She grinned at him, "Because I already know! Ellie's colors reflect the colors each of her attendants look good in. Jenna, the maid of honor, will wear a light purple, not lavender, Artie will wear a more vivid color, Sarah something a little less vivid and so on. Ellie has a photo of her bouquet, she numbered each bloom and then made a chart with the girls' names and what number bloom color they'd be wearing. We bought all the fabric and there are seamstresses here, in France and at home who are making the dresses. Liz, Penny, Maisie and Claire also have outfits that fit with those colors."

Jethro smiled, "I'm glad Maggie and the relatives will look like part of the wedding party! Jim and Dave will wear their dress uniforms, that always looks sharp. Hon, what about you and Barbara?"

"My outfit is already in the closet and I imagine that's where Barbara's is, too." She chuckled, "We found similar dresses with cascades, in different colors, that we liked and ordered them online. Carol Morris gave me the name of a woman in London who's done alterations for her and I took my outfit to her. She shortened the sleeves, took the waist and neckline in a bit, brought the hemline up and voilà, it's done. Maisie offered to do it but she and Claire already have their own dresses, Penny's and Liz's to handle. Oh and I've already bought shoes. Jerry's also wearing a tux, I sent them a photo of yours so they'll look similar."

"You're so organized; did you teach Tim organizational skills when he was at the shelter?"

She laughed, "No, but I might have learned a little from him!"

"Huh. What's a 'cascade'?"

"Another name for a light jacket that completes an outfit. It goes over the dress and matches or complements the color. However, there are no buttons or fasteners, it's open in the front. It has long sleeves; the ones I've seen have wide, almost kimono-style sleeves."

"Sounds pretty! Are you going to model it for me?"

"No, not until the wedding, Jethro. I don't want to model it for you while I'm wearing the boot!"

"It's not full length?"

"No, that's for Ellie and the girls. Our dresses are 'tea' length. Longer than street length, but not to the floor."

He shook his head, "Fashion! I like looking at the result but it's too complicated for me!"

She chuckled, "It is hard to keep up sometimes!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

One evening after dinner, Artie and Tim were online, looking at lodgings and airline prices for their trip to Greece, which they'd admittedly procrastinated over, when Tim's cell chimed with a call from Tony. Artie twisted her lips, she'd warned Tim that Maggie's doctor might change his mind about the first-time, older mother, carrying twins, flying about the continent.

When Tim answered, Tony said, "We're okay, but we do have new restrictions."

Tim made a noise, saying, "Artie warned me this might happen. What's the scoop?"

"The doctor still feels it's all right for a flight, but told us we need to choose between Greece or London, we can't do both. We chose the wedding."

"Good! Does Rob know?"

Tony chuckled, "Yes, he said he actually feels better! Said he was beginning to wonder what kind of doctor would allow Maggie to make multiple flights! Since we already have our days scheduled off, we'll take an extra day or two here at home and then fly to London earlier than planned. That will give Maggie more time to rest from the flight and us more time with the family. Richard will fly in the same day we do. So we'll see you in Brambury when you get back and thanks for the downstairs room, that will really help. Are we in Mom and Dad's extra room or Sarah and James'?"

"Mom and Dad's, is that all right?"

"Sure! Do you have your reservations for Varkiza?"

"No, we've been procrastinating, we were just poking around, looking at airfares and lodgings. Our usual Airbnb isn't available. Maybe this is a sign."

"Of what?"

"That we should do something else this year."

"Uh, haven't you already told the kids?"

"Yeah, there is that."

The two talked a bit longer before disconnecting. Artie walked back into their room, "Yaya called. Uncle Nicolas can't make both trips - to Greece and here for the wedding. The chef he had lined up for the restaurant while he is away is only available for a few days, so they too are cancelling their trip to Greece in favor of the wedding. However, they'll be able to come here a couple of days earlier than planned."

Tim nodded, looking at his wife, "So, if we don't go to Greece, will Yaya and Sophia come here sooner than planned?"

Artie smiled, "Yes."

"All right, that means we won't have to travel, yay! I was looking forward to Greece and I know the kids will be disappointed. However, we'll have extra time here with the DiNozzos, the Costas, Yaya and Sophia so that should make up for everything but the beach. We don't usually swim in the ocean this early, but we do walk on the beach. How about taking a day trip to Brighton or another beach, have some fun without expectations of playing in the water? And we can swim at the fitness center."

Artie smiled, "I agree, with one condition."

"What's that?"

"That you take a full vacation, as planned. I don't want to lose you to your work because we're not traveling."

"I promise! But, sweetie, are you sure you don't want to go to Greece?"

"Yes, love. It won't be as much fun without Tony, Maggie and the Costas. And honestly, Timotheus, right now I don't think I could stand to sit on an airplane!"

He chuckled, agreeing with her. "Ok, then a day trip or two?"

"Yes and let's involve the children in the planning."

"Excellent idea. How about we say no trips off the island? No 'day trips' to Disneyland. And babe, if we're not going to Greece, we need to let LJ and Mr. Fornell know. Tony said Richard is flying in when they do, maybe the three older guys can fly home together. Plus Dad and Mom, Sarah, James and Abby."

She nodded, "I like the 'no trips off the island'. While you contact the older men, I'll contact Yaya, then we'll tell your parents and the others."

When they told Jethro and Lu, the couple admitted to being relieved. "Now we'll be here when the Bishops arrive."

After that, they decided to send an email rather than call everyone individually.

Susannah called after she read the email. "We're going with you in October, now we won't have to borrow vacation days and we'll celebrate our first wedding anniversary at home! Are you going somewhere else?"

"Yes but probably only a day trip or two. We want to have some family time together."

"Let us know. If it's somewhere close that we could come for the weekend, we'll do our best. Or you could take the train up here for a couple of days. Bring Yaya and Mama, I bet Mama's never ridden a train!"

After talking with her sister, Artie went in search of her husband. He was at the kitchen table with his laptop, having sent another email, this one to the adults in the family, saying that due to a change in plans, the DiNozzos, Costas, Sophia and Mimi would arrive earlier than planned for the wedding.

The two of them went upstairs to the library, where the boys were finishing their homework. The girls were in their room, playing and followed their parents and siblings into the master bedroom for a family meeting. The kids were disappointed about not going to Greece but cheered up when told that Mimi, Yaya, the Italian uncles, cousins and Uncle Tony and Aunt Maggie would come for a visit before the wedding.

When they mentioned day trips, the kids got excited, even when the 'no trips off the island' was explained. Andy raised his hand with a question, "Can we take a trip with one overnight – here in the UK?"

"Did you have a specific place in mind?"

Andy looked at his siblings, who nodded with grins. Smiling at their parents, he said, "Yes. We made a list of places we want to visit and there's a castle in Northumberland we'd like to visit. It stood for Hogwarts in some of the Harry Potter movies and it's also on the North Sea, so the town has beaches. It's our top place to visit here."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun! Do you all want to go?"

They knew the boys did but watched for Rissa and Hope's reactions. The girls nodded enthusiastically, Rissa saying, "We can build sand castles!"

Hope giggled, "And watch the waves knock them down!"

Greg left the room, returning with a four page list of places they'd all agreed they wanted to see. Tim was happy to see many places in the U.S. listed, Yosemite, Disneyland, the Pacific Ocean, Epcot Center, the Grand Canyon, Cape Canaveral, Mt. Rushmore, the Corn Palace, the Laura Ingalls Wilder house, the U.P. (that had a question mark), New Orleans, Portland, Oregon and Portland Maine, New York City, 'Cowboy country', Texas, New Mexico, Chicago, Alaska, Vermont, which had a note that said 'Grandpa's camp!', Glacier Park and Yellowstone, as well as Canada, including Quebec, Calgary (a note next to it said 'Stampede?'), Ottawa, Victoria and Vancouver, along with the countries of Chile and Turkey, the city of Bangkok and places none of them had yet seen in Europe along with Africa, including Marrakesh, Johannesburg and the word 'Safari'. Also included were South America and Asia, which included Australia and New Zealand.

The first page had places they wanted to see in the UK and at the top was Alnwick Castle with a note that said 'Hogwarts!'. Tim grabbed his tablet and Googled the castle as Artie watched over his shoulder. The kids giggled as their parents oohed and ahhed over what they saw online. Looking up, they looked at each other, nodded and then grinned at their kids. "Yes, this is definitely an overnight trip, looks like a three-night trip to us. We'll need time to see the town of Alnwick, too. Let's leave Thursday after school. We'll have all day Friday for the castle, all day Saturday for the town and whatever else there is to see. then most of the day on the beach for Sunday before we take the train home."

"Yes!" Andy and Greg exchanged high fives while Kyle, Rissa and Hope jumped up and down in excitement. Tim bookmarked the site, they'd save time and money buying their castle tickets online. They'd figure out more trip details later.

After the kids calmed down, their mother asked them to please share next time they had a list like this. Andy nodded, "We will, Mama, Papa. Rissa, Hope and I started this while you were away and then Greg and Kyle added more to it."

He added, "We were going to give it to you when we were in Varkiza, we always have more time to talk there. We put down everything we could think of, we haven't organized it yet."

"That's wonderful, thank you!"

Tim smiled at his kids, proud of their imagination and creativity in making the list and sharing it with them. They grinned happily when he said so. Then he and Artie looked at each other and back at the kids.

"You're right, Andy, between school and work, sometimes we don't have enough time to really sit down and talk together. How about now? Each of you say whatever you want and then afterward, your mama and I will talk." The kids nodded and then looked at each other. Each of them said they didn't have anything they wanted to talk about right now. Kyle elaborated, "I don't now but can we do this again?"

"Of course! How about we talk about that in a minute?" Artie and Tim smiled at their children, Tim saying, "We're proud of each and every one of you, you're wonderful people and we love you very much. The other thing is, if you need to talk or need something and it feels like we haven't noticed, please let us know! We're also very proud of the way all 5 of you handled the separation while we were away. Greg and Kyle, Hope, Rissa and Andy, good job. We realized it was tough to be split up like that, we didn't like it either and we probably won't do it again. We did feel it was important for Kyle and Greg to see where their mama Kathy was born and grew up and we learned a lot about her life. We also found some mysteries that your grandfather and I are investigating. So far, it's just gathering information and nothing looks awful. Sad but not scary or criminal. Hon?"

With a smile, Artie added her own words of love and pride in them and then Tim suggested they have a family talk once a week. "How about Sunday or Friday nights?"

Rissa asked why those 2 nights and her father replied, "Well, Sunday night is the last part of the weekend and right before our busy weeks start. And Friday night is the last part of our busy weeks and the start of our weekend."

They voted and Sunday night won. Greg voiced another concern, "Papa, will you have time?"

"Yes, I will. I'm working under my new schedule so most of the time I'll have Saturdays off and I'll always have Sundays off." After a pause, he added, "Unless there's a big case at work and I'm needed to help on a Sunday."

"And Saturdays?"

"If I get all my work done during the week, then I have Saturdays off. I might be needed to do a little bit here or there on some Saturdays, but not all day. When we have weekend plans, then I won't work at all."

"That's like a day off?"

"Yes."

Rissa twisted her face, "How come you don't have the weekends off like you used to?"

"Because I have more than one job now, sweetie."

"Oh. How come? Do we need money?"

Tim smiled, pulling her onto his lap. "No, honey, we have enough money. I'm helping to fix a big problem."

"You like doing that!"

"I do, MissyRissy."

"Will you always have more than one job?"

"No. When I'm done with the other one I'm doing now, I hope that will be the end of second jobs."

"Me too!" That came from Hope, who'd joined her sister on their daddy's lap. After a family hug, Andy had a question, "Do you have any idea when we're moving to the States?"

"I think it will be at least another year, probably two."

"Oh. I've heard you talking about places along the Canadian border as being safe, is that right?"

"Yes, let's get the big map out so we can all see."

Greg ran to get his map of the United States. It was glued onto a lightweight board so he could see the whole thing at once. Tim took it from him as he crawled back up onto the bed with his parents and siblings. Pulling a chair over, they propped the board on it and then Tim pointed to the border states. "This is Canada to the north, see how it stretches all the way across the top of the United States?"

They nodded and Tim pointed to the west, "This area is mostly safe from the terrorists." Moving his finger, he showed them other places in the U.S. that were safe. "There haven't been any attacks here."

Greg slid off the bed to get closer to the map, "Where's Vermont? Oh, I see it!" He turned to his siblings, "Here it is! It's the next state up from Massachusetts, where Kyle and I lived with Papa!" He showed his siblings who nodded and Kyle gave a little bounce, "That's right next to Canada!"

"Yes, it is."

"And that's where Grandpa wants to build a camp?"

"Yes, maybe. There will be cabins or houses for us, with fun things to do."

Kyle frowned, "The ocean is way over here." He pointed to the right of the state of Maine.

Andy nudged him, "Yes, but look, Kyle, see the blue bits here, in Vermont? Those are lakes!"

"Oh, that's good, we can swim there!"

His father added, "We might get one of those inflatable pools that we can swim in during the summer and then put it away for the winter. We can't ice skate on those!"

Andy had a thoughtful look on his face but whatever he was thinking about, he shook his head when his mother silently gave him a look, asking if he wanted to share.

Later that evening, after his siblings, even Greg, were in bed, Andy appeared in the family room where his parents and grandparents were watching a TV show. Artie smiled at him, guessing that he might be ready to talk now.

After the show was over, Artie asked him if he had a question or something to talk about and he nodded. "Yes, Mama and I didn't want to get the others excited in case my suggestion can't happen." He took a breath and then looked at his grandfather. "Grandpa, that camp you want so we can all vacation together, the one in Vermont?"

His grandfather nodded, "Or in New Hampshire or Maine, Andy."

"I forgot about the other states. Anyway, Papa showed us the safe places on Greg's big map. Could we go to Vermont or one of the other states on vacation before it's safe for us to move to Arlington? I know it's a long trip, but it would be a good way for us kids to get used to America, I mean the United States, and it might help Papa and well, everyone else, not feel so homesick. And we could stay for two weeks, like we used to do at Christmas."

There was silence when he finished talking and he looked around before squealing like his baby sister as his father grabbed him, picked him up, hugging and kissing him before setting him back down. "Andy, that's a wonderful idea!"

Andy was still in shock that his father had picked him up, he hadn't done that in a long time! Andy had assumed he was too big to be picked up now. He was given plenty of hugs and kisses, cuddles when he needed them but this…wow! He grinned at his father, "I didn't know you could still do that!"

Tim laughed, ruffling his son's hair, "I didn't either! Seriously, Jammer, that's a brilliant idea!" He looked at his father, who was beaming at them, saying, "It really is, kiddo. It might take us awhile to pull everything together."

"Okay. Papa says we'll be here for another year or more."

His grandfather nodded, "Yeah, I'd figure at least into 2020, might be longer than that. You're right, we don't need to wait. We can go there, be safe and show you parts of the country." He thought for a moment, "Maybe your grandmother and I will take a trip over first, see if we can find just what we want."

Tim nodded, "Line up some places to look at before you go."

"Yes. We'll need to decide what we want before all that. Houses, cabins, garages, what kind of place do we want?"

Andy grinned, "Close to a lake so we can swim and fish, please."

They chuckled at that and Grandpa nodded, "Of course. And trees, lots of trees."

Andy frowned, "But isn't that dangerous, aren't there horrible fires when there are a lot of trees?"

"Yes, in the West. Well, mostly in the West. You're right, we'll be careful with our surroundings."

Artie was sketching and finally showed them her idea. "The spacing is off but I thought one main house, two stories, with a huge dining room and kitchen, so we can gather for holidays, maybe Thanksgiving?"

Jethro nodded, "Depends on the weather, but yes, good idea."

"And then cabins, big and small. Would we want space for extended family, the Palmers, for instance?"

"Yes. Ducky, Jimmy, Breena and the kids."

"So maybe a few guest cabins. Or…we'll need lots of cabins!"

"Some people will want to stay in the big house. The DiNozzos, I imagine and the older folks."

Tim blinked, "Dad, were you thinking to include Penny, the Cranes and Hubbards?"

"I hadn't thought about them, Timson, to tell the truth. I'd like to have space for our kids and grandkids first. That's…30 but Artie's right, I can't see doing this without Ducky and the Palmers, so add another 6. And LJ and Mac, which includes Maisie. Yep, you're right, that's going to bring us close to 50, might as well round up. Thirteen kids, counting the Palmers, Hubbards and our new babies, round that up to 15. That's a lot of bunkbeds to build!" He snorted, "You know Fornell will want in, so that's another 2 adults, maybe 4 if Em and Pauley want to visit. We're looking at a village here!"

Lu had been thinking about that, "I know none of our kids will want to but might some of the others want to camp, in tents? Or bring in a camper or RV?"

Artie was thinking and finally she offered, "What about tiny houses? For couples with small or no children, they'd be perfect!" She looked at her father-in-law, "They take up less square footage than a cabin and they can be made to blend in with the rest of the buildings. If we keep them on wheels, we might be able to rent them out when they're not in use. Say for the ski season."

Tim looked at his son. "Andy, yes on the vacation from here. Not this year, though. Next year, then we can plan it out. And your grandparents can figure out how many acres we need and, cross our fingers, find a property that has a few buildings on it so we don't have to start from scratch. But we don't need to wait till we own a camp before we vacation there."

"Ok, good!" As it was now close to his bedtime, he kissed them all goodnight before running upstairs. Waiting until they heard a door close upstairs, Tim smiled, saying quietly. "That's a great idea and…I am going to hurt so much tomorrow!"

"From picking him up?"

"Yes, but I don't want him to know. Besides, it was worth it for the look on his face!" Laughing, they agreed, suggesting various remedies.

Unable to let go of the camp idea, they started mapping out what they thought they'd need. Ultimately, they decided to keep adding to their ideas, which now included one big main house, a second house and possibly a third house, along with cabins and/or tiny houses. Or, they'd let people build their own on the property. They would eventually have a family meeting to discuss the purchase of a large wooded property in New England, preferably Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, where they could vacation together. When Dad said he couldn't imagine everyone wanting to be there at the same time, his wife and kids nearly collapsed in laughter.

Tim had a hot bath in the soaker tub, followed by a massage from his wife and woke up happy the next morning. If he had sore muscles from picking up his 5'7", 120 pound son, he never mentioned it.

The next evening after the kids were all tucked in, he and Artie sat down to plan their trip to Northumberland. They'd leave as soon as the boys were out of class on the Thursday before Easter, taking the train to Alnmouth station. On Friday, they'd visit the castle and Saturday the town of Alnmouth and Sunday they'd hit the beach. They'd leave Alnmouth station for home about 5:00 PM Sunday, getting into Brambury close to 9:00 PM. That was late for the littles but they could sleep on the train.

That way, they could take another trip during the week and still not miss any of their visitors.

After lining up their transportation, they started looking at lodging and once again found an Airbnb home that sounded perfect for them. It was close to the center of the medieval market town of Alnwick with enough beds and bathrooms for all of them as well as a full kitchen. The description of the home said that it was within walking distance of Alnwick Castle and the beach. That sounded great but Tim wanted to confirm that. He emailed the host, wondering about the ease of walking with their 2 and 4 year old daughters and asking if they could store their luggage on Friday, for the 5:00 PM train to London. She replied within an hour advising that with a stroller for the 2 year old, the castle and beach would still be in walking distance and that the 4 year old should be fine. She also said she'd give him the code to a garden shed where they could store their luggage.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim was visiting Patrick by himself a few days later when he realized he hadn't yet told Artie about the boys' connection to the British Royal Family. Sighing, he told his brother, "I have something potentially life changing that I need to discuss with my wife and I'm procrastinating like crazy. I don't want the change but I feel ethically and morally bound to carry it through. Ugh!"

He looked at Pat, "When are you going to wake up, little brother? Kyle will be 6 in two months, which means you've been comatose for nearly 5 ½ years. Other than being in a coma, your body is healthy. You have medical equipment to remove your bodily waste and a feeding tube but nothing else is needed. You're breathing on your own, the rest of your body, except your brain, has recovered from the car bomb, but you're still in a coma. I'm sorry, I sound like I'm complaining and I guess I am. I mourned you for so many years, only to find you were alive all that time, mourning Sarah and me, but we never got to know you as an adult. I have several brothers and I love them all dearly, but you're the one who eludes me, the one who haunts me. I keep thinking that if I'd only done this or that, we might have found you or you us.

"The boys are wonderful and I'm thankful I was there to take them in when they needed a home – and that Artemis and I are raising them. I don't want to give them up; however, they are your sons and they've been so good about talking to you, reading to you, every week. It's easier now that we can visit you in person again but it's also harder because we can't pretend we're just talking or reading to whichever volunteer was holding the phone or tablet. We love you, Twick, and I need you."

With a sigh, Tim changed the subject, telling him about the upcoming wedding. He read a chapter of one of his favorite books to his brother, a book he wouldn't read to Pat when the boys were there, it was too old for them. He kissed Twick before leaving.

That night after the boys were all asleep, Tim beckoned Artie down to the basement. Luckily, his dad hadn't brought any coffee in yet and there were only two heaters under the workbench. Tim pulled them out, turned them on and then found stools for the two of them.

"Tim, what is it?"

"Leon gave us, Dad and me, permission to look into the things we saw at the cemetery in Singapore. I spoke with a Singaporean police officer and his father, who was one of the officers handling the Hart case back in 1983. They gave me a lot more background, Kathy's father Teddy Hart was a real piece of work!" He told her what he'd learned from Detective Ng.

"Then when his father joined us on the call, he added a little bit more and gave me the name of the Cabots' estate lawyer, said he'd be able to tell me more than the Ngs could."

"That's interesting. They didn't say anything about Kathy's marker?"

"Junior Ng didn't know much and when I asked if the Harts had any other children, he couldn't find anything in the file. That's when he called his father and it distracted both of us from my question. Dad and I tried calling the attorney's son but it took us a few tries before we actually spoke with him. Artie, it was a mess and Kathy nearly ended up as alone as Sarah and I did. But the attorney's father…" he told her what the senior Che had done for Kathy, how he'd kept her safe, made sure she was raised by people she already loved and always had a home.

Then Tim told her about Jean Teck Cabot and her ties to Queen Elizabeth. Artie jumped off the stool and stood there staring at him. Finally she said, "Does she know, did they tell her Kathy was alive? No, they must not have or she would have been brought here and raised. She still doesn't know, after all these years? And now Kathy, the daughter of her godchild, is really dead, leaving behind Greg and Kyle. She doesn't know about them either. Oh, Tim, this is so sad, it's like you and Patrick." She was quiet for a minute before saying, "I thought Patrick changed his name to honor Kathy's family, supposedly an old distinguished family. From what you've said about her father Teddy, he doesn't sound like someone to be honored!"

He nodded, "I know, maybe the generation before Teddy, his parents, uncle or grandparents were the distinguished ones. For safety's sake, Kathy didn't use her real surname while she was growing up and I didn't think to ask the attorney about that."

He tilted his head, continuing, "I hate that Queen Elizabeth doesn't know Kathy survived and left two children, but think about what could happen if we tell her. If she wanted to meet them, acknowledge them as distant cousins, that could be disastrous for our whole family. The Royal Family lives in the limelight, we don't and I don't want to. And the kids and school, I can't imagine how much teasing they'd have to face."

Artie shook her head, "Me neither. How would we go about telling her without bringing the media down on us? And it would be forever, Tim, at least for Greg and Kyle, not until the next big news story."

"Yes."

"All right, let's think. There must be a way." She looked at her husband, "You're the writer, can't you think of anything?"

He huffed, "As a writer, I have control over what happens in my books. Or at least technically I do, sometimes things get away from me. In real life, I only have control over me, not other people. Except the kids – for now."

She nodded and paced, thinking. Finally, she sat again. "Do you know how to contact her, or someone official in the Palace?"

He shook his head, "No. I imagine I could find out, tell whoever I ask that it's for a future story."

"That's good. The only thing I can think to do is write a letter, a very factual letter, telling her what happened and letting her know about the boys. And somehow subtly begging her not to ruin our lives. Oh, that sounds horrible. It's a good thing you're the writer!" She paused, "Can we at least wait until after the baby is born? I'm just imagining Kadie and Harry getting dragged into this somehow."

Tim made a face, "I agree, let's wait, our baby's due in less than 3 months and isn't one of the royals getting married this spring? Don't want to distract anyone from that. I don't have a clue what would happen. If she wants to meet the boys, are they invited to the next family dinner or to afternoon tea or a simple meet and greet?" They looked at each other and shrugged.

Artie shrugged, "There might some sort of thing to officially recognize them as relatives, although they must be…how distant?"

"I think Queen Elizabeth is the boys' 2nd cousin, 3 times removed. Greg and Kyle would then be 5th cousins to Prince William's children." Tim shook his head, "They must be drowning in cousins! If the Queen and Prince Phillip hadn't been godparents to Kathy's mother, we could probably talk ourselves into not saying anything. But they were and from what the attorney told us, Beth came to the UK to stay with her cousins, not sure which ones, more than once. So they knew her, she wasn't a 'courtesy' godchild with an occasional photo, they knew her personally. They sent a gift for her wedding and when Kathy was born. I don't know what that might be or whether Kathy still had it. I forgot to mention that Kathy rented a storage unit in Maine when Pat was stationed there. The estate has been paying the rent on it since she lost the house."

"What's in it?"

"He said household items but also several things that his father, Kathy's guardian, removed from the Cabots and Harts' homes before they were sold and gave to Kathy when she turned 18. Maybe valuables like the gifts that were sent and probably photos, maybe letters. Whatever is there now belongs to Greg and Kyle."

"All right, we can talk about that later, although I am curious."

Now it was Tim's turn to pace. "So the main issue is how do we let the Queen know without turning our world upside down."

"Yes. Could we get in touch with a family member who's not, uh, in the line of succession, or at least not high up in it?"

"We'd need to know who and how and making inquiries could get clumsy."

She made a face, "In that case, I'd rather the information go straight to the Queen."

Tim frowned and then his face lit up. "Artie, we have a contact, one we both trust implicitly!"

"We do? Who?"

"Not here in the UK, at home. Mrs. Bess!"

"Oh! You think she could let the Queen know?"

"I thought she could counsel us as to how to get word to the Queen and how to say we hope the information will stay private or if that's not possible, how to handle things. But I like your idea better!"

Artie looked at the time, "It's evening there now, she might be home but we'll be interrupting her personal time."

Tim nodded, "That's true; however, I doubt we'd ever be able to talk with her any other time."

"All right, do you have your phone?" She rolled her eyes, what a silly question, as her husband pulled out his phone.

Mrs. Bess was indeed at home and thrilled to hear from them. She was by herself, Dr. Henry was at a lecture, and said she'd been trying to read a new book but couldn't seem to get past the second page. They told her of their discovery and their dilemma. She gave them an idea what to say, how to phrase it diplomatically and then told them specifically who to contact. As Kathy hadn't been an American citizen, Mrs. Bess said she couldn't handle it and that if she did, it would be more likely to hit the media faster. She suggested sending an email and after giving them a very private address, she decided that it would give them more credibility if they copied her on the email. When Tim asked if it would help if they briefly explained why they'd copied her, she agreed.

They also asked her opinion about waiting until after the birth of their child. The new baby was news to her and when they told her about their British gestational carrier, she wholeheartedly endorsed waiting until after the baby arrived.

After disconnecting, they decided they could start putting together a draft that they'd send after the baby was home from the hospital. Another decision was that they would not use either of their phones to work on the draft, it would be kept offline. Tim freely admitted he was probably being a bit paranoid about this but he felt it was too important to the boys' future not to be overly cautious. Of course, as they told each other, they had no idea how much the media would care about distant cousins.

They made a start that night before saving the draft and both slept very well.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The U.P. is the Upper Peninsula, a part of the state of Michigan that's very popular. There are lakes, two of the Great Lakes, at least one river, islands, and it's heavily forested with a lot of wildlife. Sounds interesting! I've never been but a friend from the state of Wisconsin (which borders the UP via the water border with one of the lakes) raves about it.
> 
> The Corn Palace is in the state of South Dakota and is built out of reinforced concrete, not corn. However, every spring, its exterior is completely covered with thousands of bushels of native South Dakota corn, grain and grasses that are arranged into large murals. The building itself (corn covered or not) has an eclectic mix of onion domes and minarets. Sounds like it would be fun to explore! There is a week of festivities around the building when it's covered in corn.
> 
> Laura Ingalls Wilder is a beloved author of children's books about her childhood, growing up on the prairies and just-being-settled parts of the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you're a fan of the old TV show, "Little House on the Prairie", then you know Ms. Wilder, it was originally based on her books.


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Chapter 69

Their travel plans set, the junior Gibbses resumed their routine, although they were interrupted by wedding matters with a growing frequency as March slid by. It snowed again one Saturday in the middle of the month, delighting the children. Thinking this might be the last snow of the winter, Lu nearly pushed her husband out the conservatory door to play with their kids, little and big.

She was joined indoors by Maisie, Penny and Liz and they had a lively afternoon catching up. After the children started school in September, they'd gotten into the habit of spending a few hours together every week. The holidays had interrupted that and this was the first time they'd gathered since before Christmas. Maisie made pots of tea and Liz brought cookies she'd made that morning, saying she had to share them or Dave would eat them all. While Dave and Jim still had several weeks before the Baton Rouge sailed from Antwerp, Liz explained that they were now in preparation mode, that is getting back into shape.

Lu thought about that, she was glad Jethro was retired from the Marines by the time she met him. She couldn't imagine saying goodbye to him for long stretches at a time. She asked the others how they coped.

Liz laughed, "The first thing I thought of when you asked was me telling my kids 'just wait until your father gets home' and having them laugh at me."

Penny chuckled, "I remember that with my boys, too."

Maisie smiled, "One time Claire was so exasperated with Ainsley and Callum that she told them she was going to start a list of their misdeeds to give their father when he got home. That kept them on the straight and narrow for weeks!"

They laughed at that and then Lu asked if Claire had gone ahead with the list. Maisie shook her head, "No, but the kids didn't know, they still don't!"

Penny huffed, "That might have scared my boys into behaving but there would have been an unhealthy amount of fear involved. Their father was very demanding of them, he always said he had to toughen them up for the Navy. We lived a different life when he was home, very formal, almost rigid. Once he deployed, we'd have some fun. But I was the disciplinarian."

Liz nodded, "Me, too. We had to be, Penny, and Claire too, with our husbands away so much of the time. We can't expect them to come home and hold court about problems that happened months before." She shook her head with a smile, "Dave would come home and it would be heaven for a couple of weeks, until he'd been around his children long enough to notice they weren't quite as perfect as he remembered. Then the kids would start paying attention. I remember once, after he'd grounded them for some transgression, they told me they liked me better."

"Did they say that to their father?"

"No, thank heavens, and I certainly wasn't going to tell him. He's told me and I'm sure your husband told you, Penny, and Jim's told Claire, how wonderful it is to come home and how difficult it is to pick up the life you left behind months ago, to find your place within your family again. It's easier now with cell phones and video chats, there is a stronger sense of connection and continuity, at least Dave and I have found that and he talks with our kids, too, no matter how old they are! Maisie, I know you, Claire and the kids speak with him, see him frequently on video chats."

Maisie nodded, smiling. "It is much easier. Neither Claire nor I worry as much, we both sleep better and the children have a much stronger connection with their father. He's part of their lives, not someone who shows up every once in a while."

Rob and Ellie came in then, and the women cried, "Shut the door!" Ellie laughed while Rob opened his mouth to apologize when he noticed his mother, grandmothers and godmother were also laughing.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Lu was right, that was the last snow of the season and the temperatures gradually started to warm up. Warming up meant greening up and by the first of April, the hillsides behind the back gate were a vivid green with masses of wild flowers popping their heads out, ready to bloom.

The junior McGees left for their weekend trip to Northumberland on a Thursday evening at the end of March. Although they'd originally planned to make this a family vacation, when first Sarah and then Abby asked to go along, they agreed. That increased the party from 7 people to 11 as Bec's cousin Charlotte joined Abby and of course James would be with his wife. Freddie and Jose were working that particular weekend and Abby and Charlotte decided to have some fun and see something new rather than hang out at home. Their only hesitation was missing Easter services but were invited to join the family in celebrating the Orthodox Easter the following weekend.

The train ride to Alnmouth Station in Northumberland was relaxing and fun. They reached their destination before the littles' regular bedtimes, which helped. They Ubered to their Airbnb lodgings; the Powells, Abby and Charlotte were staying in flats two doors down from the Gibbses.

Tim and Artie brought a cooler on wheels with them, full of groceries, as well as dinner for that night. They'd all had half of a sandwich and a juice or milk box on the train and would eat the rest of their meal once they'd checked into their Airbnb. They'd found that it was easier to eat at their lodgings, especially when they were on a weekend trip with limited time and no wheels of their own.

James and Sarah had an insulated bag with their dinner and something for breakfast. Abby and Charlotte hadn't thought about bringing food and called for a pizza delivery. Abby shook her head after she'd placed the order, telling Charlotte she'd lost her touch. "The first time I was over here, I went to Stockholm with the McGees and Gibbs. They were so organized, it blew me away! I knew Tim was organized but had no idea about Artie and they've raised the kids that way, too. Of course, Hope was tiny then, only 4 months old, so they had to be organized and it was easier and less expensive to eat in our rooms than to find a family friend restaurant for all of us! When I went home after that trip, I got super organized but I guess I'm slipping now."

Charlotte was laughing, "It's only a few days, Abby. We'll figure it out as we go. There's a microwave here, we can find a market and buy a few things. Or maybe go out on our own, we don't have five children to feed!"

Abby rolled her eyes at herself, "You're right, that'll be fun. How about a pub?"

The group arrived at Alnwick Castle before it opened Friday morning, making sure each person had his or her admission ticket. When the place opened, the Gibbses went straight to the "Broomstick Training" venue, reached through the Artisans Courtyard.

They were all in awe of the castle itself. It was huge, built following the Norman conquest of 1066. For the past 700 plus years, it had been owned by the Percy family, the current owner was the 12th Duke of Northumberland. It was the second largest inhabited castle in England, right after Windsor Castle. The adults thought it looked familiar, beyond its fame as the stand-in for Hogwarts Castle, and after seeing the list of movies and TV shows that had been filmed there, they understood why. There were a baker's dozen movies, including two of the Potter films as well as two Robin Hood movies and a few historical movies. As for TV, the shows ranged from " _Star Trek, the Next Generation"_ to "A _ntiques Roadshow"_ to " _Downton Abbey",_ to name a few.

The Broomstick Training was fun, with children Hope's age and up galloping across an area on their broomsticks, pretending to fly. The 'Master of Ceremonies' kept things going, instructing them in various techniques and sound effects, which kept them all laughing. Afterwards, the Gibbs kids had their photos taken 'flying' on the broomsticks.

Along with experiencing the 'Dragon Quest' with Harry Hotspur, real name Harry Percy, a real life historical figure as well as a Shakespearian character, the on-location film tour, the castle and the gardens, the group had a fun day. To top it off, they went out for pizza that evening, much to the children's delight.

On Saturday, the group agreed to meet for dinner but the Powells, Abby and Charlotte would be on their own during the day. The Gibbses took a 20 minute train ride to a town called Berwick Upon Tweed, a few miles south of the Scottish border. Not only was the train ride a surprise for the children, there was another surprise when the train rolled into the station. Kyle and Rissa spotted their surprise at the same time, both exclaiming, "Aunty Susannah and Uncle Ian! Look, they're right there!" The children cheered and waved madly. It was a grand reunion, the couple hadn't seen their Brambury family since Christmas.

Once they'd greeted each other, Ian pulled out brochures and maps to help them decide what to see. Berwick Castle, the ruins of an ancient Elizabethan castle, was a must see as well as the ramparts, walls to keep the Scots out back in medieval times. The kids' heads swiveled automatically to their parents when Uncle Ian said the walls could be walked on. Tim raised an eyebrow at his brother-in-law, knowing he would not have said anything if it wasn't safe. Ian smiled, "There are two parts where there's a drop, but the wall is plenty wide for the children. I marked those on our map so Hope can ride in the pack and possibly Rissa in the stroller. I've walked the walls before and have seen many children on them without any problems."

Tim nodded his thanks, looked at his wife who smiled her agreement, and then at the children. "Okay, we'll walk on the wall. There will be NO running! Hope will ride in the pack, Rissa will be queen for the day in the stroller at the parts your uncle marked and kids, you will WALK slowly and STOP if we tell you too. Understood?"

Hope was grinning, "I get to be big!"

Remembering Kyle and Rissa saying that when they were Hope's age, which seemed like 2 months ago in Tim's mind, he leaned down to kiss the top of Hope's head and then reached out, pulling Rissa and all three boys in for hugs.

Kyle must have remembered being small and wanting to be big because he whispered to his father, "We're not all the way big yet, Daddy, and you can still pretend to be small!" His father chuckled, remembering that conversation he and Kyle had had when his little guy was still little – and the baby of the family.

The new rules in place, the group set out. Finding an entrance to the ramparts, they carefully climbed up, Hope already in the pack on Daddy's back and Rissa holding Mama's hand. The views were wonderful, they could see across the river Tweed and noticed a bridge or two. There were plenty of signs to inform them what they were looking at and the historical significance. Greg, Andy and Kyle took turns reading those aloud to their family.

After that, they found the ruins of the castle and explored as much as they could. Walking along, they saw signs for boat tours and decided to investigate. The adults had a hard time keeping straight faces as they'd planned this as another surprise for the children. The tickets were already purchased and they'd planned their timing just right. If they were really lucky, they'd see dolphins, but they didn't tell the children.

The kids were thrilled when they saw the boat and were told the latest surprise, a one hour boat ride! Tim took his ginger root and snapped on his Sea Bands and they climbed aboard, Hope again riding in her pack on her father's back while Rissa was carried across the gangway by Uncle Ian. Once they were aboard, he put her down and she hugged his legs in thanks.

They saw dolphins! There was a pod following the boat although they hung back a little. The Captain solved that by creating a wake and then they squee'd, jumping into the air and splashing down, sounding like they were laughing. Later they heard barking and saw seals nearby. In between watching their water friends, the crew told them the history of what they were seeing.

Back on dry land, they headed back into Berwick for a late lunch. They spent the afternoon exploring the town and its environs, reluctantly saying goodbye to Susannah and Ian at the train station. Then they laughed at themselves as they'd see them next week for Easter!

The train ride back to Alnmouth was quick and easy and they spent another couple of hours looking around the town of Alnwick, buying a few souvenirs. Tim and Andy took their packs and bags back to their Airbnb, making sure everyone kept a jacket with them, after all this was the last day of March and they were on the coast of Northeast England. Meeting the others, they had a convivial dinner, catching up with everyone's adventures. Sarah and James rented a car and visited Warkworth and Dunstanburgh castles as well as nearby towns. Charlotte and Abby stayed in town, saying they'd had a fun day poking around Alnwick and that they had 'shopped till they dropped'.

Sunday proved to be sunny and warm, perfect for their beach outing. Artie had wondered about leaving their luggage in a 'garden shed' but when they opened it, they understood. It looked like a garden shed on the outside and it was in the garden; however, there were racks installed on the sides and back, clearly intended to store guests' belongings. They kept the stroller and the Daddy pack with them, thinking the girls might want a ride on their way back from the beach.

They had a wonderfully fun and relaxing day on the beach and in the water. They didn't swim, the North Sea on April 1st was a little too chilly for them; however, they played in the water along the shoreline, built sand castles with moats and generally had a good time. When Tim's watch buzzed, they knew it was time to dry off and head back to the garden shed. As their swimwear wasn't wet, they toweled off legs and feet, slipped their clothes on over their suits, put their shoes on and off they went to the shed.

After gathering their luggage, they piled into their Uber van and headed back to the train station. The train ride home was relaxing and fun. They had snacks and juice boxes and that was enough to get them home.

Overall, the family declared the weekend a big success. They'd had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and learned new things. Not only did they learn how to 'fly', they also took two train trips, spent a day with their aunt and uncle, had a boat ride, saw dolphins and seals, walked on a wall, saw cool castle ruins and to top it all off, none of the Gibbses had to go to school or work on Monday!

Instead, they went ice skating. After a few hours of fun on the ice, the children teaching each other new moves, they bade the ice rink a fond farewell as that Monday was its last day until next November. Then, changing into their swimsuits, they spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon swimming and playing in the pool. Hope sat on the steps with her parents and had her first lesson at holding her breath underwater, giggling at her silly daddy and mama as they showed her. Later, Kyle and Rissa helped show her how to 'scoop fishies', that is, move her hands and arms through the water.

They had the pool to themselves which meant they could do handstands, walk underwater and all the fun things kids, and young-at-heart adults, do in pools.

Back home, they had a very late lunch before Hope went down for her nap. It was Tim's week to do laundry; he got busy with that while Artie took Rissa and Kyle to the supermarket. Andy and Greg helped their dad fold and hang clothes, still talking about the weekend. As Mimi and Yaya Sophia were arriving on Thursday, the family had Tuesday and Wednesday for another day trip or planning something to do together.

When everyone was home, they had a family meeting to decide what they wanted to do and ultimately decided to stay home. With the weather warming up and no rain forecast, they could play in the garden and have their first post-snow walk out the back gate.

That also meant they would have time to get the house ready for their Easter company. Sophia and Mimi were staying through the wedding on the 14th and would be in the big bedroom upstairs. Susannah, Ian and his parents would drive down Friday afternoon. The senior Clachers, Ian's parents, would stay in Andy's room, Andy would bunk in with Greg, while the junior Clachers stayed in Sarah and James' guest room. The Clachers would return to Edinburgh late Sunday afternoon, taking the train down the following Friday for the wedding. In the meantime, Tony and Maggie would arrive Monday and stay in Dad and Mom's guest room.

With all the residents together, although LJ was still in Greece and Jose was at Freddie's place until they finished their current job, Artie and Lu went over the list of events and overnight guests for the next two weeks and what needed to happen. Artie's grocery shopping today had included food for the Easter weekend and Lu happily checked that off.

With overnight guests upstairs, the common areas, including the hallway bathroom and the bathroom at the other end of the hall, needed to be cleaned. The children's rooms, especially Andy's, needed to be cleaned. They would eat in the dining room while the Costas and Clachers were here which meant vacuuming the floor, dusting the table, benches, chairs and Lu's china cabinet as well as polishing everything but the benches.

It took them some time to go through everything, including the meals and who was cooking, but finally they were satisfied they'd handled everything, all the duties were assigned, the deadlines understood.

When they got up, Dad stretched and then looked at his family, "That takes care of this week! We'll have to do this again for the wedding!"

Lu shook her head, "No, we won't! Jenna has cleaners and a gardener coming the day before the wedding. The only additional people we'll have staying with us are Barb, Jerry and the two cousins, Trish and uh….Ali. The four of them want to stay in the attic suite, which is already clean."

Tim tilted his head, "I haven't been paying close attention, where are her brothers and their families staying?"

"And her uncle and aunt. The brothers are sharing an Airbnb here in town. And the uncle and aunt are staying in either the Hubbards' extra room or the Fornells' extra room. Both rooms are on the main floor, so no stairs; I'm told the couple is older."

Tim chuckled, "That's great! Extending the family even further."

Lu nodded and then shook her head, "Geo and Bec will stay over the night before the wedding."

"Where? Will Joe be home?"

"I don't know but I figured they could sleep in the library."

"Forgot about that, good!"

Artie frowned, "Lu, the Clachers aren't staying with us over the wedding weekend. They've made reservations at a B&B here in Brambury."

"None of the four?"

"Correct."

"Good!"

Dad frowned, "We're full up anyway, except for bachelors' quarters."

Lu nodded and Artie looked at her, "Malu, don't forget Uncle Nicolas will be in town; I'm hoping he'll want to cook for us!"

"Thank you, sweetie, I had forgotten about that."

When they were upstairs in their room later, Tim and Artie talked about the plans for the week before and the days after the wedding and thought about asking Jenna-the-wedding-planner for the name of a caterer. There was no way the resident cooks could keep up with all their guests and they didn't want Nicolas to feel he had to cook, that wasn't right!

Artie didn't feel they should have to pay to feed people who were already getting free rooms but then she realized she was talking about family, her mother, grandmother, Tony and Maggie. The only people new to them were the Bishops and the two cousins.

Tim had scheduled one and a half vacation days, the day before the wedding and possibly the Monday morning after the wedding. He'd have to be there in the afternoon, but now he wondered about swapping Monday for the Wednesday before the wedding. That way he'd have time with his brother and the Bishops, who were arriving the Sunday before the wedding.

Artie huffed, "Do you have enough days?"

"Yes and it won't take days we have scheduled for other things."

"The Bishops aren't your responsibility, you're not Rob's fath…oh."

He nodded. "Yep. I'm the Timpa. And I don't like dumping all this responsibility on Dad and Mom. Especially with her foot! She's finally out of the boot, I don't want her to strain or reinjure it."

Artie made a face, "Did we do that at our wedding?"

"No, we were the ones who traveled. Well, your mother and he-who-must-not-be-named, and the Porters, Biros-Santos and your friends. But for our friends, it wasn't a transatlantic flight and they knew us."

"So we didn't assume that your father would do everything for us? Entertain, feed and house our out-of-town guests?"

"No, we did not. I don't think it crossed any of our minds! You and I paid for everything our wedding planner did at Ducky's place and we didn't see any of our non-family guests until the wedding. Oh, the brunch. Yeah, Dad insisted on paying for that."

"But we did not expect him to. That's the difference."

Tim nodded, "I'll check with my folks and if neither Rob nor Ellie has said anything to them, I'll talk with Rob. I'm guessing neither one has thought about all the logistics."

Artie tilted her head, "Good, sweetie, thank you. I know we'll all pull together but I don't think it's our responsibility."

"Oh, the Powells, George and Edith! Where are they staying?"

She thought about it, "I'm not sure. In the library? Oh, but Geordie and Bec are in there." She sighed. "How did we do this last summer?"

"Not sure. Maybe we didn't have as many couples."

"Good point. Let's talk with Sarah and James, they might have already raised the subject with your brother."

They buzzed Sarah who said George and Edith were staying in their spare room and had already volunteered to help with the cooking and cleaning. They'd stay over the Sunday after the wedding, planning to take an early train to Manchester Monday morning and go straight into work. Artie smiled at that, thinking they could always count on George and Edith Powell, as well as their son. They'd been part of the family since the first time they all met.

They told her their concerns that Rob and Ellie weren't aware of the logistics of feeding and housing their guests and Sarah agreed. "James and I both said the same thing after our meeting. Mom's frazzled and that's not good."

They agreed and Tim looked at his wife, "I'm not going to wait, going to go ask them if Rob has said anything."

"I'll go with you."

Sarah said she'd meet them downstairs. They grinned as they came down the stairs, seeing James with her. Sarah called their mother's phone, "Are you still awake and decent? We have something we want to ask you and Dad."

She told them to come in and then smiled when she saw the four of them. "Uh oh, here comes trouble!"

Tim smiled, "Actually, we want to avoid trouble!"

They asked about Rob and Ellie and knew the answer when both parents shook their heads. Tim made a face, "I'll talk with him tomorrow. Even though it's only the four Bishops, we don't know if they've made plans to show Ellie's family around or have them all to dinner."

Lu sighed, "We should do that."

Sarah and Artie put their arms around her. "Then we'll handle it. We want you to enjoy the wedding, not dread it! They need to tell Ellie's family that we'll provide breakfast, cereal, coffee, tea, toast and fruit, but they're on their own the rest of the time. We're providing free rooms, we're not a hotel or a restaurant."

Lu's face started to lighten and she hugged her kids. "Thank you, this was really starting to overwhelm me."

"We're big people, we can handle things." Sarah paused before turning to her brother, "I'll talk with Rob, Tim. It'll be easier coming from me than from Dad or Timpa."

He hugged her, saying, "Thank you!"

James reached out and touched Lu's arm, "Malu, my folks will be here and they're planning to help cook and clean. They brought it up, Mum was worried."

That earned him a kiss from his mother-in-law and a hug and hair ruffle from his father-in-law. "Now that's family, thank you!"

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The family got busy cleaning on Tuesday and with a great deal of teamwork, managed to tick off every room on the list by the end of the day. Tim and James cooked dinner that night, serving comfort food for all, with an extra scoop of ice cream for Lu. One of the new 'rules' they'd made was that Lu was to be off her feet as much as possible. For every hour she worked, she was to rest for two hours. She could supervise the rest of them if she wanted or do anything she pleased.

After the kids were in bed, Sarah told the others she'd had a long talk with Rob, who'd been horrified that neither he nor Ellie had given a thought to doing anything with or for their out-of-town guests. He remembered a conversation in which they said that because her parents had been here before, they wouldn't need to be shown around but that was as far as it went.

Sarah told Tim later that she'd been tough on Rob, telling their brother that if he thought he was stressed, their mother was even worse, taking on everything he and Ellie had neglected. And that he and Ellie were responsible for Ellie's family, not the Gibbses. He admitted he'd just assumed they'd arrange a family dinner but hadn't thought about other meals or anything else before or after the wedding.

While updating Artie later, Tim wondered aloud what would have happened if everyone at the Manor had gone to Greece as planned. Artie rolled her eyes, "The wedding would have been fine but their guests would probably have been neglected. If that were me, flying across the Atlantic for a wedding and then being either ignored by the bridal couple or only seeing them through his family, ooh, I'd be upset." She paused, "There's more…I hope Sarah remembered to mention the people who are staying with the Hubbards or Fornells!"

"Oops, forgot to mention that! Yes, she did and it's the Hubbards they're staying with. She told Rob they shouldn't have to feed or cater to Ellie's family either! It was really nice of them to offer the room but it was not with an anticipation of them basically moving in with them! I feel bad about that anyway, with Uncle Jim and Uncle Dave leaving in less than a month." He looked at his wife, "Let's have them over to dinner before they leave. Or maybe go out."

"I like that idea!"

"And I am going to take that extra day off, to spend time with Tony. Once the babies arrive, it'll be harder than ever to see them." He shook his head, "I thought being on the same continent would be easier than this."

She smiled, "I know, honey, I feel the same way about Susannah and Ian. We all have our own lives and scheduling is difficult. That's part of the reason Greece has become such a big deal. It's our only time together with much of our family, when we don't have to worry about our daily lives."

Tim nodded, wrapping his arms around her. "When we move home, we will come back every summer, to see Yaya, your mama and the family. We'll spend time with Sarah and James, Susannah and Ian, George and Edith and Alastair and Fiona. And whoever is still over here."

"I hadn't thought of that! You're saying when we go, some of the others will still be here?"

"Most of them, if we're transferred before August of 2020. Bec will probably be transferred to the Navy Yard when we are and by that time, Geo should have completed his 20. He's got 14 months left. Rob wants to return as soon as possible, to help with the reconstruction. The thing is, the agency guidelines call for a commitment of 3 years for an overseas position. That'll be August of 2020 for the DiNozzos, Ellie, Bec, Jimmy, Abby, Nikki and all the folks Vance brought over. And that might apply to Vance, too, although the SecNav will probably have a say in that. August of 2020 is about 28 months from now, so who knows! And I don't know whether the guys will be ready, I think Freddie and Joe leased their business out for 5 years. And Barry, well, he started here so he's not subject to the 3 year rule. I think Bill will wait for Nikki and Freddie will want to wait for Abby. And Joe will stay until Freddie goes, unless of course he and Charlotte get serious and she leaves."

"Your parents will move home with us."

He nodded, "And I really hope Geordie and Bec, too. But we could be here that long, hon. Although the government says they're making progress, the attacks not only have to be stopped, the puppet masters behind the attackers need to be identified and arrested, along with the attackers themselves. There needs to be a clean sweep or that evil will just lay low, disappear."

"That's a Herculean job, Timothy!"

He nodded and then leaning over, kissed her deeply and that was the end of that discussion.

Wednesday, they all went swimming again and made sure Lu spent some quality time in the center's hot tub. She was starting to regain her usual calm. Ellie and Rob had called, apologizing profusely and promising to deal with their out-of-town guests.

Tim and Sarah had already talked with their siblings, parents, grandmothers, aunts and uncles, figuring out a time for a Gibbs-Bishop family dinner, emailing the Bishops to make sure they didn't have plans. When they had a date and time, Tim, James and Artie started planning the menu, happy in the knowledge that Tony would be on hand to cook with them. Adding the Bishops' 16 to their clan, including Mimi and Sophia, they would have 58 people for the family dinner. And that was excluding Nikki, who had to work the evening of the dinner. The Fornells and Vances had also been invited, both families declining with thanks.

Of the 58, one guest wouldn't need a place setting, little Jilly Palmer. There were 14 other children, although Andy, the Hubbard cousins and three of the Bishop grandchildren were teens.

They weren't worried about seating, they'd seated 68 at Thanksgiving, they could handle 57 place settings and one infant.

While they wanted a nice dinner, the important thing was for everyone to get to know each other, including the cooks, so the menu should be simple, nothing too elaborate. After playing with several ideas, including casseroles, grilling hot dogs and burgers, they decided on spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread and salad, specifically Bill's chopped salad. Or Sarah's chopped salad, if Bill didn't have time. Except for cooking the pasta, everything else could at least be prepped ahead of time. They also realized they could ask people to bring things like drinks, garlic bread, dessert, paper plates and cups. People like Rob's other siblings and godparents. They decided not to ask the Hubbards for anything since they were housing some of the Bishops.

Ellie would work Monday and Wednesday, so Tim took Wednesday off. He'd spend time with Tony and be home to make the pasta. They'd make the meatballs over the weekend. When Tony heard the plan, he was very happy.

That evening, they had a call from Rob who said Larry and Cyndi were coming for the wedding, they'd arrive Tuesday and were staying at the Fornell home. Artie promptly emailed the Porters, asking them to the family dinner Wednesday night. They accepted, saying they'd plan their jet lag naps around the dinner.

That brought the dinner party total up to 60, with 59 place settings! Dad started looking through his stock of wood to see if there was enough to make another bench or better yet, another table! However, with the benches, chairs and folding chairs, they would have enough.

Liz called, asking to help and volunteered to make the meatballs, which was the most labor-intensive item. Bill said he would have time to make one chopped salad but not the three he'd made for Thanksgiving. Sarah stepped up, telling him she'd make all three. That was a relief to her older brother, who with the passing of winter, was very busy with jobs on more than one construction site.

Abby, Freddie, Joe and Charlotte said they'd bring drinks, Barry would make a sheet cake for dessert and Ducky said he'd provide the bread for the garlic bread, wondering if there was any way he could find sourdough in the UK. Tim referred him to the American Grocery Store. Jokingly, he said that with a week's notice, they might be able to fly in several loaves of the real thing from San Francisco, although he shuddered to think of the cost! When there was dead silence, Tim said, "I'm teasing, Ducky! Italian or French is fine!"

Ducky chuckled, "It would be fun, though."

Breena said she could handle bringing freshly grated Parmesan and Romano cheese. When they told her how many people, she laughed, saying "It's Thanksgiving all over again! I'm glad we're not having turkey!"

Tim groaned, "Too much work, plus we'd have to borrow an oven for the second turkey we'd need! Besides that, it just seems like winter food. Spaghetti works year-round."

She agreed, still laughing. Penny offered to bring the paper plates, cups and plastic utensils. He thanked her, saying they were going to use 'real' utensils. He chuckled, "I'm pretty laid-back about most things, or try to be, but I hate using plastic to eat with. Too fragile, flimsy and Brambury doesn't recycle it."

"Oh, well then." They laughed, continuing to talk for a few minutes, generally catching up.

When Maisie and Claire called, Tim told them they were all set. "You're housing part of Ellie's family, you've done your duty!"

"Oh, but that's just a room!"

"And a bathroom, showers, etc."

"Well, yes. Are you feeding yours?"

"Just breakfast and we told Ellie's mom you'd be doing the same thing."

"Ooh, thank you!"

"Rob and Ellie will pay you for that."

"Timothy!"

"Grammie, it's not your responsibility! You've been kind to offer your extra room, that does not mean you need to feed them, too! If they were staying in a hotel, even an Airbnb, they'd expect to pay for their meals."

"Hotels frequently include breakfast. Bed and Breakfast establishments always do."

"Yes, which they include in the price, Grammie. It's only fair, they're getting a free room with breakfast!"

Claire laughed, "Thank you, Tim, I agree! What are you serving them?"

"Whatever we have for breakfast. Cereal, cold or hot, milk, toast with jam, fruit or juice, coffee or tea. If we have eggs or pancakes and they're around, they can have that too, but we're not cooking especially for them – or making their breakfasts!" Tim laughed, "We have Ellie's parents and her cousins, I doubt there will be any problems!"

"Where are her brothers staying?"

"An Airbnb here in town."

"Oh, it must be that big one, aren't there several brothers?"

Tim snorted, "I believe we still hold the record! There are two brothers in Oklahoma, both married and with four or five kids between them. The third brother lives in Argentina, his family is attending via Skype."

"Oh, that's nice they'll be able to see and hear it as it happens, that's so much better than just looking at photos or watching a video tape! Thanks for your help. Promise to let us know if you need anything else, even if it's just a shoulder to lean on."

"I promise, but Mom's more likely to need that."

"All right, we'll make her the same offer!"

"Thank you! When we move home, will you please move to Arlington? The parochial schools there are safe. Or they were last year."

"We may end up doing that, Tim, when Jim retires. He planned to retire this year but he's reluctant now because of the war. And we might have had to move ourselves back home."

"Yikes! He's not mandatory age, oh but Uncle Dave is."

"That rule has been suspended for the duration, the Department of Defense doesn't want anyone to retire. Jim says nobody's leaving, that even the sailors are staying in."

"Jobs in safe zones probably don't have much turnover. If they have families to support, they'd have to move back to the States, wow, yeah, I see what you mean."

They finally disconnected, Tim feeling good for having spoken with both of his grandmothers, his godmother and his aunt. With a smile, he made a strawberry banana smoothie, his mother's favorite, and then tracking her through the house, found her stripping the beds in the old gents' dorm room, his personal name for the former playroom. He told her to sit and relax for a few minutes while she drank it. Then he finished stripping the beds and popped the sheets and pillowcases into the washer, throwing the blankets and spreads into the dryer with a lavender sachet to refresh them, something he'd learned from Malu.

He was just putting the sheets back on the bed when his father appeared and silently helped him remake the beds. His mother had disappeared somewhere, he hoped to take a rest.

When they finished, Dad wrapped an arm around him, "Thanks for coming to your mother's rescue the other day. She was stressing about something all weekend but kept saying she was being silly, wouldn't tell me what it was."

Tim nodded, "Doesn't surprise me, after she ran the shelter by herself for so many years. But it wasn't silly, Dad."

"I know and we've talked about it."

"Good! Everyone's chipping in for dinner. Liz is making the meatballs which was going to be the most time consuming."

"Could have had the kids make them. They like squishy, slippery things."

Tim chuckled, "Good idea, let's remember that for next time. Turns out all we need to supply are the tables, chairs, the pasta and sauce and Tony wants to make the sauce from scratch. He sent me a shopping list, I'll get that done Sunday or maybe Monday night when he and Maggie are here."

"Great! I spoke with Robbie this morning."

"How's he holding up?"

"Wishing the wedding was this weekend so it would be 'over with'."

"Ouch!"

"He says Ellie is nervous because it's her second time at this, she doesn't want to mess up."

"The wedding or the marriage?"

"Both. After Sarah spoke with Rob, Ellie called her mother and talked to her about the whole thing. Sounds like Barbara walked her through it all and then gave her hell for ignoring everything. Rob says when they hired their wedding planner, they pretty much thought she would handle everything."

"Uh, not sure how that would fit into a wedding planner's job description, maybe a list of helpful hints? I'd feel bad about it but poor Mom!"

"She's all right now, Timson. She'll be better when the big day arrives."

"And having Easter here this weekend won't help."

"Actually, she says it will. Having Mimi around is always a good thing. And Sophia's a good listener. She may not have a clue what you're talking about since she's never had to deal with…well, you know, but she's good at listening and remaining calm."

Tim huffed, "She'd have to be, after all those years with that buzzard."

"Yeah, reminds me, did you know Ana's coming to the wedding?"

"No, that's great! With or without the kids?"

"Without, her parents are staying with them. She's flying in with Gaia, Theo and the twins on Thursday and will stay with them, too. They'll be at the Brambury Inn, as will Nicolas, Sergio and the girls."

"Yay, I'm glad she's able to get out and do things with the family now."

"Ironic, isn't it? Can't hang with the in-laws until after she divorces their son!"

"Yep, pretty weird."

Having finished with the former playroom, the two of them wandered upstairs to inspect Andy's room. His bed was already changed and the room cleaned, he'd moved into Greg's room on Monday.

The 2nd master was clean, with fresh linens on the bed, the bathrooms were clean and it wouldn't do any good to vacuum the hall carpet again until Mimi and Sophia were on their way from the airport.

With everything ready for their guests, Tim, Greg, Kyle and Sarah went to visit Patrick. The boys told him about their weekend while Tim and Sarah put up a few Easter decorations. Pat wouldn't know they celebrated the Orthodox Easter, or that it was always a week later than the Western Easter celebration.

Thursday, Mimi and Sophia arrived as planned, accompanied by Uncle LJ, Colonel Barnes and Cesar Fornell, all three a surprise, even to their families! Tim and Artie, in Big Blue, dropped the senior Fornell off at the Fornell house, after making sure someone was there. On the way back from the airport, Artie sent a text to Jethro to let him know LJ and Colonel Barnes were with them. They'd been expecting the men on Monday when the DiNozzos arrived, but everything was clean and ready for them.

When they pulled into the driveway, Colonel Barnes chuckled, "I forgot how huge this place is! Have there been any more changes?"

Tim shook his head, "Not yet. After the wedding, we'll move Kyle in with Greg and turn his room into a nursery. We don't have any other changes planned." He chuckled, "Dad hasn't found any other hidey holes to renovate into bedrooms!"

Artie smiled, "There's always the garden, we could put a guest house back there!"

Mimi laughed, "I think the children would be very upset if you took away any of their play space!"

Tim huffed with a grin, "Not just the children! Where would we play softball or have our garden parties?"

Artie pretended to think about it, "Perhaps a tent or a small inflatable building."

"Huh, inflatable, that's an interesting thought. No tents, please!"

The travelers were greeted at the door by the senior Gibbses, Sarah and of course the children, who were impatient to see their Mimi and Yaya! Alerted by a phone call from Jethro, Mac came home from the Hubbards, where he spent most of his time, and was also there to greet the women and his friends.

It was wonderful to see the women after so many months and although they were in frequent contact, they spent most of the day catching up with everything. The adult Manor residents noticed that Sophia was much more relaxed on this visit. They also noticed that the Colonel and LJ had learned some Greek.

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Maggie was at work when her father called to let her know he was in Brambury. She was annoyed that he hadn't let them know ahead of time and relieved that he was safe in Brambury. Although he was younger than the other 'older' gentlemen, he was her dad and she worried about him. That always touched him and made him laugh, he was a Marine, for Pete's sake!

As she disconnected from his call, she wondered how annoyed the others were with the surprise return of LJ and unexpected arrival of her father. They expected all three men before the wedding, but Maggie's dad had said they'd all fly to Brambury together, the same day Maggie and Tony made their trip. He'd told her today that their early arrival was precipitated by the women's change in plans, which they'd only heard about a couple of days ago. She shook her head, they were safe and she knew from her sisters-in-law that the house, and their room, was ready. She didn't tell Tony until they got home that evening and he looked at her, rolling his eyes. "And they couldn't be bothered to let anyone know?"

"From what Artie said in her text, Mimi and Sophia didn't know until they were boarding!"

"Wow, that sounds more like something Senior would do than your dad! Not only would do, he has done that. Every holiday!"

"I know, huh? By the way, he'll be at the wedding."

"Senior? Not surprised, he likes our family. Likes to think he's part of it."

"He is, for holidays and special occasions. And that's fine, isn't it?"

"I guess. Wonder if he'll show up for the twins' birthdays without any notice?"

Maggie wanted to say that she doubted it, that Senior likely wouldn't be any more present in their children's lives than he had been in his son's. She thought he felt comfortable in the larger gatherings, no one expected too much of him. But all that was ground she and Tony had already covered, discussing it several times.

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While the visitors and returning residents settled in, their Easter vigil started, culminating in their celebration on Sunday. Along with the church service and traditional feast, the kids, and their parents, aunts and uncles, found Easter baskets around the house and later hunted for Easter eggs, the plastic kind, around the back garden.

Rob and Ellie excused themselves from the egg hunt as her family's flight was due into Heathrow soon. Borrowing Big Blue, they drove to the airport, excited that things were starting to happen! When they were about halfway to the airport, Ellie's phone buzzed with an alert that the plane was on the ground and was taxiing to a gate. A few minutes later, her phone buzzed again with a text from her mother, they were in line for passport control/Customs. Rob pulled up to the curb and Ellie jumped out as her father walked out the door with his two youngest grandchildren. Perfect timing! Airport security, seeing that Rob's passengers were there, left them alone. Ellie's brothers hadn't met Rob in person and Rob was grateful Jerry and Barbara had visited over Thanksgiving. The brothers, George and John, were friendlier than he expected and their wives were nice too. The aunt, uncle and cousins were also very pleasant. The kids were quiet, probably tired, but perked up when their aunt and Rob told them what they were seeing out the window.

By the time they returned to the Manor, the Easter egg hunt was finished and the plastic eggs piled in a bowl in a cabinet that the littles couldn't reach. Each child had been allowed to eat the candy contents of one egg, that was enough for one day!

While the Bishop aunt, uncle, brothers and their families weren't staying at the Manor, the Gibbses had prepared hot snacks for them and they'd have a walk out the back gate before being taken to their lodgings. Ellie would work on Monday figuring her family would be dealing with jet lag, have Tuesday off and then return to work for one day, Wednesday. Tim didn't understand her reasoning but his job was to approve or disapprove, not understand. He approved her schedule. Post Wednesday, she'd be off work until the 25th as she and Rob were honeymooning in the south of Spain, on a beach, with no responsibilities except to relax and enjoy themselves. Rob's time off would begin on Tuesday.

Ellie laughed when everyone but Rob and her parents stood gawking at the Manor when they arrived there. Rob and his father-in-law grinned at each other, hearing the comments as they removed several pieces of luggage from Big Blue. As he and Jerry moved toward the front door, it opened and most of the family spilled out to welcome the Bishops. The Bishop grandkids were happy to meet the Gibbs kids.

Once inside, they met Mimi, Sophia, Susannah, Ian and Ian's parents. The Clachers were about to leave for home but wanted to meet Ellie's family before they left. Barbara and Jerry were excited to meet some of Artie's family and relieved that they all spoke perfect English. Alastair laughed when Jerry said that, "We should, we're Scots, we've lived in Scotland our entire lives."

Jerry was embarrassed but no one thought any less of him, they knew they were a confusing family!

Mimi smiled at the Bishops, "I live near Athens and Sophia lives in Athens now but when the girls were growing up, they lived all over the world as their stepfather was in the Diplomatic Corps for the Hellenic Republic. They each speak several languages, including English. Artemis taught Tim our language while they were at MIT and Susannah taught Ian while they were dating. Jethro, Lu, Rob, Sarah, James, all the siblings and the children have learned to speak Greek as have Alastair, Fiona and James' parents, George and Edith." She chuckled, "You are joining a truly international family!"

After a quick tour of the house, the group gathered in the dining room, saying goodbye to the Clachers as they left for Edinburgh.

After the Bishops ate their snacks, they had a tour of the house before heading back outside for a walk in the countryside. Following Sarah's well-used guidelines, Ellie watched the time and turned her family around, planning extra minutes for her uncle, aunt, brothers and their families to get to their lodgings. It worked! Tim rode with Rob, helping with the kids and luggage and reported that their yawns were just beginning as they reached their destinations, no one fell asleep in the van.

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That Sunday also signaled the end of the holiday for the kids, Tim and Artie. Uniforms and work clothes were ready and alarm clocks set. The van was refueled and ready for another trip to the airport on Monday morning, when Dad, Lu and the Colonel would meet Tony and Maggie's flight.

Sunday night, after their second weekly family meeting and when everyone was in bed or at least in their rooms, Tim dressed in his winter clothes and, for the first time in over a week, went to his hidden room to resume his covert work. It took him an hour to read through the logs to see what he'd missed. He was proud to see two breakthroughs to individual terrorists' electronic devices and that the information his team found led to the defense squads stopping five attacks, in various areas of the country, before anyone or anything was harmed and the arrests of more than 10 terrorists. A note said the security on the individuals' electronics was fairly tight but not tight enough!

He worked for a couple more hours before logging off. He and Dad had talked about the danger of continuing his covert work with a houseful of guests but Tim wasn't willing to stop. Now, when he shut and locked the door to his hidden room, he found Dad in his workshop, stretched out in a chair, feet up on the workbench, sound asleep. Waking him, he waited patiently before asking if he'd been down here all night. Dad shook his head, "No, but I figure if I disappear down here a few times, that might help provide cover for you. If anyone asks, we can say you're helping me build something for the baby."

"That would actually be cool!"

"Uh…I'll see what I can do."

"All right, I'll let Artie know the story. Mimi and Sophia are more likely to ask her than you, me or Lu."

"True. And I doubt LJ hears anything after he removes his hearing aids at night."

"Don't know about the Colonel."

"If he says anything to me, I'll give him the cover story. He'll catch on quick, he's a Marine, knows when to keep his mouth shut." Jethro mentally ran through his list of furniture for his Gibbs grandbaby, there were two pieces Tim could help with. He hadn't made a crib, they still had Hope's and it was in good shape. With Dave, Jim and Andy's help, they'd made Baby Gibbs' bassinet during the Singapore trip. There was a rocker in the girls' room but as it belonged to the Manor, he'd decided to make a new one, then it would eventually move home with them. All the pieces were cut, he and Tim could put the chair together and stain it. The other piece was a bureau with a diaper changing station on the top, that could be swapped out for a regular top once the baby was potty-trained. The frame was made, he still needed to craft the drawers and put it all together.

He'd been working on the DiNozzos' baby furniture since they'd announced their pregnancy. When they confirmed they were having twins and told Jethro what furniture they'd like, he got to work on a second bassinet and crib. They were done now, along with a rocker. Both pieces just needed a stain applied. That required a conversation with his kids about what color stain they wanted. Their local B&Q home center/hardware store had sample cards with various stains on them and he'd brought several home for the kids to choose from.

As for getting the furniture to Marseille, he and Lu had made several inquiries about shipping two bassinets, two cribs and a rocker from Brambury to Marseille. After getting a few quotes and hearing the time frames for delivery, they decided to rent a motorhome and transport the pieces themselves. They'd have storage space, they could park the motorhome in any legal parking space or stay in a campground and be able to sleep and eat in the vehicle. They both liked that idea, Lu knowing that if they stayed in a hotel, they'd worry about someone breaking into the motorhome. Each piece would be easy enough to put together when they reached the DiNozzos' home, a 500 mile trip. Richard, who had been consulted while still in Greece, wanted to help and Lu was very handy. They'd turn in the rented motorhome in Marseille and fly home two or three weeks after the babies were born, in time for the arrival of Tim and Artie's baby boy. It wouldn't be cheap but it was less expensive than shipping everything and Jethro liked the idea of having some control.

They'd looked at the driving directions online and then ordered maps and a planned route, with one overnight, from their American auto club. That packet of information arrived last week, along with a list of key phrases, spelled out phonetically, with links to an audio site so they could hear what the phrases were supposed to sound like. Although Gibbs understood French when he heard it spoken and Lu learned a lot before and while they were in Paris, they would still ask Artie to teach them other key phrases.

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Tim smiled as he walked into his office Monday morning. Vacations were great and he'd enjoyed every moment with his wife, kids and the rest of the family. And now it felt great to be back at work. As much as he loved having fun, with so much going on in the world, he felt his jobs, both of them, pulling at him.

He caught up with Bishop and Esposito before tackling his email. Ellie was working today and Wednesday. He'd rather she take the whole week off; from his own experience, he believed that no matter how hard she tried, she'd be distracted. He certainly had been before his and Artie's wedding and he hadn't even been working! However, she said she'd be fine and he was going to push the subject. Besides, that meant he could take Wednesday off to spend time with his brother and in-laws.

The day was quiet, the field team working on reports and Bec sent him an IM that criminals must be taking the day off as all of the offshore NCIS teams were having a rare quiet day.

Tim called Ellie into his office about 1530 and with a smile, dismissed her for the day, She looked at him, "You'd do this for any of us?"

"Of course! It's only 90 minutes on a quiet day. Bishop, we work plenty of hours, we've been available for every case we've been tasked with, our close percentage is higher than expected – and I had high expectations! Our personal lives are important. Esposito and I will be fine. Don't forget our newbies will be here next week, they can jump in too."

He'd hired two more INV agents, one for the Northeast Office in the US and the second for Ned's floater in Japan. Following the pattern he'd set with Ned, they'd arrive this Wednesday and report to the office, over their jet lag, on Monday. If they showed up at the office on Wednesday, Ellie, Bec and Ray would meet with them, possibly have coffee or lunch, and if they came in on Thursday, he'd be there. However, he was off all day Friday and bridesmaid Bec was taking a half day. He'd be at the office Monday for their official first day of training.

When Tim reached home that night, he grinned as Tony met him at the door, pulling him into a tight embrace. As they disengaged, Tim looked up and barely kept his jaw from dropping open as he had his first glimpse of Maggie. Her 'baby bump' was huge and his first thought was how exhausting it must be to carry all that extra weight around, weight that changed position and kicked her from the inside. She chuckled at his look, "What, you've never seen a pregnant woman before?"

"I've never had a pregnant sister before! How are you? Please sit down!"

She laughed out loud at that and then had to excuse herself. Tony winced, "Drinking any liquids, coughing and laughing means a trip to the pregnant ladies room. She says both babies are sitting on her bladder."

"Yikes!"

"Your carrier doesn't tell you things like that?"

"She has said something like that but she's carrying a single baby and I hadn't just made her laugh when she said it."

"Aw, don't feel bad."

Tuesday, Tony came into the office for lunch with Tim and Jimmy. That felt great, the trio felt they seldom had much time together when they were in the same town. They met the rest of their siblings and partners at a local pub after Tim got off work that afternoon. Maggie and Artie begged off, Artie wanted to finish a crucial part of design work for a new project so she could also take time off and the family doctors said no to Maggie going any farther than the terrace at the back of the Manor. Despite missing the two, the siblings, Ellie, Abby, Charlotte, Bec and James had a great time.

The combined Bishop-Gibbs family dinner took place Wednesday night and was a wonderful success on more than one level. What only the senior Bishops and senior Gibbses knew was that there would be one additional guest at the wedding, a surprise. That person arrived Tuesday morning and was met at the airport. To keep the secret a little longer, the mystery guest stayed overnight with the Morrises, who loved being part of the happy conspiracy. Luckily, Ellie spent Tuesday running errands with Rob, picking up the Porters at the train station, very happy they'd made the trip. Cyndi smiled, "We couldn't stand the thought of missing your wedding!"

Wednesday, Ellie was at work while Rob and Barry took the visitors sightseeing in London. While the others were in the City, working or sleeping, Jethro and Jerry retrieved the mystery visitor from the Morrises, taking their surprise to the Manor with them and stashing him in the library for a jet lag nap on one of the inflatable beds. With the big dinner that evening, just about everyone that was home was in the kitchen or dining room, and didn't notice the three come in or go up the stairs. It also helped that the children were at school.

Tony, Tim and Artie were the chefs for the dinner that night, with James and Andy doing some prep work for them the night before. Mimi and Barbara Bishop helped when they were allowed to. They asked Lu to sit this one out, they didn't want any extra strain on her foot, which was healed but still ached a bit at the end of a day if she did too much. Instead, she'd organized her husband, Ellie's father and the grandchildren on Tuesday night, having them move the kitchen table into the dining room, along with all the chairs and benches. They'd set the table after lunch today and this afternoon, they would add bowls of blossoms plucked from their back garden.

Early this morning, Sophia had picked the flowers and arranged them, relieved there was something she knew how to do. She knew she'd been spoiled in the Diplomatic Corps, but she'd never realized how much! She could cook, mostly Greek recipes as that's all her ex-husband ever wanted, but she'd never had to plan a dinner party or do anything towards preparing, other than making sure she had a suitable outfit that met her husband's approval. She was slowly learning how to cook and other basic household tasks, from Mimi, from her sister and brother, from Lu and from her daughters. Except for times like this when she felt fairly useless, she enjoyed the new things.

Tony noticed Artie's mother watching them prep for the dinner and asked if she'd like to help. She smiled, making sure he knew she was an amateur. He laughed, "We're all amateurs, Sophia. Watch how much we listen to Nicolas when he gets here. We follow him around like puppies!"

Bolstered by that and her son-in-law's friendly grin, she took the apron Sarah gave her and got to work. Tony, Tim and Artemis were making the pasta, right now it was 'resting', which she didn't pretend to understand, so they were slicing and chopping tomatoes, garlic, onion and fresh vegetables for the sauce. Most of the cut up bits went into a blender and now it looked like sauce. From the blender it went into a large pot and the pieces that hadn't been blended were added. Set on a low heat, Tony told her it would simmer most of the day until the flavors were well blended. She noticed the bottle of wine sitting on the counter and he nodded, "Yes, some of that will go in, too. The alcohol cooks off but the flavor stays in."

While they went back to the pasta, Sarah asked her to help with the salads. "We're having chopped salad, a family favorite. I think you had it at Dad's, after our trip to the snow. With 60 people, we'll chop several heads of lettuce, different types, as well as other fresh greens, including spinach. We won't do that until a couple of hours before dinner, don't want it to get funky in the refrigerator! Before then, we'll make croutons and chop up other veggies to go in the salad. Carrots, celery, radishes, radicchio, broccoli, tomatoes, peas, red onion, mushroom…oh, hang on." Sarah turned to the other three, "Are there mushrooms in the sauce?"

Tony nodded, "Yes."

"Ok, then maybe we'll leave them off the salad. Some people don't like them anyway." She smiled at Sophia, "Let's see, beets, black olives and bell peppers. Oh and cheese. It'll be easier if we use the food processor, it has a 'chopped' setting."

Sophia smiled back at her, "That sounds delicious! What will we have for the dressing?"

Sarah felt three pairs of eyes on her back and smiled, "We'll make an oil and vinegar dressing, with a few additional flavors. Let's do that first, let it have time to meld together."

She chuckled as Tim patted her on the back. "Thanks, Sari." Looking at Sophia, she confessed, "Sometimes I use bottled dressing and don't tell them."

Tony frowned, "Did Bill teach you that?"

"No! Actually it was Lu's suggestion. I'd said something once about wanting to have a few different dressings and she suggested I buy bottles of different kinds and put it in bowls."

Tim suddenly remembered the bottle of raspberry vinaigrette dressing he'd found at Dad's house three years ago and smiled to himself. Aloud he said, "Running the shelter, Lu never had time to make dressing, she'd buy it in bulk from the big box stores. We could always tell when a jar was almost empty because she'd mix whatever was left with another dressing or sometimes vinegar or mayonnaise, depending on what she had available."

Tony made a face and then grabbed Tim and Sarah into a hug. "Sorry, guys. While you were eating mayo on iceberg lettuce, I was being served chef's specialty dressing on the fancier greens."

Sophia nodded, "When we ate in our apartments, we used bottled dressing, it was easier and faster and my former husband was always in a hurry."

Artie smiled, "And it was fine, Mama, Susannah and I were always happier when we could eat as a family. That way Dimitri and his father could trash everyone they didn't like and leave the three of us alone."

"Where did you learn to cook?"

"At MIT, living with the Biros-Santos, at Yaya's when I was pregnant with Andy, in Thailand, Chile, Australia and other places Andy and I traveled and here, with Tim, Lu, Tony and Uncle Nicolas."

"Ah. And now you're helping me learn."

Her daughter beamed and Sophia relaxed. When she saw Sarah with a loaf of bread, she paid attention and soon had fun slicing, seasoning and toasting the cubes of future croutons. When they were done, and she couldn't believe how easy that was, they were stored in an airtight bowl in the pantry. Next they made the dressing, which was messier, poured it into jars with lids and put it in the refrigerator. Sarah looked for a long minute. "Tim, where are the meatballs?"

"In one of the coolers."

"Are they frozen?"

"No, Liz made them yesterday, they're nice and fresh. I just didn't want to take up the entire refrigerator with them."

Sarah nodded and then leaned in, "Where's the apple crisp?"

"In another cooler."

"But where?"

"Don't know. Mom and Dad are the only ones who know."

"She made it over the weekend, didn't she? While we were gone?"

Tony snorted and they all laughed. Eventually, Tim said, "She would have had to make more by now, Sari. It's a good thing the children were away."

They all laughed at that, sure it was the children who couldn't keep their spoons out of Lu's apple crisp. Yes, the grandchildren loved it but it was Lu's grown children who sometimes made fools of themselves over her apple crisp.

Sophia spent most of the day helping where she could, enjoying slicing and chopping with Sarah, learning more about her daughter, son-in-law, his sister and brothers, really much of the family. Sarah's in-laws would be here Friday and Sophia smiled, happy that she'd know several people at the wedding!

Having been told to drop in to say hello, the Porters did just that, and were happily greeted. Tim, Artie and Sarah sat out on the terrace with them, taking a break from the dinner prep, enjoying their company. Artie and Sarah were surprised when Larry said they'd seen Tobias last week. "He was doing something with the Boston office, wouldn't say what, of course. He came for dinner one night and brought our old friend McCaughey!"

Tim's face lit up while Artie and Sarah looked confused. Tim said, "FBI Agent McCaughey is the one who made sure the kids, Larry and Cyndi were safe after I was hurt, later got Dad to them, brought Rob and me to them when I was discharged from the hospital, even made sure Tony and Tobias were included. And then he and his team flew with us to the UK, made sure we had our favorite breakfast foods aboard. They did a lot more than any protection detail I've been on, above and beyond."

Cyndi nodded, "I'll say, they even played with the kids!"

Tim titled his head, "I don't remember anything from leaving the hospital until we got on the plane, but Rob and Dad both say it was the longest Saturday of their lives. They didn't have much to do, Cyndi and Larry got to leave, the kids were scared and whiny, all of them were exhausted and I'm told I slept the whole time. Finally, Tony and Tobias showed up and they played with the boys."

Cyndi huffed, "You really don't remember?"

"No, sorry."

"You slept most of the morning and then sat in a recliner to read. I think Greg woke you up when we sat down to eat lunch and then you stayed awake to say goodbye to us. We cried when we left you, you and Rob were crying too, trying not to let the kids see us crying."

"Oh boy, I'm sorry I don't remember anything."

"That's all right, Tim, you were there when it happened and we could see your injury wasn't as bad as we first thought."

With a gentle smile, Artie asked them about the Biros-Santos and the Donovans. "They're fine, sent their love. We're all tired from the stress, it's odd how you get used to it until something else happens and then 'bam'. None of us talk about "it", what's going on in the country, unless there's been a save or an arrest. The saves are the best, peoples' lives, children's lives are saved, they have a future when so many have been mowed down. Arrests, most of us would rather the terrorists resist and leave the planet. We haven't had a war in our country in over a hundred years and here we are fighting over some of the same issues. It's horrible and ridiculous! We don't understand what the terrorists think will happen when they've gotten rid of everyone. There's no magic time turner to take the country back to antebellum America. It'll still be the 21st century, the modern world will still be there. I don't understand and frankly, I don't want to. I want them to leave the planet, however that has to happen."

Larry stopped, taking a breath before shaking his head and apologizing. "I'm sorry, we said we wouldn't talk about it and then it spills right out of my big mouth. We came because we need to see you all, need to participate in something happy and what could be more joyful than a wedding? And it's our Robbie who's getting married!"

Sarah reached over and took their hands. "We're thankful you're here. Skype and email is great but we miss you here. How long are you staying?"

Cyndi smiled, "That's an odd story. Donovan found substitutes for us but neither one wanted to teach for a week or two and classes will be finished in 6 weeks. Pete came to us, asking if we were willing to let them take our classes for the rest of the semester. We put it all in writing and they're finishing our classes for the semester and we're here for the summer again. We'll teach online summer classes in June and July and leave for home in late August or early September. So we'll be here when your baby arrives and plan to relax and enjoy the summer away from home. We rented our house out through August, as a 'safe zone', Massachusetts is very popular. The family who's renting it moved up from Maryland, they're 'safe' but couldn't stand the stress and heartbreak and have family in greater Boston. They want to move to Maine or New Hampshire and will look for jobs and housing up there while their children enjoy the summer. They already have plans to drive out to Cape Cod this weekend. And right before we walked over today, we heard we can rent the same Airbnb we stayed in last summer. We'll take a few trips but not as many as last summer."

The couple smiled as they were hugged by three happy friends. Tony and Maggie joined them later and the Porters sat back and relaxed, listening to the banter of some of their favorite people. Both felt so peaceful, they fell asleep in their lounge chairs. Pulling a stand umbrella over to keep the sun off their friends, the DiNozzos and junior Gibbses went inside, they had decisions to make.

Sarah 'loaned' them her suite as they didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation, LJ and the Colonel were asleep and Maggie was confined to the main floor.

The topic was baby names, specifically what the two couples would name their baby boys. Tony began the discussion, "You know we wanted to use Jethro and you two said that was fine, you were going use Jackson. But the more we've talked about it, the more we've realized Jethro doesn't go very well with DiNozzo, while Jackson does. Now, Tim, I know by rights both those names should be for your kids."

Tim gave him a funny look, "I don't know about rights, Tony. We're both sons of Jethro and Lu. Besides, we're having one baby and we're not naming him Jackson Jethro or vice versa. Are you saying you're giving up Jethro and would like to use Jackson?"

"Yes, please?"

Artie had to bite back a grin, she knew Tim really wanted their son to be named for his father, he was probably mentally jumping for joy. Especially after they'd finally figured out the perfect nickname.

"How about a middle name?"

"Either Richard or Barnes."

Maggie tilted her head, "We've considered Richard Gibbs DiNozzo but I'd rather have Barnes as his middle name. My dad likes that too, he says nobody will remember who Richard was, but Barnes is an obvious surname."

"So your son would be Jackson Barnes DiNozzo?"

"Yes and yes, we know that's a three surname name, but it sounds great."

"It's certainly a name to be proud of! What about your baby girl?"

Tony frowned, he knew Tim was deflecting but he felt like asking to swap names was a big deal. His brother probably needed time to think. He looked at his sister-in-law, who didn't look the least bit worried or upset.

Maggie replied, "We're naming her after our mothers. My mother's middle name was Diane and Tony's was Isabelle. Our daughter's name will be Isabella Diane, although we'll call her Diane."

Artie smiled, "That's lovely!" She looked at Tim and nodded. He leaned over for a kiss and then said, "All right, we'll use Jethro, just don't tell anyone, please. Dad's still dead set against it but it's our child and we have a great nickname. We thought of Jett, but we think that would sound too close to Jeff and be confusing. So we played around with the letters and if we substitute a 'd' in place of the 'tt' in Jett, we get Jed. We both fell in love with that."

With a chuckle, Artie added the rest, "He'll be Jethro Nicolas Gibbs, called Jed. One of my great-grandfathers was Nicolas and of course we'll be honoring my uncle as well. If the baby was a girl, we would name her either Anna Sophia after Tim's paternal grandmother and my mother or Maisie Sophia, for Grammie and my mother."

Tim nodded, "We really love both sets of names."

"So do it again, try for a girl." Tony laughed at the expression on their faces. "Or not."

Artie replied, "It would be great to balance the girls and boys but 6 children is enough!"

Tim snorted, "And as much as we love our children, we would like to retire at some point."

Tony huffed, "Tell me about it!"

Maggie chuckled, "We can all retire to Jethro's camp in Vermont for summers and fall and a very large beach house in Florida for the winters."

Tim smiled and pointed at her, "That's clever, both are a sure draw for the grandkids!"

"Christmas in Florida, the Fourth of July in Vermont – or New Hampshire or Maine, wherever that camp ends up."

Artie nodded, "Vermont looks pretty but Maine has beaches."

"True. Lu's keeping a list of things we want and swimmable water was one of the first items."

"How long a drive would it be, from Vermont to a beach in Maine?"

Tim looked on his phone, "Close to 3 hours. Depends on the departure point in Vermont and which beach in Maine. There's a beach in Kittery, Maine, that is a little less than 3 hours' drive time from Montpelier, Vermont."

"Oh, too far for a day trip to the beach."

The door opened and Sarah peeked in, holding her ears, "I'm not listening. I need to use my bathroom!"

With a laugh, they helped Maggie up and left the suite as their sister headed through the lounge into her bedroom.

As they walked out of the suite, Tony's phone rang and with a puzzled look, he answered it, "Hello?"

He looked surprised at whatever the caller said, replying, "It's good to hear from you! As it happens, my wife and I are visiting family near London, we're here for a family wedding; we don't live in the UK."

"This week? Hang on, let me check." Pushing the mute button so the caller couldn't hear, Tony looked at Maggie and the others.

"This is one of my Paddington cousins, on my mother's side of the family. We wrote cousin Crispin over the holidays but never heard anything."

Maggie looked surprised, "That's him?"

"No, it's his brother, Nigel. He says Crispin recently mentioned we were living in Europe and Nigel finally got my number from him. He'd like to see us."

Tim was looking at the family schedule, a necessity this week, on his phone. "Tomorrow's the only day we're not booked solid. Friday will be crazy."

"Ok, thanks. Mags?"

"Sure, I'd like to meet him."

Tony went back to his phone, telling his cousin that tomorrow was the only day with time available. "Would you mind coming out to Brambury? Maggie is pregnant, due next month, and our family doctors have sort of confined her to our family's house."

He gestured to Tim to come closer as he listened to the reply, "Great, hang on, I'm looking at the family schedule for tomorrow. How about an early lunch, say 11?" He listened again before saying, "Since you've been to Brambury before, do you know the Manor house?"

He listened and nodded, "Yes, that's it. That's where we are. Park in the driveway next to the big blue minibus, if it's there."

He disconnected a minute later, grinning. "Well, this should be interesting! As I remember, Nigel was the nicer brother, Crispin was a snob, very 'nose in the air'."

Tim remembered that Cousin Crispin had called in the loan that the great-uncle had made Tony for his college funds or something like that, crushing Tony's hopes of an inheritance. Tim remembered being grateful, for once, that he didn't have any relatives who could do that to him.

While Maggie went to rest, Artie checked the pasta and Tim and Tony went to bring Hope, Rissa and Kyle home from their various schools. Tim smiled at his brother, "I'm glad you're willing to meet with your cousin, Tony and that it's not Crispin. That situation with him always seemed so cold to me."

Tony huffed, "Thanks. I was hurt that my uncle didn't leave me anything, not even a letter, I'd thought we were close. Long distance, but still, we kept in touch. So then I was not only left out of the will, but had to repay the money he'd given me. I tried to pay him, I sent Uncle a check when I could but he always sent it back, telling me not to worry about it. I had a savings account Senior never knew about and tucked the money in there, so I had about half the amount when Crispin demanded repayment. I planned to apply for a loan to cover the rest but Ducky called me down to Autopsy one day when Jimmy was out and interrogated me, you know how he can ask questions until it's easier to give in and tell him what he wants to know."

Smiling, Tim raised both eyebrows, looking at him pointedly; Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, so I do that too. Anyway, the good doctor insisted on writing me a check for the balance. When I tried to pay him back, he told me to put it toward my retirement or buying a house or something useful, as he put it. Still, that whole incident hurt."

Tim gave him a quick hug and then both men grinned as they entered the nursery school and Hope ran to them. Collecting Rissa and Kyle, who were also happy to see Uncle Tony and Papa, they headed back to the Manor.

Turning the corner around the hedge into the driveway, they rarely walked through the front garden from the street, they noticed a rental car and heard screams coming from the house.


	70. Chapter 70

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my awesome beta, Alix33, for all her work and forbearance!
> 
> I want to thank all of you for your support, whether you read, follow, and/or comment. Some of us enjoy occasional additional correspondence and I treasure that, too, thank you!
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Chapter 70

Each man reached for his Sig, only to remember he wasn't carrying it. Motioning to the children to keep quiet, they took all three into the back garden where they found the Porters, Mimi and Sophia walking onto the terrace, each holding a glass of wine as they chatted. The kids tucked behind them, the men stopped and Kyle caught his sisters before they ran into Papa and Uncle Tony.

"Any idea what the screaming was all about? And who has the rental vehicle?"

Larry knew from the look of his friends that they were in Special Agent mode. "Ellie, her brothers and some of their kids were screaming because the brother that doesn't live in the U.S. is here and that was a surprise. The rental car is ours."

"Thanks. Do you know who knew about the surprise?"

Larry cleared his throat, "Ellie's parents and your dad."

The two men looked at each other with blank faces. Tony turned back to Larry, "I don't suppose you meant Senior?"

Larry shook his head.

Neither agent saying a word, they gathered the children and took them inside through the conservatory. The kids gave each of them a hug and hurried into the lounge, wanting to see if there was any excitement left.

Jethro wondered why the littles entered through the back door and then lifted an eyebrow when his two sons entered with blank faces aimed in his direction. He frowned, mentally replayed the last few minutes and then visibly winced.

His boys had not yet joined the group, likely still decompressing, so he joined them. "I'm sorry! It should have registered in my head when you left to get the kids, I should have brought you in on the secret."

Tony nodded, "Yes, you should have. Be thankful neither of us had our Sigs with us. And that we didn't hide the littles in the garden shed. If the Porters, Mimi and Sophia hadn't been casually walking from the house to the terrace with wine glasses, there might have been a lot more excitement."

"Oh boy, I messed up big time." Gibbs knew he deserved the rebuke.

Tim looked at Tony and then tilted his head, "I don't know, Agent DiNozzo, that sounded an awful lot like a double apology, do you agree?"

"Yes, Agent McGee, I totally agree. It's a shame, really. He's violated his own rule, twice."

Their father, and former boss, relaxed, knowing he'd been forgiven.

In due course, the two met the unexpected arrival, Ellie's brother Robert, who lived in Argentina. He was glad to meet them, having heard a great deal about the two men and Gibbs since his sister went to work at NCIS. He was impressed with Ellie's new family, if a bit overwhelmed at how many people there were. At some point, he realized that Tim was now Ellie's boss and mentioned it. Tim chuckled, "Yeah, it's a little strange sometimes. The three of us, Rob, Ellie and I, had to figure out how to separate work from family but we're doing well at it." He crossed his fingers.

Tony found Maggie sitting on James' desk chair, which had castors and a solid wood frame, making it easier for her to get up and down and the chair could be easily moved around if necessary. Breena, Artie and one of the Bishop in-laws, Jazzy, were sitting with her. She smiled up at her husband and brother-in-law, "Hello! Were you in on the surprise?"

Tony shook his head 'no' and Maggie let it drop. When Kyle sidled up to his uncle and asked if there were any bad guys, Tony ruffled his hair, "Not tonight, Kyle! We got lucky!" Then he turned to Tim, "I thought Ellie was working today?"

"She was, but they had a quiet day and I told them if it remained quiet and they got a certain amount of paperwork done, they could leave early and remain on call if it was quiet."

"Ah, nice boss!"

"More like covering my backside since I gave myself the day off!"

"Nah, they know, we all know, you would have dropped everything if they needed you."

Andy and Greg arrived home from school, waving hello to everyone as they ran upstairs to change out of their uniforms. Then the two brothers joined their father, uncle and siblings in greeting the Bishops and their own family members.

Over the next few hours, the rest of the Gibbs clan arrived, Bill, Freddie and Joe disappearing upstairs to change out of their work clothes. Bec and Geo were the last to arrive and do the meet and greet.

When everyone had been introduced, the brothers brought in trays of mezethes and light beverages, Mimi's contribution to the party. She explained what they were, amidst happy sounds as the Bishops took their first bites of the delicious appetizers. When their father and uncle headed to the kitchen, Andy and Greg went with them to help. Sophia and Sarah were already in there, doing the last bits of preparation on the salads. As Artie joined them, Tony tested the sauce, which was the perfect consistency and taste and Tim filled three large saucepans with water to cook the fresh pasta. The oven was full of cookie sheets with meatballs baking on them. When the timer rang, Andy and Greg pulled them out of the oven, put the meatballs onto platters, covered the platters so the meatballs wouldn't dry out and then slid them into the warming oven while their father put another batch of meatballs into the oven.

Breena joined them, finding bowls and spoons for the grated cheeses, which Davey, Victoria, Kyle and Rissa put on the table, with help from Yaya Sophia. The loaves of garlic bread were already prepped; while the pasta was cooking they were popped into the second oven to heat.

Several large serving bowls, their own and a few more borrowed from nearly every local household at the party, and a collection of large serving spoons and ladles were already washed, dried and ready for the sauce, meatballs and pasta. With 63 people, they decided to put 6 bowls of each out, enough for roughly 10 people per set of bowls. Otherwise, the food would get cold while it was being passed around. They'd thought of serving buffet style, in the kitchen, as they'd done at Thanksgiving but Lu didn't want to do that again.

Every place setting had two strong paper plates, as well as real cutlery, a paper cup and a plastic wine glass. At some point they'd be toasting the happy couple as well as the Bishops' entry into the family and Penny thought it would be more fun if everyone had a wine glass, even the kids. Bottles of wine and sparkling cider were on the table while the younger children's beverages had already been poured.

As simple as spaghetti and meatballs sounded, there was nothing ordinary about this particular dinner, with homemade pasta and homemade sauce made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion and vegetables. The salads were also delicious and the loaves of garlic bread were perfect. The cooks were given a standing ovation and they in turn thanked everyone who'd helped.

Once the food was on the table, as the eldest, Uncle LJ said grace and then they got busy eating, the mood relaxed and friendly. The Gibbs clan made sure they mixed up the seating with the Bishop clan. The five Bishop grandkids loved the mix of kids, some teens, some pre-teens and some littles, just like them. The only thing they didn't have was a new baby, like four month old Jilly Palmer who was blatantly adorable.

When Matt, the youngest Bishop grandchild and a year older than Kyle, asked his mother when they might have a new baby, his father nearly spit out the sip of sparkling cider he'd just taken, while his uncle Robert, who Matt had just met in person for the first time, laughed before saying, "Matt, I don't know when you'll meet him or her in person, but your aunt Lucia and I will have a new baby in August."

While his family and the Gibbses congratulated his uncle, Matt thought about that. "We won't have a new baby at home but we'll have a new cousin?"

"Yes! And when that baby is about a year old, we'll come visit you at home!"

"Good!" The Bishop grandkids, their parents and grandparents were all in favor of that.

Matt wasn't through yet. He'd already asked his mother if he could ask a question of Maggie and she'd approved. So now he looked at the pregnant lady, "When is your baby coming?"

Maggie smiled at him, "Next month, Matt and we're having two babies, twins!"

"Wow, two babies, that's cool!"

"Yes, we're having a girl and a boy. And Tim and Artemis are having a baby too."

"Really?" Matt thought that was awesome while his parents wondered why he was suddenly excited about babies.

He looked at Hope, "Now you won't be the youngest anymore!"

She grinned back at him, nodding, "I'm not the baby of the big family because of Jilly and I won't be the baby in the house! But I'll still be the youngest girl in the house because we're having a boy!"

Matt nodded, "I'll still be the youngest in our house but at least I won't be the youngest in our family!" The Bishops were stunned at hearing that but his parents agreed later that it made sense. He was younger than his older brother by 6 years and younger than his cousin Nick, the oldest grandchild, by 10 years. Chesney was 3 years older and Kenna was 8 years older.

His new uncle Rob, who was sitting nearby, next to his aunt Eileen, smiled at him, saying, "Matt, I've been the youngest in our family my entire life and it's been wonderful! When I was little, younger than Hope, I had someone to take care of me and someone to play with. As I got older, I helped my big brothers and sister sometimes and I really liked that, it made me feel really good and it still feels good. And you know what? Now that I'm all grown up, it doesn't matter that I'm the youngest anymore, I'm equal to my sisters and brothers and I know, I've always known that our parents love all of us." He leaned forward and mock whispered, "And because I'm a doctor, sometimes I even get to tell my brothers, sisters and parents what to do – and they do it!"

Matt giggled, that sounded great to him. Nearby, his parents sent Rob looks of gratitude and he chuckled. "It's not always easy, but it is always worth it."

After they finished dinner and everyone was pitching in to clean up, his new cousin Rissa came up to Matt and pulled him into the family room. "I have secrets to tell you, about being the youngest."

"Ooh!" Matt loved secrets and like Kyle and Rissa, was good at keeping them.

She smiled, "I used to be the youngest, until Mama brought Hope home. I don't remember much but Kyle does and told me, because he was the youngest before me. When you're the youngest, sometimes you get more cuddles and if something happens, like when there's dirt on the floor from outside, your mama and papa don't automatically think you did it. And if you did and you say you did and say you're sorry, it'll be okay. And my brothers played with me, they were fun and almost always did what I wanted them to." She giggled, "One of my nicknames is Queenie because Daddy said I ruled over them. They still play with me but I let them choose now."

Matt had to think about that before nodding, "Chesney and Ethan do that, they watch out for me and Ethan plays with me a lot. Nick and Kenna play ball with me when we're all together. I don't like waiting to do things they can do because they're older."

Rissa nodded wisely, "Kyle says that too; he told Daddy once, when he was still the youngest, that he was tired of being little and Daddy said that being little is one of the best parts of being a kid and that he still wishes he was little so he could do everything he used to."

"I didn't know parents felt like that!"

"One time, my mama and papa told us some stories from when they were little. That was fun!"

"Ooh, maybe I'll ask my mom and dad."

"And your grandpa and grandma! Mimi tells us stories about our yaya, that's the Greek word for grandma, being little and our mama and Aunt Susannah. You'll meet her and Uncle Ian at the wedding."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun, too!"

Both smiling and feeling like they each had a new friend, they returned to the kitchen, where they helped separate forks, spoons and knives from the paper plates.

No one stayed long after dinner and the cleanup as the travelers were still subject to jet lag and most of the Gibbses had work and school the next day.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Thursday was a quieter day at the Manor. Ellie and Rob took most of the Bishops sightseeing and would also meet Ellie's maid of honor, Jenna, at the train station. She'd flown from the States to France last week to visit her sister who lived there and would fly in from Paris late that afternoon. Ellie's great-uncle John and great-aunt Cissy, who were staying with the Hubbards, were on an all-day bus tour to Stonehenge and Salisbury.

In the meantime, Artie, Barbara, Jerry and Sarah did some light cleaning around the house. Although the cleaners hired for the pre-wedding cleaning would be there on Friday, the house was a bit disheveled after the crowd yesterday.

Maggie had permission to walk in the lovely countryside as long as she had company and so she and the Colonel headed out, after their phones fully charged. After their arrival on Monday, Tony took his shirt, tie, suit and Maggie's dress for the wedding to be dry cleaned and Thursday morning, he and his dad walked into town to pick them up.

Lu was resting her foot. As her husband and kids had worried and tried to prevent, she'd been on it a little too much yesterday and was tired, although not hurting, today. Since Rob and Ellie had Big Blue, the Porters would pick the Gibbses up that afternoon, and they'd spend time in the fitness center hot tub and pool.

Tim and the rest of his siblings were at work and the Gibbs children at school. The only new person in the mix today was Tony's cousin Nigel Paddington, who would have lunch at the Manor with the DiNozzos and whoever else was there. Tony had already put something together for lunch, it would just need a quick cook.

Tim left enough mezethes at home for Tony to serve his cousin but brought the rest into work. He put them on paper plates on Ellie's desk with a note that they were made yesterday by his wife's Greek grandmother and would be wonderful cold and even better heated for 20 seconds in the breakroom microwave. Then he asked Ray Esposito to send an email to Joel and Leon about the mezethes, although he used their titles in his request. Ray was the newest agent on the INV team and Tim wanted him to be more visible. He was not only a good agent, Tim saw potential for excellence and decided to push him a bit.

His new INV agents had arrived in the UK and checked in with Ray yesterday but neither had come to the office, asking to visit today. That was fine with their new boss and he asked Ray to give them a tour of the office before the four of them went to lunch.

The two, whose names were McCoy and Bailey, arrived at 1100, met Tim and Esposito, Agent Childers and the rest of her field team before having a tour of the office. The tour completed, the four INV agents went to lunch.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While Tim was meeting his new agents in person for the first time, Tony was seeing the cousin he remembered as a little boy, about Rissa's age, from his days with his English family, the Paddingtons.

Tony admitted he was a little uneasy about meeting him or any of the Paddingtons after the pay back incident and was glad his wife would be with him. After making sure his son-in-law knew he was available for any help that might be needed, the Colonel was reassured enough to stick to his previous plan, an afternoon of playing pinochle with LJ, Cesar Fornell and Mac. While LJ, Cesar and the Colonel were in Greece, they'd played with an expat they'd met in one of the tavernas in Varkiza. Now that they were back in Brambury, they'd move to Jethro's favorite pub in Brambury and Mac agreed to play in place of the expat.

Maggie rested after the walk and was feeling good, not to mention curious about this Nigel person, telling her husband that if this was something else financial, they would have had a letter. She hoped this meeting and lunch went well. Jethro, Lu and Sarah would join them for the meal, which would help.

Nigel arrived at two minutes after 11:00, immediately endearing himself to his cousin by being late and therefore not perfect. He was Dad's height with brown hair cut in a modern but not trendy fashion, which Maggie liked, giving her hope that he really was a 'regular' guy. Tony met him at the door and brought him in, the cousin saying, "Is this the remnants of an old Manor house?"

Tony nodded, "Yes, the original family died during the Black Death and the house and grounds were neglected for forty years before someone found a male line cousin of the original family. They're still the owners. My brother Tim, sister and father rented it when my brother, was transferred to London from the U.S. in 2015. There were 6 of them but they had specific items they wanted and this was the only place that had them. Since then, the family has grown. Tim had two kids and was a single parent when he moved here, now he's married and they have 5 kids with #6 on the way. My sister married and her husband moved in. My dad married and his wife, our new mother, moved in. One of our brothers returned from military service and he and our youngest brother occasionally stay here. With the landlord's approval, they renovated an old schoolroom into an office and a bedroom we call the 'Bachelors' Quarters'. My dad also renovated the attic into a two bedroom suite. In the meantime, the rest of us were either transferred to Europe or evacuated from the U.S. last summer. I think at one point there were 24 people living in here, but only for a few days. Right now, there are more because our youngest sibling is getting married on Saturday, that's why Maggie and I are here from Marseille. Normally, there are 12 people living here, this weekend we'll have…29, I believe."

His cousin's eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his head and Tony grinned. "Come on, I'll give you a quick tour and then show you the garden and the treasure in back of it."

He helped Maggie up before they went upstairs, otherwise she'd have to sit until someone else came through or she called someone. Giving Nigel a tour of the upstairs, they toured the former playroom and the Gibbs' suite before checking back with Maggie, who was now sitting on James' desk chair at the kitchen table, her laptop in front of her. Tony shook his head, "You're not working?"

"No, just checking my email."

Tony huffed, "Tell Race and the others hello." She rolled her eyes at his back as he and Nigel walked to the conservatory.

Nigel was properly impressed by the garden and the walking path. They didn't go far, Tony didn't want to leave Maggie by herself for too long. Nigel agreed when he said that. "We have two children and I was terrified throughout both pregnancies."

"Thank you, that makes me feel better. Although Tim has 5 kids, he hasn't been through a pregnancy and their new baby is being carried by a gestational host, so he's only been through everything indirectly. They spend a lot of time with the woman but still, they're not there every day."

"That's amazing that women choose to do that! To basically give up their bodies for 9 months."

"It is amazing, boggles my mind. How old are your kids?"

"7 and 10, daughters. Do you know what you're having?"

Tony smiled, "Twins, a girl and a boy! We never thought we'd have any, thought we were too old. We've only been together a few years, engaged for two years and married last summer."

Nigel nodded, "Nature can be rather determined! Did you drive or take the train from Marseille?"

"Neither, we flew, with permission from our doctors. However, our family doctors have asked us to consider taking the train home. My father-in-law will be with us, so that will help and one of our doctors may go along and fly home."

"My goodness, she must be due soon, although I suppose the concern is because of the twins?"

"Yes. Her first pregnancy, she's an "older" mother, they've told us everything is fine but my brothers, I have two who are doctors, told us when they saw her that the odds of her making it to our due date, which is May 20th, are very slim."

"The train is sounding better and better!"

Back inside, Dad was moving plates to the dining room and the table was already set with cutlery and glassware. Sarah, Lu and Artie joined them, Tony introducing his cousin to them and they sat for lunch, a large chicken salad with crescent rolls hot from the oven. Sarah made the salad and grinned happily when her family complimented her.

She turned to Nigel, "I don't like to cook, although I'll help if I'm needed. On my dinner rotations, we usually have takeout or frozen. However, I've found that I do like to make salads and that's turning into my specialty. Which is really nice in my family as just about everyone has something they like to do in the kitchen. Mom makes wonderful apple crisp, Dad grills fantastic steaks and chicken, Tony is nearly a master chef, his Italian dishes are better than the restaurants', Artie makes wonderful Greek dishes and can do a pretty mean mac and cheese, Tim, her husband and my brother, can cook almost anything. He and Artie have created several fusion Greek-American dishes that are wonderful. My husband James also likes to cook, although he hasn't found a specialty yet."

Nigel smiled, "This salad is delicious, wonderful job, Chef Sarah!" He turned to Tony, "I hope you'll be back frequently and we'll come visit you, this is wonderful!"

After lunch, Sarah and Artie cleaned up while Tony and Nigel adjourned to the family room and Lu and Jethro sat outside on the terrace, enjoying the lovely day.

Before they sat, Tony poured two glasses of lemonade and a glass of cold tea for Maggie. He found her in the family room, James' chair still with her. As they settled into the comfortable chairs, Nigel smiled, "I imagine you're wondering why the renewed interest after all this time? I do want to assure you it's not to take any more money from you! I discovered what Crispian did and I'm finally able to remedy his perfidy."

He reached into his satchel and retrieved a piece of paper that he handed to Tony. "Crispian had no legal or moral right to coerce you to pay back the money Uncle Clive gave you. It was truly a gift. If you'll pardon me for speaking frankly, Uncle knew of your father's financial excesses and knew your mother, his niece, was unhappy with her marriage and wanted to return home with you. After her death, Uncle wanted to keep you with our family, raise you with us, but your father refused to allow it."

Tony looked at the paper, and Maggie could see it was a check for the amount he'd paid to the estate and she guessed interest as it was quite a bit more. Knowing that Tony was still absorbing what Nigel said, she asked the first question that came to mind, "When was that, Nigel, do you know?"

"Shortly after the death of Tony's mum."

Tony looked at him, "He put me in boarding schools. I was alone for the rest of my childhood, except for the summer I spent with you."

Nigel's face clouded, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that."

Tony turned to Maggie, "How do you feel about changing to Gibbs?"

She patted his arm, "I'm fine with it, let's discuss it later."

He nodded and turned back to his cousin, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, that…I had no idea."

"Uncle Clive asked his solicitors to find you, and they did but short of kidnapping you, there was no way to bring you home to us. Your father would not discuss even allowing you to visit. The one summer he did…"

Tony nodded, "I know why. The boarding school closed for repairs and he was pursuing some wealthy woman. He probably made it sound like he was being truly magnanimous, the poor widower allowing his only child to leave him for the summer."

Nigel sighed, "I was too young to remember, but I have heard something like that from my father." He grabbed the satchel again and took out several papers clipped together as well as a slim box about 10X12 inches in size.

"These are yours, what Uncle Clive left you. Unfortunately, Crispian somehow found out who Uncle's executor would be and made friends with him well before Uncle's death. He convinced him that you couldn't be found but he could be trusted to keep your inheritance until you were located. Luckily, I was old enough by then to distrust my brother and when we were told, by the Executor, that you couldn't be found, I started snooping around. I found you easily enough but I didn't want to contact you until I had access to your inheritance or a legal means of removing it from Crispian."

He handed the box and the packet of papers to Tony, who took them and put them in his lap, not quite ready to look.

Seeing her husband's deepening distress, Maggie said, "How did you finally get them?"

"My wife's brother is an estate attorney. He's known of the situation since before we married. Several months ago, he attended a seminar and met someone who could help. Long story short, Crispian was forced to hand over everything and to make up the money he'd spent as well as the interest that should have accrued. Oh and he had to pay all the legal fees too as well as a stiff penalty for what he did. While the forensics accountant was tracking your inheritance, he found other funds that didn't legally belong to Crispian. Dear brother gave those back, with interest, rather than face a jail term. And he's stepped down as head of the family firm."

Maggie kept asking questions while Tony tried to pull himself together. She wished Jethro would channel his rumored psychic ability and join them.

"Does Crispian have a family?"

"He did. While all this has come to light, his wife left him, with their children, taking everything of value from the house. She's divorcing him."

"And your father? How is he taking the news?"

"Stoically, although he's thanked me for starting the inquiries. My mother isn't sure how she feels yet. Her instinct is to trust her oldest but she's not willing to cast doubt – or shame – on me. We shall see."

"And will you forgive her?"

"Probably. I know she loves me but I'm neither the oldest nor the youngest. It seems it's difficult to place so much faith in someone in the middle, so to speak."

Tony huffed, "As if that's any of your doing!"

Maggie held back her sigh of relief when Jethro appeared in the doorway. He looked at his son and frowned. He looked at Maggie who gave him a please help look, and came in.

Tony looked at him with relief, "Dad, Uncle Clive wanted me to grow up here, with them, after my mother died. Senior wouldn't let that happen, wouldn't even allow a visit until it fit his needs."

"Let me guess, he needed money from them or he had a deal and had no place to stick you?"

"Yes, that. There was a fire at the boarding school right before the end of term and they closed for the summer and yes, he was chasing money in the form of a wealthy widow."

Jethro sat on the coffee table in front of his son and wrapped his arms around him. "We can't undo that. However, it did mean you got to know your uncle and cousins. How long were you there?"

"Ten weeks, almost the whole summer, until the boarding school opened again."

"That's a good solid chunk of time to spend with family, Anthony. I'm not happy about why it happened but I am glad it happened."

Still in his dad's arms, Tony nodded and took a deep breath. With a wan smile, he sat back, "Thank you. Nigel, things started getting better for me when I started college. As part of a fraternity, I had a family, something I hadn't had since I last saw you, when I was 12 and you were…4?"

Nigel nodded, "Fancy you remembering my age!"

Tony chuckled, "My brother Tim is 8 years younger than I am. After you called, I realized you two are the same age."

Jethro looked, "Nigel, do you live anywhere near here?"

"On the other side of London, Mr. Gibbs."

"It's Jethro."

"Right, Jethro."

"We have a wedding here Saturday, tomorrow will be crazy and both Tony and Maggie are in the wedding. Son, are you leaving for home Monday or Tuesday?"

"Tuesday, Dad, we think we're going to take the train."

His father exhaled, "Good! Your mother has been worried but we didn't want to bug either of you." He turned to Nigel, "We have a complex family, mostly adopted and chosen. Tony's never allowed me to adopt him because his father occasionally makes an effort with him. However, when I married the surrogate mother of some of my kids, she adopted all of them, including Tony. So we're at least related through her."

"How many kids is that?"

"Eleven, two daughters, nine sons, 5 grandbabies with 3 on the way. Three daughters-in-law, counting this week's bride, and three more I think will join us."

Maggie mentally considered that, "Bec, Charlotte and Nikki?"

"Yes. Can't count Abby as she's already included. And I don't know if Barry's seeing anyone."

Tony nodded, "He is but they've just started dating, not even long enough to invite to the wedding."

"Good he's seeing someone, does he have a name?"

"Yes but we're sworn to secrecy. Barry wants to be the one to tell you and Mom if things go well."

When his father frowned, Tony smiled, "It's good, Dad. Tim took care of it."

"All right, thanks. I'll have to tell your mother, we made a deal before we got married."

"That's all right, we're aware."

They turned back to Nigel and Jethro said, "Nigel, we'd like you and your family to come for dinner Monday. I'd ask for Sunday but I know from experience that we'll be exhausted. This is our fourth wedding in 3 years."

"I'll need to check with my wife but I do know there's no afterschool events or medical appointments on Monday so that clears two possible obstacles!"

Tony grinned, "I hope you can make it, I'd love to introduce you to the resident family."

"Not your entire family?"

Maggie laughed, "No, they were all here last night to meet the bride's family, visiting from the States and Argentina. Three of our brothers have their own businesses, one is in the military and most of the rest of us work for the American government in Europe. Getting everyone together three times in the same week would require a miracle!"

"Ah, I see. The American government?"

Tony chuckled, "Yes and we're not with the CIA."

"Oh good because that is where my mind went!"

The doorbell rang and Jethro went to answer it, returning with the Porters. "Nigel, I'd like you to meet part of our extended family, Drs. Larry and Cyndi Porter. Larry, Cyndi, this is Nigel Paddington, Tony's cousin."

"It's good to meet you, Nigel. We did hear Tony had a cousin coming to visit. Welcome to the Manor!"

"Do you live here too?"

"No, we live in the U.S., near Boston, Massachusetts. We're professors at MIT, which, so far, has been safe from terrorist attack. We took time off for the wedding and we'll stay until our classes start in the fall."

"You're off that long?"

"No, we were off all summer last year, over here after Tony's sister Sarah's wedding. This time, we found substitutes for our spring term classes and we'll teach summer term courses online and travel around that schedule."

Nigel suddenly grinned, "This is a very interesting family, I'm going to enjoy getting to know you! Tony, Maggie, are you just here for the big holidays?"

"Yes, but we usually come for at least a week. Otherwise we don't get to do more than say hello to everyone. With the babies, it'll be easier to spend time, we'll have to bring the same amount of paraphernalia whether we're here for a day or a month!"

Tony chuckled when he saw his father thinking about that. After the painful news about Crispian and Senior, Tony started to relax and he, Maggie and his cousin spent another couple of hours together. The senior Gibbses excused themselves as they left for the fitness center with the Porters.

After Nigel left, the DiNozzos retreated to their room. Maggie stretched out, as best she could, on the bed while Tony sat next to her, going through the items Nigel gave him.

The first things they saw, amongst the papers, was a copy of Uncle Clive's will, with the first page followed by the pages where Tony's name was mentioned, as a shareholder of the family's North Sea oil business, the heir of his late mother's properties, held in trust for him per her last will and testament, and as the beloved grand-nephew of Clive Percy Paddington, being named as the heir of various items. Tony couldn't help the tears as they read through the papers, he'd been loved and remembered after all.

Following the will were stock certificates, with Tony's name on them. The stock was for the Paddington North Sea oil company and was for several shares. There was a legal document with it, stating that the stock was part of his inheritance, as the son and only child of the late Juliette Paddington DiNozzo and that additional shares were a bequest from his Great-Uncle Clive Paddington.

In the middle of these papers, each of which left Tony speechless, was another check, the dollar amount large enough to make both their eyes pop. Written in American dollars, there was a print-out attached detailing the conversion from pounds sterling to the currency of the U.S.A. Another paper explained the check was the amount of dividends earned by Anthony DiNozzo, Jr., since the initial date of issuance of stock in his name.

Knowing her husband was overwhelmed, Maggie read through everything a couple of times. The check refunding the money Tony paid to Crispian was lovely and she knew that Nigel's care in making sure that everything was made good for his cousin had already helped ease Tony's long hidden distress over Crispian's actions and the pain of seemingly being forgotten by Uncle Clive. The second check, with the dividends from the oil company, was huge, not only in the amount but in its intent, to set things right, all the way back to Clive's death.

When she saw that Tony had fallen asleep, she smiled, kissing his forehead while she got as comfortable as she could. Unable to sleep, not even to doze for a few minutes, she turned her mind to the money and what they could do with it. For one thing, it was enough to buy a house, or several houses, when they went home. Or maybe they'd build one. It would be lovely if they could find property near Tim and Artie's place in Arlington, to live close by. She laughed to herself, they could buy or build a home and they could retire if they wanted.

She thought about that. There was no way Tony could just retire without taking up another occupation, something less dangerous. He'd love coaching kids in football or basketball or becoming a movie critic, or going to culinary school to become a chef. Oh yeah, he'd love all of those things.

With a start she realized she could stay home with the twins for a few years, at least until they started preschool. As long as they had medical insurance and if Tony remained with the agency, that wouldn't be a problem. She'd have to think about that, they'd had a hard enough time combining incomes, neither used to having to consider a partner when it came to money. She also didn't want her husband to continue with a dangerous job so they'd have medical insurance. There were other possibilities there.

When a warm hand rubbed her back, she smiled, her love was awake. Now they could start figuring out the rest of their lives. Her smile grew wider as she mentally thanked Uncle Clive and her late mother-in-law. It seemed they'd done their best to ensure a safe financial future for Tony. Cousin Nigel was a good man, he'd talked a little today of his memories of Tony's visit, how the older boy had played with him, paid attention to him, a much younger child. She smiled again, Tony's kindness as a child had reaped this reward and she knew he would treasure the relationship with his cousin over everything else.

After they both washed their faces, Tony carefully opened the box. Maggie gasped when she saw what it was, the deed to a house here in the United Kingdom. Tony's mouth fell open and he touched the paper gingerly. Maggie nudged him, "Can you see if there's a photo? And where is this?"

He laughed, "It'd be cool if it turned out to be close here, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, we could live here. Even if all the NCIS'ers and your parents move home, Sarah and James, his parents and Susannah and Ian and his parents will be here. Mimi and Sophia wouldn't be far away and Nikolas and Sergio. And Dad would stay, too. And you know your parents will visit for weeks, maybe even months at a time."

He smiled at her, leaning forward and kissing her with great affection. "My love, you always think of the best possibilities!"

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When Tim arrived home from work that evening, he was astounded by and then overjoyed with the news of Tony's inheritance and Nigel's perseverance in making things right for him. He'd never seen his brother so…light, was the only description he could come up with, as if every problem, every hurt had been eased. Not removed but definitely eased.

Their parents and the Colonel were almost as happy and excited as Tony and Maggie, each realizing the positive emotional repercussions of Nigel's care. Just as Tim and Jethro had discovered neither of them had ever been truly alone, now Tony knew that for himself. Physically, yes, but emotionally, no, he'd been loved all along. By his mother, who left him everything she had, by his Uncle Clive, who made sure to leave him his share plus the house and by a little boy with whom he'd played, paid attention to and unknowingly forged a strong bond during his summer in England.

The atmosphere at dinner that evening was joyous, for Tony's good fortune, for his mother's family reclaiming him and of course for the impending wedding. The children were just as happy, the littles weren't quite sure what had happened but all their adults were smiling and laughing, and that was enough for the kids.

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If Thursday was a day of discovery and joy, Friday was frenetic with last minute pre-wedding activities. While they were having a rehearsal that evening, after the crowd at the family dinner Rob and Ellie decided against a rehearsal dinner. Instead, anyone who wanted to join in could meet them at the local pub for a bite. They'd also passed on having bachelor and bachelorette parties and their best man and maid of honor dutifully agreed.

After spending the day making sure each member of the wedding party had his or her wedding attire and that it was ready, that there were designated people to park cars and/or deliver guests to and from the train and Tube stations and a several other small details that were not necessarily within the purview of the wedding planner, the Manor residents were grateful for the lack of a rehearsal dinner.

Big Blue, driven by various members of the family, circled between the train station and the Manor several times during the day, delivering the Clachers, Gaia, Theo, the twins and Ana as well as the Costas family from Italy. At the last minute and with financial help from the family (in that Lu, in a conversation with Mimi, said wouldn't it be fun if all the kids could come, Mimi said airfare would be a problem to which Lu replied, may we help with that?), Ana brought her children with her. The children and young adults of the Gibbs' clan, the grandkids, the Palmer kids, the Hubbard kids, Jared, Kayla, Emily and Pauley, were overjoyed to see all their Greek and Italian cousins and friends, happily introducing them to the Bishop grandkids. Katerina, Damaris and their Galanis girl cousins, that is Ana's daughters, were especially excited to meet American boys near their own ages! Of course, Nick and Ethan were just as thrilled to meet girls from other places. Well, really, girls in general but the girls from Italy or Greece seemed very exotic. Of course, their sister and cousin Kenna was just as excited to meet the Galanis boys and made quick friends with the other girls. Emily and Matthaíos quickly rekindled the friendship they'd built on the beach last summer while Cassie, Kayla and Pauley had fun comparing notes about college life.

Watching the explosion of excited kids and young adults, Robert Bishop had a fleeting wish that he had found a way to bring his family with him. This was a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of an international family. He was enjoying himself immensely, getting acquainted with Rob and his vast family as well as spending time with his sister, brothers, their families and his parents.

As was probably inevitable with a master chef in the mix, the plans for dinner changed. Before the rehearsal started, Nikolas and Sergio had already been shopping, returning with enough food for everyone and then some. Sergio and the girls started prepping and as the rehearsal came to an end, Nikolas was ready to begin cooking their dinner, with a happy Tobias, Artie, Tim and Tony as his sous chefs. Although they hadn't wanted a big fuss and really had not wanted the Gibbses to spend any more money or effort on feeding so many people again, Rob and Ellie were quietly thrilled and took plenty of photos of their very own chef and his staff 'de jour'.

In the meantime, the rehearsal had gone well, the Gibbs children meshed well with the Bishop children and the two flower girls, Hope and Rissa, knew to stay a few steps behind Kyle and Matt, the ringbearers. And they would be a few steps behind the maid of honor, Jenna, who'd be preceded by the junior bridesmaids, Chesney and Kenna, and their escorts, Greg, Andy, Ethan and Nick. Those six would be preceded by the bridesmaids and groomsmen, entering together. It was a large bridal party but Ellie wanted the wedding as different from her first one as possible. Involving all the children was one of those differences as well as including her sisters-in-law and probable future sisters-in-law. Her parents would walk with her rather than her father 'giving her away' as he'd done the first time. This would be a true family wedding, bringing together the Bishops and the various families that constituted the Gibbs clan. She'd never felt comfortable with Jake's family; she was already part of this one.

Their wedding planner might have had a panic attack if she'd been there to see the buffet style dinner but everyone ate in the dining room or family room, keeping the living room as pristinely clean as it was when the cleaners finished that afternoon. And there was no shortage of helpers to clean up, even to washing the kitchen floor once the dishwasher was running. Although Nikolas hadn't been happy about it, Sergio insisted they use disposable dishes and cups.

Lu thoroughly enjoyed the evening, having fun during the rehearsal and relaxing and enjoying watching Nikolas and the others at work in the kitchen. Even better, the kids, from Matthaíos and Cassie, the eldest, down to Hope, the youngest, took care of all of the cleanup. She grinned as Sophia, Edith and Fiona sat down around her, Edith saying, "Lu, you look more relaxed than you've been in ages."

She nodded, whispering, "I made one little comment several days ago and I haven't had to lift a finger since then!"

"Were you having to do everything?"

"It wasn't exactly that. I was afraid we here at the Manor were expected to feed and entertain this past week, that Rob and Ellie weren't planning on doing anything much. Edith, James said you were also worried and thank you for that. I asked Jethro and then the kids, Tim, Artie, Sarah and James asked us the same questions, hoping we knew about some sort of plan. Tim said he'd call Rob but Sarah said she would and we've barely had to lift a finger since!"

"You had the family dinner, that was a huge deal!"

"Yes, but I didn't have to do much. Tim, Tony and Artie made the pasta and the sauce, Sarah and Sophia handled the salads, I think all I did was tell the kids when it was time to set the tables! Oh no, I also directed the men to move the tables into the dining room, I forgot that. Even cleaning the house was a breeze with everyone assigned specific tasks."

Sophia smiled, "I had fun helping Sarah. I got to know her better and I learned more about salads – as well as what goes on behind the scenes in planning and executing parties and big dinners."

"And did Rob and Ellie take care of her family – and guests?"

"Yes, Barbara said they did a great job. Following Sarah's jet lag routine, they took them sightseeing into London and around the area. Some of them did day tours and will do more sightseeing next week. Ellie's sisters-in-law homeschool their children and they're having a marvelous time learning about London, the UK and Europe, about the U.S. expatriates who live here, whether they're refugees or were here before the war started, like us. I believe they're going to France for an overnight next week."

Fiona tilted her head, "That's great, very educational! But tell me, your boys and Artemis made the pasta? You mean more than cooking it?"

"Oh yes, they made it from scratch. Tony bought a pasta maker during one of his visits and it stays here. Tim and Artie make us fresh pasta nearly every time we have pasta." She chuckled, "It took some time to make enough pasta for 63 people but it was worth it!" She looked at Fiona, "They made the sauce from scratch too, fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion and vegetables. They put it together Wednesday morning and it simmered all day long. It was wonderful!"

Sophia nodded, "It was delicious!" She smiled at Fiona, "Did you know that Nikolas is now using one of Tony's recipes in his restaurant?"

Fiona shook her head, impressed. She and Alastair had visited Sorrento several months ago and thoroughly enjoyed the meals they'd eaten with the Costas.

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After such a crazy eventful week, Tim wondered if the wedding would seem a bit anticlimactic, although he wisely kept that question to himself. He was happy to be proven wrong as his baby brother's wedding was wonderful. As he had at Sarah's wedding, Tim thought he would burst with pride as he watched Robbie and Ellie say their vows. He cried, he knew he would, Sarah and Geordie also cried and it was a given that their mother would cry! The guys denied crying but they were sniffly after the ceremony and their eyes were a bit pink. Jimmy's lovely solo brought tears of joy to many of the family and their guests.

The former camp group and Lu cried again, this time together, after the ceremony when they discovered that two of the Skype attendees were their very own Nate and Big John. Nate stayed on long enough to say hello to the newlyweds as well as his 'girl and boys'. Andy and Artie said hello to him and he met Hope for the first time, or the first time they remembered and Tim promised to send photos of the new baby when he arrived.

Robert's family was online as well and Rob and Ellie spent some time with them, introducing the senior Gibbses and whichever of the siblings and kids they could round up. The kids giggled when they were introduced. Damaris said hello and then said, "I'm not related to you! I'm one of the Gibbses' Greek-Italian cousins but there are so many of us we forget who is related to whom! It's really great to meet and speak with people in Argentina and welcome to the clan!"

The formal photos were taken while the guests mingled, enjoying appetizers and beverages, the wedding party eventually joining them.

Within an hour, the caterers served the meal and while the crowd was eating and drinking, glasses were raised as toasts were given. Tim gave his best man speech and Elie's maid of honor spoke. Jethro and Jerry also talked, welcoming Ellie and Rob into their respective families and gently teasing each other about new family members.

Vance was a surprise speaker and as he stood, Tim noticed he also wore a boutonniere. Leon introduced himself as Ellie's boss' boss and a member of the Gibbs extended family. He spoke of helping to entice Ellie from a former employer to their agency and then wondered if they'd done the right thing when she sat on her desk or the floor, surrounded by bags of junk food. That brought laughter from everyone who knew Ellie's snacking habits. He said his doubts vanished the first time he witnessed her piecing together a case. "She's brilliant, of course, taught by the best - her new father-in-law and two of her new brothers-in-law. She can certainly hold her own! Most newcomer didn't stay long on Jethro Gibbs' team, but she outlasted him!" Then he spoke of the first time he met Rob and learned of his connection to Tim, how he'd enjoyed getting to know him better over the years and how helpful the young doctor had been to him during a recent illness.

Cyndi Porter was next and spoke about Rob as a child and Rob as a young man. With a grin, she handed him a box of cookies. "When Rob lived at MIT with Tim and Sarah, he was still very shy and when we would have dinners or meet socially, he'd generally do his best to hide. However, one of our friends, Dr. Santos, made cookies for some occasion and discovered the key to Rob was to always have those cookies around. Rob, these cookies have been in the freezer, made by Dr. Santos for this occasion. Congratulations to both of you!"

Rob laughed, saying Dr. Santos had reminded him of the cookies when he saw them at Tim and Artie's wedding.

While they were eating, the living room was cleared of most of the chairs, making enough room to dance to music selected by a DJ hired by the wedding planner. The music was a truly eclectic mix, each number guaranteed to find at least one fan in the international crowd. That was fun and Tim told Artie that they should have music and dance the next time they got married. She looked at him, questions in her eyes, as he smiled, "I mean when we get married in the Orthodox Church."

"Oh! You'd be willing to do that?"

"Absolutely. And then once we're married, Andy, Marissa, possibly Hope and Baby can be baptized in the Church. We'll find out about Hope. Greg and Kyle were baptized in the Episcopal church."

"You really don't mind? I know you go with me now, but you were such an agnostic when I first met you!"

"I was, but I've changed, grown, learned to trust and have faith. I'm no longer an agnostic, I wasn't when we married, but I didn't know where I'd been baptized, where to write for the paperwork I needed."

She gave him a flirtatious look, "And we were in a hurry."

He pulled her closer, they were on the dance floor, "And that, yes."

"Where do you see this happening?"

"Either in Greece or here, your choice."

"If we have our Church wedding in Greece, my family will come. Will all of yours?"

"I hope we can make that happen but if some of them can't make it, that's all right, they were with us at our first wedding. Your mother was the only one of your family who was with us in DC, and Susannah, Ian, Mimi and Ana were at our Brambury ceremony."

"That's true." She chuckled, "I forgot Ana was there! It would be fun to have a wedding in Greece. There are a lot of conditions, you know, wherever the wedding is. It won't be a 'vow renewal' but an actual wedding. We have to meet with the priest several times and announce our nuptials in newspapers and you'll have to provide proof of your baptism into a religion that believes in the Holy Trinity."

"Yes. However, all of those are doable. And as I now know I was baptized in a Christian church, proving belief in the Holy Trinity is not a problem."

"We'll need a sponsor."

"Huh?"

"Like a godparent but he or she has to be an active member of the Orthodox Church."

"All right, we can figure that out. Can it be Yaya?"

"Maybe. If not, perhaps Gaia."

"Not Nikolas? Oh, an active member and he's not married in the Orthodox Church." Tim smiled, "Maybe we should ask Peter."

"Oh! I have to think about that."

As the music segued into slow, hot jazz, their bodies melded together, following the sultry notes.


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Tim woke with a start and then realized his phone alarm was buzzing. Switching on his bedside lamp, he winced at the light and then looked at the time, 0815 Sunday. He made a face, he was on rotation for breakfast on Sundays, which would be served at 0930 today.

As quietly as he could, he scrabbled, his movements didn't deserve anything more dignified, out of bed, his legs momentarily tangled in sheets and blankets. He finally freed them, getting his feet into slippers. From there, he headed to the bathroom to get his morning started. Minutes later, he emerged to find his wife awake and giving him the same look she'd given him last night. Which was why he was so bleary this morning, happy and well satisfied but definitely bleary.

He gave her a chaste kiss, "Need to get breakfast started."

She nodded, "I'll be down to help in a few minutes."

"Thanks, sweetie."

Flipping the lights on downstairs in the kitchen, he found a note in his own handwriting, his planned menu for breakfast: quiche, potatoes, fresh fruit and a variety of beverages. The coffeemaker was already burbling to itself and while he waited for his first cup, he pulled eggs, creme, bacon, cheese, butter and other ingredients from the refrigerator. Turning both ovens on, he filled his coffee mug, taking several very necessary sips before resuming work.

The potatoes came from the freezer, he'd diced, seasoned and roasted them a few weeks ago, now they just needed reheating. He dumped them into a roasting pan and into the oven. He opened the cabinet with the baking pans and stood looking at their stack of pie and cake pans. They'd need 8 quiches, or the equivalent, to feed the 37 people they expected for breakfast. Reaching into the back of the cabinet, he pulled two casserole dishes for the quiches, that would be easier. Mentally adjusting the amount of ingredients for the number of people, he got to work, after adding a second bag of potatoes from the freezer and throwing them in with the first.

His father beat Artie to the kitchen, pouring coffee and looking at the menu. "I'll get the fruit ready. Want juice, too?"

"Yes and thanks, Daddy."

Grinning at the name, Gibbs ruffled his kid's hair which was already standing up in short clumps. "Fun night?"

Tim gave him a look and both men smiled. James joined them a few minutes later, thanking whoever had put the kettle on for tea. That was Tim, it was automatic in this household, coffee and tea were top priorities in the mornings.

Artie finally joined them, showered and fully dressed. She helped Jethro with the fruit and then she and James set the dining table, glad to find they had enough disposable plates for the breakfast crowd.

In the meantime, the quiches were in the second oven and Dad looked at the chart for the day. "Who has dishwasher duty this mor…oh, Lu. I'll do it."

They all pitched in, pulling the cutlery first and putting it on the dining table. There were plenty of paper cups for juice and milk but they pulled all the mugs out, from the dishwasher and the cabinets, for coffee, tea and hot chocolate. As the senior Powells and Clachers were joining them, Tim rinsed out their largest teapot and gratefully agreed when James said he'd make the tea.

It was 0850, time to start rousing people. Tim stayed with the breakfast preparations while the others headed out to start waking the rest of the household.

Geo and Bec had stayed over last night but were nowhere to be found this morning. The mystery was solved when they came in from a run and reported having passed Tony, who'd started his run a little later. The children came downstairs in their robes and jammies, accompanying Yaya Sophia and Mimi.

They'd roused Jose and Ellie's brother Robert, who reported that he'd heard people moving around in the attic. Lu and Maggie came in, and were handed mugs. Lu's had coffee and Maggie's was filled with a robust rooibostea, which was really a tisane as the twigs, not the leaves, are brewed. Rooibos, a plant product of South Africa, was said to be excellent for pregnant women.

Tony returned, bringing the Clachers with him. The Powells were already there and the two older British couples were happy to find their morning tea ready for them. Sergio led the way in with his family, Nikolas still a little sleepy. He always said he was not a baker and therefore not a morning person.

While Nikolas moved with the others from the kitchen to the dining tables, Sergio and the girls stayed with Tim and his kids to help serve.

Breakfast was a success, the quiche, Tim's own variation of the famed Quiche Lorraine, was light but filling while the potatoes did well after being reheated. After everyone had firsts, several people had seconds and by the time they all finished, both casserole dishes of the quiche and the bowls with the potatoes were empty.

Tim was happy with that and even happier when Nikolas asked him to share his quiche recipe. "We are adding more international dishes and I'd love to add this one to the Sunday brunch menu. The flavors, the seasonings you use are wonderful, they will make our customers very happy! If you'll allow me to use it, I will credit you, just as I have Anthony with his recipe*."

Tim agreed and he and his uncle-in-law worked on a name for the recipe.

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That afternoon, Tim printed a few photos of the wedding and then he and Artie took the kids to visit Patrick. The children had fun telling the comatose man all about the wedding and their new cousins, even though they weren't sure if they were really cousins, like Ainsley, Callum, Matthaíos, Cassie, Katerina, Damaris and the other Greek cousins, or if they were clan, also known as the 'big family', cousins, like Em, Kayla, Jared, Davey, Victoria and Jilly.

Andy and Greg decided it didn't matter, they loved all their cousins whether they were really related or not. They helped put the wedding photos up, laughing at the one with all of the Gibbses, with their significant others and another one with all of the Gibbses and all of the Bishops. A third one included the Greek family plus James and Ian's parents.

Rissa shook her head, "When he wakes up, he has a lot of people to meet!"

Artie smiled, "He certainly does! And many more stories to hear, too. Won't that be fun?"

Hope nodded, asking when he was going to wake up. "He's always asleep when we're here!"

Greg hugged his little sister, "That's because his head was hurt, Hopie, and he sleeps all the time. Papa believes he'll wake up someday and Kyle and I hope so too."

Hope frowned, "That's a lot of sleep, Greggy! He won't ever have to go to bed when he wakes up." When they left, she stood on her tippy-toes but still needed a lift up so she could kiss him goodbye.

Back at the Manor, they all said goodbye to Aunt Susannah, Uncle Ian, Mr. Alastair and Mrs. Fiona as they had a mid-afternoon train home to Edinburgh. They were glad Uncle James' parents were still there, they didn't have to leave until early in the morning. The Bishop family, including Robert, was staying through Thursday, leaving early Friday morning and in the meantime doing as much sightseeing as possible. While Robert was enjoying being with his family, getting to know his sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, he missed his wife and children.

None of the others in his family wanted to go home. Jerry told Jethro that if he had someone to run the ranch, they'd all stay here until the war was over. Barbara agreed, saying the stress and tension at home was almost unbearable. They'd talked about selling out but had been dissuaded by the lack of buyers. Instead, they'd formed a "Neighborhood Watch" to keep an eye out for trouble, especially keeping in mind neighbors who qualified for the infamous "Unwanted" list. There had been attacks in the Tulsa area, but so far the terrorists had not appeared near Tahlequah.

It seemed strange to go to work Monday morning. Tim felt like a major milestone had somehow been reached but he wasn't sure what it was or how it related to him and Rob and Ellie's wedding. It took lunch and a talk with Bec to realize why he was feeling so pleased, proud and satisfied.

The reason was simple and yet mind-blowing, to him anyway. Both his 'kids', Sarah and Rob, were now fully launched into adulthood. Already successful in their chosen careers, they'd also found partners with whom to share their lives. And although he probably wouldn't share this with anyone but Artie, Bec and Geordie, he knew he'd played a big part in their success. He'd raised them, made sure they survived the deprivations of 9 years of hunger, cold, extreme poverty and ever present crime. He'd given them the physical and emotional support he wished he had for himself and soldiered on through tough times, pushing and pulling them with him. This, now, today, was when he knew he'd been, _they'd_ been successful and that it was all worth it.

He knew they had a case that day, helping the Rota team with a suspected embezzlement. He checked his entries, his actions, later in the week and he'd followed the INV protocols, nothing was missed or done incorrectly. Indeed, the information he and Esposito provided led to an arrest. However, he never remembered the case, or working on it, or much of anything that day, after his realization.

He left for home when James arrived in his office. They took the Tube home as they usually did. However, he'd forgotten that Tony's cousin Nigel and his family were having dinner with them. No matter, James mentioned it on the train, wondering why Tim beamed at him for that. Tim was thinking they were not only successful, Sarah and Rob had brought their wonderful partners to their family, another brother and sister.

Not sure what was going on with Tim, James was even more perplexed when they reached home and his wife greeted her brother as if she hadn't seen him in months. This was too weird! Later she would tell him of her realization, that the three of them, Rob, Tim and her, had made it through and were miles beyond their misery. That Rob's wedding truly marked the end of that part of their lives and that she and Rob owed everything to Tim.

Like Tim, she was reluctant to discuss her feelings with anyone but her husband and brothers. It wasn't until weeks later that she, Tim, Rob and Geo had a chance to get together, just the four of them, to 'close the book' as Tim put it.

However, that Monday night after the wedding, she was riding just as high as Tim and told him why. He was so astounded that she knew, that she felt the same thing he did that he swept her into his arms and held on, both of them full of joy. Luckily, the Paddingtons arrived and the family was distracted by Tony's cousin.

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Jethro had to work harder than usual to pay attention to Tony's relatives that evening, something was up with Tim and Sarah. Although it seemed to be a good thing. They'd just finished eating when his phone rang with a call from Geordie.

Excusing himself from the table, Jethro walked into the family room to take the call. "Hey, kiddo."

"Hi, Dad. I just wanted to give you a heads up that Tim is up in the clouds today and it's for a good reason, don't worry. It has to do with Rob getting married, it's hitting me a bit, too and I wouldn't be surprised if Sarah's also up in the clouds."

"She is, they both are!"

"Wonderful! I'll ask you to be patient, the four of us need to acknowledge this between us, again, it's all good, wonderful, however we need to share amongst ourselves before we share with you and Mom. So we'll at least have to wait until Rob and Ellie get home."

"Thanks, Geordie, it helps knowing even this much. I'll refrain from asking."

"Thanks, Dad, you're the best."

They disconnected and Jethro returned to the dining room, feeling a great deal lighter.

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The DiNozzos, Mimi and Sophia left very early Tuesday morning with Dr. Palmer along for the train ride. The trip would take between 6 ½ and 7 hours and Jimmy's flight home would land him back in Brambury before his children's bedtime. Ducky had fully intended to go but then Jimmy mentioned that he'd delivered two sets of twins during his residency. That changed the conversation! Maggie loved Ducky dearly but was just as happy when told Dr. Jimmy was going with them instead.

Mimi and Sophia had never taken a train across a country other than Italy and asked to go along. When they arrived in Marseille, they'd join Jimmy for the trip to the airport, continuing their journey with a flight to Athens. The five of them were excited about taking the train, having little idea what the scenery would be. Maggie's dad was amused and relieved they weren't flying home.

They laughed at themselves for thinking they'd be able to see anything as the train traveled at 186 miles per hour and everything was at best a blur. There were stops in Lyon and Avignon, which allowed brief glimpses of those cities. Maggie slept a great deal, waking to use the restroom, drink a bottle of water and have something to eat. She managed a walk each time she was awake, accompanied by her husband.

In Marseille, they said goodbye to Jimmy, Sophia and Mimi before climbing in a taxi for the ride home. The three traveling to the airport were able to catch a shuttle bus, which made things easier and less expensive. All three were at their destinations before dusk; Jimmy even had time to read his older children a story before they were tucked into bed.

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Receiving positive reports of the train travelers' progress across France, Tuesday passed quickly. Most of the Bishops took the train to Paris early Monday, spending the day touring the city before traveling to Disneyland Paris. They stayed there overnight, at the same Airbnb the Gibbses had stayed in, and were spending Wednesday in the Park. Early Wednesday evening, they'd catch the train back to London and then on to Brambury.

Thursday, they'd pack and do any last minute shopping, picture taking and sightseeing as they had to be at the airport by 0600 Friday morning.

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Friday morning after Jethro returned from the airport, he and Lu looked at each other and then started laughing. Ending up in the kitchen, the two sat down for a quiet cup of coffee.

Finally Lu said, "It was wonderful but it's good to have the place to ourselves again! It feels like longer than 13 days!"

Jethro nodded, "Feels like everyone has been in and out of here since Christmas! Except for us and our time is coming, soon!"

She huffed, "At least we'll see what we're driving through! Although a train trip would be fun too."

"Would you rather do that?"

"No, sweetie, I want more time alone with you in the RV." She chuckled, "It's likely our only time away together until October."

He shook his head, "I've been thinking about that. How about we take off after the kids are out of school in July? Just the two of us, for a few days. We can take the train somewhere, to the continent or here in the UK."

"Mmm, how about a flight to Ireland? I missed that trip!"

"Great idea but then let's go before school is out, otherwise it'll be crowded with Brits as well as Yanks."

She laughed at him for saying Yanks. "Did Jerry say anything to you about our 'accents'?"

"Yes, he said we don't sound American anymore but don't quite sound British either."

"If we stay another couple of years, we probably will cross that line, sound like Brits. Or expats who've stayed too long!"

Jethro nodded, "Geo, Tim and I think it'll be close to two years more. They're gaining ground against the terrorists but no one knows how many there are or where they are."

She looked around but Sarah, Mac and LJ weren't up yet. Quietly she asked, "Will Artie and I ever know what goes on here?"

He thought about it for a minute before replying, "Artie will but it'll likely remain classified for 30 years or more." He grinned at her, "So you'll have to continue being very quietly proud."

She made a noise before standing up and taking his hand. With another grin, he went willingly.

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By Saturday, things were returning to normal. By common consent, everyone was on their own for the weekend with no company anticipated. Tim, his father and the boys worked on the nursery and put the finishing touches on Kyle's new train track, in the room he would share with Greg. Artie and Lu sorted through the baby's things. Breena had saved all of the clothes Jilly had grown out of and the DiNozzos took all but one item home for the twins. The only thing Artie insisted on keeping was a pair of striped overalls with matching booties and a long sleeved top.

Now that Lu's foot was healed, the senior and junior Gibbses were considering swapping bedrooms until Baby was sleeping through the night. If he wasn't breastfed, then being closer to the kitchen would be wonderful and while he needed tending to every 2-3 hours, the inevitable crying wouldn't wake the kids.

It was Lu and Jethro's idea and it was a good one, the only real obstacle was Tim and Artie's worries about living on a different floor from the girls for 3 or 4 months. They thought about bringing Hope downstairs to live with them but ultimately decided she was old enough to stay upstairs with her sister and brothers. If she had a bad dream or needed a cuddle, she'd likely go to the master bedroom anyway.

In the end, they spoke with the children. Andy, Greg and Kyle, remembering baby Hope's cries, and having recently heard Jilly's cries, readily agreed. Rissa said that was all right with her, as long as she knew where Mama and Papa were. When Hope had to think about it, her parents wondered if she might like to take her afternoon nap in the room downstairs. That was all she needed and she smiled her acceptance.

Their decision made, the four adults decided to make the move before the baby arrived so they'd all be used to their temporary quarters. Giving themselves a week to pack, they'd make the move the following weekend. Joe and Geordie volunteered to help with the bed swap as the senior Gibbses had a Queen mattress, box springs and a headboard while and the juniors had a California King and a platform bedframe.

With help from Jose, Geordie, James, Callum, Jared, Andy, Greg, Kyle and Rissa, the move went well, the beds and bedside tables swapped as well as Tim and Artie's chairs, one a rocker-recliner and the other a wingback recliner, and Jethro and Lu's favorite chairs, a recliner and a club chair with a footrest. Kyle and Rissa insisted on helping, carrying pillows, blankets and spreads between rooms. Even Hope carried something.

Once they were finished with the bedrooms, Joe asked if they should also move the baby's crib, bassinet, rocker and changing tables into place. The crib, rocker and changing table, really a bureau, would go upstairs in the nursery, where baby would sleep during the day, while the bassinet and a changing topper for one of the dressers would go in the downstairs suite. Glad to have help, Tim and Jethro readily agreed. They were done with everything by lunchtime and the four Gibbses thanked their helpers by treating them to pizza at their favorite pizza joint.

That afternoon, they said goodbye to Uncles Dave and Jim, who were reporting to the Baton Rouge, berthed in the harbor at Antwerp, for a 7 month float. They'd be home at the end of November, in time for Christmas. Tim hated saying goodbye to them and he couldn't imagine how hard it was for Grammie, Claire, Ainsley, Callum, Aunty Liz and Penny. When he hugged his godfather and uncle, the three of them hung on for several minutes.

Tim worked in his hidden room for a few hours that night, it was easier now that he didn't have to sneak down to the basement from the second floor! He smiled as he checked the logs, they'd identified another dozen or so terrorists who were then arrested minutes before carrying out an attack, in fact the follow up report from the defense squad stated that they'd been arrested 'en route' to a targeted business.

Tired, he took a hot shower before he turned in, thinking about flying with infants. Neither he nor Artie nor, he supposed, the DiNozzos, had done any research on traveling with infants. The three babies would be a little more than 2 months old in late July, early August, surely that was too young to fly? He made a mental note to do some research before he crawled into bed next to his wife, who murmured to him in her sleep. She always seemed to know when he came to bed, something he much appreciated.

He was dreaming about their new son when Artie shook him awake. "Timotheus, wake up!"

He made a noise, forcing his eyes open, "What's wrong?"

"Harry just sent a text, they're on the way to the hospital, Kadie's water broke and she's having serious contractions. She's in labor, sweetie!"

Tim jumped out of bed, grabbing clothes and shoes while Artie did the same. Once dressed, they wrote a note for the others, grabbed their baby bag and left, meeting an Uber vehicle at the bottom of the driveway. They didn't wanted to wake anyone just yet, not until they knew more. Remembering Tim's early arrival, both of them thought it was happening again, thankfully only 4 weeks early rather than 9 weeks. In addition, this was 2018, not 1977, obstetrics had improved a great deal in the past 40 years!

Upstairs, Jethro woke with a jolt and lay still, focusing inward. Sliding quietly out of bed, he padded down the hallway and staircase to the kitchen, finding Tim's note. After reading it, he stood still but his gut was quiet, a good thing. Finally he let himself smile, new grandbaby #1 was on his way!

Cautioning himself that it could be several, even many hours before the baby arrived, he poured a mug of coffee and read the news online. They now subscribed to two daily newspapers, one British and one American. The British paper was delivered to the house while they read the American paper online. That way, they had access to the latest edition. Along with the rest of the war news, Jethro found it informative and sometimes frustrating to read the latest speculation about who was involved in arrests and take downs, especially when the White Hats were mentioned.

An hour later, he couldn't stand the silence any longer and texted his son that he was awake and had seen the note.

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In Kadie's room, Tim read the text when it came in and excusing himself, they were between contractions at the moment, stepped into the hallway to reply to his father's text. "Baby is on his way, vitals for both K and little guy are good, he's early but docs aren't worried."

He smiled at his dad's reply. "Ok if I text your sibs to let them know? Esp. DiNozzos?"

His response was: "Yes, thanks!"

Still in the kitchen, Jethro grinned as he sent a text to his 'big kids', letting them know that Baby Boy Gibbs was making an early appearance, all was going well so far, that Tim and Artie got the call about 0530.

Andy, Lu and Hope wandered downstairs a little after 7, stopping when they got to the kitchen and saw the big grin on their grandfather/husband's face. "What's up?"

"The baby decided to come early." He looked at his grandchildren, "Everything's fine, your parents will call when he's on the outside."

Andy frowned, "When did they leave? I didn't hear Big Blue."

"They left about 5:40, an Uber car picked them up. Your dad said they didn't want to leave us without transportation." His eyes twinkling, he added, "And they were both too nervous and excited to drive."

Lu looked at the clock. "How long have you known?"

"A little over an hour. I woke up suddenly, might have been when they left. Took me a few minutes to get up, then I came downstairs and found the note they left."

Hope looked around, "When is the baby coming home?"

"In a day or so, sweetie."

Andy made a face, "Can we see him in the hospital?"

"Yes, once he's born."

"Good! I'm going to wake the others and tell them!"

Hope wanted to go, too, so they walked up the stairs, hand in hand, to tell Rissa, Kyle and Greg, who each cheered when told the news. Kyle looked at their oldest brother, "Do you know what his name is?"

Andy shook his head, "I don't think Papa and Mama have told anyone."

"Are we going to the hospital?"

"Not until the baby is born. And first we have to eat breakfast and get dressed."

Kyle jumped out of bed, grabbing his robe and stuffing his feet into his slippers, yelling, "C'mon then!" He raced downstairs while Greg and Andy walked down, holding hands with their sisters. Hope chattered about being a big sister and all the things she was going to teach her baby brother and the others grinned, that was sweet! Greg leaned over to Rissa, "You said the same thing when Mama brought Hope home the first time! Only baby sister, not brother."

She giggled at that, "I remember being happy she's a girl!"

They reached the kitchen to find Kyle hurriedly setting the table and exhorting the toaster to 'hurry up'. His grandmother tapped his shoulder, "We're not in a hurry, yet, Doodle Bug. We won't go to the hospital until we know the baby has arrived."

"Oh. Phooey!"

She smiled, "It would be more phooey if we got there and had to wait hours and hours. We can do that here at home."

"Okay, Grandma, thanks!" Kyle kissed her.

James, on the prowl for his morning tea, was the next to hear the news and he nearly launched his mug into the air as he whirled around to go wake Sarah and tell her. Jethro grabbed the mug before it sailed across the room. Luckily, it was one of the mugs with a lid to keep beverages hot.

As they sat to eat breakfast, their usual Sunday fare of eggs and pancakes, Greg asked if they were going to church. Their grandparents looked at each other and then shook their heads no. Lu said, "None of us will be able to sit still and that will distract everyone around us. I'm sure God understands!"

Sarah and James sat down with their own breakfasts before the others were finished. Sarah was all smiles, looking at her parents. "The baby's okay? I know a month isn't scary early but still…"

Her father nodded, "Your brother said their vital signs were good and that the doctors weren't worried."

"Okay, good! Have you heard from anyone else? I just saw your text."

"No, but it's early yet."

James nodded, "Geo had overnight duty. One of his guys is on leave so he took the Saturday night duty."

Jethro smiled proudly, "Now, that's a good officer!"

After breakfast, they cleaned up the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. They'd run it after everyone had their showers. They were just leaving the kitchen when they heard Joe's van outside. He'd had a date with Charlotte last night and said he'd stay over at Freddie's. He nearly ran into the house, "Is the baby here yet? Is he okay?"

Jethro wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "He's not here yet, son. And yes, Tim said the doctors aren't worried about the baby."

He smiled as Jose noisily exhaled. "Good, that's good. Uh, is it all right if I go to the hospital with you? I need to shower but I'll be ready in 20 minutes."

"Have you eaten?"

When Joe shook his head, his dad smiled. "We've got time, the baby's not on the outside yet. Get something to eat, clean up, whatever you need to do, even if he arrives while you're in the shower, we won't be able to see him for a while. They have to run tests, probably more since he's early, and clean him up."

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Breathing through a contraction with Kadie, Tim wondered how much longer it would be. She'd already been in active labor when they came to the hospital. No one seemed concerned, the medical staff said that although the baby was early, this was a normal delivery.

Tim huffed to himself, he knew all this, his degree in bio-medical engineering guaranteed he'd studied every function of the human body! Less than a month ago, Jimmy had reviewed the stages of labor and delivery with him.

Three hours later, he smiled through tears as he held his newborn son for the first time. "Hello, sweetie, I'm your daddy!"

The tiny baby made a noise and Artie reached for him. They didn't have him long, though, as the staff took him to run tests and clean him up. They left the room while Kadie was seen to, finding Susannah, Ian, Geordie, Bec, Bill, Barry, Freddie, Abby, Rob, Ellie, Breena and Ducky in the hallway. They were surprised to see Susannah and Ian but Ian said they'd each had a bag packed and when they got Jethro's text, they'd grabbed their bags and hopped on the next train bound for London. Breena said she and Jimmy did a coin toss and she won. She added, "Besides, he just got to ride a train through France, it's my turn!'

After briefly greeting everyone, Tim called his father who answered so quickly, he thought he must have been holding the phone in his hand.

"Tim? News?"

"Yes, congratulations, Grandpa, on the birth of your youngest grandchild. He was born about 5 minutes ago, we got to cuddle him briefly before they whisked him away. He weighs 4 pounds and his lungs work just fine. They said they'll need him for a few minutes."

At the Manor, Jethro had the phone on speaker and now Tim grinned as he heard his children, his mother, sister, James, Joe and two older voices, Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac, cheering along with his dad.

"Congratulations, kiddo! We're on our way to see you, we can't wait!"

When the medical staff exited Kadie's room, Artie and Tim went in to see her, to thank her and Harry and to say goodbye. They'd already snapped the photos they were allowed to take of her with them and with the baby, now it was time to sever their connection. Unless there were problems, this was it.

Knowing she was a dedicated Harry Potter fan, they'd brought her something very special from Alnwick Castle and now gave it to her. As tired and sore as she was, her eyes lit up and she happily thanked them. With a kiss for her and a hug and handshake for Harry, they left the room.

Until the baby was discharged, they'd have a private family room where he would stay with them during the day, be fed, changed and bathed. Now they gathered the others and took them to that room. Rob looked at his brother, "We'll be in the waiting room when the kids, Mom and Dad get here."

"Thanks, Rob."

Tim was holding his baby son again when the kids and his parents walked in, nearly tiptoeing. The nurse had already been in to show them, that is Tim, how to change his diaper, bathe and swaddle him. Artie fed him a bottle and just as with baby Hope her first day with the family, the sound that came from the tiny boy was disproportionate to his size. After a couple of burps, he fell back to sleep, making sweet little snuffles.

The medical staff took him back to the nursery, they'd let Tim and Artie know when he needed feeding or changing again. By now, the Gibbses knew their baby boy would be staying in the hospital until Tuesday, when all the test results would be in.

After the baby and his entourage left, Tim asked everyone but his parents and kids to give them a little time alone in the room. Once the others left, the couple smiled at his parents and the children and Artie said, "It's time for the great unveiling! Children, thank you for your contributions to the names list, you had great ideas!"

Tim smiled at his parents, "We did a lot of soul searching and had a few discussions with Tony and Maggie. Cutting to the important part, our son's name is Jethro Alexander Gibbs. Dad, we know you had major objections to using your name and we thought to use Jackson instead. However, our son will never know Grandpa Jack but he will grow up with you, Leroy Jethro. His formal name will be Jethro and we'll call him 'Jed'."

"Jed?"

"Yes. It's a strong name fit for a young boy as well as a grown man. When we discovered it's a nickname for the name Josiah, we decided to adapt it for use with Jethro, too."

Jethro nodded, tears running down his face. He finally choked out a thank you as his family wrapped him in their arms. "I never thought I'd have a son or a grandson, much less one named for me. My best hope for any kind of legacy was to stay in touch with you, Tony, Abby, Jimmy and Ellie. And Ziva. I hoped that I could somehow be part of your lives even after we were no longer a team. This…" He buried his head in his son's arms and Tim held on, feeling the man's joy. Tim turned his head slightly so the kids could see that it was all right.

He looked at Artie, wondering if they were feeling the same thing, thankful that they'd overridden Dad's objections to using his name.

When the tears stopped and everyone wiped their faces, they invited the rest of the family back into the room. It was crowded but they wouldn't be long. Tim smiled at all of them, "Our son's name is Jethro Alexander Gibbs and we'll call him 'Jed'. Alexandra is one of Yaya Sophia's names. We changed it to Alexander, to honor her."

There were cheers and applause and Dad laughed. When he turned to Tim with a question on his face, Artie answered, "Tony and Maggie know, we negotiated for the names we wanted for our children."

However, Tim's eyes widened and Geordie chuckled, "We've got you covered, Timmo. I texted Tony and Maggie as soon as we heard Jed was on the outside."

Rob raised a finger, "I let the Porters know."

Bec raised her hand, "I let the director and the Morrises know."

Ellie made a face, "I decided I'd better check with you before letting our team know."

"Thanks, Ellie. If you don't mind, would you please send a text?"

She nodded with a smile.

Susannah said, "I let Yaya and Mama know and Ian sent texts to Nikolas, Gaia and Ana. We called Alastair and Fiona."

Sarah tilted her head with a smile, "I sent a text to Big John's brother Randy, to let Nate know."

Lu raised her hand, "Everyone else is here!"

They laughed at that and Tim said, "Thank you, everyone! We're staying for Jed's next feeding, coming up in about an hour. But first, we're starving so we're headed for the cafeteria. You're welcome to join us if you want!"

The kids grinned, Grandma had already told them they'd have lunch here with their parents. And they were staying while Jed had his next bottle. Then they'd go home as Grandma said there were things they all needed to do, mostly laundry and homework. And she thought she'd call Father Linard at the Orthodox Church to let him know. She knew the baby couldn't be baptized in the Church because Tim and Artie had married in a civil ceremony, but the priest told her he would be more than happy to pray for their new little one.

After devouring a hot meal and coffee, Tim and Artie felt more themselves. Gradually, their family slipped away, knowing they had a better chance of seeing the baby once he was home. Dad drove Susannah and Ian to the train station, thanking them for making the effort to be with Artie and Tim. "I know it means the world to your sister and Tim to have you here with them!"

Back at the hospital, Jethro was in time to hold the baby for a few minutes while he guzzled his bottle. Grandpa smiled happily when he slipped a finger onto Jed's fingers and it was immediately gripped. Grandma had her turn and was equally happy. Tim burped him again and they all laughed at the belches. Artie changed his diaper and Hope and Rissa made faces at the smell while the boys tried not to laugh at them, Andy and Greg remembering Rissa and Kyle's diaper days and all of them remembering Hope's.

Tim and Artie spent Monday at the hospital and their infant son spent the entire day with them. By the time they left that evening, to have dinner with the family, they knew little Jed had passed all his tests and would be discharged in the morning. They celebrated with the family that night and spent extra time with their children. They knew time with anyone but the baby would be precious over the next few weeks.

Tim's parents drove them to the hospital on Tuesday to bring the baby home. Discharging him took some time but it was well worth it when they finally had him home. They established his routine right away, changing him, feeding him several ounces of his approved formula, burping him and then rocking him for a little while until they were sure he was sound asleep. Then they carefully laid him in his bassinet in their room, made sure the baby monitor was on and after watching him sleep for a solid half hour, forced themselves out of the room, leaving the door open. Jed was part of a big family and while they would try to be quiet, he'd need to get used to them.

They found Dad and Malu in the kitchen with fresh coffee for them. They sat at the table, Artie saying, "He's going to sleep a lot his first three or four months. So will the twins."

Tim nodded, thinking he knew where she was going with this. "I was thinking about that the other night. Did a little bit of research and guess what, people take their infants on planes and vacations all the time!"

Lu chuckled, "How about the first two weeks of August?"

Jethro looked puzzled and then shook his head, "Instead of October?"

"Yes. October is during the school term and the Greek and Italian cousins probably won't be able to come."

Tim nodded, "Varkiza wouldn't be the same without Nikolas, Sergio and the girls or Ana, her kids, Gaia, Theo and the twins."

"It's nearly May, do you think we'll be able to find lodgings?"

Tim tilted his head, "I hope so! I need to check with Leon before we make any reservations." He sighed, "I don't think Ellie and I should be off at the same time. At least not both out of town."

"Esposito will have more time in by then."

"Yeah but two out of three gone at the same time, that's not good, Dad."

Lu frowned, "What about Bec?"

"She's got a strong SFA, we're not the same job class and we're not legally related."

Artie made a face, "Maybe you and Ellie could work at the Athens office, you know, rotate days so one of you is always working."

Tim twisted his lips, finally saying, "Vance won't go for that. He disapproves of people taking working vacations."

He and his father laughed when their wives gave them looks, Lu saying, "Then what would you call last summer? How many meetings were you in while you were supposed to be on vacation?"

Tim tilted his head, "You're right but that was a crisis. We were lucky we only had to go into the office that one morning! In the end, HR reduced the number of personal leave time we used."

"Does that mean you got paid for your work time?"

"Yes."

Artie frowned, "Will it happen again this year?"

"Honey, it could happen to me anytime. Whenever there's a big or complex enough case to need all of the INV agents, I'll be called in. However, I hope there won't be a repeat of Leon's health crisis or any worsening of the war at home."

His father nodded, "Amen to that! Are you going to talk with Tony?"

"Yes, I'll call him…oh. He's at work." Tim shook his head, "Weird, I guess my brain decided that since Jed is on the outside, the twins must be too. I'll send him an email. Which reminds me, when are you two planning to leave?"

His parents were laughing at him and he looked at them, puzzled. His mother finally patted his hand, "Son, today is May 1st. Tony's off today, your father says Hamburg and Rota are working. Most of the continent was on holiday over the weekend, yesterday and today."

"Where are our kids?"

"With the Hubbards, Palmers, Jared, Penny, Liz and the Porters. They took the train to Brighton, spent the day and will be home this evening. They'll eat dinner on the train."

"An adventure, great! What did they do yesterday?"

"After visiting the hospital, they went swimming with Sarah and James, then they, and the Porters, took them into the City to the London Transport Museum."

Artie smiled, "Good, I'm glad they're having a good time!"

Tim frowned, "Did we know about all this? I mean, before?"

"Yes and no. Your original plans were to go into London to play on Monday and today you were taking a train trip somewhere, I forget where. So the trip into London is a yes and the trip to Brighton is no, that was a new plan."

Tim and Artie looked at each other, "Oh, that was _this_ week!"

Jethro nodded, "We gave permission, hope that was all right, but you two were so tired Sunday and last night…"

"That's fine, we trust you! I guess we both just spaced the dates!"

"Do you remember where you were going today?"

"Uh, oh yeah, Stratford-Upon-Avon, we were going to take that river cruise."

"Oh good, you can do that some other weekend."

"Sure. So, back to the DiNozzos."

"We hate to leave you!"

Tim frowned, "Dad, Mom, Tony and Maggie really need you. Tony's probably already in a panic about Maggie's labor and babies and changing diapers and you know, being a father. And Maggie's usually the one who keeps him calm, she's really going to need him this time. Her dad's a rock but I don't know how much he knows about babies."

"I know, but…"

Artie spoke then, "We're surrounded by family here, people who will help. And I'm not recovering from childbirth, Maggie will be. They need you."

"We know all that and we agree, it's the timing that's so off."

Tim laughed in relief, "Can't help that, we didn't coordinate the conceptions!"

His mother laughed, "All right. We're planning to leave a week from today. We hope we'll arrive before Maggie goes into labor as I have a feeling that both Tony and Richard will need someone to hold onto."

"Good! And you're staying for a month, right?"

"No, well it depends when the babies arrive but we plan to be home for Kyle's birthday. That should give us about 10 days there."

Lu and Jethro smiled at each other before turning to their kids. "Before we leave Marseille, Liz, Edith and George will arrive to help. The Powells are staying 10 days, two weekends and the 5 week days between, and Liz plans to stay at least a month."

They smiled at the looks on the kids' faces. "And before we leave for France, Mimi and Sophia will arrive here to stay. Mimi will probably spend a week or more with Liz and Maggie later, after Tony goes back to work. Sophia will stay here to help."

Lu smiled, "Your mother may not know how to cook much but she certainly knows how to take care of babies! She's very excited!"

Artie was near tears. "She…this is so wonderful!"

"It was her idea, sweetheart. When they first heard about the close delivery dates, she volunteered herself and Mimi. After they heard more about the DiNozzos' situation, they insisted on helping there, too. You know that saying, 'it takes a village'? We've certainly got enough family and friends to form our own village and we're taking the phrase literally. Oh and I believe all four of the Clachers are coming down while we're gone, to give everyone a break. Your sister and Ian will be here over a weekend but Alastair and Fiona will be here for a week. I don't remember if they're doing the same thing the Powells are, the two weekends with the 5 days between. Between the two households, the four of you new baby parents will be nearly drowning with helpers."

Tim had his eyes closed and his father knew he was feeling overwhelmed. For positive reasons, but still overwhelmed. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling him relax. "This is the family you helped create, son. As you sow, so shall you reap. Please let us help, all of us."

Tim nodded mutely. Then they heard a little cry over the baby monitor and Tim nearly ran for the baby while Artie prepared his formula. The little cry escalated into a loud wail before Tim reached little Jed, they'd have to get used to him crying. After changing his infant son, Tim sat in the rocking recliner and fed him his bottle. When he had enough, it was Artie's turn to burp him. She made a face, "I forgot how tiny they are and he's even tinier than Marissa was."

After burping, the little boy fell right back to sleep again and they set the timer for another couple of hours. This time, they got a few things done, a load of laundry and looking through the cupboards and refrigerator to see what to make for dinner tonight, finally settling on something simple. Tomorrow, they'd put together a slow cooker meal but for tonight, turkey, avocado, bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with a mixed greens salad sounded great.

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Over the next week, the Manor family established a routine for the baby, the older children and themselves, one that seemed to work well. It would change as the baby grew older but for now it would do.

The Gibbses brought their rented RV home the afternoon before they left and with help from Jose, James, Sarah and Tim, loaded the DiNozzos' baby furniture in, making sure it was secure in the interior of the RV and wouldn't come crashing down with a quick stop. When asked how he intended to move it all out, Gibbs smiled, "We'll take one piece out at a time, get it set up and come back for more. We'll arrive in mid-morning and don't have to turn the RV in until late afternoon. Should give us plenty of time."

Maggie was doing fine, a little bored and impatient but she and her father played cards and took walks and that helped. Mimi and Sophia arrived at the Manor the day before Tim's parents left, smiling at the printed schedules posted in the kitchen. Along with the usual chore list, there was now a calendar with names of helpers penciled in the days they were expected. A second calendar outlined the DiNozzos' schedule of helpers.

Tim said goodbye to his parents the night before they left. He was on nights with the baby and their planned hour of departure fell within a precious sleep period for little Jed and his daddy.

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Jethro and Lu made good time their first day, driving a full 8 hours to the camp where they would stay overnight. They'd rotated driving so neither was too tired, although they were very glad when they parked the RV for the night. Finding a walking path, they locked up and walked for an hour. That felt great! Checking in with their kids, they found that Maggie was still fine, nothing new and she was very glad they'd arrive the next day. Artie also said everything was fine, her mother and grandmother were helping and right then Tim was asleep so he could handle night feedings with the baby again. He'd do nights this week while Artie would do days and then swap next week.

Relieved with the lack of problems, the couple reheated the dinner they'd made last night, ate it and went for another, shorter walk before they turned in.

They reached Marseille around 10 AM Wednesday morning and, following GPS as well as Tony's directions, easily found the DiNozzos' townhome. Close to the city center, the Gibbses were intrigued by the interior which had modern features combined with historical details, such as crown molding and ceiling beams. Whoever designed it did a wonderful job. It was two stories with the common areas downstairs, kitchen, living room, a media room/guest room with a sofa bed and a full bath.

The upstairs had three bedrooms, the master with an en suite bath and two additional rooms. The one at the far end of the hall was the Colonel's, whose room was large enough for his bed, a small sofa, a favorite chair and his own TV. The other room was the nursery with a full hallway bathroom in between the two rooms. From the second floor, there was a door to the roof which featured a rooftop deck and they were taken on a quick tour. The views were wonderful, they could see countryside, parts of the city, even a view of the sea. Lu remarked that there was room for a garden up there if they wanted one. Richard, the Colonel, nodded. "After meeting Tony's cousin and getting that money back, Maggie's been talking about putting in raised beds up here, having a garden, perhaps a wading pool for the twins."

Now Jethro understood why Tony and Maggie had been in a hurry to sell Tony's apartment in DC and buy this place, this had to have been the find of a lifetime! He and Lu loaned them the money to secure the purchase and keep them above water until the U.S. apartment sold. It had taken a couple of months but everything worked out perfectly. The townhome was on a lot just big enough for a small front garden and a fenced back garden with a terrace, flowerbeds, shade trees and a bit of lawn and a garage large enough for both their vehicles, a real luxury.

Maggie was happy and relieved to see them, she'd dreaded going through labor without Lu and she knew Tony would especially need his dad. Her father was happy to see his friends and relieved that they'd have help. Of course, once he saw the schedule of helpers, he put those particular worries out of his mind.

With the Colonel's help and by moving the furniture piece by piece, they managed to get it all out of the RV and into the nursery in less than an hour. After that, the Colonel and Maggie drove to the RV rental lot, the Gibbses following them. After the RV was returned and the paperwork done, the four of them returned to the townhouse.

Back in the nursery, Jethro, Lu and Richard got busy putting everything together. One wall of the nursery was painted in an underwater theme, with blues and greens. There were fishes, big and little, an underwater 'tree' and lots of interesting plants and things. The rest of the room was painted a lovely soft green.

The bassinets were the first items to be assembled, that went quickly and both were moved into the master bedroom. A diaper changing 'topper' was next, attached to an extra bureau in the master, for use during nighttime hours. The couple already had four slim profile rocking recliners, two for the master bedroom and two for the nursery.

When Tony came in from work, he welcomed them with hugs and kisses and then turned to his wife, speaking to her baby bump. "Ok babies, Grandpa, Grandma and Grandad are here, you can come out now!"

They laughed and then stopped, looking at Maggie. She made a face, "I'm flattered you think I have that kind of power over unborn children! It's flattering, and a little scary!"

That made them laugh again and Tony told them a story about a stupider-than-usual criminal.

Happy to spend uninterrupted time together, the group had a convivial dinner followed by a movie. Tony thought they should watch, "Mary Poppins." He was sure it would give him tips about raising kids. After a fair amount of teasing and Lu explaining more about the famous nanny, they instead watched a movie about the United Kingdom at the beginning of World War II.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When the Gibbses woke the next morning, they found Maggie cooking a full breakfast, eggs, ham and there were croissants on the table. Juice was already poured and the coffee made. Jethro looked at Lu, he'd never seen Maggie cook anything. Lu was watching her daughter-in-law carefully, finally saying, "Is there anything I can do, Maggie?"

Maggie turned with a smile, "Thanks, Lu but I've got everything covered."

Lu nodded, "How are you feeling today?"

"Good! The twins must be giving my lungs a break because it's a little easier to breathe."

Lu looked at her, "That could be because they've changed position. They've dropped, Maggie."

"Dropped? Oh, OH! But I haven't had any pain."

"Your body is preparing for birth, dear. The pain will start at some point. Have you felt any contractions?"

"Well, yes, Braxton Hicks, before I started cooking the eggs."

Lu smiled, "With the babies having dropped into position, I doubt those were Braxton Hicks. I think it very likely your labor has started. How long did it last, do you remember?"

"About a minute. I thought it felt different than the Braxton Hicks, those feel crampy while this hurt a little bit."

"All right. Well, let's have breakfast and plan to spend the day at home. Maybe take a walk or two. It'll likely be several hours before your labor is far enough along to go to the hospital, unless your doctors have instructed you otherwise."

"They said when contractions are 6 minutes apart. Should we call Tony?"

All three, the Colonel had joined them, looked at Jethro. He thought for a moment, "How long does it take him to get home from the office?"

"About 20 minutes."

"Ok, how about you call him when your contractions are 7 minutes apart? That should give him time to get home and have a few minutes before we need to leave."

Lu shook her head slightly and Jethro took a wild guess, "Or maybe 8 minutes."

Now his wife nodded and Maggie also agreed.

It was a long day, especially for Maggie. The four of them went for a walk and came home, had lunch and then Maggie laid down for a while. Lu checked on her periodically, finally returning to the living room. "Honey, time to call Tony. Richard, Maggie wants you."

Jethro looked at his watch as he called his son, 1655, five minutes before the end of the day for the field team. When he told Tony it was time to come home and how far apart the contractions were, Tony took a deep breath before asking how Maggie was doing.

"She says she's glad it's started, that she's tired of waiting. I imagine you are, too."

"Yeah, I am, except the next part is even scarier! I'll tell the team I won't be in the rest of the week and then I'll be on my way."

He walked in the door 23 minutes later and went immediately to his wife, who had taken a shower, dressed and was ready to go, her "New Mommy" bag set by the door. They took two cars, Tony driving his wife while Richard and the Gibbses followed.

Once the medicals staff whisked Maggie and Tony away, Jethro, Lu and Richard settled in to wait.

The twins didn't keep them waiting too long. Little Isabella Diane DiNozzo arrived five hours later and her brother, Jackson Barnes DiNozzo followed her in less than 4 minutes. Richard, Jethro and Lu grinned at each other, "Our grandbabies are here!"

Tony appeared a little later, looking…well, the first description that popped into his father's head was "shell-shocked". He remembered that feeling!

Jethro paced with him, his son was too wired to sit, while he talked about what he'd seen, how'd he'd helped deliver little Diane. Suddenly he had tears rolling down his face, "I have a daughter and a son, children! We're not just an aunt and uncle anymore, we have children of our own, we're parents! My children, our children." He said the last in nearly a whisper and his father was right there with him, ready for the adrenaline crash. Lu and Richard had gone to see Maggie and the babies and now Jethro and the new daddy joined them.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Across the continent, Sarah received a text from her father that Maggie was in labor and she'd passed the news on to the rest of the family. When they heard the babies had been safely delivered, that both they and their mama were fine, there was a sigh of relief and then cheers of joy! Sarah also sent a text to Nigel Paddington who was happy for his cousin and his wife and a bit in awe at the timing of his contact with Tony. When he told the rest of his family that Anthony had named his daughter 'Isabella' after his mother, they approved wholeheartedly.

At his dad's urging, Tony sent a text to Senior, letting him know he and Maggie were the parents of twins, along with their names and statistics. Their first day home from the hospital, two giant teddy bears were delivered, one pink, one blue. They were so large that both of them could not be put in the nursery without blocking something critical, the door, the cribs or the recliners, and the nursery was not a small room! Lu tried to put a positive spin on things, pointing out how excited he must be to have picked the largest stuffed animals on the planet. That got a laugh but didn't solve the problem.

In the end, they decided to rotate the bears. Pink would stay in the nursery for a month while Blue would live in the media room until his turn. Tony was all for putting them both in the garage but was dissuaded from that idea by his family. Maggie asked that Blue be moved into the master bedroom, saying that since the babies slept in there at night, they could explain the separation. She was certain that any day now Senior would show up on their doorstep .

Sure enough, the twins were five days old and Maggie still recuperating when a knock on the front door revealed a beaming Senior. He didn't seem the least surprised to see Jethro and Lu and of course he knew Richard lived with their kids.

Jethro gave him credit, he did things right. He brought appropriate gifts for his son and daughter-in-law and for the babies. He grimaced when he saw the bears. "I'm sorry, I had no idea they were so gargantuan! They're much too big for the little ones, they'll be 10 years old before they're the size of these things!"

He insisted on giving them away, returning with teddy bears in sizes appropriate for the infants. He held each of the babies, immediately after a diaper change and bath. He brought a bottle of brandy that he said would be ready in 2039, just in time for the twins' 21st birthdays and blinked back tears when Tony asked him to write his name on the label. He did cry a little when he heard his granddaughter's name, telling Tony and Maggie that Tony's mother would be thrilled and proud. He wasn't surprised that his grandson wasn't Anthony the third, smiling as he remembered Jackson. "He was a great guy, Junior, that's wonderful and the little guy's name honors all three of your families, the Gibbses, the Barnes and the DiNozzos." He paused, "I have one more thing, well, two more. One is a cashier's check, from me, for the babies' college fund, or whatever you want to do with it. I didn't know if you were going to set up a trust or a savings account. The other I wasn't sure what to do with and didn't want you to have to spend time figuring it out. It's a check from Prince Al for the babies, a baby gift. I wasn't sure either of you could accept it, with your jobs. I thought about calling Vance directly to ask his advice but decided you wouldn't be too happy about that, so I called Ducky. He suggested that because Richard is fully retired, he could safely open a separate account for the kids, he could be named on it as well as one of your non-NCIS/government brothers. I initially thought of Rob but now that Rob and Ellie are married, he probably shouldn't participate. Fred's out because of his relationship with Abby, so that leaves Bill or Joe. Anyway, you see what I mean, it would bypass both of you, all of the agency folks and Geordie and there shouldn't be any problems."

He looked up to find the others smiling at him. Even his son, who had only showed pride in him once before, when he'd talked about the reconstruction plans for the U.S. Now he smiled back at all of them, happy and relieved that he'd done this right! That felt really good! When his son wrapped his arms around him, it took him by complete surprise but he got his arms around Junior to return the hug before anyone had to tell him. Maggie was next and he didn't hug too hard, knowing she was still sore and hurting. Lu kissed his cheek, Richard slapped him on the back and Jethro gave him a one-armed hug.

He stayed two nights, sleeping on the sofa bed in Richard's room as the Gibbses were staying in the media/guest room downstairs. He left early the third morning, kissing Tony, Maggie and the babies goodbye. He had plenty of photos with the babies, several with the babies and their other grandparents, quite of few of him holding the babies and with Tony and Maggie. Before he left, he asked to be included in any baptism or christening.

As tired as he was and was likely to be for the foreseeable future, Tony felt like he was walking on air over the next few days, thinking about his father. He'd not only showed up with appropriate gifts, he'd stayed for the better part of two days without messing up and had been thoughtful enough to contact Ducky, not Vance thank heavens, about Prince Al's gift. Maybe he really was changing.

All too soon, it was time for the Gibbses to return home. The day they were scheduled to fly out, Liz Crane and James' parents, Edith and George Powell, flew in, fresh and energetic.

Lu and Jethro had trouble leaving their grandbabies and the kids but knew they were in good hands. By the time they stepped off the plane in London, they were excited about being home and seeing the kids, big and little. They teased each other about how much little Jed would have grown in the past 10 days, the couple tired enough to be silly, imagining him already walking and talking.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Nikolas is referring to Tony's recipe for Greek garlic bread, seen toward the end of Chapter 57.


	72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

The Gibbses were warmly welcomed home by their kids and grandkids. Feeling as if they'd been away for a month rather than 10 days, they quickly got caught up with everything that happened while they were away. They enjoyed showing the photos of the babies and their parents, Tim smiling as he looked at a photo of Tony holding both babies. "He's going to be fine!"

Lu gave him a hug, "Yes, he will be, Timmo, and those children will always know they're cherished."

Bill came by their second evening home, saying he'd had a puzzling email from Maggie's father and he was hoping someone could tell him what was going on.

When Lu told him, he relaxed, "Sure, that's easy enough, I'm glad to help. I could not get what exactly he was trying to ask me!" He replied to the Colonel and within a few weeks, everything was set up.

Tim's paternity leave lasted four weeks and he extended it with a week of vacation to be home when the kids had their summer half-term holiday. That turned out well as they planned a road trip. In what they felt was a daring move, Tim and Artie rented a motorhome, one that would sleep all of them, and drove the family to the Lake District, to campgrounds with space for motorhomes and near various attractions. They had a great time! When they played outside, the baby slept outdoors in a shaded portable crib. As long as he was fed, changed and could sleep comfortably, he was fine. They were gone for 6 ½ days and were quite proud of themselves, as a family, for the success of the trip. It was not only their first trip with the baby, it was the first family vacation without the kids' grandparents, aunts or uncles along. Although Grandpa and Grandma were missed, the kids and their parents had a great time together.

While they were gone, the Powells took off for a few days, celebrating their wedding anniversary. Jethro and Lu also took off, flying to Dublin for a glorious few days of enjoying the Emerald Isle as well as their time alone. Although they'd talked about it earlier, the decision to go was spontaneous, they woke one morning and said "Let's go now". On their way within hours, they stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast and did just what they wanted to do. Lu had a few places she wanted to see and they saw those and then wandered, taking a private tour, as Jethro, Tim, Greg and Kyle did back in 2015.

Halfway through the junior Gibbses' camping trip, having proved to themselves that baby Jed was an easy traveler, Tim and Artie contacted the DiNozzos to discuss the possibility of Greece in early August, pointing out that there would be as much help there, possibly more, as they had at home, the babies would be comfortable, cared for and everyone would have fun. Tony and Maggie said they'd think about it, calling them back the next day to say they were in, although Richard and Liz, still in Marseille helping with the babies, thought they were crazy!

Before they did anything else, the Gibbses, senior and junior, and DiNozzos agreed on dates. That's when they discovered their parents were in Ireland! After the eight of them, including the Colonel and Liz, agreed to dates, Tim, Tony and Maggie sent in their requests for vacation. Maggie's request went to Stan Burley in Rota while the other two wound up with Leon, who raised an eyebrow, wondering what was in the works. He approved both requests, sending an email to Tim to contact him when he had time. He smiled when Tim called.

"How are you all? Is Jed walking yet?"

Tim laughed, "No, but he's enjoying his first vacation! We rented a motorhome and we're camping near Lake Coniston in the Lake District. Guess what? Babies at Jed's age sleep, eat, poop and sleep some more, wherever they are. As long as they're cared for, they're fine. At least our Jed is." He told Vance their amended plans for Greece and found the director amused and enthusiastic.

"The only fly in the ointment is the number of INV agents we'd be missing for two weeks."

"I have a couple of ideas about that. First is that we keep McCoy through August, she can work on U.S. cases as planned, maybe adjust her work hours. Then when Bishop and I are away, she'll shift to London/European cases, working with Esposito and Piro. The background on that is that she's expressed concern about working in the Northeast. And I might need to rethink that. If she works an East Coast hours shift over the summer and our U.S. offices are happy, then maybe keep her here? Anyway, that's my first idea. The second is that if there's an extra desk or table in the Athens office, Bishop and I could rotate days so Esposito won't be by himself. That way, we'd still have the evenings when there aren't cases."

"Mm, both ideas work. I like the idea of keeping McCoy here, she's already on site, we'll extend her housing and per diem to cover the extra time, we can adjust her hours as needed. And I agree, let's revisit her posting at the end of the summer. All right, let's go with Plan A." He chuckled, "That might save us from Russell and Burly begging for their own INV agents when we leave for home."

Tim smiled at the 'we'. "Great! We'll be home on Saturday, I'll be in Monday to make her the offer. And if she says no thanks, we'll go with Plan B. If you're good with that, we'll send out a group email."

"Count us in! Both my kids have been bugging me about vacation."

After ending the call, Tim and Artie sent out a group email, laughing at the responses which more or less agreed with the Colonel that they were crazy but said they were in if they could find lodging. The Porters wanted to know if they always did things like this or was it only during the summer or when they were around?

Artie contacted their usual Varkiza Airbnb host who was delighted they were coming in the summer after all and promised to add a crib to the master bedroom. After that, they made their flight reservations, letting the others know what flights they were on. Little by little they heard from the others that they'd found lodging and were booked onto the same flights. Tim sent an email to Ellie telling her he and Vance had something worked out so both of them could be away and that he'd tell her about it next week. Maggie emailed them to say that Mimi had invited the DiNozzos and her dad to stay with her.

Tim wasn't sure who was more excited, he and Artie or their children! What made it even more fun was that they were still on their motorhome vacation, they had three more days before they had to drive home.

They spent those three days exploring and swimming, mostly swimming as that was easier with the baby. When they explored, he rode along snuggly in his baby pack but then they had to carry a travel kit with bottles, diapers, a change of clothes and some sort of hygienic changing pad. Luckily, Artie remembered what they'd cobbled together for Hope when they went to Portugal and Jethro had quickly assembled a lightweight, hinged folding board that fit in their daypack/travel baby kit, would keep the changing pad off the ground and provide a more stable surface for Jed while they changed his diaper.

They arrived home Saturday with big smiles, fun stories to tell their grandparents, who'd returned from Ireland two days before, and wonderful memories. While they'd slept in the motorhome, they'd taken wood for campfires and did some cooking outside, roasting marshmallows, even roasting hot dogs on long handled forks one night. While Tim still would not sleep in a tent, he was happy to discover he liked camping and the outdoors. That was good news for Sarah, too, although James was probably more excited about it. They'd been talking about buying a vehicle for themselves and he'd suggested a campervan, closely resembling a Volkswagen bus. Now Sarah agreed to renting one, 'sometime', to try it out.

Sunday, they went to visit Patrick and the boys told him all about their trip and how funny it was that baby Jed, their new baby brother, slept the whole time. They put up some new pictures, including one of Greg holding a fishing pole with a fish on the other end. He told his sleeping dad about catching the fish, adding that the fish was so small, they removed the hook and put him back in the water. Kyle chuckled, "Daddy doesn't like to eat fish anyway. He said Mama would have to clean and cook it!"

Hope, who liked to visit the sleeping man, told him about the big hike they went on and how she walked the whole entire way, she didn't need to ride at all. She whispered, "We had ice cream at the end of our hike! That was yummy! When you wake up, you can have some of my favorite ice cream, cherry chocolate!"

All the siblings but Tony came for dinner Sunday night and Geo, Tim, Sarah and Rob finally had their long delayed celebration of Rob's marriage and launch into adulthood. By now, their partners were beginning to understand what it meant and Lu, also feeling a huge sense of joy, had started to figure it out after Geordie's call to Jethro the night Tim and Sarah had been so overjoyed. After all, she'd witnessed and participated in their childhoods! Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose also admitted feeling something different, not sure what it was or why but each of them reported feeling joyous.

When Jethro heard their explanation, told by each of them interrupting the other with a great deal of emotion, he cried with them, holding onto his kids and Lu, as far as his arms could reach, his heart reaching out farther, to each of his former camp children.

Once the siblings had acknowledged their joy in each other and gratitude for their success, they were at peace.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After the emotional evening, Tim was full of energy the next day. He took the train into the City and had lunch with Jimmy, Abby, Ellie, Bec, Barry and James, sharing photos of the baby and of their camping trip. Returning to the office with them, he flipped the lights on in his office and tidied the top of his desk before INV agent McCoy came in. He smiled at her, "Hello, how's it going?"

"Great, thanks, I love what we're doing and I'm slowly getting used to not grabbing my gear when there's a call out."

Tim chuckled, "Yeah, that seems to take all of us the longest to get used to. I'm glad you're happy with the new job, it shows in your work. I'm here because Director Vance and I have a special offer for you. It's not mandatory, if you aren't interested, let me know. It's actually two things. One is that I share your concerns about the Northeast office and the other is that we need you here – and there. Let me explain that first. Agent Bishop - you know she recently married my brother?"

When McCoy nodded, he continued, "As it happens, she and I will both be away from the office for the first two weeks of August, which leaves Agent Esposito the lone INV agent here. With Agent Piro in Marseille, that leaves the six European offices with only two INV agents and that's just asking for trouble! What I'm offering you is an extended stay here in the UK, at least through the end of August. We'll also extend your lodging and per diem allowance so you won't need to go house-hunting. Whether or not you accept this, you'll continue your training for the next few months, just as the contract states, no change there.

"For the two weeks Bishop and I are away, you'd be our third INV agent on the continent. Now, in a separate issue, before and after our time away, I'd like you to work a modified schedule so that you're available during U.S. East Coast hours. That way, you'll still handle U.S. cases and if you end up staying late to work on anything outside of your modified schedule, I'll make sure you're compensated. That means you'll be working 5 hours behind London and in sync with US Eastern Daylight Time. Your hours, stated in UK time, will be from 1300 to 2100 and because you're new to London, you'll have a security escort when you leave at night. I know, we're all former field agents and are licensed to carry here, however, we're also all foreigners and sometimes subjected to unwanted scrutiny.

"While I'm away, Piro will be in charge. He's done it before and will know if you all need us. We'll be in Greece, a short drive from the Athens office. Bishop and I will be available if there is a Priority One case or you need help. We'll have our laptops with us and can be online with you within, say an hour tops. Probably less, last summer, I was called in and made it to the NCIS office in 25 minutes."

"You got called in while you were on vacation?"

"Yes, but that was only for a meeting. Well, two meetings but the other one we were able to attend via Skype from our vacation lodging."

"You and Agent Bishop?"

"No, no, sorry! No, with my father, he's a semi-retired field agent, I'm sure you'll meet him at some point. His name is Gibbs, Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"But you're McGee."

"The name of my late stepfather. Easier than explaining all the time! Outside of the agency, I'm Timothy Gibbs." He laughed, "We have a huge family and many of us work for NCIS! If you decide on the extended stay, you'll meet just about everyone at our Fourth of July party."

She smiled, "I'd love to stay and do everything you've outlined, thank you for the opportunity!"

Tim nodded, smiling. He stood and shook her hand, adding, "Toward the end of your extended stay, we'll review the situation in the Northeast and make any necessary changes then. If there are problems, I'll change your posting."

She nodded, "Then I won't worry about it anymore, thanks."

She left and Ellie came in. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yes, but do you mind waiting until after I've talked with Ray and then Bailey? You and I have personal stuff to consider, good things, so we'll take longer."

She grinned, "Then I don't mind waiting."

"Thanks, Bishop."

Esposito came in and sat down, curious to hear what was going on. Tim explained the situation and saw the man relax. "Thanks, I should know to trust you wouldn't leave us high and dry! I'm glad McCoy is staying longer, she's really sharp!"

Bailey came in next and Tim chuckled, "I usually don't update the team person by person but there was something I needed to tell each of you. You're doing great in your training and we'll stick to your schedule, get you to the Tokyo office. Expect Agent Dorneget to welcome you with open arms, he's been patiently waiting for help almost since the start of our program! And by the way, kudos for starting your language classes, that will help immensely. I'll be full-time starting tomorrow and look forward to working a case with you before you leave. So, here's what else is happening…"

He quickly filled Bailey in on McCoy's change of schedule, ending with, "For a few more months we'll stick with our two INV agents on the West Coast and McCoy working US cases from here. At the end of the summer, we should have a clearer idea of what's happening at home. That's the update. Before you leave, I'll give you a list of our favorite places in Tokyo, my wife and I were there in February. She lived there for a couple of years and took me to her favorite haunts and some of them are pretty cool. Ned, er Agent Dorneget, hadn't been to them yet. If you have problems there or find you really would rather work in some other country, including the western or northern fringes of the U.S., let us know."

After Bailey left, Ellie came back in. "Everyone looks happy."

"Good, I think you will too!"

She sat and he told her what he'd arranged, partially to cover their mutual absence while in Greece. Her face lit up and when he finished, she exclaimed, "Thank you for figuring that out! I thought you and I would probably trade days at the Athens office. And I'm excited that McCoy is staying all summer."

"Athens was Plan B but I'm confident this will work fine. We could still get called in, for an all hands on deck case, but barring that, we are clear for our vacation!"

"You know, I was a little afraid we wouldn't both be able to go, plus Bec."

"Me too, because we'd be short of INV agents and because we're related. but when I stopped to think about it, most of our family works for NCIS. You, me, Abby, James, Jimmy, Bec, Tony, Maggie and Barry – and Dad. And if Bill and Nikki ever become serious, that's one more. But Bec and Geordie aren't married, so no problem there. And you and I have worked together longer than you've been married to my brother and no one said we couldn't work together after the wedding. We don't need to worry about it."

Ellie nodded, relieved.

That afternoon, Vance had a staff meeting of his department heads. Tim had only made it to one since Leon had returned to work and was curious to hear what the others had to say. He sat next to Jimmy, with Abby on the other side of him. Ms. Horner, the attorney who'd replaced Cahill as the head of the Legal Department after the IPF debacle, gave a list of cases scheduled for court and Tim was surprised to hear the name of a case his old team, the MCRT, had busted years ago. He tensed a bit, only relaxing when Attorney Horner reported that the prosecution and defense had agreed to the offshore agents and forensic tech attending the trial by Skype. Still, Tim had to forcibly restrain himself from sighing when he heard his name on the list. Looked like Boss, Tony, Abby and Ziva…? He looked at Vance whose face was blank. "Ms. Horner, former Agent Ziva David has not kept in contact with anyone from NCIS, unless I've missed something. McGee?"

"Not that I know of, sir. I do know that neither Agent DiNozzo or Agent Gibbs have heard from her." He looked at Abby and Jimmy, both of whom shook their heads. Abby volunteered, "I heard from her once after she left during uh…"

"During Parsons' witch hunt?"

"Yes. It was shortly after Tony returned from Israel, a one word email that said 'Sorry'."

The director nodded, "Thank you, Dr. Sciuto. That was in 2013?"

Abby nodded and Leon continued, "Ms. Horner, I'm going to delegate finding her to Special Agent McGee. If anyone can find her, he can."

Ms. Horner looked at Tim, puzzled, "If that's so, why haven't you found her?"

It was his turn for a blank face and those who knew him saw he was annoyed with the question. "Because I respect her privacy. If she wanted to be in contact with us, she would be. Director, may I contact our old friends? And will former Agent David be subpoenaed for the trial?"

Leon huffed, "If any of them are still alive, yes. I'll give you some information after the meeting. About the subpoena…let's take a look at the case file, unless you remember her involvement?"

Tim shook his head, "I recognize the name and remember the crime but not which of us did what. Although I'm sure I handled the electronic records and Gibbs the interrogation."

He smiled as Vance and Joel chuckled and Jimmy and Abby laughed.

Ms. Horner had a schedule of court dates and gave Tim and Abby their copies. She'd mail the rest. Tim sneaked a quick look, relieved to see all of the Skype appearance dates were post-Greece.

When it was Tim's turn, he had statistics for his team to give and also mentioned INV Agent McCoy's extended stay through the summer. The head of HR nodded, she'd seen his memo already.

The HR report was interesting, which surprised Tim. The manager gave a summary of the offices worldwide, with the number of employees and a breakdown of how many of those employees had been transferred from the U.S. in the past year. Tim knew how many field offices they had, what he hadn't realized was that most of the smaller offices, with 2 or 3 employees, had taken in more employees. When he thought about the SecNav moving Navy home ports out of US waters and moving Marines west, north and offshore, it made sense that the smaller offices had been bumped up to respond to the new deployments. He wondered overall how many U.S. residents had fled the country. He knew both Mexico and Canada had opened their doors, not without a sense of irony, to those in danger from the terrorists.

When the meeting was over, Tim stayed to talk to Vance about locating Ziva. He thought he'd contact Mossad first and his best contact was Malachi Ben-Gurion. Vance gave him the name and contact information of the current Mossad director, saying he'd probably end up with the assistant director. Tim agreed with that. He also thought Ziva's old paperwork might have her Aunt Nettie's contact information on it. Back in his office, he called the head of HR who said she would have to check with Legal before releasing any information from Ziva's records. Tim smiled, asking if she made the call, would that be legal? The woman laughed and said yes but she'd prefer he be on the call with her.

She called 45 minutes later, "Sorry, we had to dig through the archived files. We need to make digital searches easier!"

He smiled, "Talk to James Powell in IT, might be an easy fix."

"Thanks! All right, I have information for a…uh, the only name I can pronounce is Nettie."

"That's how we knew her, too."

"Will she recognize your name?"

"If she's alive, possibly."

"All right, I'll dial and introduce myself, that way I'm not sharing the information."

She punched in a string of numbers and Tim doodled while the phone rang. Eventually it was answered. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Nettie?"

"Yes, who's calling?"

"I'm calling from NCIS, the agency your niece Ziva David used to work for. We're trying to contact her and hope you will help us."

"Oh. I don't know…"

"I have one of her former co-workers on the line with me, Timothy McGee."

"Ah, Maghee, I remember Ziva talking about him. She was very fond of him."

That was a surprise to Tim and he had to shake his head before speaking, "Ma'am, this is Tim McGee. We need to speak with Ziva about a case we solved years ago."

"Oh, the criminal cases?"

"Yes, ma'am. The man Ziva arrested is finally going to trial and our attorneys need to speak with Ziva."

"Ah, I see. Timothy, you are still with the agency?"

"I am, yes, ma'am."

"And Anthony?"

"Yes, ma'am, he is too as are our friends Abby and Jimmy."

"And what about Gibbs?"

"He's retired but he still works for the agency occasionally."

"Wonderful! I have Ziva's phone number here, let me know when you're ready to write it down."

Tim answered, "I'm ready, ma'am."

She chuckled, "I remember Ziva saying you were always very polite."

"I try!"

"All right, here it is." Slowly she read the number and Tim wrote it down, frowning as he noted there was no country code. "Ma'am, is she in Israel?"

"Not right now, she works for the Israeli Diplomatic Corps. She's currently in Seoul, South Korea."

"Thank you! Ma'am, I only know you as Aunt Nettie and I hope you'll excuse my impertinence addressing you that way. It's been a great pleasure to finally meet you."

"Thank you, Timothy, it's wonderful for me, too. Tell Ziva hello for me, we have not spoken in a few weeks."

"I will, Shalom."

They disconnected and Tim had to sit back and take a breath. He'd been afraid the number would be disconnected, that Aunt Nettie would have moved or worse, passed on. He looked up the time difference to Seoul, made a face and then shrugged, he could wait an hour before he called. He pulled up the case file in question and read it cover to cover, including their individual agent notes. That made him a bit homesick for the 'old days' but ignoring his emotions, he took a few notes about the case and Ziva's involvement and then called Vance.

"Agent McGee?"

"Sir, I have Ziva's phone number. She's currently in South Korea, working for the Israeli Diplomatic Corps."

Vance made a noise, "Interesting and I'm relieved she's not back with Mossad. Unless she really is."

"I got her number from her Aunt Nettie, she remembered us."

"So probably not Mossad."

"It wasn't my impression. Director, you tasked me with finding her. Shall I call her or give the contact information to Attorney Horner?"

"What are the odds she'll answer a call from a stranger at NCIS?"

"Don't know but I wouldn't when I was…separated."

"Why don't you go ahead and call her, tell her it's something that can be done by Skype, she doesn't need to go anywhere and we can mail her the pertinent portions of the case file. Have you looked at it?"

"Yes, sir. She wasn't on the initial call-out, possibly at a dental or medical appointment. So she wasn't on the crime scene, that was Gibbs, Tony and me, with Ducky and Jimmy as the MEs. She made calls, interviewed witnesses and was backup for the arrest of the perpetrator."

"Backup?"

"Gibbs and DiNozzo went in while David and I were positioned with sniper rifles."

"Did either of you have to use them?"

"Yes but neither of us shot him. I shot a basketball hoop stand behind him, about 2 inches from his head and Ziva shot into the ground in front of him, the records say a half inch from his foot."

"Wow, was the distance planned?"

"Yes, I remembered some of it when I started reading. This guy is hardcore, none of the usual words or actions were going to bring him in. We planned the over and under but our main reason was to shoot any weapon out of his hand if he tried to pull the trigger on Boss or DiNozzo."

"Gibbs planned that?"

"No, Ziva and I did. The over and under was Gibbs' plan."

"Wow, I'm glad I never had to tangle with your team."

Tim chuckled, "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Tim, did you ever have to do that? I don't remember."

"Shoot a weapon out of a hand?"

"Yes. With a sniper rifle, not your Sig."

"Uh, yes sir, Ziva and Gibbs taught me. I took the shot twice with criminals. First time, the bullet hit the guy's hand but he had 100% recovery. The second time was clean, no injury to the perp. Other than to his dignity and I guess you could say his clothes as he needed to change his pants."

Now Vance laughed and then said, "Go ahead and call her. And tell her Shalom for me."

"Yes sir!"

Disconnecting, Tim closed his office door, engaged the SCIF and punched in the numbers Aunt Nettie gave him.

The phone rang several times before a sleepy voice answered, "David."

"Ziva, it's Tim McGee and I'm sorry to wake you up! Your aunt Nettie gave me your number."

"Maghee?"

"Yes."

"Where are you? Is there something wrong?"

"I'm in London and there's nothing wrong. Well, lots of things in the world but nothing specific. I'm calling because an old case we busted is finally coming up for trial and they need all of us to testify."

Ziva interrupted, "I cannot…" Tim smoothed over her comment, "I live in London, none of us live in the U.S. where the trial will take place and it's too dangerous to go home. They're allowing us to testify via Skype."

"Oh. What do you mean none of you live in the U.S.? Why are you in London? Because of the crisis?"

"It's a war, Ziva, not a crisis and yes, that's why we're living here. I work in the London NCIS office and so does Gibbs. He's retired, but he consults with us occasionally. Abby and Jimmy work here too, as does Director Vance. Ducky is also retired but lives here. Tony…" Tim paused for a split second before forging forward, "Tony runs the Marseille office."

"So much change, Maghee. How do you like London?"

"I love it. We've been here for 3 years, I married my college sweetheart and we have 6 children, some adopted. We live in a small town outside London and Ziva, it turns out that Gibbs is my father, I'm Gibbs' son!"

That woke her up! "You are what? Did you say he is your father?"

"Yes, my dad and Grandpa to my kids."

"You said 6 children, that is a large family, Maghee."

"It is but we love them all and have a lot of fun with them. And we have a lot of help. Gibbs married a woman who helped raise me and my siblings and they live with us. We live in a huge house and they have their own large suite inside the house."

"He married again and it is working?"

"Yes, he's a changed man, Ziva. He knows he's loved and he loves us all."

"And Ducky, he is healthy?"

"Yes, he's doing very well. He lives with Jimmy and Breena about two blocks from us. They have three children."

Ziva said something in Hebrew that Tim vaguely remembered as meaning something like "Holy Sh..!"

"Maghee, when do I need to testify?"

Tim gave her the date and the name of the perpetrator. She thought for a moment, "Did we use the sniper rifles to force his surrender?"

"Yes."

"You shot high and I shot low?"

"Yes."

"I remember. Nasty creature. Yes, I will gladly testify. Will I have access to the case file before?"

"Yes, our Legal Department will mail, fax or email it to you."

"Email would be best. Is it possible for you to send it? I do not want to share my email address with people I do not know, even if they are NCIS."

"I can do that, yes."

She was silent before asking, "How is Abby?"

"She's doing very well. She's dating one of my brothers, they've been seeing each other for three years now, a record for both of them."

"Wonderful, please tell her hello and Gibbs and Ducky and Jimmy. And what of Tony? You said he is running an office in France?"

"Yes, Ziva. He's married to a former Marine Captain turned NCIS agent named Maggie and they are brand new parents to twins."

He heard a gasp and then nothing. He kept talking, not wanting to break the connection. "They are a girl and boy and are three weeks younger than my youngest child. My baby boy is named Jethro Alexander Gibbs but we call him Jed and Dad…Boss…did not want us to name anyone Jethro. We decided a good nickname would help and we invoked Rule 18, better to apologize than ask for permission. Tony's son is named Jackson Barnes DiNozzo. Barnes is Maggie's last name. Their daughter is Isabella Diana, named after his mother and Maggie's mother, both deceased."

Finally, Tim heard Ziva clear her throat. "Jackson is for Gibbs' father?"

"Yes, my grandfather. He died the year after you left, in 2014."

"I am sorry to hear that, my condolences to you and Gibbs."

"Thank you. How long have you been with the Diplomatic Corps?"

"Three years, since 2015. I am not official, I work behind the scenes and it is quite rewarding. Because I am not official, I do not have a permanent post and am rarely in one country for more than a few months. I enjoy seeing the world in this capacity but I do miss having a home of my own. Tell me about your wife and children."

Tim smiled and Ziva heard it in his voice. "My wife's name is Artemis, she's Greek and we met at MIT when she was 16 and I was 18. We were inseparable for several years but then her stepfather forced her to join them in Japan and we lost touch. We met in Seattle in 2003 and then lost touch again. She ran into my sister Sarah in London shortly after we moved here in 2015 and we reconnected and married a few months later. Turns out we conceived a child, a son, in Seattle in 2003, he'll be 15 this year. She'd married, had a child and divorced, and I adopted her daughter, who will be 4 this year. Sarah and I had a brother, Patrick, that we were told died when I was 9 and she was 3. That was a lie, he survived the car crash I was also in and was told we were dead. He grew up, joined the Navy, married and had two sons. Then he was injured and comatose. His wife was murdered two years later and NCIS got the case as he was still in the Navy when injured. Their little boys came home with me and eventually my wife and I adopted them. We also adopted a Turkish baby who'd been abandoned during the rebellion in Amzida. Lastly, we have our new little guy. Two girls and four boys!"

"Wonderful! And what does your wife do?"

"She is a civil engineer who loves to build bridges. Until she saw Sarah in London, she and Andy, our oldest, traveled the world for her work. She was working on a new bridge in Amzida when the rebellion broke out and barely made it out alive. Now she works from home and does day trips to her projects, in the UK, France or Belgium." He took a breath, "Ziva, is it all right if I tell my dad, Gibbs, that I spoke with you?"

"Yes, Gibbs and Ducky and you may give them my number. But no one else, please."

"I promise."

"Thank you. How is Director Vance?"

"He's doing well, he moved NCIS headquarters over here, to London and Kayla is at University. Jared is in secondary school."

"They're grown up! What became of Gibbs' former wife, the one with the red- haired daughter?"

"Diane is living in Las Vegas and Emily, her daughter with Fornell, lives here in the UK, she's also in college. Fornell lives down the street from us."

"Everyone moved over!"

"Yes, even the man Dad, Gibbs, is named for, Leroy Jethro Moore. He lives with us and is Uncle LJ to all the kids."

"That's great, Maghee."

"I'll send you the file after we disconnect. It's been wonderful to talk with you, to hear your voice. We miss you and will always consider you part of the family."

Her voice softened, "Thank you, Maghee, that is kind of you. It was good speaking with you, too. I will send an email if I have questions about the case."

They disconnected and Tim quickly sent the file. Then he sent an email to Ms. Horner, copying Vance, that former NCIS agent Ziva David had agreed to testify via Skype.

Vance called him within two minutes. "How is she? How are you?"

"She's all right, working behind the scenes in the Diplomatic Corps."

"And how are you?"

"I'm, uh, relieved and kind of sad. She wanted to know about everyone but doesn't want to talk with anyone but Dad and Ducky. She sounds just as lost as she was 5 years ago."

"She's still on the run."

"From Mossad?"

"Yes, but probably not in the way you mean. From her past, all the violence and death."

Tim thought about that, "Her sister, her mother, her rat bastard brother and her father. Every single one of them was killed violently."

"Yes. And all the wet work she did for Mossad."

"She told me once that was all necessary and although she grew tired of the blood, she did not regret eliminating those who would eliminate her entire country. I used to have trouble imagining that. I don't anymore."

In his office, Leon winced. "Will you tell your father?"

"Yes, and Ducky. I'll share her phone number if they give their word not to share it with anyone."

"Maybe have them use burn phones to call her."

"Ah, good idea."

After disconnecting, Tim was gathering his belongings when James appeared in his office doorway. They were quiet on the walk to the Tube but once on the train, James said, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, a little sad but nothing new is wrong. I'll tell you on the walk home."

James nodded and when they disembarked in Brambury, Tim told him about talking with a former coworker who'd once been close to the them all, part of the family. Then Tim paused, "Well, not all. She didn't know about Baltimore, Lu, Nate or the guys. The NCIS folks. And Sarah but not Rob or Geordie."

"Why Sarah – oh, because of that case?"

"Yes."

Tim was glad when they turned into their driveway. The walk with James and reaching home with the kids pouring out the door cleared his head.

Much later, after the kids were in bed, Artie was finishing up a last bit of work for the day and Lu was already in bed, reading, Tim sat next to his dad in the family room.

Dad raised an eyebrow, "Something the others can't know?"

"Yes but related to our old team." He took a deep breath. "I talked with Ziva today."

His father stared at him, finally saying, "Our Ziva? Ziva David? Is she all right? Where is she? How did that happen?"

Tim smiled, leaning into his father. "You'll get a letter in the mail, we, the MCRT, have a case that's finally going to trial and the prosecution wants the four of us and Abby to testify, although it'll be by Skype, not in person."

Dad shook his head, "Years, you left four years ago! Ziva left the year before that."

"Yeah, we closed the case in 2012." He told his former boss the name of the case.

"Real piece of slime, that one. Remember how we brought him down?"

"Yes, Ziva and I with our sniper rifles, over and under. Then you and Tony closed in."

"Yeah. Please tell me he's been in prison somewhere all this time?"

"Yes. He was convicted for another crime and did time in Puerto Rico for that. Now he's out and up for trial on our case. Legal didn't have contact information for Ziva and I didn't want them messing around, I still don't trust them, even though none of the attorneys who worked there during the IPF troubles are there. Anyway, we were in a staff meeting when the subject came up and Leon decided I should look for her. Huh, maybe he feels the same way."

"Wouldn't blame him, hard to trust when a whole department of attorneys betrayed you and the agency."

"Yeah. So, HR didn't want to give me access to Ziva's file so they found it and Ziva's Aunt Nettie's phone number was in there. I couldn't have that, either, so we did a conference call. That way, I didn't see or have access to the number. Anyway, Nettie answered and remembered me, you and Tony. She said Ziva is working in the Israeli Diplomatic Corps and gave me her phone number. She's currently working in Seoul."

"So you called her."

"I let Vance know the number was given to us by Aunt Nettie and then I called her. It was strange to speak with her, Dad. She called me Maghee as she always did and wanted to know what was wrong."

They both laughed at that. When Tim said he'd told her about Tony, Maggie and the twins, Dad's eyes opened wider. "She didn't disconnect?"

"No, but she got very quiet, so I kept on talking, gave her a couple of minutes to deal with the news. Told her the babies' names, about my kids, Artie, you and me, Ducky, the Palmers and their kids. Finally, she asked something else and we went on from there. She's agreed to testify, I sent her the case file. She doesn't want to hear from anyone but you and Ducky and I had to promise not to give anyone else her phone number or email address. It was weird, like old Ziva, remember how suspicious she was of everyone and everything?"

"I do and that came from years of a covert life."

"I know but it was still weird."

"Are you going to tell Tony?"

"Not voluntarily."

"Yeah, there's enough going on in his life. And it's all good, I'd rather he not travel back down that road again."

"He might ask, once he gets the letter about testifying from Legal."

"Then you'll tell him?"

"Yeah."

"What about Ducky?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know. He won't want to keep secrets from Jimmy and Breena."

"No, that is asking a lot."

"Are you going to call her?"

"Maybe. When are we testifying?"

"Late August, after Greece."

"Maybe a little before that. I have mixed feelings."

Tim huffed, "Me too. I was glad to catch up but now I don't feel the need to talk with her again. Our lives have changed so much; I don't feel like the guy she knew and I don't want to feel like him. Maghee."

"We've moved on, sounds more like she moved sideways. We wouldn't have much in common anymore. Except old memories and some of those I'd rather not revisit."

Tim nodded as his father wrapped an arm around him. "You done?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Just sort of took me down an old road, you know?"

"I do, son." Jethro pulled Tim's head to him and kissed his forehead. Tim smiled, cuddling with his dad for a few minutes.

Finally, neither of them could contain their yawns and, realizing he was no longer on night duty with the baby, Tim kissed his dad goodnight and went to bed. He woke a couple of times when Artie was up with Jed but went right back to sleep.

The week passed quickly and Thursday morning, he grabbed his warm clothes and ducked down into the basement and his hidden room, to resume his second job, his White Hat work. It took him a couple of hours to scan through the logs but once he was caught up, he got to work.

That weekend, they went for a hike in the countryside, taking their lunches, water, sunscreen, hats and of course the baby gear. This time, Jethro and Lu went with them, having a marvelous time with their family. Tim grinned as he spotted the shepherd, waving to him and gesturing to him. Tim walked into the pasture while the man walked toward him. "Hey Mister, you look better! It's been a long time."

"It has and I wanted to introduce you to our new son, Jed."

"Jed, well, he's a cutie! And his sisters and brothers are growing! Your oldest, with the dark hair, he looks like he's grown nearly half a meter!"

"Not quite, but close!"

They talked for a few minutes before Dad blew his whistle at him and Tim laughed, "That's my father, I'd better go before they leave me behind!"

"Aw, they wouldn't do that, but go on, enjoy the sunshine!"

Tim rejoined his family, the baby making cooing noises.

They walked all the way to Butterfly Hill, stopping there for lunch. Andy, Greg and Kyle taught Rissa how to climb the lower branches of the oak trees but told Hope they'd lift her up into the branches. The little girl didn't like that but wanted to be in the tree with her sister and brothers more than she wanted to be upset. Besides, she knew Mama and Papa were the ones who said she was too little to climb. Once she was up, she sat contentedly in Andy or Greg's arms, having a great time with her siblings telling all kinds of stories. When she got sleepy, Papa reached up and plucked her right out of the tree and then she fell asleep in his lap. Jed woke long enough to be changed, eat, burp, cuddle with his grandparents and have photos taken before he fell asleep again.

After checking with the Morrises and agreeing to split hosting/gaming duties this year, the Manor residents started pulling together their annual Independence Day party. As the 4th of July fell midweek, the party would be held on Saturday the 7th. Hoping the long range forecast of clear and sunny skies were correct, the planners soon realized that if everyone came, they'd have close to 80 Americans, including their families and in Sarah's case, her in-laws. That's when they started to pray for clear skies!

Along with the 'back by demand' trivia contests, Uncle Sam's hat decorating and contest, lawn bowling and a 3-legged race, they added volleyball, which originated in the U.S., a ping pong table, using balls painted red, white and blue, a patriotic "Pictionary" game with Geordie in charge, Fourth of July bingo, found online with free printable bingo cards, and a cup race wherein a blue cup and a red cup, each with a hole in the bottom, were strung onto ropes tied between trees or poles. The cups were then propelled between the trees or poles by use of a squirt gun. The first player to propel his or her cup to other end of its rope by the force of the squirt gun would win a prize. They would set up 3 versions of this, one for adults, one for kids, Kyle's age and up and the third for the littles. They'd also have a "Pin the Hat on Uncle Sam", a holiday version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and a Patriotic Scavenger Hunt. They'd have a wading pool for the littles and thought they might also play water balloon dodgeball, depending on the amount of people and room available. Guests were invited to come dressed as their favorite American. There would be a prize awarded for best costume, which would be voted for by everyone there.

Tim and James went back to James' fireworks clips and added a few new ones to use. However, when Tim wrote to the city advising them of the party, the number of invited guests and repeating the rules they'd follow, as set out in previous years, the council replied, giving them permission to set off fireworks between 9:30 and 11:00 PM, as long as appropriate safety measures were taken, a list was attached, and advance notice was given to the neighbors on each side of the Manor. With the increased number of attendees, they limited the number of beers to 2 per person.

The letter from the Council went on to say, "We recognize that you, your family and presumably most of your guests are now refugees due to the crisis in the U.S. Because of this and because you have been a responsible (and welcome) resident of Brambury and have abided by our rules and restrictions, we hope that adding 'real' fireworks will give all of you a taste of home."

Tim read the letter twice before sharing it with his family. They decided to post it at the party so people would know that their neighbors were aware of their situation and know of the kindness shown. As for their immediate neighbors, they already had their invitations and this year, the Gibbses invited more of the locals, families and individuals they knew from church and the kids' schools. In the end, they distributed nearly 90 invitations. It was a good thing they had a large back garden! Along with the people they expected to invite, Leon mentioned that FBI Director Sailes would be in town, his wife and children were still in the UK, and it would be great for them to celebrate with other Americans. CIA Director McKinley's son and his family had relocated to Germany several months ago.

While the Gibbses managed the games, the Morrises were in charge of the food. Appetizers would include favorite foods from the 7 regions of the U.S.: Chevre cheese with smoked salmon bruschetta from the Pacific Northwest, stuffed grilled artichokes or sausage and pineapple bites from the Far West, Southwest fry bread, crab cakes from Maryland in the South, New England johnnycakes, originated by the Pawtuxet Indians, cheese curds from the Midwest/Plains and Chicago pizza bites from the Great Lakes.

Using all three of Jethro's grills, they'd grill veggie kabobs, corn on the cob and hot dogs while side dishes would include potato salad, black beans, green salad, corn salsa and coleslaw. Dessert would include a sheet cake, cupcakes with a choice of toppings, fresh berries topped with yogurt or whipped cream, homemade ice cream and of course, fresh watermelon. Along with the beer, beverages would include Root Beer, Lemonade, Cold or Iced Tea, Sparkling Cider and of course coffee and water, with milk for the younger children. Once Carol planned the menu, with help from Lu and Artie, she asked a few people to bring the side dishes. Leon insisted on paying for the hot dogs, buns, the sheet cake and cupcakes while others brought or offered to pay for the corn, most of the side dishes and several of the beverages. Bill and Sarah offered to make chopped salad, Tobias would make the beans and Tim and Artie would assemble the veggie kabobs. LJ, Mac, Maisie and Penny chipped in for the beer.

On the actual Fourth, the family had barbecued chicken, 3 bean salad and roasted potatoes for dinner and small American flags dotted the table. Jethro said grace that night, including a prayer for their country and the hope that they would soon be able to return home to live safely.

The day of the party dawned bright and clear, not a cloud in the sky and with a forecast of 29 degrees Celsius, or 85 Fahrenheit. Nice and hot, perfect for a July 4th party! The Americans would be fine but the British, James and his parents for example, might find it extremely warm. The wading pool went in the shade and they dug out their beach umbrellas and put those up with chairs grouped under them.

Jed would be the only infant at the party as the DiNozzos were celebrating at home and, at a week shy of 7 months, Jilly Palmer was a full-fledged baby who loved to hang out with her family and friends. While Jed would remain inside most of the day, away from the heat and sun, Jilly was old enough to have sunscreen applied and would also avoid the sun with a sunhat and sunglasses along with prime spots in the shade. Jed and the twins would also wear those in Greece.

With so many people attending, the Manor folks didn't even try to transport anyone from the Tube stop and everyone was sent precise directions. The locals arrived early to help, although they'd set up all the game sites and equipment, positioned the grills, the 'fire hose', the benches and chairs Friday evening. Tim made sure each of his kids was well lathered with sunscreen before they went outside. The party would start at 1:00, so they had all morning to get ready and/or play. There was a schedule made for getting everything ready. The drinks would stay in the refrigerator until the first non-family guests arrived, then they'd be put in the biggest cooler, surrounded by ice.

The Powells had arrived via the train from Manchester, taken after work on Friday and were glad they'd brought clothes for the hot weather. With the average temperatures rising every summer as well as their trips to Greece, they now had sunhats, sunglasses, shorts, sleeveless tops, sandals and high numbered sunscreen.

The Vances, Fornells and Porters arrived about the same time, followed closely by Penny and the Hubbards. Liz was still in Marseille with the DiNozzos and had celebrated with them on Wednesday, the actual fourth of July. The Morrises arrived next, bringing Tim's INV agent Kendra McCoy as well as Pam Cook and her husband. The Esposito family followed the Morrises in Ray's vehicle. They parked and walked in, each carrying platters and bags of food; however, Agent McCoy and the Esposito family stopped in the driveway, their mouths open in surprise and a bit of shock. None of them had ever seen a house this huge that regular people lived in. Ray looked at Kendra and saw she was just as surprised as he was. Coming up behind them, Pam Cook explained the Manor to Tim's new agents and the rest of the Esposito family.

Because there would be several people at the party who'd never met any of the family other than Tim, Bec, Ellie and Jethro, the entire family had decided to wear name tags today. Most of the others did the same thing, Cyndi and Larry Porter, Tobias, Gail, Emily and Pauley, Cesar Fornell, LJ, Mac, George and Edith Powell, the neighbors who were there as well as the kids' friends and parents who'd been invited.

They'd moved Jed's crib, changing station and other paraphernalia to Sarah's suite for the day, as people would be traipsing in and out through the Gibbses' side of the house, to and from the bathroom, the kitchen and the conservatory, terrace and the back garden. While the little guy was a good sleeper and rarely fussy, they didn't want to scare him or push their luck. The baby monitor was linked to the watches of Tim, Artie, Lu and Jethro, so they'd know when he needed them.

Having heard car doors slamming, Tim, Artie, Lu and Jethro were on hand to greet the Morrises and their passengers. When they didn't appear, Joel looked to the hedge and the driveway. Then he chuckled, "I guess Pam's explaining the Manor, they look gobsmacked."

Tim nodded, "A normal reaction for first time visitors!"

Eventually the group moved toward the house and were welcomed and introduced. Ray's sister, whose name was Rachel, had suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen during her delivery and although she was chronologically 23 years old, her mental age was about 4 years old. She smiled shyly when her brother introduced her, saying, "Your house is like a castle!"

"You're right, it does look like one! We visited a real castle a few weeks ago, we'll show you pictures if you'd like."

The young woman's eyes lit up, "Yes, please!"

Once inside, they led them through to the terrace and the party. Artie spotted Andy, Rissa and Kyle and asked them to show Rachel the photos of the castle. With a smile, Kyle took her hand, saying, "Those are in the kitchen, do you want to see them now?"

The young woman looked at her mother, who nodded, "Yes, it's all right. When you're done, come outside to the party. And make sure you wear your sunhat."

"All right, Mom."

Andy looked at the lady's mother. "We'll bring her outside with us. We wear hats too, so we'll remember."

"Thank you."

As Ray and his parents walked out the doors to the terrace, they heard Rachel and Tim's daughter giggling together and smiled.

While their previous parties were a lot of fun and successful, this one was over the top. Family and friends who'd fled home in the past year, the addition of more games, the food from the different regions of the U.S.A. and a strong feeling of 'home' were some of the strongest factors. This year, Geordie, Mac and LJ wrote the history trivia questions and made sure more people entered. Several people changed into costumes once they arrived and walked in a parade so voters could see them. The Uncle Sam's hat decorating was more popular than ever and more people entered into that contest. The 3-legged race was very popular as were the cup races, especially the squirt guns! The ping-pong table had a waiting list for players, 2 games per set of players, and volleyball was also fun, with the older children and young adults playing against the 'older' adults.

The littles had fun with a scavenger hunt, looking for various treasures and playing in the wading pool in the shade. As hot as it was, it became a little too popular with adults trying to cool their feet, and the next-door neighbors brought their kids' wading pool over to help alleviate the crowd in the kids' pool.

Because of the heat, the costume contest was held first and proved to be a lot of fun and interesting, not just for the costumes but because of the variety of people, real and fictional, and objects represented.

Bec and Geordie were Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, Bec's cousin Charlotte was the Statue of Liberty, Jethro and Lu were Jesse James and Annie Oakley, Bill was Abraham Lincoln, Joel and Carol Morris were George and Martha Washington, Leon was his favorite boxer, Joe Louis, Ellie was Amelia Earhart, Rob was Kit Carson, Tim was Bill Gates, Artie was Tina Fey, Kayla was Michelle Obama, Jared was Langston Hughes, Freddie and Joe were Lewis and Clark with Abby as Sacajawea, Barry was Mark Twain, Fred from NCIS was Edward James Olmos, Pam Cook and her husband were Calamity Jane and Ronald Reagan and Jimmy and Breena Palmer were Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, with Davey, Victoria and Jilly wearing cowboy and cowgirl outfits.

Several more of the kids got into the act. Andy and Greg were Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, while Kyle was the legendary train engineer Casey Jones, Rissa was a young Pocahontas and Hope was Shirley Temple. Callum dressed as Neil Armstrong while Ainsley, Emily and Pauley came as Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.

With so many contestants, the parade of costumes took a half hour but it was worth it for all the fun. In the end, best overall costume (adults) went to Charlotte for her Statue of Liberty, best historical costume was a tie between Bill as Abe Lincoln and Freddie, Joe and Abby as Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea. Best western costume was again a tie, between Jethro as Jesse James and Pam Cook as Calamity Jane. Best 'Hollywood' costume went to Jimmy as Elvis Presley with Artie's Tina Fey as a close second. Artie later said it helped that Tina Fey was a Greek-American! The best 'current history' costume(s) went to the 'Supremes' group, that is Ainsley, Emily and Pauley as the three Supreme Court Justices.

Best costume (children's) went to Hope as Shirley Temple with Callum as Astronaut Neil Armstrong as first runner up.

All of the winners and runners-up received prizes while all those who'd participated were given a standing ovation.

The 3-legged race took place after the costumed contestants had a chance to change. There were three races, one for the children 10 and under, one for the older kids and the third for those aged 18 and up.

Rissa and Davey Palmer won the children's race, with both families calling out encouragement. Greg was allowed to compete in the older kids' race as he was 3 weeks from his 10th birthday. He and the older daughter of FBI Director Sailes raced together and won, a hair's length ahead of Andy and Callum, racing together.

Because there were so many adults signed up, they split that race into age groups, between the 18+ and the 50+. Those were also fun races to watch! First place for the 18+ went to Kayla and Emily, with second place going to Ellie and Rob, while Sarah and James nipped at their heels. Tim was relieved that he and Artie came in fourth, the rest of his siblings and contemporaries trailed after them. He was just glad he outran the rest of his agents as Esposito and McCoy raced together.

Jethro and Lu were on the sidelines watching, laughing and calling out encouragement as their grown kids and partners competed. Ainsley, Claire and Jared recorded the entire race from different vantage points.

The last race was even less dignified and thus more fun, as Jethro and Lu, Tobias and Gail, Edith and George Powell, Leon and FBI Director Henry Sailes, Mac and Maisie, LJ and Penny, and Ray Esposito's parents ran, walked and hobbled over the race course. The Espositos won, with Tobias, Gail and the two directors winning second and third place. Having been sidelined for weeks by her injured foot, Lu was a little more out of shape than she realized. However, she and Jethro came in fourth, ahead of the Powells and the others.

After a break for cold beverages and snacks, the U.S. history trivia contest commenced. Once again, that was divided into sections of the country's history, starting with the beginnings of the revolution and disregarding anything from the past decade. Geordie was as proud as the junior and senior Gibbses when Andy, an American teen who'd never lived in the U.S., won the first section, the years leading up to the revolution, with Nikki Jardine in second place.

More family pride was displayed when Greg won the third part, the years between the revolution and those leading up to the Civil War, narrowly beating Jared and Mrs. Sailes.

Tim's new INV agent, Kendra McCoy, won the fourth part, the Civil War, with Leon coming in second.

Several sections followed: Reconstruction up to the Spanish-American War, the beginnings of the 20th century, through building of the Panama Canal and the beginning of World War I, the End of World War I through the Great Depression and the last section with World War II through the end of the Cold War in 1991.

They were won by a mix of students and adults. LJ won the last section, covering WWII and the Cold War, while Jethro came in 2nd. Emily won for the Reconstruction era with Bec in second place while Bill and Carol Morris tied for first with the building of the Canal through to the start of the "War to End All Wars". Kayla won the End of WWI through the Great Depression, with Callum and Penny tying for second.

Another break and then they had Uncle Sam's Hat contest. They had two categories: most unusual and most historic. After parading around long enough for the voters to see the hats in competition, the ballots were counted. Director Sailes won for most historic, while Breena's won for most unusual with additional write-in votes for most inspiring/encouraging. She'd painted the brim of her hat red, white and blue and attached a few American symbols, the U.S. flag, a bald eagle, a Statue of Liberty, the scales of justice and the Liberty Bell. She'd found a drawing of the mythical phoenix, which she starched and then glued onto the top of the hat with its wings giving the impression of unfurling. The overall effect was of the phoenix rising from the ashes of the past, rising toward rebirth, victory of life over death. When Tim gave the results, she got a standing ovation and Jimmy and Ducky smiled proudly.

During the trivia and hat contests, the grills were fired up and the vegetable kabobs and ears of corn were laid on one grill. The hot dogs went on the other two with space reserved for toasting the hot dog buns. People had been noshing on the regional appetizers all afternoon and now the rest of those were put on the food tables, in the conservatory, to be served along with their dinner. Another table held cups, with a cooler full of cubed ice and other coolers full of the cold drinks off to the side.

There were plenty of places to sit and eat outside and for those who preferred to eat indoors, to feed babies or because they were more comfortable, the Manor dining room was available. The Sailes family went inside for a tour and stayed in to eat. Nikki and Bill also ate inside as did Ellie, Rob and the Palmers. Breena and Artie fed Jilly and Jed indoors as well. Jilly had enjoyed her time at the party while Jed had made two brief appearances.

Because of the long wait for the night sky before they'd set off their fireworks, Tim and James decided to roll the big TV, hooked to James' laptop, out to the terrace as soon as the sun moved off of it, to play several of the clips they'd selected. That way, guests with young children would be able to see fireworks and get home before their kids became overtired. The Gibbses' plan for their younger children was to have Hope and Rissa get into their jammies at their regular time and at least rest until it was dark enough for fireworks. Tim was very thankful that Dad, Tobias and Geordie had experience with fireworks, although he decided he probably wouldn't ask how.

They chuckled later as they realized nearly a quarter of their guests left after the fireworks clips, guessing that was enough fireworks for them. While they waited, the Morris food crew, with help from the Gibbses, cleaned up the food. Trash was collected and binned while more coffee and tea was made and offered.

By 9:00, with an hour left to go before it would be dark enough for fireworks, they were down to family, although Rob and Ellie left as Rob had an early shift in the morning. Ducky and the Palmers, Penny and the Hubbards, the Fornells and Vance left, saying they'd come back after dark. When Jethro saw all the yawning his kids and grandkids were doing, he laughed, "Go home or find someplace to sleep, kids. We don't have to do the fireworks, we'll return them. We've had a great day, no need to force yourselves to stay awake, unless you're driving!"

Barry stayed, sharing Joe's room, while Jethro and Tim drove the rest of them into London and home. Artie sent texts to everyone who'd said they would return for the fireworks show, telling them they'd all had too much fun and were cancelling the show. The next morning they laughed as the replies came in, no one saw the texts until the morning.

Lu explained what she thought had happened, "Although we kept out of the sun and were all hydrated, we were outside all afternoon. None of us are used to so much fresh air unless we're on the beach in Greece! Between the air, the food, the fun and the laughter, we wore ourselves out!"

Tim bent to kiss her as he and Artie headed to bed, "Works for me. Thank you, it was a wonderful day!"

"Yes it was, Lydia and Marty will be upset after they see the videos, they should have come!"

The two former Londoners, now living in Greece, had briefly considered flying to the UK for the weekend so they wouldn't miss the party. However, the Athens team was on call on Saturday with Rota on Sunday, quashing that idea! Tim smiled, "I bet the Athens office does something fun for their celebration, they seem like a great group."

His dad nodded, "Yeah, maybe they'll all go to that island for a day at the beach and their own barbecue."

Lu nodded, "That sounds like fun, but you know what? They won't have a fireworks show like ours that we can watch anytime and I bet they won't have ice cream with their USA birthday cake!"

;)


	73. Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Nobody did much the day after the Fourth of July party, the adults were too tired and the kids entertained themselves.

However, as much as a lazy day would have been welcomed, they all needed clean clothes for work and school. Rooms needed to be tidied, floors swept or vacuumed. Soon the washer and dryer were busy and in the kitchen, James was making a double dinner. One he'd serve that evening and another to be frozen and served later in the week. Tim and Artie spent time with the children, made sure any school assignments were completed before seeing to their own work schedules.

The couple was sitting at the kitchen table that night, working through some plans when Artie said, apropos of nothing, "Your agent Esposito has a thing for your new agent."

"Huh? McCoy?"

She nodded and he shook his head, "How…?

"I saw it as soon as they arrived and he saw her; he introduced her to his parents and sister. He was happy with whatever she said to Rachel because his whole face lit up. He didn't hover but they did run the 3-legged race together and I don't think it was entirely on the basis of teamwork or 'our lives depend on each other' as you feds put it. And…she ate with them."

"I saw some of that but I thought he was being nice to a new teammate. One he's just discovered will be around for a while. Oh." He thought about it, smiled and shrugged. "I wish them the best!"

"It's all right? You don't have a Rule as your father did?"

"No. We're not out in the field where personal feelings can cause havoc. I've reworded Dad's Rule 12 to say 'if dating a fellow INV agent, keep it OUT of the office'. And then I threw out his Rule 13 to add another dating rule that says, 'if dating a field agent, the INV agent must adhere to the dating rules (if any) of that field agent's Team Lead. If that Team Lead has no dating/fraternization rules, then Rule 12 applies."

"Have you kept more of his rules?"

"Yes, most of them. I threw out the one for no apologies and most of the ones about not involving lawyers. I changed the ones that use Gibbs' name. One of them said not to interrupt him in interrogation but that does need to happen. Mostly an agent will send a text with new information, so I said that."

Artie smiled, "I'm glad you modified those for your own use! Back to your new agent, how long will she be here?"

He chuckled, "If she can handle working a shift from 1300 to 2100, she can stay as long as we do. I'm hoping that will work out, we can use another agent here occasionally, during our "all hands on deck" cases and to cover time off. "

"So she'll work on European and American cases?"

"Yes, although until we see what the workload will be, her main responsibility will be the U.S. cases."

"And that's to help the West Coast agents?"

Tim grinned, "That's the way we worded it, yes. In reality, the agents on the East Coast and the few in the Midwest, even those along the border, could really use some help."

"Are there agents elsewhere?"

Tim shrugged and then he smiled, "You know Rick Carter and Jim O'Brien are in DC. That's the south of the U.S."

She rolled her eyes at him and they moved on. An hour later, one of them said something about photos from their trip to Japan and Singapore and they looked at each other, eyes wide. They'd completely forgotten the issue of Greg and Kyle's relationship to the Royal Family.

With a sigh, Tim pulled up the memo they'd drafted months ago and they looked at the very few words they'd written before realizing they still had the notes from their conversation with Mrs. Bess. With sighs of relief and resignation, they worked on the memo for another hour. They stopped when they thought it was complete but decided to check it again on Monday, to 'sleep on it', as it were.

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Monday evening, they decided the memo was as good as it was going to get and, first making sure they had Mrs. Bess copied and had blind copied themselves, they sent the message.

Tim laughed as they logged off, "I don't think I've ever been in such a hurry to log off a computer in my life!"

Artie nodded, "It's not as if that person is reading it now, I'm sure he or she doesn't work 24/7!"

"Unless there's a personal assistant, but still…" Tim shook his head. "We've done our part, it's up to them now."

Glad it was Monday night and he wasn't working at his second job, Tim followed Artie to bed.

Both had a busy week, with the baby, the older children and their work and it was Thursday when Tim was taking a thermos of coffee down to his secret lair before he thought of the Royal Family matter again. Checking his email, he was glad to see there wasn't any answer. Good, no news was good news!

With Greg's 10th birthday coming up in less than two weeks, his parents had checked with him to make sure he still wanted an overnight at the British Museum. He did and already knew who he wanted to ask. When his father asked him, he sighed, "I wish Kyle was old enough now. I'm afraid we'll move to Arlington before he turns 8 and he won't get to go."

"Try not to worry, Greggers, there's nothing we can do beforehand."

Bright young Greg caught his father's words. "Do you think we can do something then? Or before we leave?"

"Maybe but we don't know when that will be. When we find out, then we'll talk about it again."

Greg smiled, "Thanks, Papa! You're the best!"

Tim ruffled his hair and kissed him.

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It was another week before they had a reply and then they had to wait until everyone had gone to bed before looking at it.

The sender apologized for the delay before saying that Her Majesty, abbreviated as HM, was thrilled with the news of the boys' existence, although saddened by their mother's death. He went on to say that she well understood the difficulties that might be involved for them but hoped they would find a way to meet. The sender added that he had a few ideas, prompted by the background check he'd done on Special Agent Timothy McGee (Gibbs) and Dr. Artemis Galanis (Midei) and that it was a little known fact that HM was a fan of police procedurals, especially those with an interesting and entertaining cast of characters. Another interest of hers was hearing the stories of professional women. She also had a home, Balmoral Castle, in Scotland that she and others of the Royal Family frequented during the summer.

Tim was shocked at that, he'd never thought about anyone Royal reading his books about his NCIS family! Then he smiled, perhaps between his wife's successes and Gemcity, the Palace would come up with a way to disguise the family meeting as a meeting with one of the Queen's supposed favorite authors or a meeting with a professional woman who was successful in her work, in her marriage and family life. Or perhaps they'd take a trip to Edinburgh to see Susannah and Ian and wander around the country a bit.

He and Artie wrote back, thanking HM, although they wrote that out, and the sender for the reply, adding that they would be in Greece from the last days of July through the first days of August but diligently checked their email and always had their phones with them, except when in the water.

In the meantime, Greg had his birthday and his overnight at the British Museum with Andy, his friend Robin and his father. This was his fifth stay, counting Andy's birthday museum overnights, and he was still as excited as he'd been the first time!

After his birthday, there was one more week of school and then they were on summer holiday for several weeks.

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The group flew to Athens the last Friday in July, arriving in late afternoon. They met the DiNozzos, Colonel Barnes, Liz Crane, the Porters, Clachers and senior Powells at the airport when they landed as the others had flown in from Marseille, Florence, Edinburgh and Manchester respectively. As they gathered, everyone enjoyed seeing the twins and Jed in person, although the babies were asleep. Jilly Palmer, who'd been 3 months old at the wedding and was now a bright and alert 7 months, was wide awake and greeted everyone with enthusiastic squeals. The Italian family would arrive that evening and the rest of the Greek family was already in Varkiza.

All four babies did well on their flights. Jilly had a little trouble with her ears but her granducky was ready with one of her pacifiers and that relieved the hurt. Jed had a bottle as they took off and also had a pacifier for landing, just in case. The twins also had bottles as the plane took off and were asleep when they landed.

Because they'd taken an earlier flight than usual, the junior and senior Gibbses checked into their Airbnb, changed out of their travel clothes and then headed for the beach, where they knew Mimi and Yaya were waiting for them. Kisses and hugs followed. Even baby Jed cooed at his yaya and Mimi. Now three months old, he was beginning to smile what was called a 'social' smile rather than a 'reflexive' smile. He loved bright objects, practiced gripping things in his hands and getting them to his mouth. He was moving around a lot more, eventually that would lead to him turning over. Everyone noticed when he started to make sounds that sounded a bit like vowels. His family talked to him all the time, reading him stories, having conversations with him, asking him questions. Rissa was sure he liked one particular story better than the others; she said he made more of his noises whenever that story was read aloud. He was sleeping straight through 7 hours a night, which made his parents and grandparents very happy. When they returned from Greece, he would move upstairs with his parents. He already napped in his nursery during the day and was used to his room.

From Athens, his grandfather and grandmother would fly to Marseille to stay with his younger cousins for a few weeks; when they returned home, they'd return to living in their suite downstairs.

As it had been last year when they gathered after Sarah and James' wedding, it was easy again this year, having all been together a little over three months earlier at Rob and Ellie's wedding and of course several of the extended family had stayed with the DiNozzos, helping with the twins.

Saturday morning after breakfast, the group again met on the beach, cheering when the Costas, who had arrived too late for the beach last night, walked into sight. When everyone was gathered, Tim and Artie stood, Tim asking for their attention. He smiled at the large group. "Three and half years ago when Artemis and I exchanged our wedding vows, both times we did so in a civil ceremony. And that was for various reasons. It's hard to believe, but at the time, we didn't even know some of you!

"Since our weddings, we've become regular members of the Orthodox church and now, to tie everything up in one big happy bow, we are marrying again and Andy, Rissa, Hope and Jed will be baptized, all within the Orthodox faith. After research, we've been able to determine that Hope was never baptized or christened, her parents weren't Christian, Muslim, Jewish or any other faith. And, as infants, Greg and Kyle were baptized in the Episcopal church."

When Tim finished, Artie started, "Thanks to the kindness of Papas Linard in Brambury and Papas Demos at the Assumption of Mary Orthodox church in Varkiza, our marriage in the Church has been approved and all our preparations are complete. Our Orthodox wedding will be tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 8:00 AM at Assumption of Mary and the baptisms will take place immediately afterward. Susannah will be our Koumbara for our wedding and she and Ian will be godparents to the children. We invite you all to join us for our wedding and the baptisms and to our celebration afterward, here on the beach. Also, no gifts, please, other than your affection and prayers!"

The couple and the children were congratulated and then without further delay, the beach fun began. Jed, Jack, Diane and Jilly were tucked under a sun shelter, well out of the hot sun. Jilly had a playpen to herself while the three infants each slept in sturdy, comfortable and safe portable bassinets. The sun shelter had a ceiling fan which kept the air moving and the heat from being unbearable. Tim and Tony also filled a bucket with ice and set it on top of a cooler, underneath the ceiling fan; that helped cool down the interior even more. Jilly came out to play under a beach umbrella anchored into the sand near the water. Victoria, Davey, Hope, Rissa and some of the older kids helped her build a sand castle which she enjoyed, although she found it quite frustrating that no one would let her eat any of it. After sunscreen was applied and a sunhat gently tied on the little girl's curls, Jilly's daddy took her into the water, dipping her toes in. She squealed in glee, the water felt very good! She kicked and squirmed, calling her 'Da', she wanted more!

Tim and Artie played in the water with Hope and Rissa, who wasn't quite ready to jump the waves yet. When Grandpa and Grandma came to play, Papa and Mama went swimming. Then they found the boys and swam with them as well as jumping the waves with Rissa and her uncles Rob and Geo. Uncle Barry was sitting next to Hope in the shallows, playing with the water as it tickled their toes.

Everyone came in for a break when Granducky called "Shade Break". The three infants were awake and hungry. After they'd been changed and fed, their parents played with them for a little bit, safe on their tummy mats where they could touch, grab, kick, wave and move to their hearts' content.

Tim, Artie, Tony and Maggie had laughed the day before when Jed and the twins first saw each other. They weren't sure exactly what the infants could see, but the twins stared at Jed and Jed stared at Jack and Diane for several minutes. There were noises between them but Tim thought it sounded more like them testing each other than any actual acknowledgement.

Jilly liked the smaller babies and every time she came near one of them, she reached out to touch. She and Jed were used to each other but two more little guys was a real treat!

Hope liked all four of them, smaller than she was! She toddler-babbled to them, touched them gently, patting their legs and feet. When her mommy showed her a photo of her at four months, a little older than her baby brother and cousins, she laughed and shook her head, saying that tiny baby couldn't be her!

After a wonderful first day on the beach and in the water, the group enjoyed a sumptuous dinner grilled to perfection by Nikolas and Sergio, with help from Tobias and others.

The wedding and the baptisms were accomplished without any problems on Sunday. Tim was proud that most of his family showed up. Maggie and the Colonel stayed home with the twins and the Vances had been picked up by the Russells yesterday afternoon, he hadn't expected them. He was glad he'd talked with his siblings about the whole process, telling them the baptisms couldn't happen without their parents being married in the Orthodox Church and that the children's godparents also had to be members in good standing of the Orthodox Church. That eliminated any hurt feelings before they happened. They'd thought to have Sophia, Gaia and Theo also stand as godparents but in the end it was easier to have Susannah and Ian for all of their children, just as the Cranes were godparents to all three McGee children.

When they started putting the wedding and baptisms together, they realized they didn't know who Greg and Kyle's godparents were. Greg didn't remember anyone called a godfather or godmother and he only vaguely remembered a few people called Aunt or Uncle. Tim wrote the Hart family attorneys, the ones who'd kept Kathy safe and helped raise her, but they hadn't yet heard back. Artie thought it possible that the older attorney, Kathy's guardian, or the couple who ran the orphanage and raised her were godparents to the boys.

As far as the children's reactions to the wedding, they all thought it was funny that their parents were getting married again. Rissa hadn't realized she wasn't already baptized and Andy was glad it was done here in Greece. He wasn't embarrassed, he knew why he hadn't had a father most of his life, knew who was the real culprit, knew why he hadn't been baptized and why his father and mother married so quickly after he'd first met his papa. None of the kids in Brambury knew him before he moved there and with the wedding taking place in America, they also didn't know his parents hadn't been married all along, or that he'd been fatherless all of his life before Brambury. Now, he felt…whole.

He didn't want his parents to feel bad but Uncle Geo guessed at some of his feelings and took him for a walk down the beach. At some point, Andy blurted out everything. His uncle wrapped his arms around him and they sat in the wavelets at the shoreline for nearly an hour, talking. Andy said he'd tell his parents someday, but not anytime soon. He wanted to be grown first.

Uncle Geo said it wouldn't matter whether he told them now or when he was grown, his parents should know how he'd felt and how he felt now, that he was 'whole'. He said they probably already knew on some level but it would be better in the long run if Andy told them. Then it would be out in the open and they wouldn't have to worry anymore.

Andy frowned at that, "Are they worried?"

"Your parents? Andy, your dad worries about everything, although he's better than he used to be, and your mom feels terrible about letting her stepfather ruling her life and yours, for so long."

"But I understand, I know how he was, Uncle Geordie. You only saw him when he was being nice. He was scary! I don't remember everything about living with them when I was little but I do remember that I had to change my clothes every day at 4:00, to be ready when he got home and I wasn't allowed to play or get those clothes dirty until after dinner, which was always at 6:00 unless they had to go out. If we were at home and he was pleased with me, then he'd pat my head and Yaya would put me to bed. I knew which fork to use for what by the time Mama took me away when I was 3, what I was allowed to say or not to say and I never spoke unless I was spoken to. Yaya used to whisper sweet things to me and she played with me so it wouldn't be so hard but she had to be careful too." He stopped and took a breath. "He never hit me. If I did something he didn't like, he'd ignore me for days. And that hurt worse, I didn't know what I'd done wrong, how to make it better or how long it would last. Then Mama took me away with her and that was wonderful. She laughed and it was okay if I laughed, we talked all the time and I didn't have to worry about what I said."

Geordie wrapped his arms around his nephew and then looking up, saw his brother standing there, tears in his eyes. Geordie tilted with his head and the brothers exchanged places and Andy sighed happily, huddling into his father's arms where he always knew he was safe and loved. Knew it in his bones. Tim told his son, again, this was exactly the way he felt in his own father's arms and the way he always wanted Andy to feel. Safe and loved, no matter what. He also told him that it didn't matter how old Andy was, even when his parents were old, Andy was to remember, to know, that he was loved and safe with his father and mother.

Andy knew he was a teenager, knew he was almost but not quite grown. However, right then he was the little boy he'd been but this time it was different, much better. He smiled when he felt another pair of arms slip around him and knew it was his mother. They cuddled together, the three of them, for a long time, eventually joined by Greg, Kyle, Rissa and Hope and they sat there quietly, holding on. Geordie brought Jed over and he was carefully added to the huddle.

Years later, when they were all grown, they would make sure that whenever they were all together, especially if it had been awhile and even better if they were on a beach, the children of Timothy and Artemis would leave their partners and their children to cuddle with their parents and each other.

They'd always tease Jed when he asked, as he was expected to, what had brought on the family huddle in the first place and Hope, who only remembered through her siblings' memories, would tell him. "That was the day Mama and Papa got married again and then Andy, Rissa, you and I were baptized. Afterward, we were on Mimi's beach with her, Yaya, Grandpa, Grandma, all the aunts and uncles and cousins, the ones who were born then. Andy felt whole for the first time and needed a cuddle with Papa and then Mama joined them, then us and Uncle Geordie carried you over." And then they'd laugh because all of them knew the story that had started their tradition. And their dad would always add, "I told Andy that even when I was an old man, we'd still huddle, that he would still be loved, all of you would still be loved. And you are!"

Then the 'kids' would protest that he wasn't an old man, even though he was, and he and Artie would laugh, kiss each of them and have one more family hug before returning to the rest of the family.

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Tim was glad little Jed had arrived early and was a little older than planned as he was a willing companion everywhere his parents took him. That was mostly to the beach but one afternoon, Tim, Jed and his grandfather met his uncle Leon and a stranger, Agent Pete Russell, for lunch. He slept contentedly against his daddy's chest after having his favorite beverage, perhaps feeling his father's laughter.

Another day, he went shopping with his mother, sisters, both his grandmothers and most of the aunties. That was a little louder but he was comfortable in his stroller and didn't mind, watching for the bright colors he could see better than anything else. He knew enough of the voices, Mama's, his sisters', Grandma, and his aunts Sarah, Ellie, Bec and Breena, to feel secure and relaxed. He was a little startled when he heard the big baby, Jilly, fussing, but he was still fine and Auntie Breena quickly soothed her.

Mostly, he enjoyed hanging out on the beach with his cousins, in their very own shelter. A few times, he was taken out of the shelter but there was always something covering his head so he couldn't see very well. And whatever Papa or Mama walked on was hard to see. Still, he enjoyed laying under another type of shelter, a big umbrella, and playing there on his tummy mat. There was more noise, including a sound he liked very much, later he'd learn it was called laughter. That had several sounds to it, including his brother Kyle's infectious laugh, his sister Rissa's whole-hearted laugh, his daddy's belly laugh, his mama's joyful laugh, his yaya's giggle, his grandma's amused chuckle, his grandpa's rumbly laugh and his Mimi's tinkling laugh.

As with all good things, their vacation came to an end much too soon. One last water battle, one last scrumptious meal on the beach prepared by Master Chef Uncle Nikolas, one last walk looking for anything they might have missed, one last hug from the Greek and Italian cousins, aunts and uncles, and big hugs and kisses from Mimi and Yaya, who would visit for Rissa's 5th birthday party in two months. With no weddings planned or babies expected next spring, it would likely be a year until the combined family gathered again. That is, if the Gibbses didn't spend their late summer vacation in the U.S or even have moved there by then.

As always, Tim hated leaving, separating the different parts of the family. Saying goodbye to Tony and Maggie was always difficult and this year, also going home without his parents made it even worse. At least Leon was healthy and rested. And his lady friend Dani, whom they'd met on Aegina a few years ago, flew home with them.

The flight home was uneventful and, saying goodbye to the Londoners, the Brambury folks took the train home, where several Uber vehicles were lined up to transport the individual families to their homes.

Artie and Tim had asked Cyndi and Larry Porter to stay with them until they left for the U.S. the following week. The couple had had another wonderful summer, enjoying the summer classes they'd taught online as well as getting to know the UK even better. This year, they'd decided to explore as many villages as possible and gave Tim and Artie a list of their favorites, noting those they thought the children would especially enjoy.

When their summer classes were complete, they traveled to Italy, visited the Costas again before making Florence their base, exploring more of Tuscany and eventually meeting the group in Athens. Now they had just a week to organize their belongings, ship what they could and pack the rest. However, instead of sorting through everything, they separated what they'd need for the next week and the first couple of weeks at home and then shipped the rest. Considering the cost of excess baggage and their hearty dislike of lugging boxes and bags from airport to train to home, they were more than willing to pay the shipping costs. In fact, Cyndi thought they might have saved money.

Tim grinned when she said that, remembering the trips back and forth between Cambridge, Silver Spring and Alexandria, shipping Greg and Kyle's toys, books and clothes for all of them from Silver Spring and then shipping all the Christmas gifts from Massachusetts to Virginia and shipping the gifts they'd received back to Massachusetts. Shipping had certainly saved him a lot of aggravation and he wasn't sure he could have done it any other way, not as young as Kyle was back then!

During the week, Tim took the boys to visit Patrick and they had fun telling him of their latest beach escapades. They took down some of the older drawings and added new ones along with new photos from their vacations. When they had those just where they wanted them, the boys read to their sleeping father.

That Thursday, the Porters, Artie and Sarah went into the City for lunch, while Jed paid a visit to Auntie Claire. Lunch was fun as Tim, James, Jimmy, Bec and Geordie joined them. Bishop, Esposito, the new INV agent McCoy along with Race Piro in France and Abby here in London, were working a case with the Rota team. Tim was on call if they needed him.

Friday, Larry and Cyndi gathered their belongings and Sarah drove them and James to the train and Tube while Tim went to work in his secret lair, feeling bereft. He would not only miss his friends, he missed his country, feeling it was long past time to go home.

He felt a little better once he started working and saw what progress had been made. When he scanned through the logs, he spotted something interesting and clicked on a link to the White Hats' message boards. It was something said by a U.S. Senator, that he didn't believe the news reports of the atrocities, the murders, arson, harassment, that he believed it was all a phony setup to discredit 'true Americans'. He stared at the comment for a long time, mentally running through what he knew about this particular senator. When he realized what he knew, stemming from an old NCIS case in which the man was indirectly involved, Tim ran through several scenarios, settling on one. Then he got busy, setting up the files he needed and the necessary security around them.

Once that was done, he returned to his 'regular' White Hat work, he needed to further organize his plan before he jumped in. He worked all day, logging off to spend the rest of the evening with his family.

The children, minus Jed, were spending Saturday with their older cousins, Maisie, Aunt Claire and Aunt Liz, who was happy to be home after 6 weeks in France and then Greece. Tim knew Artie had a new project she was itching to start and that meant he could begin his own new project. He smiled to himself; although he, Artie and the kids were taking another trip next week, a surprise for the kids, the various programs he was setting up would continue working while he was away. If there were problems, he'd be alerted but he'd start tomorrow, which gave him several days to iron out any bugs.

Saturday morning, he brought an external hard drive with him and set it up, further tightening security. Then he started his searches, sending the results to the external drive. His first batch of searches didn't net him anything very interesting but there were a couple of items that might lead him to something more meaningful.

He was so impatient waiting for his programs that he decided to leave his lair and do something else for a couple of hours. When he went back upstairs, Artie was still working and Jed was asleep. Not quite sure what to do with his time, he laughed at himself when he finally realized he could write!

Two hours later, he saved the draft of a chapter onto a memory stick already labeled with the tentative name of the book, and then did some Googling, also saving those findings offline, on another memory stick he labeled quite differently before locking both memory sticks in his gun safe.

Back downstairs in his lair, he looked at the results and made a face, this was going to take longer than he'd hoped. However, if his idea panned out, the results could be worth every minute. Based on what he had so far, he set up seven additional searches. He'd need to analyze his results over the next week before he wrote any code to further automate the process.

He thought about that, making a decision. The surprise trip for the kids would last four or five days and they weren't leaving until Friday. If he worked on this all week, he'd have more data to analyze and could set up to move faster than if he delayed the work until Thursday and then stopped again Friday for the trip.

Back upstairs, he looked at the time and shrugging, called his boss.

Leon picked up almost immediately. "Anything wrong?"

"No, sir but I'm going in a different direction with my other work and I'm going to need more than today and tomorrow to analyze results, make sure I'm not wasting my time. With your permission, I'd like to stick with this and then work from here if the agency needs me. We have that trip coming up Friday."

Leon knew what that was about. Leon and Tim's parents, those were the only people besides Artie and him. At least within the extended family. For now.

"Yes, that's fine. Should I be excited?"

Tim huffed, "I don't know yet. This is akin to a Wild Ass Guess, only more of a Wild Ass Idea."

"Huh, WAI, doesn't have the same tone as WAG. Let's call it a WAG, that's easier."

Now Tim chuckled, "Sure, works for me. Thanks, Leon."

"Keep in touch."

"Will do."

Disconnecting, Tim peeked at Jed again, saw he was still sleeping and headed back to the basement. This time, he saw one result that he thought could lead to something significant and set it up to keep going.

He was just logging off again when the baby monitor, linked into his watch, came to life. Jed was awake and crying, no doubt wet and hungry. Tim sent a text to Artie that he'd tend to their son and flew upstairs again. Jed smiled, waved his arms and kicked his legs when he saw him, making happier noises.

All cleaned up and ready for his formula, Jed rode downstairs, snuggling into his daddy's arms. He was very hungry now and starting to fuss again when Daddy finally gave him his bottle.

As he played on his tummy mat later, both parents watched him, talking to him. He cooed and squealed a little bit and they cooed back at him which made him smile. At Uncle LJ's insistence, they dug out Grandpa Jack's photo albums and carefully leafed through until they found Jethro's baby pictures. Tim grinned when he saw them, the two babies, Leroy Jethro and Jethro Alexander, could be twins, born decades apart. They would make new copies of the best Leroy Jethro photos and had them framed with baby Jethro Alexander's photos. In the meantime, they scanned Leroy Jethro's photo into their photo album and sent a link to Dad in Marseille.

Dad didn't say much when he saw the photos together, but he was overwhelmed that his grandson looked like him. Yes, he knew Tim was his biological son but to see baby Jed begin to look so much like him somehow made their connection more real. Lu noticed but decided they should wait until they were home before talking about it.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Throughout the week, as Tim pushed ahead with his covert work, he found bits and pieces of information that he thought might eventually prove helpful. Because he was still not sure if this 'WAG' would get them anywhere faster than the methods they'd been using, he saved and stored everything offline and didn't tell any of his fellow cowboys, er, White Hats.

Thursday night after dinner, they had a family meeting, telling the kids about the trip. Tomorrow, they were taking the train to Edinburgh for a visit with Aunt Susannah, Uncle Ian, Mr. Alastair and Mrs. Fiona. However, that wasn't all!

After visiting with their family for the weekend, they were taking a road trip to the town of Ballater, on the River Dee. The Highland Games were taking place while they were there and there were also castles and a stone circle. They'd have some fun and stay over a day or so before returning to Edinburgh and taking the train home.

The kids were excited and bounced around on the bed before their parents told them they'd be in to help them pack, reminding them that Scotland could be rainy and cooler than Brambury. And that because they would be going to church, they needed to bring their church clothes and shoes. Papa said, "Bring your church clothes in here, we'll put all our good clothes in my garment bag. Also bring your good shoes in and we'll make sure they're clean and polished."

Mama nodded, "Yes, and in case we go out to a nice dinner or to church again, bring two good shirts or dresses. We'll come with you now to help select your clothes."

Kyle raised his hand, "Will we be swimming?"

"Ah, that's a good question and we don't know. Let's take one swimsuit apiece and one pair of flip-flops. No towels or pool toys, though. We'll use the hotel towels."

Chattering about the train ride, seeing Aunty Susannah and Uncle Ian, and the road trip, the kids dispersed to their rooms. Andy joined his father in Greg and Kyle's room, thinking he'd know what to take by what his brothers took. He was a little surprised when Papa added the ties Greg and Kyle wore in Uncle Rob's wedding, as well as the shirts, jackets and trousers, that looked like more than church clothes to him. When Papa winked at him, he smiled, deciding there was more to the surprise.

Papa added their casual clothes and shoes, but Greg noticed their hiking boots were not included, only sneakers, or trainers as they were known in the UK, rain boots, flip-flops and church shoes. Like Andy, he'd decided there was more going on than they'd been told. That was okay, his parents always had fun surprises.

Once Andy saw what Greg and Kyle were taking, he disappeared into his room to gather the same. He'd noticed that the clothes his brothers had worn in the wedding were in dry cleaning bags and wasn't surprised to find that his were also cleaned, pressed and ready to be worn again. Taking his wedding attire into his parents' room, he found Papa's garment bag hanging open in their closet. He carefully hung his clothes and then moved aside as Greg appeared with his clothes. They smiled at each other and Greg said, "We're taking long trousers, Kyle's only got the short ones."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes, but there's no way it can be true so I'm not even going to say it."

"Really?"

Greg laughed, "You know you hate ruining surprises, just like Dad!"

"Yeah, I know. Maybe Aunt Suse or Uncle Ian will know!"

Greg shrugged, "If they do, they won't tell!"

Andy huffed, "Then we have to wait until Monday!"

Behind them, Kyle said, "What happens on Monday?"

"That's the second part, when we have the road trip."

Kyle stopped to think about that, "Oh…hmm. I can't think of anything."

Greg smiled at him. If this was about what he thought it might be about, Kyle should know. But he wouldn't tease his younger brother. Not until he knew for sure and he still thought his idea couldn't possibly be right.

They were still pondering, standing in their parents' closet, when their mother brought in Rissa and Hope's clothes, their dresses from the wedding. The trio returned to Greg and Kyle's room.

As they sat on the beds, Kyle looked up, "Somebody must be getting married. But who and why is it a surprise?"

Andy nodded, "That's a good idea, Kyle. Uh, Uncle Geordie and Aunt Bec? Or maybe Grandpa and Grandma are having…no, they're not going with us." He laughed, "I don't think Papa and Mama are getting married again! That would make four times!"

Kyle tilted his head, "Grammie and Grandpa Mac like each other a lot. And Grammie's from Scotland."

"Ooh, you're right, maybe that's it!"

They talked about other ideas, Rissa joining them while Hope had her bath, stories and cuddles. Between the four older siblings, they decided that Grammie and Grandpa Mac must be getting married in Scotland and for some reason it was supposed to be a surprise.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The train ride to Edinburgh was fun, as always, with the children glued to the windows. Of course, they'd ridden the route a few times but they never tired of looking, not even Andy at his 'advanced' age.

They were met by Ian's parents, Mr. Alastair and Mrs. Fiona, as the kids' aunt and uncle were just getting off work. Susannah and Ian had moved since the Gibbses' last visit, they now had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom flat with an den/office that had a sofa bed. Jed slept in his portable bassinet, Hope and Rissa shared the sofa bed in the den, with their parents next to them in an inflatable bed. The boys slept in the second bedroom.

Although the weekend went too fast, they had a great time, visiting some of their favorite spots in Edinburgh while Aunty and Uncle showed them other spots of interest. Although they didn't go to church, they did have their regular Sunday visit with Patrick, in the form of a phone call to Uncle Rob and Aunt Ellie who were in the room with Greg and Kyle's other dad.

Monday morning, Ian dropped Tim off at the rental car lot and he soon returned to the flat with a minibus large enough for the 8 of them and all their stuff. The drive to Ballater was less than 3 hours and they looked around curiously when they pulled into town.

Kyle pointed out the hills, "We can go hiking!"

Rissa nodded and then pointed to the river. "And swimming. Or boating, can we go on a boat ride, Daddy, Mama?"

"We're not sure yet, sweetie. Let's get checked into our hotel, first."

Everyone but Jed carried something into the hotel where they piled everything on a cart, like at the airport. They had a 3 room suite with a little kitchen and two bathrooms. When everyone was in and had finished exploring the suite, their parents sat them down, smiling at them.

"We have another surprise for you! We're going to change into our nice clothes and then we'll be picked up by a car and driver and taken to Balmoral Castle to meet the Queen."

Rissa blinked, "The Queen of what, Mama?"

Greg was in shock, he'd been right. He managed to answer his sister, "The Queen of the United Kingdom, Rissa."

Andy's eyes looked like there were about to pop out of his head. "Their summer residence…we're meeting them at Balmoral Castle. How? Why?"

Greg looked at Kyle who was very quiet, thinking about things. Noticing his brother's gaze, he looked up, "Was it the grave, that decoration?"

Greg nodded. "Yes, the family crest and the name Teck."

"And where it said cousin?"

"I guess so. Papa, Mama?"

"Yes, Greg, Kyle. You are cousins of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and her family."

Andy nearly fell off the couch. His brothers were part of the Royal Family?

"Do they know?" That was Greg.

"Yes, we contacted them. Kids, here's what happened." Tim and Artie told the children, although Jed wasn't paying any attention, about researching and confirming that the boys were cousins of the British Royal Family, through their great-grandmother Jean Teck Cabot.

"She lived with then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret for several years, from about Greg's age until she was 17. The three of them were very close. When your great-grandmother Jean married your great-grandfather Robert, the Queen, Prince Philip, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother were at the wedding. Her Majesty granted Jean permission to marry Robert, how about that!

"When your grandmother Beth was born, the Queen and Prince Philip were her godparents and she visited them here in the UK several times. When your mother Kathy was born, they sent gifts and they met Kathy in person when she was little. Until we contacted them after seeing the grave and talking with some people, they believed your Mama Kathy died with her mother, father and grandparents in the boating accident."

Greg and Kyle were listening, their mouths still wide open in surprise. Although Greg had had some vague idea, this was far more than he'd imagined. Andy was trying to listen while still dealing with his shock.

Rissa giggled, "Are they princes?" She was excited!

"No, sweetie. They are distant cousins, but they are cousins and the Queen wants to meet them. We decided that it was easier to do here. You see, we want to keep this quiet, a family secret. Your grandpa and grandma know, but nobody else."

Rissa wanted to know why and they told her. Greg nodded, relieved. "I'm glad!"

"All right, any other questions?"

The kids had a few and their parents answered them before saying, "Before we get ready to go, there are more things you need to know. First of all, when we're speaking with the Queen, we don't call her 'Queen'. When you first meet her, you call her "Your Majesty". Let's hear you all say it."

They all practiced saying Your Majesty. Then Mama said, "After we've been introduced and have called her "Your Majesty" , we're allowed to call her "Ma'am".

They practiced that, the children more familiar with that term. "Now, she'll ask you questions and maybe us too. Be truthful but Andy, Rissa, Hope, you don't have to tell her everything that's ever happened to you."

Kyle looked worried, "But we do?"

"She'll be interested in your lives, son. And, listen up everyone! No loud talking, whispering and try not to fidget. If you have to go to the bathroom, you can whisper to your mother or me, like we do in church. Church manners."

"How long will we be there?"

"I don't know, sweetie, we know we're invited for lunch and the afternoon. That might include tea, but since we're having lunch, we think we won't be having tea there."

Greg looked around, "Will there be other people there? Other children?"

"We don't know that, either, son."

Andy tilted his head, "I read online that Prince William and his family are here."

"That would be nice to meet them, too, but we won't know until we get there."

Kyle looked a little panicked, "Will you be with us? We don't have to stay with them, do we?"

"We will be with you and no, unless we all stay, you won't stay. We're American and Greek citizens, son. Although you're related to the Queen and her family, she's not our queen. We're allowed to live in her country and that's wonderful, but we're all American and Greek citizens, not citizens of the United Kingdom."

When Greg sighed in relief along with Kyle, they were given hugs. "Boys, we are your parents and we will always be your parents! Andy, Rissa, Hope and Jed will always be your siblings, your sisters and brothers. Grandpa, Grandma and Yaya will always be your grandparents, Mimi, Grammie and Penny will always be your great-grandmothers. Always!"

"And Pappous Peter!"

Artie smiled, "Yes, of course. Now, let's get changed and practice our church manners."

They changed into their wedding clothes, Kyle wearing shorts and his brothers the long trousers, glad it wasn't hot out! As instructed, Tim sent a text when they were ready, smiling at the reply.

"All right, the car will be here in 5 minutes. Is everyone ready? Hair and teeth brushed? Hands and faces clean?" He and Artie looked at them, "You look great, all of you! Now, aside from remembering to say "Your Majesty" and then Ma'am, and minding your manners, please try to be yourselves. Kyle, if anyone asks you about your trains, talk about them, let them know how much you love trains. Greg, same for you with your books. Andy, Rissa and Hope, just be yourselves."

Rissa looked at her parents, "You too, Mama, Daddy!"

They smiled, trying not to look as nervous as they felt. "We'll do our best. Oh, another rule, Her Majesty always walks ahead. So if we walk down a hall, you let her walk ahead. And if we eat with her, once she is through eating, everyone is done eating. She has grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I'm sure she's used to how much kids like to eat!"

"Does she wear a crown all the time?"

"No, sweetie."

"That's good, that might hurt!"

"Daddy, what if I say phooey by accident?"

"Then we'll explain our use of the word. But I hope you won't be upset enough to say it."

"Me too."

"Remember, if you cough, cover your mouth."

"What if I have to sneeze?"

Artie handed each of the children a tissue. "Keep it in your pocket and if you feel a sneeze coming on, turn your face away from Her Majesty and use the tissue to sneeze into. Just like at home."

Kyle looked at his father, "What if I…um…"

Tim bit back a smile, "Then say 'excuse me', the same as we do at home."

The room phone rang, it was the front desk calling to say their tour guide was here. That was the description their Palace contact said they'd use for their driver, telling Tim and Artie they'd used it before with no problems.

Jed was already secured in his stroller, the bag with his bottles, diapers and extra clothes tucked on the rack underneath. They started out with Papa pushing the stroller with Hope holding his free hand but Andy saw his younger brothers were nervous and a little scared. With a smile, he offered to push the baby's stroller with Rissa accompanying him. Hope held one of Papa's hands, Kyle the other one and Greg was holding onto his mother's hand for dear life.

Tim and Artie were surprised to find a second person waiting for them with the driver. He smiled as he introduced himself, "I'm your Palace correspondent, Geoffrey Teck."

Shaking their hands, he chuckled at their surprise. "I decided and Her Majesty agreed, to withhold my surname until we could meet in person, I was afraid it would throw you off. Yes, I am also a cousin." He shook hands with all the children, smiling at Greg and Kyle. "Oh my, you both have some Teck in you! Gregory, the shape of your eyes is very like your great-grandmother's and Kyle, you could be her son rather than her great-grandson. Although I also see a strong resemblance between you and your father."

Kyle smiled at him, saying, "Greg also looks like our other great-grandmother, Penny and our aunt Sarah."

Greg looked at him, "Did you know our Teck great-grandmother?"

"Yes, I met her a few times starting when I was about Kyle's age. She brought her daughter, your grandmother Beth, to visit several times during Beth's childhood, they stayed for a few weeks each time. As Beth was my age, I have more memories of her than of Cousin Jean."

Greg took a deep breath, "Did you know Mama Kathy, our first mother?"

"I was lucky enough to meet her once, when she was a very little girl, about Hope's age. I have photos, I thought you might like to see them."

Greg smiled, "Yes, please! Papa and Mama found photos of her by herself, like school photos, and then with our dad, our other dad, but I don't think we have any of her as a little girl."

"Wonderful!" He looked at Tim and Artie, "Did you by chance bring any of those photos?"

Tim nodded, "Yes. We brought prints of the entire Hart family album. Some we recovered from Kathy's personal effects, some were given or sent us by the Hart family attorney and there were a few taken by my mother, who worked at the shelter where Kathy and the boys stayed." He added, "She only became my mother 2 years ago."

"Ah, I see. I do remember you saying you have a complex family!"

Rissa smiled, "We're related to Paddington Bear!"

Artie patted her daughter as she explained the Paddington connection.

Before they got in the car, their new friend said, "I'm forgetting something! Her Majesty would like you to consider staying in one of the cottages on the castle grounds. They're called cottages but they're not small. There's one that has 10 bedrooms with 7 bathrooms, we thought that would be perfect for you."

Tim and Artie smiled, "Yes, thank you, we'd be honored. We'll pop upstairs and…"

"No need, we'll have someone bring your belongings and your rental vehicle over."

"Thank you!"

Mr. Teck smiled, "I believe that's everything. Shall we go?"

As they pulled away from the hotel, Tim felt like they'd stumbled into a fairy tale.


	74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74

The only thing any of them remembered from that ride to Balmoral Castle was their first sight of the castle. It was quite large with a large sea of green lawn around it. Kyle told Mr. Teck about their Manor house and how surprised their visitors were the first time they saw it. Rissa agreed, saying, "Some of them think it's a castle!"

Tim and Artie relaxed when Mr. Teck said he would escort them to the Queen's private quarters. "Before we go, however, we'll take a few minutes to show you the cottage, get you settled. Then we'll talk about how to address Her Majesty the Queen. There are others of the Royal Family here this week and I'll do a quick run-through of how to address them, too. After that, we'll drive you to the castle, I'll present all of you to Her Majesty and then she'll want to chat with you and you'll have lunch with her. The Duke of Edinburgh will join you, don't forget he was your grandmother's godfather! The other members of the family you'll likely meet are the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Cambridge, that is Prince William, and his family, the Earl of Wessex and his family, that's Prince Edward, and Princess Beatrice is expected to arrive tomorrow. You may meet some of them today, if not, then certainly tomorrow."

The older man smiled, "You'll be fine, please don't worry. I'll be available for any questions or problems you might have."

Tim was inordinately relieved that they were going to the cottage first and he realized that was a smart move on Mr. Teck's part, giving them space and time to start acclimating.

When the cottage was pointed out to them, Andy blinked, "It's the size of our house in Arlington!"

"You're right, son."

"Where is that?"

"A year ago, anticipating a transfer home and with a short time frame between the end of classes here and the beginning of school there, we bought a house in Arlington, Virginia. We rented it out to family members."

"Are you still renting it? Sorry, I'm poking my nose into your business, but I understood your entire family was transferred or evacuated here."

"They were, everyone's in Europe, except for two sets of in-laws. One set has been evacuated from their home, I believe they're living on the border between the U.S. and Canada and the other set believes they're safe where they are. And yes, we're still renting the house out, although our original tenants currently live near us in Brambury. We now have Marine tenants as well as two federal agents and their families."

"They're safe?"

"Yes, because of the Marines and the tank they've parked in the front of the property. The Marines are protecting as many homes and neighborhoods as they can."

Mr. Teck's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything more.

They pulled into a covered carport and Mr. Teck led them into the cottage. As they walked in, Tim looked toward the castle, that was going to be quite a walk! Mr. Teck chuckled, "We have electric carts here, similar to your golf carts. And we have one that includes an attached sort of wagon with plenty of room for all of you. We'll take you over in that today and then you may drive it yourselves if you wish or we'll provide a driver."

Artie smiled, "It would be lovely to have a driver, Mr. Teck, thank you."

He nodded and led them into what would have been called a 'mudroom' at home, an informal space with storage, a sink and benches to sit and pull off muddy or wet shoes or boots and racks for jackets and hats. He raised an eyebrow, "I hope you like mucking about in mud puddles?"

He chuckled as the younger children's faces lit up. From the mudroom, they entered a hallway with a bathroom and another room that he said was a pantry. The kitchen was quite large with a table big enough to seat all of them. The living area was large and comfortably furnished, with a fireplace. A staircase led to the bedrooms and bathrooms. They didn't explore, they'd do that later. Back downstairs, they gathered in the living area and Mr. Teck went through what to call the Queen and her family. Tim and Artie had looked online but it was a bit confusing and they were relieved when Mr. Teck made it simple for them. Once everyone was comfortable with the protocols, they set off again. Another driver was waiting for them, in a sort of tram-cart with enough seating for all of them. Mr. Teck said that if it was raining, they'd be transported in a car.

Quickly crossing the grounds to the castle, they were ushered inside and led to Her Majesty's office, where they were introduced to Queen Elizabeth II. She greeted each of them warmly, smiling joyfully at her two young cousins. The children were at ease almost immediately, Rissa later said she reminded her of Mimi, Grammie and Penny. Kyle said he wanted to hug her but remembered that was up to Her Majesty.

They sat on comfortable chairs and sofas as she spoke with them, individually and as a family and Tim felt himself relaxing. She told Greg and Kyle about their Great-grandmother Jean and the years she'd lived with them during her childhood. She also told them about Jean's husband, Robert Cabot, and what a man of honor he was. She smiled when she said that, nodding to Tim, "Not unlike your own father." Tim nodded in appreciation although he wondered about the comment.

She remembered that Kathy, Jean's granddaughter and the boys' mother, was insatiably curious, even as young as she was during her one visit here, when she was almost 3 years old. Artemis couldn't help looking at her boys proudly, knowing they'd both inherited that trait.

They talked for an hour. Her Majesty was so engaging with the children that none of them were nervous. When she mentioned that her two youngest grandchildren, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, were close to Andy and Greg in age, the two boys smiled happily. They'd known the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's children were close to the ages of their younger siblings, even baby Jed, but weren't aware of anyone who might be close to their own ages. Then again, they'd had no idea they'd meet any of the Royal Family besides Her Majesty the Queen!

When they went into lunch, they were introduced to Prince Philip, who was as joyful as Her Majesty about meeting the boys. While he caught up with the children, Her Majesty spoke with Tim and Artemis.

"Timothy, Artemis, I am grateful for the chance to thank you for helping my family. My husband, sister, mother and I were devastated by the loss of Jean, Robert, Beth and young Kathy. To learn that Kathy survived, only to be senselessly killed seems cruel and I imagine you struggled with the decision to tell us about the boys. When I learned of your background, Timothy, believing your brother to be dead and then finding him in a coma after so many years, I understood that for you, that may have made the decision even more difficult. Contacting the Palace with the news of Kathy's survival and her sons took a great deal of courage and trust; thank you for easing our hearts.

"This is not the first time you've helped my family." She smiled, "Ah, I've surprised you, good! When you found yourself with that odious man Hatman in your home and arranged to turn him over to British authorities, you did more of a good deed than you know. You see, years ago, Hatman supplied materials used to murder someone close. When you arranged for his capture, you brought justice and closure for more than one crime committed by that man. Now, I'm unable to recognize your good works publicly but I hope you will accept this as a token of my gratitude."

She handed Tim a small box. "It's a medal created for discretionary use by the Windsor family."

Tim opened the box to find a gold medal with the House of Windsor Coat of Arms. He smiled at Her Majesty, "Thank you, Ma'am, I'm honored. However, I was…"

He was interrupted by a hand on his arm. "Doing your job, yes, I know. This is a personal thank you, Timothy. I've been assured that as such, you may legally accept it."

He blinked as she added, smiling again, "If you have any doubts, please consult your friend, Secretary McCord." With a chuckle, she added, "I'd love to give you a knighthood for your wonderful books. However, I'm told in your present position, you'd be unable to accept it."

Now he blushed and she nodded.

After lunch, Jed woke, needing a change and feeding and they were escorted to the castle nursery. There, they quietly tended Jed, changing him and then feeding him a bottle, sitting in a chair perhaps previously occupied by either the Duke or Duchess of Cambridge.

Back in his daddy's arms, Jed was mildly interested in what was going on around him, smiling at his mama and siblings and cooing at them. The family was given a tour of the castle, which was fine for the boys and Rissa but proved a bit much for Hope, although she did her best to keep up. Jed moved to his mother's arms while his daddy carried his big sister. Once they finished the tour, the family was asked to return for tea, which would take place after afternoon naps for Hope, Jed, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

On the way back to the cottage, their driver told them their luggage had been delivered and asked if they'd brought swim suits. When they said yes, he smiled, saying he'd show them where their pool was. They were all happy to hear about that!

Jed played on his tummy mat and with his siblings and parents for nearly an hour before it was time for his nap. Hope crawled onto her parents' bed for her own nap and her family changed into more casual clothes and returned to the main floor. Rissa and the boys explored, finding a game room with a library next to it. Kyle ran upstairs to tell their parents about their discovery, only to find both of them sound asleep in the lounge. With a grin, he ran back to his siblings, telling Andy he was in charge!

By the end of the day, the family was exhausted and exhilarated. At tea, they'd met the rest of the Royals currently in residence. While it was fun and interesting, it was also surreal to both Tim and Artie. Their children adapted fairly easily. When Prince George asked Kyle if he liked Thomas the Tank Engine, the two became instant friends, including Rissa when Kyle introduced her as his deputy Engineer. Andy and the Lady Louise discovered a mutual love of science and music. Greg and James, her younger brother, bonded over a mutual love of a particular series of books. Hope and Princess Charlotte played well together and of course the two baby boys stared at each other, making noises until they apparently found mutual approval.

Back at the cottage that first evening, they all had a dip in the basement pool. Swimming felt good, it was normal, something they did frequently and they didn't have to remember when to use titles or any of the other rules new to them.

Their second day was easier, the only 'new' person they met was Princess Beatrice when she arrived and her quick smile quickly won them over. Leaving Jed in the care of one of the nannies, they were given a tour of part of the estate. At 20,000 hectares, or about 50,000 acres, there was too much to cover in one day. However, the sun was shining and the fresh air felt wonderful. They had a picnic lunch and the children played for over an hour before they continued.

By the time they left Balmoral on Thursday, the Gibbs family was much more comfortable with the Royals. Plans were made for a visit to Sandringham Castle after Christmas. Driving back to Edinburgh, Tim reflected that it was the first time he'd had to lift a finger since their arrival on Monday. He, Artie and the children talked about keeping their visit to themselves, for now. The kids knew their Grandpa and Grandma knew and that would help.

In the meantime, when they reached Edinburgh, they dropped the rental vehicle off and took a shuttle to the train station. The train ride was relaxing after their holiday and Andy and Greg woke their parents and siblings shortly before they pulled into Brambury station.

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The following week was definitely a return to reality – more like having a bucket of ice water poured over his head as Tim and 3 of his former teammates prepared for court. The head of the Legal Department met with each of them, 3 of them via Skype and Tim in person, to review their actions during the case. Tim contacted Ziva, asking her if she would meet with their legal advisors and she agreed.

While their father prepared to go to court, the children returned to school, their mother taking their annual 'first day of school' photo and, as requested, emailed the best of the photos to Mr. Teck for HM. They missed their grandparents, who wouldn't be home from Marseille until the following weekend.

Tim and his former teammates were encouraged by their legal department to watch at least one session of the trial before they were called to testify. When Marseille had back to back cases, that left Tony out but Abby, Tim and Boss, er, Dad, managed to each appear on screen in an extra session.

Ziva and their former Boss testified the same day and both reported their testimony went well although they weren't allowed to say anything else. Tim's testimony was scheduled for the next day, he was the first witness scheduled in the U.S. morning, which meant early afternoon for him. As no one specified where he needed to be during the Skype session, he chose to do it from his office, with the blessing of the agency attorneys. Putting a big "COURT IN SESSION, DO NOT DISTURB" sign on his door, he sat in his chair behind his desk to give his testimony. He was sworn in by the bailiff, who stood to the side of the big screen displaying Tim's image. Tim held up his hand and took the oath.

The JAG prosecutor led him through a short series of questions to establish who he was and how he was involved in the case. When the attorney continued, asking where he was now and his job class, the defense attorney objected and the objection was sustained. However, the prosecutor got her point across. Six years ago, Tim was a junior agent, since then he'd been promoted several job classes and had his own international team. Obviously, he was good at his job.

When the defense had their turn, they tried several plays to force a reasonable doubt but Tim had studied the case file and his own notes, talked with Ducky and Jimmy, who both remembered the brutal murders. Tim had gone as far as to jot down comments about the investigation, how Abby found something that led them to looking for the former Marine. His recollection of the events was as good as if they had happened last week. He knew his dad and Tony had done the same thing, this guy was guilty in capital letters.

He was excused but asked to remain available for a possible recall, which was normal procedure. By Thursday, all the evidence had been presented, all the witnesses had testified, the closing arguments given, the jury given instructions and retired from the courtroom to decide on the verdict.

Late that evening, Tim had an email from the JAG prosecutor, the verdict was guilty, the jury had only needed a few minutes to decide. Tim sent an email congratulating his former team, copying Vance and blind copying Ziva. Although it also made him a little sad, he felt a strong sense of satisfaction that this, the last of the MCRTs cases to be tried, had been a success.

He smiled, this would make Vance very happy. While it wasn't specific to NCIS, morale throughout the Armed Federal Agencies was very low, due to the 'crisis' that they knew to be a war. Any positive news would be warmly welcomed. Sure enough, when the Quarterly Results were published the following month, Vance put a big spin on the successful verdict and the team responsible for it, listing them in order, the 2012 Navy Yard MCRT: Gibbs, SAC/Team Lead, DiNozzo, Senior Field Agent, McGee, Junior Agent, David, Junior Agent, with help from their forensic scientist Dr. Abby Sciuto and medical examiners Drs. Mallard and Palmer.

There were asterisks by all but one name with their current status: Gibbs, Retired/Consulting Senior Agent, married, father of 11, grandfather of 8, uncle of 3; DiNozzo, SAIC, married, father of 2, uncle of 9; McGee, SAIC, married, father of 6, uncle of 5; Abby Sciuto, Chief Forensics Scientist, aunt of 11, Donald "Ducky" Mallard, Retired, father of 1, grandfather of 11, Dr. Jimmy Palmer, Chief Medical Examiner, married, father of 3, uncle of 8.

There was no asterisk or mention of Ziva's status, which no doubt would have pleased her if she'd known. Vance later told Jethro and Tim he'd really wanted to add their biological relationship but decided he'd already said more than enough about their personal business. Then he'd laughed, "Anyone who looks at that list will understand that you, Jethro, are grandfather to DiNozzo and McGee's kids. That generally implies a close familial relationship!"

Jethro beamed, always happy to be reminded of his family.

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While parts of his family were dealing with new marriages, babies and, unbeknownst to him, royal relatives, Geordie was dealing with red tape, what seemed like miles of red tape. He was on a countdown to retirement from the USMC and he and Bec wanted to marry, they hoped at the Manor, before his retirement. That meant several things to be handled: one, there were several conditions and paperwork for two non-UK/EU citizens to marry in the UK; two, Geordie wanted to remain in the UK with Bec and return to university to attain his Masters Degree in History once he was retired, that meant applications to schools of higher learning; three, he'd need a different type of visa to attend classes and/or live without a job, as the non-working, non-citizen spouse of a working non-citizen spouse; four, all the paperwork needed to retire from the Marine Corps.

It was confusing but when he finally took a page from Tim's playbook and made a spreadsheet, it was a little less confusing. When he split the single spreadsheet into three, it was a lot less confusing. Then he called his little brother. Bec had offered to ask Ellie but Geordie wanted to talk with Rob.

Rob was enjoying a second cup of coffee on his day off when his phone buzzed with a call. He smiled when he saw the caller ID, Geo!

"Hey, Geo!"

"Hi, Rob, got a few minutes? I don't want to take your whole morning."

"That's okay, Ellie's at work so take all the time you want! Are you off today?"

Geordie chuckled, "Ah, the sound of a happily married man. That's why I'm calling, actually. We haven't told the parents yet, but Bec and I are planning our wedding! And yes, I am off today."

"Great, congratulations! You know 'planning' means you're engaged to be married."

His brother huffed, "That word makes me more nervous than the word marriage does!"

"Engaged?"

"Yes. But that's my problem. What we're hoping is that you and Ellie will share some of your 'getting married in the UK' experience."

Rob groaned, "Oh man, I hope you aren't planning anything soon, because it won't happen, brother."

"Has to happen before December 31st. We looked up the rules, I talked to people at the Embassy and they offered me sympathy and references, said they can't do much else."

"Yeah, it's rough but getting those references is good! We had so many notes and forms and copies of things we'd already filled out and submitted that we finally put it all in a three ring binder. Don't laugh, I know it's low tech but it really helped. And yes, you can borrow it and our three-hole paper punch. We organized the binder by steps, which are separated by tabs, so you can start at the first page and work your way through. Ellie included our notes for each step, I'm telling you, she's as organized as Tim!"

"Oh boy, I think you've saved us!"

Rob laughed, "Oh no, we haven't! You still have to go through it all, you just don't have to figure out where to start and what to do next. So…I'm the first to know, that's awesome! When are you going to tell the rest of the family?"

"We're hoping we'll be able to estimate how long everything will take and then set a date. Then we'd tell everyone else. Think that's possible?"

"Yes, figure two months to get through everything, so you could plan the wedding for November, but December might be safer."

"Be cool to have it Thanksgiving weekend when Tony, Maggie and the twins will be here. Of course, since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving on the American Thanksgiving holiday, maybe we could push it off a week."

"Ooh, I like that, especially because Thanksgiving is the 22nd this year. Push our celebration and your wedding out to the weekend in December and you'd be all set for sure! Then have it on Sunday?"

Geordie snorted, "Or Friday night!"

"Are her parents coming over for it?"

"That's another reason we need to set a date, they'll need to book flights and the longer we wait, the more it'll cost them and if it's Thanksgiving, it'll be even harder." Geordie sighed, "I've only met them on Skype."

"That's good, though, Geordie. Don't know when you would have had time to fly home to meet them."

"We could have gone in August, instead of going to Greece. But we both really wanted to go to Greece."

Rob laughed, "I hope you'll be as lucky as I've been, and Tim, with your in-laws. Sure hope you don't end up with an Ed Slater, like poor Jimmy!"

"Well, Bec's dad is former Navy and likes that I'm a Marine if I can't be Navy. Bec says bringing home an Army, Air Force or Coast Guard beau would have been problematic."

"What rank was he?"

Geordie chuckled, "Chief Warrant Officer so I outrank him! Not that I plan to rub his nose in it, but I do like knowing."

"So what's with the deadline of December 31st?"

"That's my official retirement date from the Corps. If we marry before then, we'll have more benefits after I retire."

"Wow. That's good thinking, Geo."

"Just trying to be practical, Robbie. All right, thanks, brother, this is really going to help. Are you going to be home this afternoon? I could come get the magic book."

"Good idea! I have some errands to run, how about lunch? Want to meet at the pub by us for lunch, say 1300?"

"That works, see you then."

Geordie sighed in relief as he disconnected. Sending a text to Bec, he sat down at the table, in front of his laptop and looked at the sea of papers surrounding him. Resolutely he started separating them into retirement, college & university applications and the visa forms. Once they were sorted, he'd make sure each form was listed on the appropriate spreadsheet, although he might also need to buy a couple more three ring binders to keep from going crazy!

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While Rob and Geordie were talking, their parents were packing to return home. While Jethro and Lu loved the DiNozzos, were fond of the Colonel and adored their grandbabies, they were exhausted and homesick, having been away from the Manor for 6 weeks, including their two weeks in Varkiza. And they thought it was time for the new little family to establish their own routine. Maggie had recovered from her pregnancy and childbirth, she was more than capable of taking care of the twins and they'd found a reputable woman who would stay with the babies for a few hours whenever needed, to give Maggie a break. If she decided to go back to work, there were day care centers for the twins. With an extended leave, she wouldn't have to make that decision for another month.

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The Saturday after the case trial, Tim whistled happily as he helped Rissa and Kyle into their seats in Big Blue, tucked Jed into his seat, fastened his own safety belt and backed out of the driveway, on their way to the airport to pick up his parents. Andy and Greg were swimming with Sarah and James while Hope and Artie were at a birthday party for one of their daughter's nursery school friends.

There wasn't much traffic at the airport, one of the smaller ones and when Security saw the two children and the baby in the van, they turned away, which Tim hoped meant he could leave the van at the curb. Kyle and Rissa were out of the van and standing with him while he retrieved the stroller when Tim heard a familiar whistle. With a grin, he tucked the stroller back in the cargo area and leaving Jed in his seat in the van, stood with the two older kids, watching as a luggage cart was pushed toward them. When they were close enough, Tim let go of Rissa and Kyle's hands and they ran for their grandparents. After they got the luggage in the van, it was Tim's turn for kisses and hugs.

"So glad you're home! Missed you so much. Feels like you've been gone for a year!" He chuckled, "No more whining, sorry."

His mother pulled him close for another hug, "You didn't say anything we aren't thinking and feeling, too, sweetheart!"

Back home, the senior Gibbses were happy their luggage didn't have to be schlepped upstairs, they were back in their suite! Lu made a face when she saw the number of packages waiting for her, she'd done a fair amount of shopping in Marseille, shipping everything home. Jethro chuckled, "Remember, there are birthday and Christmas gifts in those boxes, too."

She nodded, relieved, she'd forgotten about that!

The family had a happy reunion and a restful weekend.

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When Tim went to work on Monday, his first order of business was to meet with Agent McCoy. She'd completed her training with top scores, had solid evaluations from the field teams she'd worked with, now it was time for her to decide whether to go or stay.

When she entered his office, Tim smiled, "Today's the day! Thanks for coming in early." He handed her a piece of paper, her certificate of training for the INV program. "Congratulations!"

She grinned, "Thank you, I've loved every second of the work and my stay here."

"And that shows! Now, over the summer, Director Vance has made another change as far as offices in the US and I'm adding that to your choices. He's opened an administrative office at the FLETC complex in International Falls, Minnesota. While there aren't and won't be any field teams on site, an INV agent would be well placed there. The equipment is up to date, security is tight and it's a safe zone, there haven't been any attacks or incidents of harassment within a 300 mile perimeter. The winters are long, with cold weather, a lot of snow and with that comes the possibility of losing internet capability. If you got stuck there during a storm, there are beds, bathrooms and a kitchen/cafeteria in the same building and FLETC has its own generators; the director has made arrangements for the heat and power to be on year round, even between FLETC sessions. I don't know if you'd be at all interested; however it is an option for you.

"As for the Northeast office, that's no longer an option for you. The director has plans but after the last discussion you and I had, I decided I wouldn't place an INV agent there at this time. So, to sum up, your choices are International Falls, staying here and working the 1300-2100 shift, or moving to the Northwest office in Seattle or the Southwest office in San Diego and working East Coast hours there."

She smiled, "Thank you for telling me about International Falls. It might be fun, I do enjoy winter sports and it would be interesting to explore the area, especially as it's so close to the Canadian border. But as interesting as that sounds and as much as I love both Seattle and San Diego, I want to stay here."

Tim smiled and shook her hand, "Then, congratulations for officially joining the London team!" He chuckled, "We'll have a team lunch today to celebrate, if nothing comes in. Aside from that, you'll need to start looking for a place of your own, you have 30 days left of your transfer benefits." He frowned, "How's it been getting to and from in the evenings?"

"It hasn't been a problem with Summer Time hours, it hasn't been full dark when I leave, although it will be soon as we move into Autumn. I'll switch to taking Uber or a taxi to the Tube if I'm by myself."

"And from the Tube to your new home."

She nodded, adding with a smile, "I've been scoping out neighborhoods over the past month, I can't wait to get out there and officially start looking!"

Tim called Esposito and Bishop into his office and told them of her decision. They both cheered, welcoming her to a permanent spot on the London team. Bec and her team were out at the shooting range; when they came in, they too cheered and congratulated Agent McCoy. The combined teams had lunch out at the Thai restaurant that was an NCIS favorite.

Tuesday morning, Tim had an early morning meeting with Vance to review preliminary third quarter results of the program. Although the numbers would not be finalized until the end of the month, the first look was worth discussing. After they'd gone over the numbers, which looked good, Vance asked him about staffing. Tim tilted his head as he thought aloud, "We still have gaps. Our leads and floaters are keeping up in both Japan and Singapore. However, that's four agents handling cases for 13 offices in 14 countries within 4 time zones. Watson, Dorneget and I have discussed this, they broke out their cases by country, time zones and the work shifts needed to work with the field teams and the legal entities involved in each case. I'll include their report in my third quarter evaluation. Bottom line, I'd like to add an agent in Seoul and another in Perth. Unless there's an uptick in criminal behavior in our jurisdictions, I'm confident these should be our final additions for our Asian and Australasian offices.

"We're also still short in the U.S.; with McCoy handling everything outside of the West Coast, that leaves Seattle and San Diego on their own. I'd like to add a floater housed in one of those offices and I'd prefer Seattle as cost of living is less expensive than Southern California. So that's 3 additional agents."

Vance nodded, "That's good, McGee. I'm going to add one more agent. I'm fine with McCoy staying here but I would like to have someone in the International Falls office. When we move home, we'll be scrambling for agents in the Southern and Central offices. Having an INV agent mid-continent will give us a leg up on response time until we're fully staffed. Which will take some time. Reminds me, I want an analysis of our pre-war locations, some of them never made much sense to me. I'm going to assign that to you starting first quarter next year."

"You want me to wait?"

"Yes, I have other things for you before then."

Tim smiled and Vance chuckled at him, saying, "All right, so we want four additional INV agents. Speaking Korean and tolerance of extreme weather conditions will be important."

Tim tilted his head and Leon waited until he spoke. "Our floater in Singapore speaks Korean. Might be easier to transfer him there."

"Is he ready for a lead position?"

"Close but not quite. However, he'd still report to Watson. I would imagine he'd be more a part of the field team there, similar to my Northwest and Southwest agents. "

"Right. Sound him out?"

Tim nodded, making a note. He'd run the idea by Matt Watson first.

"How soon do you want them in place?"

"By the end of the first quarter next year. Sooner, if I can find them."

"Training here?"

"I'd like to research having them trained in Japan or Singapore. Our training is standardized now, much of it is self-study and the rest is on the job with the training teams. It might be more efficient to train them in Asian offices. It would be less expensive, having them fly to Japan or Singapore and then on to Seoul and Perth." Tim laughed, "That is the two who will work in Asia. The other two will come here."

"Are you sure you don't want them here? Each of them has said training here with you has given them a better sense of the team and the INV mission. And we have the funds, Tim, we're right on track with your budget."

Tim nodded, "I'd like some time to think about it, Leon. Give me a week? In the meantime, I'll start the search."

"That's fine. Now, I have two more items. One is that it's time for another promotion, this time to a SSAIC. You have 10 agents, soon to be 14, scattered around the world and I'm bumping you up."

"Thank you, Director!"

Vance grinned, "Don't thank me, you've more than earned it! Now, the second thing is your choice but I want to make you a Deputy Assistant Director of the agency and Joel agrees. In fact, he's close to begging. He will remain Assistant Director, as you and I have discussed, and wants you to be his – and my - deputy. What that means is, you'll have the title and the salary for doing what you're already doing with the evaluations and all the other special projects you do for the agency."

Tim wasn't sure whether he was flattered or scared, finally deciding it was a little of both. "Sir, would that mean additional duties?"

"No. It would mean the same things you've been doing but now we'll pay you properly for them. And you'll get new business cards and a new title on your office door."

Vance shook his head, "I take that back. I will need you to cover Joel's Assistant Director duties when he's on vacation."

"Sir, just his AD duties? And is this temporary, until we can go home?"

"Yes, just his AD duties and no, it's permanent, you'll be my DAD there, too. However, you can cover Joel's vacations from DC, you won't have to travel to London…huh, although that could work out for you. How about we talk about that when it comes up?"

"That's fine. Will I be taking direction from Joel, from you or both? And will it add or detract from my other work?"

"You'll be taking direction from both of us. Joel for the standard duties and me for the special projects, pretty much as it is now and you will continue to report directly to me. As for your other work, no, it will not change our agreement. How's that schedule working?"

Tim smiled, "Great, sir. I'm no longer a zombie here, in my other work or with my family. We're all much happier now that I'm with them in the evenings and on weekends. Leon, I need to discuss this with Artie."

"Of course! Let me know if you have any other questions. Oh, one more thing. If you say yes, there is an oath you'll have to take, which means a swearing-in ceremony. Your security clearance will need to equal mine for your AD duties."

"Swearing-in…will you handle that?"

Vance grinned at him, "Nope, Secretary Porter will swear you in."

"I don't suppose we can do that at the Manor?"

Leon laughed at him. "Oh no, it needs to happen here at the office. And there's a reception afterward, Artie and your parents are invited, bring the kids and whichever of your siblings are available." He grinned, "It'll be announced in the agency newsletter and in Stars and Stripes."

Tim closed his eyes and then chuckled, "Well, it's not as if I'll ever go undercover again."

Vance nodded, "Right. However, I still think it's safer if you stick with McGee, rather than using your legal name."

Tim smiled, "I wish I could but I agree that McGee is safer and my father is adamant about it. For the swearing in, I'll have to use Gibbs for it to be legal."

"Yes, but in the publicity, we'll use McGee."

His head spinning, Tim finally left Vance's office and returned to his. He managed to find his most current potential INV candidate list on his laptop and then sat staring at it. He blinked when Bec sent him an IM asking if he was all right. She said he'd been staring at something for nearly an hour. Shaking his head, he quickly replied and then went for coffee. The field team went out on a case later that morning and Tim pulled himself together to work it with his team.

Once everything was rolling and they'd given their preliminary analysis to the field team, Tim dropped out to let his agents do their jobs. He texted Artie, asking if she could meet him for drinks in Brambury after work and smiled when she replied, saying yes, that his parents would watch the kids and she'd feed Jed before she left. A second text asked if he'd gotten a promotion. He replied with a smiley face, a heart and a bouquet of flowers. Then he took lunch orders for both teams, bringing back a large box of food and beverages.

As they ate, the field team was beginning to air their ideas about motive and opportunity, with what evidence they had so far. He sat with his team then, listening. He rarely offered an opinion unless asked, although there had been times he'd raised his hand, nearly begging to offer an opinion or relate a similar crime or experience. When he and Vance put together the program, Tim hadn't wanted to dictate how the Field Team Leaders should handle cases in the bullpen. The two of them had decided to see how things played out. Over the past year, he and Bec had talked about that a great deal. While she appreciated that they were no longer field agents, each of them had been field agents, they were equals in rank with the field agents and she loved picking their brains. What they'd settled on was that Bec would query each of the agents, including the INV agents, for any ideas, opinions or past experiences. That worked well and she let the other Field teams with INV agents know. The way she saw it, the field teams with INV agents were also part of the new program. Tim was so pleased that he amended the program to include her protocol as a prime example of the ideal combined field/INV teams.

That evening, when he entered their favorite pub in Brambury, he smiled at his wife, who'd captured one of the most coveted spots in the place, a cozy table for two set away from the rest. Joining her, he grinned at the small bottle of champagne and then kissing her, gave her the bouquet of flowers he'd picked up at the floral shop across from the Tube station.

After returning his kiss, she took in their light scent, finally saying, "Thank you, they're lovely! How do they tie in with whatever news you have?"

"We're partners, in whatever we do. My news is a result of work by both of us." With a grin, he told her of his promotion to SSAIC, that is a Senior Special Agent in Charge, a job class for agents managing multiple teams. Although she was pleased that her Tim was getting the recognition he deserved, she wondered aloud why the promotion had been   delayed, he'd been handling multiple agents since Ellie and Race Piro joined Ned Dorneget as an INV agent a year ago.

Tim tilted his head back and forth, "Vance promoted me to a SFA immediately after I began working for Joel last year, that was part of our original plan. Less than two months later, he promoted me to SAC. Technically, I wasn't eligible for promotion for 6 months after the first one. Somewhere along the line, I became a SAIC. I'd have to look but I think that was closer to the 6 month eligibility. When he promoted me to SAC, I found out through one of those meetings Dad and I attended while we were in Greece last year. I was introduced as SAC McGee, but I thought it was to get me into the meeting as there were several high ranking people attending. I mentioned later that I'd only been an SFA for a month or so. Anyway, I'm guessing that's why he waited this time. That and we're about to be fully staffed, until we return to the States." He smiled at his wife, "We're adding an extra agent for the U.S. so that when we do go home, there will be agents working while the agent population moves back into established offices. Oh and that's another project he's given me, to evaluate the efficiency of the placement of offices prior to 2017. I'll be looking at the histories of each one, the number of cases handled, distance to the next office, ease of travel and a number of other factors. I'm excited about that!"

She laughed and then looked at him, "And?" He didn't reply as the champagne was being opened and poured. Once they'd toasted each other, Tim continued,

"And…he's asked me to accept a position of Deputy Assistant Director. It's a promotion and a raise, but other than covering for Joel when he's on vacation, I won't have any new responsibilities." He rolled his eyes, "And that is because I've been handling them since Leon was out last year. I offered to help Joel and he delegated several responsibilities that I'm still handling. Oh and my current schedule, 3 days at the agency, 2 days at home, won't change."

She looked at him, "So no change now, but what happens if Joel's position changes? What if he doesn't want to be Assistant Director anymore or if he retires?"

"I've thought about that. First of all, he's just turned 50, so he's not eligible to retire. I suppose he could retire or leave anyway but he can't start collecting his pension until he's 55. And I don't believe he will retire until the war is over and agency headquarters has returned to the Navy Yard. I also believe that with what I've been managing for him, he's doing fine with the AD position. He and I have talked about it and as long as the teams are busting bad guys and protecting good ones and the office is running smoothly, and I take some of the work off his shoulders and thus off Leon's, he's fine. The office manager is doing a great job of running the office, Bec manages her team, I manage mine, the two of us work together, Jimmy with Autopsy and Abby with Forensics manage their staff and report to Joel without any problems and HR, Legal and several offsite departments report to Vance." He tilted his head, "I report to Vance and that will continue. I attend both Joel's and Leon's staff meetings."

He thought a minute before twisting his lips in a grimace, "I haven't really answered your question, have I?"

She shook her head and he sighed, taking a sip of the champagne before saying, "The truth is, honey, is that this could be the start of a slippery slope, or maybe I've been on that slope since I returned to the agency after finishing at Bedford and I've have been in denial for the past year. Dad and Geo have both told me Leon has me in mind to replace him as Director when he retires. I have very mixed feelings about that. Our family comes first and with Jed and Hope as young as they are, we'll have kids at home for at least the next 18 years. I want them to have the same access to me, to us, that their brothers and sister have had. Furthermore, we're a two career family and I don't want to hamper your career, your work."

She smiled, "You've thought this through, I'm glad. I have too, I've talked with your father and with Maggie and I agree with what you believe will happen, or what Jethro, Geordie and Maggie believe will happen. It's all about timing, isn't it? If Joel hangs on until we return to the States, that's probably another two years. Jed will be a toddler and Hope will be a preschooler or pre-kindergarten, I forget how it works in America. So let's say, you're then promoted to Assistant Director, will you still have your INV responsibilities?"

Tim shook his head, "Possibly some but I wouldn't be hands on any more. I'd probably hand the program off to…someone. Our long term goal with the program is to integrate them with the field teams. First, we needed to adjust the field team culture and that's still a work in progress. I believe that most field teams, except possibly the smaller, 2 agent teams, will eventually want and have their own INV agents. There might be a few 'floaters' around the country to work with the smaller teams as necessary."

"You'd hand off to Ned?"

He grinned, "I didn't say that! I honestly don't know who but right now my top choices would be Ned, Race, Ellie or Matt. Not necessarily in that order, they each have different strengths and any one of them would be a solid candidate."

"All right, so your responsibilities would be whatever Joel handles now. Would you also be allowed a Deputy Assistant Director?"

He nodded, "Yes, there's precedent."

"And when do you think Leon will retire?"

Tim rolled his shoulders, "He was 55 his last birthday but I believe he'll stay until we're all home and the agency is running smoothly – and possibly he'll wait through the country's recovery period. Say another 5 to7 years. As long as his health holds out. His stress levels have been significantly lowered since his illness."

"He had an Assistant Director before, didn't he?"

"Until the man was compromised by IPF, yes."

"I'd forgotten that. Well, we know Leon's overall health is better now."

"I'd say it's better than when I still worked aboard the Navy Yard. He's cut back on coffee and alcohol, he works fewer hours, Kayla's well launched, Jared's doing well and Dani…uh…"

"Yes, Dani spends more time here with him. She has her own business which she can run from anywhere, that certainly helps."

Tim nodded before continuing, "He had to hold things together for the kids after Jackie's murder and we know he leaned on Dad. But still, that's a terrible burden and I hope he and Dani find happiness together."

He looked at his wife, who chuckled, took a sip of her champagne and then tilted her head back, thinking. "If we have at least 5 years until he retires, then Jed and Hope will be in school with the others. That will be easier then, although we may have to hire someone to drive them to their after-school activities! How much would you have to travel?"

Tim thought about that, enjoying his own champagne and finally saying, "I don't know, I've never paid much attention to Leon's travels. I do know, from what he's said, that Jackie went with him several times and I think the kids went with them a few times. I also know, aside from travel, that he's had to spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill, for budgets and when there's a case that's more political than usual."

"You have those?"

Tim laughed, "Have you ever heard Dad refer to a time when I went swimming during a case?"

"Yes, he has said that."

"That was a political case. A former Marine who was then a Senator was messing around on his wife, the wife accidentally killed the girlfriend, who was a Navy officer, if I'm remembering that correctly. Anyway, the wife panicked, tossing the weapon into a creek. That's when I went swimming, I spotted it in the creek. In the meantime, the Senator and his wife murdered his aide, who knew what had happened. Did I mention both the Senator and his wife were good friends of Dad's? Anyway, after we busted them, the Director spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill. And my dad didn't care about politics, he'd call out anyone who needed it, no matter who they were. There is a reason I don't use my real name at work!"

They both chuckled and then sat, thinking. Finally, Artie asked Tim if he wanted to be the Deputy Assistant Director. He nodded, "I've been thinking about it all day and yes, I do. It'll be a challenge and I like challenges."

"And would you like to be Director?"

He shrugged, "No, I don't know and maybe. All of those. I think I'm not going to know until I get into the Deputy gig. I know I have a lot to learn and there's probably a lot more to the Directorship than I know about. If that makes sense."

"I agree with you about the Deputy position, it seems a reasonable move for you, a good progression. Then with time, we'll learn more and make other decisions when we have to. " She added, "Is the Assistant Director usually made Director?"

He shook his head, "No. Director Shepard, before Leon,…was, well, she appears to have taken the directorship as a means of carrying out a personal vendetta. Anyway, the Secretary of the Navy of that time, two Secretaries prior to Porter, forced Shepard to appoint an Assistant Director. Leon, who was the head of the Southwest offices, was chosen and she made sure he knew virtually nothing of what she did and that he stayed away from Washington. He only showed up when the Secretary of the Navy ordered him to DC. When she died suddenly, Leon had to persuade that same Secretary of the Navy to let him run the agency. If there was an Assistant Director before that, I don't know who it was."

"So it's not automatic."

"No, it's not. It's not even…when Morrow, who was two directors before Leon, left the agency, he recommended Leon be appointed director but Shepard persuaded someone to let her have it. So the wishes of the outgoing director aren't always followed. And Morrow practically rebuilt the agency after the Navy had a huge scandal and the agency covered it up and got caught. He came in, basically started over and by the time he moved on, the agency had a good reputation again. So you'd think his recommendation would have had some weight to it."

"I didn't know about the scandal and cover-up! I can't imagine that happening with the agency now."

"Me neither. Dad joined before the scandal but he wasn't involved in the cover-up." He shook his head, "All the agents who participated in the cover-up were fired when Morrow came in."

"So if you're the AD, you can say no thank you and stay with the agency?"

"I guess so. Don't know whether I'd still be an AD, that would be up to the new director." He grinned, "Thanks to our game money, if I end up taking an early retirement, we'll be fine."

She pulled him toward her for another kiss, "All right, then I agree that we should accept the new challenge!"

Tim sent Leon a text before they left the pub and walked home. When they reached the Manor, the kids were waiting for them and after greeting them with hugs and kisses, Tim grinned as he looked up to see his father waiting with an eyebrow raised.

Picking a surprised Kyle up and walking into the lounge, he sat, Artie sitting with Hope on her lap and Rissa in between them. Jed was on his tummy mat, trying out some new moves and sounds. Tim's parents pulled chairs over and Greg went to get his aunt Sarah and uncles Joe and James from the family room. Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac were also in there and followed him back to the lounge.

When everyone was gathered, they looked at Tim. He chuckled, "Wow, I just wanted to say hello! I didn't expect an audience." He laughed at his father's face, "Can't scare me with that look anymore, Dad!"

He took a breath, "Ok, yes, I do have some news and I've already shared it with my wife. First, I've been promoted to a Senior Special Agent in Charge and secondly, I've been asked to step up into a Deputy Assistant Director position."

He laughed at the variety of expressions he saw on their faces. Everyone but Jed, Hope and possibly Rissa, knew that a promotion was a good thing and a 'step up' sounded good too, but what the heck was a Deputy Assistant Director?

With a laugh, he and Artie explained and then laughed again when everyone cheered and the baby squealed, approving of the happy noises. Little Jed had started squealing a few weeks ago, making his papa very happy. He'd enjoyed Rissa's squeals when she first arrived at the Manor and Hope's when she first lived with them and then when she was returned to them.

While James and Andy got dinner on the table, Dad and Sarah went looking for sparkling cider, finally finding a few bottles in the pantry. Once everyone had a beverage, Dad stood and raised his glass to his son, offering congratulations.

After they finished eating, Artie looked at her husband and then at their family. "Tim forgot something important. To be a Deputy Assistant Director, he has to be sworn in, take an oath and the Secretary of the Navy will do that, swear him in. And we're all invited to be there."

The kids and the family erupted again while Hope giggled and Jed squealed at their silly family. When they calmed down, Tim relayed what Vance said about the family coming in and having a small reception afterward. He smiled, "I'm sure it'll be in the afternoon so it won't disrupt the office for the entire day. You kids can go to school and nursery and then maybe leave at lunchtime."

"When, Papa?"

"I don't know yet, Andy. I'll let you know, we'll have to make sure there aren't any exams or special events at school that afternoon."

The boys and Rissa nodded, that was a good idea.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim met with Leon and Joel the next morning, confirming that he would be happy to be a Deputy Assistant Director and when could he tell the teams?

The two older men chuckled at that and then congratulated him. Leon said he would send a text to the SecNav and the SecDef and then he would be free to tell anyone he wanted. An hour later, Tim received a text from the director that said, "Go!"

As his newest agent wasn't in yet, he decided to wait until her shift started at 1300. By 1000, he could hardly stand it and by 1015, he'd sent her a text asking if she was available for a team lunch. He grinned at her response, she would be there in less than an hour.

Walking out to the bullpen, he smiled at Ellie and Ray. "Barring a new case, are you two free for a team lunch today? McCoy's coming in early."

Wondering what was going on, they agreed to the lunch. They knew Tim had been 'upstairs', that is, in the Director's office, yesterday and again this morning. Ellie was afraid he was being transferred somewhere, perhaps as an SSAIC to handle multiple teams. There was scuttlebutt that one of the SSAICs, no one knew which one, wanted to take an early retirement. The only two Ellie could think of anywhere near retirement age were Joel Morris, here in London, or Richard Owens in Japan. Although either would be a great opportunity for Tim and she knew Artie would love Japan, she hoped the scuttlebutt was wrong. She didn't even want to think of the gigantic hole that would leave in the family if the junior Gibbses were transferred.

When McCoy finally arrived, right on time, Tim was looking at a list of NCIS offices wondering if some of them were run out of people's homes. There were 14 small offices, most with 2 agents, two with only 1 agent, scattered throughout the Midwest, subordinate to the Central/Great Lakes office. Tim wasn't all that familiar with the Midwest, but he was sure there were roads, interstates, that linked towns and cities and that most of them were less than a day's drive from any of the 14 offices. How many cases did these agents work in a year and why? He jotted a note to check the history of the Great Lakes office and its many tiny subordinate offices as McCoy poked her head in his office. "Hi, Tim, I'm here!"

"Great! Ok, let's grab the others and get going before the phone rings!"

He was reaching for his jacket when Ellie and Ray appeared in the hallway. "We're ready!"

Tim smiled as they walked downstairs, "I thought we'd go someplace different today. By the way, I'm treating."

He chuckled at their faces, although Ellie looked worried. He gave her a discreet shake of his head and thought he saw her relax a bit.

She laughed at him when they arrived at his choice, a sit down Greek restaurant. He shrugged, "Hey, they make a great minced meat souvlaki and we haven't been here before, not as a team."

She nodded, giving him that. Ray and Kendra followed them into the restaurant. They'd had whatever Greek food had been served at the Fourth of July party but didn't know much more than that.

Once they sat down and ordered drinks, Ellie had to restrain herself from asking Tim what was up. However, he didn't keep them waiting too long. As soon as they'd placed their orders, he grinned. "I have some news to share. First of all, we have approval to hire 4 additional INV agents! One will be stationed in Seoul, South Korea, one in Perth, Australia, and two will be floaters in the U.S. One of those will be based in Seattle and the other will be housed in the FLETC complex in International Falls. Kendra, you and I talked about that but I haven't mentioned it to Ray and Ellie.

"There won't be field agents at FLETC but Director Vance is looking to the future, when it's safe to start moving agency personnel home again. As that will take several months to accomplish, he's positioning at least one INV agent now to help keep things going. We may move the Seattle floater further east or possibly even south during the reintegration."

Ray was thinking about that, "Does he…is this likely to happen soon?"

"Within the next 2-4 years."

"Okay, I wondered if there was news from home."

Tim shook his head, "If there is, he didn't say and I didn't get the impression that he knows anything more than we discussed. He's got more than 1200 agents, many of whom he transferred, really evacuated, out of danger in a matter of 96 hours last year. The list and the sudden onslaught of attacks didn't give him time to do much more than get those in danger to safety, along with their families. With the general movement of Navy and Marine personnel and their families also being moved to safety, as an agency, we got lucky as far as cases. Reintegrating everyone to teams in offices that are currently closed will be another Herculean task and he's positioning a few agents here and there who will be able to keep things going while that's happening. There may be more than four of us over there by the time the war's over but for now, it's two additional and yes, Kendra, you're staying here, there's no change for us."

He smiled at Ray as he gave an even deeper sigh of relief than Kendra's. "The other news is that I've been promoted to an SSAIC and the director has asked me to step up into a position as a Deputy Assistant Director, so two new titles on my office window! The second title, the Deputy AD, requires my security clearance to be bumped up and that requires a new oath that will be administered by Secretary Porter in a swearing-in ceremony. Don't know when that's happening, yet, I just accepted the position this morning.

"Now, here's what that means to our team. Not much! I will be formally assigned several responsibilities that I've been handling for the past year. I will cover for Assistant Director Morris when he's out of the office for more than a day or two, for work or personal leave. I also have a sneaking suspicion that as the 'new guy', I'll be attending a few meetings in place of the director and AD." Now he looked at Ellie, "Outside of the Manor residents, who heard all this last night, I haven't told the rest of the family yet, thought I'd wait until Saturday at the birthday party. I'll tell Bec this afternoon and I'm fine if you tell Rob and she tells Geordie. Joe was home last night which means Charlotte, Freddie and Abby will know before then."

Ellie grinned, "So about half the family."

"Yes." He sighed, "I'll send an email."

He rolled his eyes at Ray and Kendra, who were laughing. Eventually, the three of them congratulated him and Ellie confessed to having been worried about a transfer. Tim shuddered, "I hadn't even thought of that, is someone leaving or moving up?"

"There's scuttlebutt but it's vague and wouldn't you know about someone moving up?"

"Maybe, haven't been sworn in yet!" He shook his head, "I don't want to even think about transferring! How would we divvy up Penny's furniture?"

Ellie nodded, "You'd have to take half of the UK with you!"

Tim snorted, "Maybe half of Brambury, not the country though!" They chuckled and then smiled as their food arrived.

Kendra asked who Penny was and that led to them talking about the house in Arlington. Tim shook his head, "We had several renovations done last year and still haven't seen them in person! There is furniture waiting for us and more that will go home with us." He laughed, "For someone who spent his childhood traveling light, I'm sure making up for it! By the time we get home, I'll be classified as a hoarder!"

Ray wanted to know if he was a collector and Tim nodded, "Sort of. I was separated from the agency for three years, taught at MIT and then at Bedford University for two years. During that time, and after, my family and I traveled as much as possible. Once we were here in the UK, we went somewhere at least twice a month, either in the UK or in Europe and then my wife worked in Turkey for 6 months, so we traveled there to see her. My siblings and I grew up on the streets of Baltimore, homeless orphans, and once I got here, I started buying souvenirs and then finding artwork and local handcrafted items that I wanted. Once we spread our wings from the UK to Greece, Ireland, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Sweden and Morocco, I learned to be a bit more discriminating about buying but I still have everything. When we move home, we'll redecorate the house with our treasures, right now, they're either on the floor of various rooms, in the library or in storage."

"Wow, Africa?"

Tim grinned, "That's just what I said! My parents went to Morocco on their honeymoon and that sealed the deal for Artie and me. The two of us went about a year ago and had a blast. We planned to take the kids to the beach there last winter but ended up traveling to Japan and Singapore and that was enough!"

Kendra grinned, "I'm a quarter Swedish, I'd love to visit Stockholm."

"It's a wonderful city, very friendly and many things to see and do. Abby went with us, she was still at the Navy Yard then, came over for a couple of weeks. I think there were 12 of us, Hope was Jed's age now, 4 months old. We want to see Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki too, but somehow we haven't made it yet."

Ray was still thinking about Morocco. "I'd love to see Casablanca, that's one of my favorite movies."

Tim smiled, "We usually travel on weekends, so we normally choose one city or one location. Haven't been to Casablanca yet, although Artie and I love that movie too. You should go, Ray! Take a Friday or Monday off or go over a UK holiday weekend. Just book early if you go on a UK or EU holiday, I don't think anyone stays home!"

Kendra leaned forward, "I have a silly question…have you been to Disneyland Paris?"

Tim laughed, "Yes and we had a blast! My two brothers-in-law are UK natives so they'd been several times and mapped it out for us, and then went with us as guides. We're hoping to go again in the spring."

Ellie raised an eyebrow and Tim grinned, "No family weddings planned, right? Or babies due? We'll have an early Easter with Mimi and Sophia or see the Mouse first and be in Varkiza for Orthodox Easter."

His watch buzzed, time to get back to work. They walked back, still talking about traveling.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By the time the family gathered for Dad and Ducky's birthday party that weekend, everyone knew about Tim's promotions. He'd called Tony and Maggie, having a long talk with them. He wasn't surprised to hear that Maggie had decided to stay home with the twins for their first year. Or more.

As the family sat down to eat that afternoon, Geordie and Bec remained standing and Tim was suddenly glad he hadn't waited to announce his news.

Geordie cleared his throat but Bec waved her left hand which had a sparkly ring on it, "We're engaged!"

The extended family, all 47 of them, cheered, although two of them, Jed and Jilly, squealed instead of cheering and didn't join the standing ovation. The couple grinned, waiting for the happy noises to quiet before Geordie said, "We've set the date and we hope this works for all of you, the DiNozzos and our Greek family. There's a lot of paperwork and conditions for 2 non-citizens to marry in the UK, I'm guessing it's the same in the United States. Anyway, on the advice of Rob and Ellie, we're pushing our wedding date to December 2nd , which is a Sunday and a week after the actual Thanksgiving. So that the DiNozzos and the Colonel will not have to choose between Thanksgiving and our wedding, would it be possible to postpone our Thanksgiving celebration to December 1st? That way the whole family will be together. And maybe we can slide Andy's birthday in there, too."

Bec looked at her fiancé and shook her head. "There's another reason we're not waiting to get married. Geordie is retiring from the Marines effective December 31st and wants us to be married before his retirement. Also, we're hoping to have our wedding here at the Manor. And we're hiring a wedding planner, Jenna if she's available."

There was more applause while the families quickly talked about the date. Finally, Lu and Jethro stood, "All right, is there anyone who cannot be here on December 2nd?"

No one raised their hand and Dad grinned at his kids, "We're a go for the 2nd. Next question, does anyone object to moving Thanksgiving to December 1st?"

It was quiet again and Mom smiled, "All right, everyone but the DiNozzos are here. Geordie, Bec, I know you'll want to talk with them. We are officially a go for Thanksgiving and your wedding the weekend of December 1st here at the Manor and yes _please_ hire Jenna! Andy, we'll talk about your birthday later, all right?"

Andy nodded in relief, smiling as his dad reached behind a couple of people to give his shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

Fornell stood, "I just want to say congratulations and I have a question. Why does everything happen all at once in this family? See, Gail and I got married a couple of weeks ago. Bec, Geordie, we took the easy way out, we flew to Puerto Rico with the girls and my dad, met Gail's mother and sister there, and said our vows."

More cheers and more toasts followed. Finally, Bill, Freddie, Tim and Jimmy, who'd made dinner for the birthday 'boys', rounded up their helpers, the kids, who brought the food to the table.

After dinner, most of the group took a walk before returning for the birthday cakes and ice cream. Ducky wanted a marble swirl cake while Jethro wanted another orange almond cake like the one Tim and Tony made for him at the Greek villa a few years ago. The bakers, Breena, James and Sarah, made two half sheet cakes, enough for everyone to have some of each, take some home and freeze the rest. Sarah had discovered, in helping her husband make and bake his favorite biscuits, known as cookies in the U.S., that she liked baking, much more than she liked cooking!

After oohing and ahhing over the cakes, everyone dug in and the dining room was fairly quiet. Geordie suddenly looked at his sister, "You helped make these?"

She nodded, "We made both of them from scratch. I've discovered I like to bake; now I can make great salads and yummy treats!"

Her brothers grinned at her, giving her a raggedy "Yay!" She smiled and sat back, feeling very good about this new discovery.


	75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Monday morning, Tim had a message from Vance, the swearing-in ceremony would take place Thursday afternoon at 1330. That was the timeframe he'd been hoping for. The kids would attend their morning classes and leave at lunchtime for the ceremony, which would start shortly after they arrived at the office, they'd have cake and punch and wouldn't have to stick around long. He emailed the information to Artie who would pop it into an email they'd drafted to the kids' teachers and send it. A second email, also prewritten, would go to their extended family, with the day and time. In the meantime, he emailed his agents and the field team.

Because Thursday was normally a 'White Hat' day, Tim would swap days, working in his hidden room on Tuesday and Wednesday and at the agency on Thursday and Friday. When Vance asked why he was coming into the office on Friday, Tim shrugged, "There's a big deal happening with me Thursday afternoon and then I don't show up on Friday? People wonder enough about what you've got me doing on the days I'm out of the office!" He smiled as he continued, "Bonus points if messing with my schedule throws the gossip mongers off track."

"I hadn't realized, is it bad?"

Tim shrugged, "I don't know, I know it exists but I've asked my team, Bec and my other family members not to tell me. However, James, Nikki and Barry have promised to let me know if they hear anything alarming. Sometimes Bec tells me the funny ones."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Artie saw her husband's message, she smiled. She had a third email drafted, this one to Mr. Teck, letting him know of Tim's promotions and explaining what they meant. Jethro helped her with that part as she wasn't quite sure of the significance of the SSAIC title. If he found it noteworthy, he could share with Her Majesty. If not, that was fine, they'd see them at Sandringham in a few months.

Artie and Lu had been talking about ways to celebrate Tim's promotions and now Artie thought about including Secretary Porter. She mentioned it to Lu, who loved the idea but was as much in the dark as Artie about protocol. Artie contacted Carol Morris, who loved the plan and said the Secretary would love it, if she had time. From there, the plan grew to a surprise grownup dinner party for Tim, at the Manor on Friday night. That way, no one would have to worry about work the next day. When Tim mentioned his schedule change, she relaxed, although that made it a little harder to keep the secret.

Jethro and Lu agreed that Tim needed to relax, enjoy his moment in the spotlight and have some adult fun. Besides, as Lu said to her daughter-in-law, "When the time comes, if the director's spot is offered to Tim and you two decide to accept it, I imagine you'll host cocktail and dinner parties at the Arlington house. This will give us some practice!"

The first thing they did after setting the day and time was email Secretary Porter with an invitation. Although they'd have the party whether or not she joined them, Artie kept her fingers crossed that she'd be there. Then she laughed to herself, as last minute as this party was, she hoped anyone would be there!

After that, she put together the guest list and emailed the invitations. It wouldn't be a large party, at least not by their standards, however the guest list included the INV and Field teams and guests for each, bringing the possible number of diners to 32. The invitees were the SecNav, Director Vance and guest, Joel and Carol Morris, Bec and Geordie, Bec's 3 team members and guests, Jimmy and Breena, Ellie and Rob, Ray Esposito and guest, Kendra McCoy and guest, Abby and guest, hopefully Freddie, Barry and guest, Nikki and guest, and James and Sarah along with Jethro, Lu, the honoree and of course Artie.

Lu shook her head as they emailed the invitations, "Abby might be solo, this isn't something Freddie will do if Barry and Bill, with Nikki, don't come." She smiled, "He's doing well emerging from his shell but I'm afraid this would be too much. What do you think of including Ducky? He knows everyone."

"As Abby's plus one? That's great but I don't know how to go about suggesting it."

Lu patted her arm, "I'll take care of it."

Artie contacted her uncle for ideas of what to serve. He asked who would be there, whether they were dressing formally or casually. When she said they'd specified 'smart casual', he chuckled, saying, "That's perfect!" He made several suggestions, saying that a party for Tim should have some of his favorite foods. She smiled as she wrote down her choice, Greek Lemon Chicken with potatoes, mushrooms and carrots, with a simple salad, rolls and tiramisu for dessert. As the tiramisu was best if made hours or even a day ahead, she made a list of ingredients for the dessert and for dinner and then gave it to Jethro, who'd offered to do the shopping for her. She'd start the tiramisu on Wednesday, with Jethro promising to keep an eye on Tim, who would be on the premises.

Breena volunteered to keep the dessert in their refrigerator until Friday. That made sense to Artie. Tim or one of the kids, an image of Kyle's smiling face flashed into her mind, would easily find it in their own refrigerator, the Palmers and Vances lived the closest to them and frankly, she thought the tiramisu would be safer with the Palmers. Jimmy didn't eat a lot of sweets and as Victoria,Davey and Jilly were at school and nursery school while Breena was at work, they weren't likely to get into it. Also, the Gibbses had a key to the Palmers' home, making the choice even easier.

Although Tim was in his hidden room working on Tuesday and Wednesday, he managed to stay out of Artie and his mother's sight during his brief forays upstairs for coffee, food and to use the bathroom. Tuesday they were in the dining room and he thought they might be doing some preliminary work for Geordie and Bec's wedding. Wednesday, Artie was in the kitchen most of the day, which was aggravating but then Dad dropped off anice big sandwich, a bottle of lemonade, a thermos of water and a second carafe of coffee along with an apple, chips and cookiesand that took care of that!

By Wednesday afternoon, something smelled delicious and he hoped for a treat at dinner. After he finished work for the day, he changed from the warm clothes he wore nearly year round in his secret lair into his regular clothes, bagged his trash, took the empty carafe and thermos and slipped upstairs to the main level. Finding no one about, he tossed the trash, washed and dried the carafe and thermos and put them away. Then he slipped out to the back garden, went out the gate for a brisk walk, eventually returning home and entering through the front door. Artie was just coming downstairs and he smiled at her as he walked in, "Hi, sweetie! How's your day been?"

She smiled, before saying, "Busy! I had a few meetings and made a treat for dinner."

"Yum! Will you tell me or is it a surprise?"

She grinned at him, so thankful her father-in-law suggested she make something simple. He'd told her the entire house, including the back garden and shed, smelled too wonderful to miss. "It's a surprise."

"Ooh, I can't wait! Excuse me, I've been out for a walk and need to rinse off!"

Back downstairs, he caught up with his kids before dinner. It was Lu's turn to cook and he smiled at the shepherd's pie. "Yum, Mom, this looks and smells wonderful!"

"Thanks, Timmo. Artie made a surprise for dessert!"

Everyone was happy about that. The surprise dessert was raspberry chocolate croissants made with frozen puff pastry,all-fruit raspberry jam, a bit of cream cheese and chocolate in each croissant, with the top dusted with confectioners' sugar. It looked, smelled and tasted wonderful and best of all, Tim's curiosity was satisfied.

Amazingly, he slept Wednesday night, although he was awake a full hour before the alarm was set to go off. Quietly sliding out of bed, he showered, dressed, remembering he needed to wear a suit today, adding the tie Artie asked him to wear, made coffee and ate breakfast before gathering his belongings,including the Gibbs' family Bible, and heading into the office, leaving a note for James. He worried that the afternoon would be too crazy before and after the ceremony to get any work done and the extra hour now would help.

Reaching the office, he walked upstairs to the squad room,coming to an abrupt stop as he reached for the keypad to unlock his office door. His new titles were already stenciled on the window and he bit back a sigh. Then he grinned, thinking of the abbreviation for the Deputy Assistant Director position: DAD. At least he was already used to that!

Chuckling, he unlocked the door, entering his office. After he booted up, he poured himself a cup of coffee from the thermos he'd brought from home. The break room coffee here was as weak as it was back at the Navy Yard and he didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps of disappearing throughout the day to find coffee. And it saved a bit of money, something he occasionally felt the need to prove, if only to himself, that he could still do. He'd started bringing the thermos the same week he'd started routinely using the stairs and both made him feel good. Resolutely, he got to work. 

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

He didn't know who would be standing with him, holding the Bible. Ellie had told him there was some negotiating going on and they'd both laughed. Now he smiled as his brothers, sisters, grandmothers, godmother, aunt, cousins and parents stood behind him in a semi-circle, the kids split on either side of them so they could see, and Artie waiting for him. He wanted to laugh as it was very close to the same configuration they'd used at all four of the family weddings. When he said that to Artie later, she nodded, with a chuckle. "There was some discussion and then Lu said, 'we'll do what we've done at the weddings' and that was that. Leon got a kick out of it, says he's going to call it the 'Gibbs' formation'."

As Tim chatted with his wife and family, Leon and Joel stood across the way, behind Secretary Porter. Tim smiled again, or maybe he hadn't stopped, when he saw Jared and Carol Morris in the crowd there. And his team, they were beaming at him, in person and on Skype; he gave a little wave to his agents watching from afar. He saw Daniel with Ned and smiled at him. Then Penny was beside him, "Timothy, it's time." She looked at Ned on Skype with a smile, she remembered him at Sarah's wedding and his time in London and then did a double take. "Who is that?"

"Ned and his partner, I'll explain later."

She nodded, unable to take her eyes off the young man who looked so much like her sons, Sarah, Patrick and Greg. Then Tim touched her shoulder and she moved with him, returning to Maisie's side.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In Yokosuka, Japan, Daniel's jaw had dropped open and he muted the sound on the Skype call. "Ned, who was that woman?"

"Her name is Penny, Penelope Langston McGee and she is Tim's paternal step-grandmother,the mother of the man he believed was his father until a few years ago. His sister Sarah and brother Patrick are Penny's grandchildren and Greg and Kyle are her blood great-grandchildren."

The ceremony started then and they listened and watched their friend Tim legally become a Deputy Assistant Director for NCIS.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In London, Penny stood behind her grandson, holding on to Maisie, who wondered what had happened. Normally the stoic between the two of them, right now Penny looked like she'd seen a ghost. Maisie tightened her grip on her friend.

Secretary Porter stepped forward with a smile, "Welcome, everyone! I'm glad to be here today and to see so many of Timothy's family and friends gathered, in person and on screen from our offices in the U.S., Japan, Singapore, France, Greece along with family and friends of Tim, his wife, parents and siblings, who are on screen from Greece, Scotland, Italy, Texas and parts unknown. Artemis, Jethro, Lu, Maisie, Penny, I know you're very proud of what your husband, son and grandson has accomplished and so am I! And Andy, Greg, Kyle, Rissa, Hope and Jed, I know you're also very proud of your father for everything he's done and is doing. Those of you who were with him on the streets of Baltimore, Bill, Barry, Fred, Jose, Geordie, Sarah and Rob, Lu, Nate and John, you should know that he credits each of you for helping him along the way. Anthony, he also credits you with a great deal, and I know I speak for your family, colleagues and former colleagues when I tell you it gives particular joy to see the friendship, the brotherhood between the two of you.

"Finally, it brings me joy to administer this oath to Tim. Agent Timothy McGee, please step forward."

Waiting until Tim and Artemis were in place, the Secretary smiled as she instructed him to place his right hand on the family Bible. She smiled again as she addressed him as 'Timothy Jackson McGee-Gibbs', as they'd agreed. He repeated the oath as directed and she announced he was now legally the Deputy Assistant Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. When she was done, Tim thanked her, shaking her hand and then he kissed his wife. There was silence for half a beat and then a far-away voice could be heard saying proudly, "That's our Timmo!"

Tim blinked away the moisture in his eyes, silently thanking whoever thought to include Nate and Big John. Then he blushed and grinned as around him his family, friends and co-workers applauded, whistled, cheered and generally made a lot of noise congratulating him. Leon finally made it through the crowd around him and shook his hand, pounding him on the back and giving him a one-armed hug.

When Hope was a little frightened by all the noise, her father scooped her up into his arms and she relaxed. Jed was in his grandmother's arms. Dad suddenly appeared and made a face, Tim saw he was fighting tears. He whispered to Hope who leaned forward and pulled her grandpa's face close to hers, saying, "It's okay, Grandpa, Daddy feels like crying too. He says he's happy, are you happy?"

Her grandfather nodded, giving her a kiss and wrapping his arms around his son, his mother handed baby Jed to Maisie and joined them. That was a signal for the kids and they surrounded their dad and grandparents.

When things finally started to calm a bit, Tim shot a glance at the line of laptops used for the Skype calls. There were two with dark screens, although he could see the power lights were on and the Skype icon was blinking. So, two 'guests' who wanted to watch but not be seen. He was curious to know who they were.

The reception after the oath taking was very nice. Pam Cook hired a caterer, telling the woman that this was primarily a business function with several children and a lot of family members attending. The décor and the food matched the business/kids/family ambiance very well and everyone enjoyed the treats. Because all of the expat Americans had attended the Fourth of July party and many had also been at the Manor for Thanksgiving last year, the kids were familiar with them and Tim's co-workers were also at ease.

Tim told Ray Esposito to feel free to invite his parents and sister, knowing Rachel loved parties. While she wasn't sure what had happened with Mr. Tim, everyone was acting like they were in church but they weren't in church, she was very happy to see the Gibbs kids, Jilly, Ainsley, Callum and Jared again. She, Rissa and Hope made themselves a little corner and had a good time pretending they were at a Cinderella style ball, dancing with each other and with the boys, who didn't seem to mind pretending they were princes. Rachel's face lit up when Ray's best friend Kendra sat with them, telling a story about a princess who lived with her parents and had a wonderful big brother. The young woman giggled, knowing the story was about her. She looked at Kendra, "You're gonna be a princess, Kenny! When you and Rayray get married, you'll be a princess!"

Kendra smiled, leaning close, "Then we'll both be princesses! What color will your dress be?"

"Pink and purple with silver frosting on it! And purple shoes. Except I don't want to wear slippers, those are for bedtime. I want to wear shoes!"

With a smile, Kendra told Rissa and Hope that 'frosting' on a dress meant sequins and showed them a photo on her phone. Ray joined them and he and Kendra listened to Rachel, Rissa and Hope plan their princess wardrobes.

The party ended abruptly when Bec's cell chimed with a new case, the abduction of a Navy dependent. She and the field team nearly flew back to the bullpen for their gear, the INV agents close on their heels. With permission from Leon, Jethro took Rissa and the boys to the bullpen, where they quietly watched Aunt Ellie and Mr. Ray start working. Their father's office door was open and the kids stood outside as the three agents spoke over headsets with each other and the field team as they reached the crime scene. There was an unconscious man at the scene and once his ID was established, Bishop started looking into his life, reporting he was the uncle of the kidnap victim.

Jethro and the kids had disappeared by then, meeting the others in the lobby. Artie was all smiles, Secretary Porter had sought her out, telling her she would absolutely be at the dinner party on Friday.

Both the field and INV teams worked into the night. Ray found links to more than one unsavory group on the uncle's social media. He was unconscious, with skull fractures and bleeding into his skull; the doctors weren't hopeful. His niece, the kidnap victim, was a 16 year old teenager who'd told all her friends that her cool uncle was taking her to a concert of her favorite band, that she had permission from her parents to miss her last classes of the day.

To the investigators, that smelled like a setup and possibly a double-cross. The INV team pulled together a list of the uncle's favorite haunts and hobbies. Uncle worked as a service rep and apparently liked to gamble, he played the ponies as well as card games and bet heavily on sporting events. While he'd had some wins, his social media and, once they had the warrants, financial records showed that overall he'd had many losses and some of these were substantial. As his bets and losses were more than the income from his employer, they started looking for other income.

While Bishop and Esposito looked into the uncle, McGee and McCoy looked into the girl's parents' finances. Her father was a captain in the U.S. Navy, her mother was the daughter of a man who had inherited several million dollars. The possibly complicit uncle was the mother's half-brother, they had the same mother, long deceased. When the victim's grandfather, the millionaire, died, he left his daughter, his only biological child, the bulk of his estate although he also left his stepson enough to have lived very comfortably, if he hadn't gambled it all away.

Now the three INV agents dug deeper into the uncle's records, going through each payout and investigating the payee. Once they had warrants to comb through the finances of four of uncle's creditors, they got to work.

It took them several hours, but they finally had enough to analyze which of the creditors had the most to gain by the abduction and any ransom paid. After sharing the information with the field team, Chinese food was ordered and delivered for both teams. It'd been many hours since the reception.

While all this was going on, the girl's parents had received a ransom demand with a follow-up call. They had 12 hours to deliver the money. When the NCIS agents heard the timeframe, they were surprised and then smiled. Whoever planned this didn't seem to know that anyone with the amount of money the girl's mother had would have access to bank managers at any hour, not just during regular banking hours. Perhaps they didn't know how much she had and thought to give the couple time to acquire what they needed.

As a crime, the whole thing seemed a little sloppy, there were 3 eyewitnesses to the kidnapping, the attack on the uncle was executed with little finesse, leaving him in what the doctors were afraid would be a severely brain damaged state. If the attack on him was payback, why not just kill him outright? But then as Bec said, they'd all seen criminals who obviously hadn't thought things through.

With all that in mind, the NCIS teams zeroed in on the most likely culprits. While they'd been delving into the four groups of possible suspects, Tim had Bishop and McCoy searching for likely places the possible abductors might have stashed the girl. That generated a list that became considerably shorter once they were sure of their suspects.

Once they'd determined the people responsible, the field team, with backup from London Metro, went on the hunt. Although technically the INV team's work was complete, except for the reports, they stayed in the bullpen. As Bishop said, she wouldn't bother even trying to sleep until she knew the girl was safe. While they waited, they started their reports and had the preliminary ones, detailing their work, before Bec's SFA called with good news. They had the girl, she was unharmed although understandably terrified. Her parents had been told, had spoken with their daughter and were on their way to NCIS.

Tim met them in the lobby, with a smile. "Your daughter will be here in about twenty minutes, we've just had an update. They'll bring her up through the garage to our floor."

The couple nodded, still in shock over the whole mess. Tim ushered them into his office to wait, offering them coffee, tea or hot chocolate. As he handed the girl's father, the US Navy Captain, a cup of coffee, the man looked at him. "You said your name is McGee?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Any relatives in the Navy?"

Tim smiled, wondering if the captain knew his uncle. "Yes. Captain James Hubbard is my uncle and we strongly resemble each other."

The captain shook his head, "Don't know him, although I've heard the name. It's the name McGee. I served with two of them. When I was a young ensign, one of my first postings was on the Big-E and the Executive Officer was Commander Dan McGee."

Tim blinked in surprise, "My stepfather; he died when I was 9, while the Big E was en route to Norfolk."

"I'm sorry, we were never told and I was transferred shortly after. I remember he wasn't on the move cruise, when we changed home ports from NAS Alameda to Norfolk. Nobody seemed to know why, but you know, it was the Navy. Was he ill?"

Tim shook his head, "No, he was killed in a hit and run." That was enough, they'd just been through a trauma and hearing what happened to Dan McGee wouldn't help anyone.

The captain grimaced. "Sorry to hear that, he was a good officer. I also served with a Mark McGee, he was a lieutenant on my next ship. When he disappeared, the XO announced there'd been a shipboard accident."

"Had there been?"

"If there was, it was a very quiet one. No one seemed to know anything about it. But it's the Navy, we kept our mouths shut."

"Lieutenant Mark McGee was my stepfather's brother."

"Jeez, bad luck for both of them. What happened to him?"

Tim shrugged, "I don't know. I was also told it was a shipboard accident and he was buried at sea. My grandmother, his mother, still believes that." He hesitated, "Captain, this is not the time, you've just been through a serious trauma. However, when you feel your lives are back on track, would you mind if I ask you a few questions about Lt. McGee?"

"No, be happy to. And you're right, I should be focusing on our daughter."

Tim shook his head, "You have been and you will again. Sometimes your brain needs a break from what's going on around you."

His wife nodded. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Agent Childers will take you through it, ma'am. She leads the field team."

The wife looked puzzled, "Your title is Deputy Assistant Director and some other set of letters. That sounds like you should be in charge."

"Yes, ma'am. The other set of letters is Supervising Special Agent in Charge. I lead teams of former field agents who do the electronic work and analysis on cases."

"People's bank records, things like that?"

"Financials, yes, any criminal records, where they live and work, possibly look into their employers, social media accounts, known associates, secret associates, everything we can find in cyberspace. We analyze the information for the field teams and frequently produce a lead – that is a possible suspect or a person of interest. "

"But you don't go into the field, don't chase down bad guys?"

"We have, all of us on my team have years of experience in the field. I worked for over a decade as a field agent. However, when I became a single parent, I needed a position that was safer and had more regular hours. One of my agents was on a joint operation with the FBI and in saving an FBI agent's life, suffered an injury to his leg that meant leaving the field. Another, like me, has a family and wanted more regular hours. I'm now married and my family comes first, except when there are priority cases and your daughter's abduction was definitely that."

"How many agents report to you?"

"Currently we have 11, 12 including me although I report to Director Vance, and I've just been approved to add 4 more agents. Our team works around the globe. It's a new program, we're about a year and a half into it."

"Your HQ is here."

"Yes, ma'am, for the duration of the problems at home. All of our agents who were at risk of being targeted by the terrorists have been moved overseas or to the safe zones of the U.S. In that, we follow the Navy and Marines." He smiled, "They, _you_ , are our mission."

The captain shook his head, "How do you manage people you never see?"

"It doesn't quite work that way, sir. Each of my agents trains here for two months, which gives me time to get to know them. Based on their skills, they are then assigned to specific offices. I have agents in Singapore, Japan and France as well as San Diego and Seattle. The new agents will be deployed to work with other teams in Asia and the U.S. I manage them through their work and the evaluations of the field team leaders and the respective Special Agent in Charge of each office. And we have a staff meeting every week."

"Do you ever see your agents, other than in video chats?"

"Yes, ma'am. This year, I visited Japan and Singapore and hope to get to Marseille as well. Next year, I'll visit San Diego and Seattle." He smiled, "It'll be great to be home for a few days."

The girl's mother had her mouth open to ask another question when Tim heard the elevator. "Hang on, ma'am, please, that should be your daughter with our agents."

He ushered them out of the office and then stood, smiling, as the young woman threw herself into the welcoming arms of her parents. Behind her, Bec and one of her junior agents smiled happily. They'd busted the abductors, now booked into the holding cells downstairs, left Bec's SFA and their second junior to handle the crime scene, that is, where the girl had been held and then brought the teen to her parents, a successful end to a violent case and a very long day. Although she said she was unharmed and there was no evidence that she had been, they advised her parents to have her checked out by their doctor.

As he rode home on the Tube, Tim thought about the day. In a way, he found it very satisfying to be reminded that, despite having been given another title or two, he was still a Special Agent. He'd helped save a life and took two dangerous, if amateurish, criminals off the streets while they awaited trial. Between the oath taking and the case, he felt more or less resigned to the former and satisfied, almost elated, at the latter.


	76. Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Hearing about the London's team early morning bust, they'd left the office at 2:30 AM, the Hamburg team for the field and Ned and Matt for the INV agents had volunteered to handle any cases that came in before noon UK time on Friday.

Tim slept like a log and woke feeling refreshed enough to face the day. Coordinating with Bec, he placed an order at a bakery on the way to the office while she stopped for beverages. Arriving at the office, they were a few minutes early, glad to see they were the first ones in. They'd just set the beverages on the appropriate workstations and had the treats on plates on a file cabinet when Bec's SFA and Bishop walked in. The others were less than a minute behind them and made happy noises about the beverages and pastries. Tim sat with them while he enjoyed his treat, still thinking about the case. Finally he said, "You know, that was a great end to yesterday, even if it was technically today, bringing a family back together." He looked around, "We did good! Congratulations to everyone!"

Bec nodded, "Normally after working so late and on an abduction, in my opinion one of the toughest types of cases to handle, I'd be tired today. But I'm not." She laughed, "I'm sure I will be after my 12th cup of coffee wears off but I'm still feeling the adrenaline of a job well done – by everyone. Great teamwork, everyone! I know we were all doing our jobs, however yesterday we did them exceptionally well. As Tim says, we did good!"

With the added good news that the kidnap victim's uncle was doing better, they tackled their paperwork. Tim was surprised when Joel called him at 1545, "Tim, let the Field and INV teams go at 1600. You, Childers and your teams are on call until 1700. I'll let you give the order, your first one as the DAD."

Knowing better than to argue, Tim replied with a smile, "Thanks, Joel, have a great weekend!" Then he stopped, "Do you know who was on the dark screens yesterday?"

"Yes, sorry, we forgot to tell you! One of them was your former colleague, Ziva David and the other one was a Mr. Teck who said he's a cousin."

Tim beamed, "That's wonderful news, Joel, thanks!"

As he left Joel's office, he sent Bec a text, not wanting to blindside her. Chuckling at her reply, he walked into the bullpen and cleared his throat. "All right, I've just been given my first task as the deputy assistant director. And that is, both teams are on call from 1600 to 1700. That means you can shut down and leave the office. Make sure your phones are charged and on, no alcohol and stay within a few minutes return to the office until 1700. Normally, the rule is an hour's travel back to the office but since we only have an hour to go, I'll say stay within 45 minutes travel because the weekend commute has already started."

With happy smiles, the agents turned back to their reports. Tim led them out at 1600, with Bec bringing up the rear. He was at Brambury station in 35 minutes and smiled to see his dad waiting for him with Greg and Big Blue.

"Hi guys, I'm glad to see you! How'd you know?"

"Joel called about something he wants me to do next week and mentioned he let you all go at 1600. Said it was your first Deputy order."

"Yeah, that was fun!"

Greg asked him how late he'd been at the office last night, Tim was still asleep when the kids left for school. His father shook his head, "We left about 2:30 and I think I got home about 3:00, I took a taxi home from the station."

"Can you tell us anything?"

"We caught the bad guys! And no one died."

"Yay!"

Tim grinned, "Yes, we were all still happy when we got to work today. I brought treats and Bec brought everyone's favorite beverages. We didn't even mind doing our reports!"

Dad snorted and Tim chuckled. Greg smiled to himself, like Andy, he loved listening to and watching his father and grandfather together.

Once home, Tim greeted everyone before deciding to take a nap, much to the relief of his housemates. While most of the prep work for the surprise dinner party was done, they'd left decorating and setting the tables until last. Furthermore, by the time he woke the kids would be gone for the evening. The Gibbs and Palmer children were going to the Hubbards for a picnic dinner and movie marathon and would be joined by Ainsley, Callum, Jared, Uncle LJ, Grandpa Mac and of course Claire, Grammie, Penny and possibly Liz, who wasn't sure she was ready for any kid or baby duty yet.

Tim slept soundly for an hour, rousing only when Artie gently shook him awake. "Honey, it's time to wake up or you won't sleep tonight!"

He mumbled something before opening his eyes and giving her a sleepy smile. She kissed him, "C'mon, sleepyhead. Why don't you take a shower? That will wake you up."

He snorted, "Maybe a cold one and yes, I'll take a shower." He disappeared into the bathroom. Artie waited until she heard the water running and then hurried to their closet, moving what she wanted him to wear tonight to their bed, including shoes and socks. Then she left, still hoping to keep the dinner party a surprise as long as possible. At the last minute, she and Lu had decided to keep the baby here, knowing most of the party would take place during one of his naps. That would help Liz, Claire and the other adults who would already have their hands full with 8 children and it also meant Lu could divert Tim with the baby's antics while Artie greeted their guests and moved them into the dining room. Then Lu would bring Tim downstairs, where Artie would reveal their guests.

When Tim emerged from the bathroom, he noticed the clothes laid out for him and chuckled. His wife liked to do that sometimes, remind him that he had clothes for occasions other than a day at the office, a day at the beach or a walk out the back gate. He remembered smelling something delicious when he walked in the front door and hoped it was one of his favorite Greek dishes, specifically lemon chicken with potatoes and carrots. The lemony meaty scent had certainly brought it to mind. With a grin, he dressed, made sure his hair wasn't sticking straight up, put his shoes on and walked into the hallway.

There he ran into his mother, holding the baby. Just a few days shy of 5 months, Jed squealed when he saw his daddy, saying Da, one of his new sounds, not quite words, but very close. Tim took him, kissing his mother and then his baby boy. "Hello, squirt! How are you, have you had a fun day?" Jed made more noises that Tim took as agreement. The little boy giggled when Tim bounced him up and down in his arms. Mom smiled, "He's had a great day, Daddy. He played on his tummy mat, Hope, Rissa, the boys and Grandpa took him for a ride in his stroller out the back gate and he went to the store with Mama."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun! Are you headed downstairs with him?"

"No, I heard you in your room and thought you'd like to see him for a few minutes. He's ready for a nap, well, he was. Now he's seen his daddy, he might want to stay up a little longer."

While they were talking, Jed relaxed, snuggling into his daddy's arms and as Grandma finished her sentence, he yawned.

Tim smiled, "Or maybe not. How about I put him to bed? Has he had stories?"

His mother nodded, "Yes, some of his favorites."

"Ok, thanks."

Talking softly to his son, Tim turned into his room, gently placing him in his crib. Tim stayed with him for a few minutes, watching his youngest fall asleep.

Leaving the door propped open and realizing he hadn't heard any of the older kids, he set the baby monitor on his watch and walked downstairs. His dad, just coming from the suite, smiled, giving him a neck squeeze. "Looking pretty spiffed up there, kiddo."

Tim chuckled, "Guess Artie is tired of the clothes I've been wearing! I know Mom does that to you, too!"

Dad grinned, "Oh yes. And if it makes her happy, I'm all for it!"

"Exactly! Hey, Dad, Joel told me who was on the dark screens yesterday. One was Mr. Teck, one of Greg and Kyle's cousins and the other one was…drum roll…Ziva!"

His father's face lit up, "Ziva? That's great, kiddo! Maybe there will be more communications someday then, gives me hope!" He leaned in, "Was it really Mr. Teck or was it you-know-who?"

Tim grinned, "Might be both although she's very busy, I can't imagine she'd have time in the middle of the afternoon."

"Timothy, Timothy…he probably recorded it."

"Oh!"

Artie met them in the living room. "Tim, I forgot to tell you, the Hubbards are hosting a picnic dinner and movie marathon tonight, so the kids are over there. Lu, Sarah and I thought the rest of us would eat in the dining room tonight. You know, like adults."

He laughed at that. "An adults only dinner, what a novel concept!" He was asking her if that's why she'd laid out the clothes as he rolled open the pocket doors that separated the dining room from the living area and then stopped, frowning. Someone turned the lights on and then the room was full of people, not shadows, yelling 'Surprise'!

Tim's face went blank as his mouth opened wide and then his whole face morphed into happy and he laughed, "Wow! Cool!" He turned to his wife, "Thanks, honey!" He kissed her, his mother and father before turning to the others. "Thanks for coming, everyone, this is awesome, my first surprise party!"

He greeted each one with a handshake or, in the case of his siblings or in-laws, hugs. He and Nikki exchanged air kisses, which he knew she was comfortable with. When he saw Secretary Porter, he grinned, appreciating how much his wife and family were honoring him.

Now that the secret was revealed, the party moved from the dining room to the lounge for drinks and appetizers. Holding a glass of white wine, Tim teased his workmates for their ability to handle 'classified' ops. When Secretary Porter asked if he'd had any inkling, he smiled, "I'm not sure how to answer that, ma'am! Either our teams are exceptionally good at keeping secrets, which is a good thing, or I need to bone up on my observation skills. Or," his eyes twinkled, "it could be that we were too focused yesterday and this morning to think of anything but our case."

She chuckled, "That's more likely to be the truth, Timothy! As well as too tired today."

He shook his head, "Last night, Bec, uh, Agent Childers and her team brought the victim back to the office and we witnessed her being reunited with her parents. That was still with us today. It's an exhilarating feeling…" Tim stopped suddenly, belatedly remembering the SecNav had been one of those parents. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't even think…"

"Actually, it helps, Timothy, to know that you special agents share the joy as well as the parents. Not only with kidnapping but with any happy ending."

He smiled, relieved, "It's a very satisfying feeling."

"Good, now, I do have some things I'd like to discuss with you. Will you be in the office on Monday?"

"Yes, ma'am. You're staying over?"

"In Europe, yes. Megan is meeting me in Marseille when we drop Anthony home. We'll stay over there, see the city and then I'll be back here on Monday and then over to Belgium for a NATO meeting. After that, we're spend a few days in Dubrovnik, I've never been before. I'll fly home from there while she returns to her classes."

"Dubrovnik sounds wonderful, I haven't been there yet either."

"We're going to relax, catch up with each other, sightsee and not worry about anything. I must thank Artemis for inviting me, this dinner helped Megan and I come up with our plan!"

She patted his arm, "I'll see you Monday at 11. Now, will your agents feel more comfortable meeting me here or at work?"

"Here!" The two of them moved toward Ray, Kendra, Ellie and Rob who were talking together. Tim introduced Esposito and McCoy and the SecNav spoke briefly with them, greeting Ellie and Rob like old friends. "Ah, the newlyweds, congratulations!"

"Thank you, ma'am!"

While she spoke with the four of them, Tim excused himself to talk with some of the other guests. He was glad to see Dani with Leon and of course, Nikki with Bill. After chatting for a bit, he moved on, finding Barry in the conservatory chatting with Bec's SFA, Alan. He joined them for a few minutes and then went for another glass of wine. Joel was refreshing his own glass and poured for Tim. "Having fun?"

"Yes! This is awesome and I didn't have to plan any of it! Thanks for letting us off early this afternoon, I slept for a solid hour."

Joel chuckled, "I looked at the security logs this morning, you and Bec were the last ones out, after 0230!"

Tim nodded, "Yes. Geordie picked her up and insisted on giving me a ride to the Tube. Then I took a taxi home from the station. They invited me to stay over, next time I think I'll do that!" He shook his head, "On the MCRT, we used to work straight through for days at a time, catch a few hours sleep at our desks. Can't do that anymore! Although the director eventually stopped us back then, made sure each of us went home and slept."

He was chatting with Bill, Nikki, Abby, Ducky, Kendra and Ray when his father announced dinner. Tim laughed as he was escorted to the head of the table, it was great to be honored but he hoped his wife and parents weren't doing everything. Then he smiled as he noticed his siblings' seats were empty.

He made a happy noise as the entrée was placed on the table, saying to Carol Morris, seated on his right side, "This is one of my favorite dishes! Lemon chicken with potatoes and carrots."

Rob, who'd brought it in, smiled, saying, "There are other vegetables in it this time too, Tim."

"Yay!"

He'd switched to water and sparkling cider after two glasses of wine. When he whispered to Rob, his brother patted his shoulder, "It's brewing, Bro, Dad beat you to it."

With a chuckle, Tim sat back to wait for his coffee. He laughed when Rob asked if anyone else wanted coffee, all the hands raised belonged to NCIS personnel. He laughed harder when Rob asked if any of them wanted 'Gibbs-strength' coffee.

Dinner was delicious and fun. Although he missed the children, it was nice to have grownup conversations without having to explain. The chicken dish, the chopped salad and the braided rolls were all perfectly done and there was plenty for everyone. Tim hoped there was some left over, he could eat lemon chicken and potatoes every day.

When Mom announced that Artie had made tiramisu for dessert, Tim's eyes widened and he looked at his wife, impressed! To his knowledge, she'd never made it before. It was scrumptious and he allowed himself to have a small second helping, again hoping there would be leftovers.

By 8:30, the guests were gone, although Tony was staying with them, and Dad and Tim took Big Blue to bring the kids, Mac and LJ home. Hope and Rissa were asleep and were carried out to the van while the boys followed, carrying their belongings. They'd had an excellent evening with their cousins, aunties, Liz had joined them after all, Grammie, Penny, Grandpa Mac and Uncle LJ. Back at the house, Tim and Dad carried the girls upstairs and put them to bed, they were already in their jammies. Kyle didn't last much longer and after telling everyone goodnight, Greg went upstairs too. Andy stayed a little bit longer, he hated to miss anything when any of the uncles were there!

Tim finally had time to talk with Tony that night after everyone else had gone to bed. Both of them were a bit wired and spent hours in the family room, talking about their lives, the children, fatherhood, how lucky they were that Maggie and Artie had found them and of course, their days working together. Tony was as surprised and happy as Tim and their dad had been when he heard that Ziva had been on Skype for the ceremony yesterday. When Dad appeared, wondering if they were ever turning in, the brothers were surprised to see it was almost 0200!

Madam Secretary's security detail wasn't picking Tony up until noon on Saturday, so he could sleep in. Tim had no such expectations, especially after Artie and his parents had pulled off the surprise dinner party, which he knew must have been a lot of work. Their arms around each other's shoulders, both men kissed their father goodnight and headed upstairs.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday morning when Tim woke, Artie was still asleep and it was nearly 9:00! He quietly slipped out of bed, grabbed his robe and looked into the hallway. The kids' bedroom doors were open, even Jed's, and he heard James and Kyle laughing downstairs. Mentally blessing his sister and brother-in-law, he returned to bed, cuddling with his wife. The next time he woke, Artie was also awake. He kissed her, thanking her for the wonderful party, then locked their bedroom door and the two of them made love like horny teenagers.

They showered together and as they were dressing, Artie said, "Marseille in February?"

He nodded, "Yes, absolutely. Then we'll only have a couple of months till Easter and maybe they'll want to see Walt's place with us." As the children had easily figured out who "the Mouse" was, they now used Walt's place, that is Walt Disney's place, as code for Disneyland.

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" She chuckled, "But first we have Rissa's birthday, your birthday, Thanksgiving, Geordie and Bec's wedding, Andy and Hope's birthdays and Christmas."

He shuddered, "That makes me tired, just thinking about it! Glad not all of those are on the same day! I worry about Thanksgiving the day before the wedding. Even with the wedding planner, that'll be too much."

His wife agreed. "We're thinking we have the big crowd the week before, or not at all, and the family only on the first."

Tim thought about that. "We could let the Morrises know, maybe they'd have brunch like they used to."

Artie's face lit up, "That's brilliant, Timotheos! And your Bedford students have graduated, yes?"

He frowned, trying to remember. "Some of them did, I think there's one left. We can either invite her to go to the Morrises with us or to the family only dinner on Saturday. What if we had our dinner Friday night instead of Saturday?"

"Good, I like all those suggestions! I feel better!"

"Bec's parents will be here, we should probably ask them." Tim wrapped his arms around his wife, "Let's talk about this next month, it's still September for a few more days!"

Downstairs, they found a note that said '8:45, J, S, kids (BJ in stroller) are out walking. D, M & Tony not up yet, LJ & Mac ate and went out'. Tim made their breakfast, cooking enough for five and leaving covered plates of eggs, bacon and toast in the warming oven for the stragglers.

Tim woke Tony at 10 and their parents wandered out of their suite shortly after. As the three of them ate breakfast, they talked about Thanksgiving. They all liked the idea of just the family on Friday night, Tony said he'd take the afternoon off so they could leave Marseille on a flight around 1 PM. Artie volunteered to talk with Carol Morris and her mother-in-law beamed at her. "Thank you! I know we'll be crazy on Saturday, oh but Jenna will be here, maybe not." She looked at Tony, "Sweetie, although I'm sorry we weren't there with you, I think you and Maggie had the right idea!"

Tim and Artie laughed and said they hadn't known they were starting a trend. Mom shook her head, "I'm hoping if your brothers marry, we'll be back in the States and they'll go to city hall or Las Vegas."

Tim smiled, "That's easy. Nikki will want City Hall, Joe and Charlotte, well that'll be the Childers' call if we're back in the States. I doubt Freddie and Abby will marry. They may stay together for the rest of their lives but I can't see them ever marrying. And Barry…well, let's see how things go with Alan. They've been dating for a while now."

Dad's eyebrows rose. "Alan, Bec's SFA Alan?"

Tim and Tony nodded and his father grinned, "He's a good guy, from what I've seen. I had no idea he was Barry's secret boyfriend."

Tim chuckled, "Not really secret, Dad, Barry didn't want to bring him home to meet you right after they started dating. Let me rephrase that, he did want to bring him home but was afraid of jinxing their brand new relationship."

Tony snorted, "We've talked a few times, he says Tim, Sarah and I are the only siblings that he can ask relationship questions."

Tim nodded, saying, "And that list would have been even shorter before you all moved over here!"

Lu was mentally reviewing the guests. "Tall, about 6'2", curly light brown hair, cut short, blue eyes?"

Tim laughed, "Wonderful observational skills, Mom! And yes, that's him."

"Oh, I talked with him for a little bit, I liked him very much. I hope things work out!" She smiled happily.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The rest of the morning passed quickly and shortly before noon, Tim and Tony said their goodbyes. Dad walked his son out when his ride pulled up, reminding him they would see him in less than three months and then twice in two months. Tim had also asked if the kids' half-term in February would be a good time to visit.

It was a beautiful Autumn day and, knowing his wife and parents needed some downtime, Tim rounded up the kids and took them outside. They'd already had a walk, so Andy and Greg brought the equipment out while their father sent a group text to Jimmy, Jared and the Hubbard kids to join them for a game of softball. Jared brought his father and Dani and Jimmy brought Davey, Victoria and Jilly. They had enough for two teams with the older kids helping Rissa, Hope, Davey and Victoria. When Jed wasn't trying to capture his toes and eat them, he entertained himself by practicing his moves, rolling over and with help from his minions, sitting up for a few minutes. Jilly, in Jed's new outdoor kiddie corral with him, played with her toys, watched the game, babbled a bit and generally had a good time. The older players rotated watching the babies, playing with them while waiting for their turn at bat. They had a great time, and both teams cheered, and the babies squealed, when Greg hit a home run right over the fence!

The Manor family turned in early Saturday night. Tim was tireder than usual, deciding he was still catching up with his sleep after the case and his late night/early morning with Tony. Sunday, it rained off and on all day, much to everyone's disappointment. They'd planned to walk to and from church but pushed that off for better weather, none of them wanted to sit through a service in wet clothes. Instead, they drove to and from church and had an indoor picnic, with grilled cheese sandwiches, for lunch.

By late afternoon, all the chores were done and the kids selected two movies to watch, one before dinner and one after. Tim and Artie started off watching the first one but then Jed woke and they went together to take care of him.

While they were walking upstairs, Artie said, "You know, we have half-term coming up in October. They're off from Thursday the 18th, returning to classes on the 29th. And we don't have anything planned!"

Tim looked at her and laughed, "Honey, that's when we originally planned to go to Greece!"

She huffed, "I forgot all about that! Where shall we go?"

Tim thought about it. "Well, we talked about that beach in Morocco or going to Madrid, we haven't been there yet, or Croatia or Hungary. Is it too late in the year to go to Copenhagen?"

He checked his phone and shivered, "Yes and what I'm seeing online is that in October a lot of attractions close for the winter."

"I think that will have to be a June visit then."

"Madrid weather ranges in the 60's."

She nodded, "That feels like cheating, though, because we've been to Barcelona."

He shrugged, "We've been to Germany twice."

"I know but I think we should visit a country we haven't been to yet."

"Ok, Dubrovnik? The temps are…ooh, low 70's down to low 60's. That's not bad!" When Tim was quiet, Artie glanced over and saw he was studying his phone, "Or we could go to Paris. The kids haven't been. Although it makes more sense to go in April when we're already there."

"Yes, I agree. Dubrovnik has beaches and it seems silly to go when it's too chilly to swim. It's different with Varkiza, with Mimi and Mama there, not to mention Peter and Rhode's pool."

"That makes sense. Budapest…has an average high of 61 in October, says here that October is the last somewhat comfortable time to visit. I bet…yep, Vienna is about the same, as is Salzburg. We haven't been to Austria yet." He smiled, as he cuddled Jed. "It would be fun to go to Salzburg and see all the Von Trapp family sites before we go to Vermont and see how they lived in the U.S."

"Oh, good idea! Uh, Vermont in October?"

"Same as the other northern places, a little chilly for us in October. What about Rome?" Tim looked at his phone, "Mid 60's. And maybe the Costas could join us."

"Yes, that sounds great! All right, Rome in October, Marseille in February, Varkiza and Paris in April and let's say Dubrovnik or Budapest for the May day holiday?" And then she whispered, "And the U.S. in June?"

That surprised him and she chuckled, "Why not go with your parents when they go to look at properties? We could do 10 days, including the weekends. Go to Vermont, ooh, will we fly into Boston?"

He was thinking fast now, "Probably, yes and I see where you're going with that! We'll see the Porters, too. We can take some time to see Boston, if it's safe, and then rent a van and drive to somewhere in Vermont; there's a really cool open air museum called the Shelburne, near Lake Champlain, I've wanted to see that since MIT. What would you think of renting a motorhome and driving up to Vermont in that? Mom and Dad can have their own motorhome, we'll caravan from Boston. It's only a few hours' drive. Then we won't have to check in and out of motels. From Vermont, it's supposed to be a beautiful drive through New Hampshire to Maine and then stay at a beach there. Or, we could drive from Vermont down to Cape Cod and camp there. I think Maine would be less crowded though."

Artie nodded, "Yes, that sounds wonderful! Let's do it now!" He laughed at her as he blew a raspberry on his son's tummy and listened to his squeals and giggles.

"So, where are we going in October?"

She had to think about that, "Rome!"

He nodded, "It would be good if we had another adult or two with us, it's a bigger city than we've ever visited by ourselves with the kids."

"Maybe Susannah and Ian will be interested, or Sarah and James, Rob and Ellie? Geordie and Bec won't want to spend any money so close to their wedding. Or…oh, your parents will be in South Africa at the same time."

"What about Sophia? Were they ever posted there?"

She had to think about it, finally shaking her head, "No, not that I can remember. Yaya, too?"

He nodded, "Yes, and how about we pay for them?"

She beamed, "Yes, that's perfect, thank you! Yaya usually spends November in Sorrento, so she can stay when we leave."

"Do you think your mother would like to stay with us for a few weeks?"

"Uh, I don't know. It was wonderful to have her with us after Jed was born."

"Yes, it was, I thought you two did great together."

"We did, that's why I'm thinking maybe not again so soon. I mean coming here for a visit as I think that her going with us to Rome is a wonderful idea. It would be lovely if Susannah and Ian could come too." She sighed, "I'm afraid Mama will get bored if there's nothing specific for her to do here. She had fun with the children and taking care of the baby and she and Lu get along very well. I was on maternity leave, so I was available, now I would be working all day. And…she leads a busy life in Athens! She belongs to a singles' club geared toward singles in her age group; she plays games and cards three times a week, they have lunch out two or three times a month."

"And none of her friends will be here, we'll be working, the kids in school and Mom will make time but she's also busy with Dad."

"Yes. And Liz is a little older and Claire a few years younger and I'm forgetting Gail Fornell; however, also works from home. She likes Carol Morris, they have a few things in common and I suppose Dani if she's staying here, but she too runs a business. And the children would be in school and you know Hope would get restless after a day or two at home and want to return to her friends at nursery school."

Tim nodded, "I see your point. Well, then I hope she comes to Rome with us, that should be fun!"

She smiled, kissing him. "Thank you for understanding."

They took Jed downstairs with them for a few hours of play and interaction with the family.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim and James went into the office early Monday morning, Tim to work on his case reports and James to kickstart the last steps before moving a big software update into production the following weekend. On the train in, Tim mentioned Rome and James' eyebrows rose. "Rome, that sounds interesting. The Coliseum, Gladiators, all that history. When are you going and for how long?"

Tim told him and James made a note on his phone, "I'll talk with Sarah tonight, see if she's interested. I wonder if there's an 'Illuminati' tour? She'd love that!"

Once at the office, Tim dived into his reports and made a nice dent in them before his watch alarm buzzed at 1045, 15 minutes until his meeting with Secretary Porter. He'd already notified Race he'd be in a meeting, duration unknown, now he advised his local team, giving Esposito the lead if anything came in. It was time to let Ray spread his wings, so to speak, as far as taking the lead every once in a while. With Tim's new position, his agenda for his next meeting with Leon would include appointing a formal SIC. However, he was still considering the possibilities of 2 'seconds' and perhaps call them deputies instead, one in Europe and one in Asia and figure out where the US agents fell later.

Grabbing a breath mint and making sure he hadn't spilled on anything, he walked upstairs to the director's suite for the meeting. Although he was a minute early, Pam sent him into the inner office where he greeted Secretary Porter and Director Vance.

Madam Secretary said she and her daughter had a wonderful time in Dubrovnik and recommended seeing the city. Tim replied that they were planning to go to Marseille in February during the kids' winter break, that Dubrovnik was already on the list of 'must see' places. When asked about his weekend, he mentioned the neighborhood softball game on Saturday along with the indoor picnic and handling household chores on Sunday.

She smiled at that, "Yes, no matter what else we do, the laundry and dishes still need to be washed. I heard about Greg's home run on Saturday, that must have been fun!"

They sat at Leon's conference table to talk. Tim expected to be told a little more about his DAD responsibilities and possibly asked questions about the INV program but had no expectations beyond that. So he wasn't surprised, although he was pleased, when she congratulated him and his agents for their successes. He was surprised when she told him she wanted to add an additional agent.

She nodded at him, "We're adding NCIS staff in Naples, sharing the JAG office, which will take some of the pressure off of Athens and Rota. It's your call, but I hope the INV agent posted there will handle cases for all three offices, Naples, Athens and Rota. Leon said you're looking at candidates now, so I thought we'd better talk as soon as possible!"

Tim nodded with a smile, he was happy to add another agent for the European offices. That would certainly help Race when his hands were full. "Thank you, that will certainly help, in the field and with the INV work."

"Good! Now, although Leon has two Assistant Directors, I want to add a third and the Secretary of Defense agrees. As you know, the Assistant Director position in Los Angeles is dedicated to OSP, which means Leon really has one AD. What you've brought to this agency, your intuition, talents, energy and experiences make you a clear choice and Leon and I hope, when the time comes, that you'll accept the position as an Assistant Director. There are three items of interest involved with that, although one is really more 'housekeeping'." She smiled as she said that. "I suppose I could call them caveats. The first is the reason NCIS needs a third AD. In the future, and for now this is classified, Leon will become more involved in other matters connected to the Department of the Navy but not necessarily directly connected to NCIS. He will, however, remain as the director of the agency. Less time in the office means more help is needed. The second caveat is that NCIS doesn't yet have a budget for a third Assistant Director. We may get it through on next year's budget or may have to wait until after the return to the U.S. My personal preference is before but that's up to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. The third item is that having just promoted you to a DAD position, we shouldn't promote you again for 12 months. Legally, we can override the 12 month timeframe but with the way your promotions have come at you over the past two years, Leon and I feel some stability would be a good thing!"

Tim chuckled, "And I thank you for that, I'd like to get through at least one box of business cards! As for the AD position, I'm honored and once again surprised by your offer. I know it's not immediate but I do have a question about the INV program if and when."

Leon smiled, "We'll work it out but right now what I see happening is that you'll retain overall responsibility for the program while the day to day operations will be handled by one or more of your agents."

Tim nodded, that's what he'd hoped. He was remembering a conversation with his father about the future of the INV program and his own future. It looked like his future, if he and Artie chose to accept the AD position, would be locked up for a few years. He knew any other questions would need to be asked, delicately, of Leon, all except the most pressing question.

"Ma'am, sir, are you anticipating or need a response now?"

"No, Timothy." The Secretary smiled again, "We wanted to do two things. One is to dangle a carrot in front of you, to balance against any other options you might be considering and two is, well, we're excited about the possibilities and wanted to bring you in on it."

He nodded, "Thank you. To clarify, this could happen as early as twelve months or within the next two to four years?"

Leon shook his head, "If we get it through Congress on our next budget, the Secretary will override the twelve months restriction as soon as the budget is approved. If not, we're hoping for the following year."

Tim nodded, "Fair enough. Ma'am, Director, is there anything you can say about the status of our return?"

She sighed, "Over the weekend, I learned there's a question of someone colluding with entities outside the U.S."

Tim blinked, "Ma'am, do you…is that confirmed?"

"The question is confirmed, someone is colluding, yes, not the who and how, not that I know of."

Leon looked at his agent, who was trying not to fidget – or run out of the office, he wasn't sure which. "McGee, is there something you need to do?"

"May I have permission to use agency resources, sir?"

"Yes. Where will you be?"

"In Dr. Palmer's back room."

"Any idea how long?"

"At least 20 minutes." Tim nodded to them both and nearly flew out the door. Stopping to grab his laptop and grateful the bullpen was empty, he hurried down to Jimmy's lair. There was a sign on the door that said, "Out to Lunch, call if needed" and Tim smiled, perfect! He keyed in the code and quickly set up in the small room in back of Jimmy's office. Once a storeroom, it no longer had a defined function but today it would serve as Agent White Hat's very private room. He quickly logged onto his White Hat account, checking the message boards first. He smiled happily, sent a note to a fellow White Hat, closed several files, for good, he hoped, and logged out. Sending a text to Leon, he returned his laptop to his office and made a quick visit to the men's room.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As their new Deputy Assistant Director nearly ran from the room, the Secretary of the Navy turned to look at Vance, an eyebrow raised. While she valued Timothy McGee, she didn't appreciate people running out of meetings with her.

Leon nodded, "Ma'am, it'll be up to McGee to tell you the whole story – or more than I'm at liberty to divulge. However, I can say this, he does more to protect our country than is in the scope of his employment with NCIS."

She had to think about that for a minute before asking, "Do you mean he works covertly?"

"Yes, I do, but it's up to him to say more."

"It's for our government? Do you know who he reports to?"

"No, I don't. It's not directly for the government; it is a voluntary service for our country. I do know it currently has top priority over his work here. We've worked out a schedule so that neither…occupation suffers."

"But you don't know who made that call?"

"I know that but not who he reports to. However, I'm not at liberty to say who contacted me or how. Again, since the other work is voluntary, it's Tim's choice whether or not to tell you. I don't know what protocol he'd need to follow, at the least I'd think we'd both have to sign Non-Disclosure-Agreements."

She nodded and sat quietly, reviewing what she knew about Timothy McGee. When she relaxed, Leon swallowed his sigh of relief. She'd either figured it out or decided to trust McGee and not worry about it.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim knocked once on the director's door before entering, looking a lot happier than he had when he left. He smiled at the Secretary. "Thank you for indulging me, ma'am. I was running some code pertaining to a possible collusion and needed to check on it."

Before the SecNav could say a word, Leon looked at his agent and friend. "Get the results you were looking for?"

"Yes. However, I'm happy to say that someone beat me to it, the news is out there." He turned back to Porter, "Ma'am, when you check your messages, I believe you'll find one naming the traitor, the colluder."

"Oh! And you were…let me check."

When she found it, she read it aloud, saying the name of a prominent U.S. Senator…"has been arrested for treason, for colluding with…" she made a disparaging noise as she said the name of the entity… "in providing weapons to the domestic terrorists."

She looked at the two men, "This is awful! Horrifying and…I just can't imagine the hatred he must have toward our country."

"Along with the rest of them, yes ma'am."

Leon looked at Tim, "Was that your wild…idea?"

"Yes, sir. I'm just glad someone was already on the hunt! Beat me by at least a week, since he or she would have had to verify everything."

"What tipped you off in the first place?"

"The Senator made an off the cuff remark to another Senator about his disbelief in all the violence. It was on C-Span and whoever spotted it reads lips as there was no audio pickup. Someone, uh…ah geez. Ma'am, would you be willing to sign an NDA about my covert work? Director, you too?"

She smiled, "Yes, Leon explained what he could and I'm dying of curiosity!"

Leon chuckled, "I'll sign, too."

Tim took two forms out of his pocket and handed them to his superiors. Once signed, he signed below their signatures and excused himself to make copies. Back in the office, he gave them their copies, smiling in thanks for the glass of water his boss handed him.

"Thanks for doing that. I'm a member of the White Hat Hackers. What that used to mean is that when our systems are being hacked, whether it's government or corporate systems, when we're called in, and sometimes we know before the system owners, we basically fight off the bad guys. That was our original mission. It's now expanded to include hunting for any electronic information about the domestic terrorists. We haven't taken a count recently but through June, we know we've saved over a thousand lives by hacking online calendars, tracking unusual purchases of weapons, kerosene, even maps and in several cases, keeping the terrorists at bay with drones. Our use of drones was authorized after a massacre we were unable to stop. We've also identified close to two thousand of the terrorists. Once we have their information, we hand it over to the military defense squad."

He stopped for a drink of water. "I saw the comment made by the Senator on a board available to every White Hat, for problems, things that need doing and in this case, words that sounded suspicious. I started looking a couple of weeks ago and got so involved, Leon gave me permission to spend 100% of my time working on it. I got my results early this morning, apparently the White Hat who got the same results got them several days ago, verified them and turned them in." He frowned and then smiled, "I know it's a heinous crime. I'm just thankful it won't be my name in the media as the person who reported it!"

"You don't want credit?"

"No, ma'am! Our work is voluntary and none of us wants his or her name out there. We take an oath of secrecy when we join and we took a new oath for the terrorist mission since it was no longer our original mission. No glory hounds are allowed. And I'm already gun-shy due to the whole IPF matter."

Leon chuckled, "And your game and Gemcity."

"At least those aren't related to criminal activity! I can't really help some publicity with Gemcity."

"But if the White Hats are secretive, how will the whistle blower be identified?"

"Don't know, but the media seem to get what they want."

"That's true." Secretary Porter laughed, "What a complex life you lead, Timothy! NCIS agent, Deputy Assistant Director, Super Spy for your government, husband and father of 6! Does your wife know?"

"She knows I do something and knows I can't talk about it. That could be a real problem because of her citizenship. My dad knows, he figured it out. I generally work at night after everyone's gone to bed. He keeps my solar equipment charged and supplies me with coffee and food."

"Solar equipment?"

"Yes, ma'am. That way I don't run up our power bill." That wasn't why but he didn't want to give up any more information than he already had.

"That's clever! Well, does either of you remember where we were when we went off track?"

Tim chuckled, "I asked if you had a status you could share."

"Right! Well, now you know how that turned out. I don't suppose there's anything else you can share?"

He shook his head and she nodded, "All right. There are a couple more items on my agenda. First and Leon tells me you're doing this anyway, be prepared to appoint one or more of your agents to effectively run the program."

She stopped and gestured to McGee as he looked like he had something to add. "As my agents gain experience, I'm rotating them filling in for me. With the time zones involved, I'd like to have at least two agents in charge when and if I move up again. Since they both can't be 'Second in Command', the term we usually use, I thought to call them 'deputy' something."

"Good, that works! Leon?"

He nodded, "I agree." He paused, "I hope you can find another time to visit the DiNozzos because I'd like you to visit the U.S. in February. I won't hold you to visiting International Falls but I do want you to visit Seattle and San Diego."

Before Tim could react, Secretary Porter said, "The reason we zeroed in on February is that I'll be here for another NATO meeting in mid-February and then will be traveling to Seattle for meetings and then on to Japan. What we thought you could do, if you'd like, is fly with me to Seattle. That way the whole family, that is Artemis and the children, and your parents if they'd like, can go. The flight from Seattle to San Diego for everyone but you wouldn't be picked up by the agency. By the time you're done in San Diego, I'll be on my way back and have meetings in Naples. We'll pick you up in San Diego and bring you home." She tapped her phone, "I'll send you my schedule so you can see the exact days. If we leave Thursday afternoon after my NATO meeting, you'll have 9 days on the West Coast and we'll fly back on Sunday. Will that work with the kids' schedule?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, the administrators don't want them back until they're over their jet lag, so they'll have work to do at home the week after we return, but we've done that before without any problems. That's great, ma'am, very generous, thank you!" He smiled, "Artie and I are talking about taking the kids, and my parents, to New England for their June break next year. Fly into Boston, see some friends there, show the kids MIT, where we met and where Greg, Kyle and I lived, rent a motorhome and drive up to Vermont, explore there and then explore New Hampshire on the way to Maine, spend some time on the beach there before returning to Boston and home."

Leon was surprised and impressed, "I never thought of that! New England is generally safe, certainly northern New England is. That's a great idea!"

Tim chuckled, "It was Andy's idea! When he asked, we all felt like idiots for not thinking of it before!"

"Well, the last two years there's been a family wedding in June."

"True and we can't seem to force ourselves away from Greece in August!"

Secretary Porter was also smiling, she'd been to Maine to the sub base but hadn't stayed more than a day or two. She'd enjoyed the food and the scenery but hadn't thought of taking a day and going to the beach or exploring some of the towns.

Leon thought about what Tim said, "Your parents, the kids and the two of you in one motorhome?"

Tim blanched, "No, Jethro and Lu will have their own. They're looking for property up there."

"In New England?"

"Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, yes. They want a camp big enough for all of us to gather in the summer, to get out of the heat. They're mainly interested in Vermont, Artie and I are campaigning for Maine so we can be on the water, and Sarah has friends from school in New Hampshire, so we'll see."

"Huh, will there be room for guests?"

Tim grinned at Leon and Secretary Porter, as she was trying to look disinterested and failing.

"I'm sure there will be."

On that note, the meeting adjourned.

When Tim returned to his office, he found a takeout box with his favorite Chinese food, with a receipt from Ellie. He took it to the break room to reheat it and then stayed to eat. He had a lot to think about.


	77. Chapter 77

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has not been beta'd

Chapter 77

Early Friday afternoon, Mimi and Sophia flew in to help celebrate Marissa's 5th birthday. Rissa was excited! She would have a party with her family tomorrow and then on Sunday she would have another party with some of her friends!

By noon Saturday, the four Clachers arrived by train from Edinburgh, James' parents had also taken the train from Castleton and the rest of the family and extended family arrived to celebrate with the newly anointed 'big girl'. They had a 'Make Your Own' sandwich and/or salad bar with plenty of yummy food for everyone and of course that was followed by birthday cake and ice cream.

After they ate, Uncle Tony, Aunt Maggie and the baby cousins joined them via Skype while presents were opened. Rissa was thrilled with everything from the new clothes for her stuffed bear from Mimi, the pretty dress from Yaya, the bicycle with training wheels from her parents, with accompanying safety gear from Aunt Sarah and Uncle James, to the "Learn how to knit and crochet" kit from Grammie, all the wonderful books, crafty and creative gifts, the new pair of skates and toys she received. Once the presents were unwrapped and admired, everyone went for a walk. That was always fun and they all waved to the shepherd.

Sunday, the Clachers went to church and had lunch with the family before leaving for home. Rissa's party started at 2:00, with 5 of her closest friends attending. They, too, had a good time and the birthday girl's parents were very happy it didn't rain until after the party!

Mimi and Sophia had planned to leave on Wednesday. However, once they heard about the trip to Rome they decided to stay and go with the family. If Nikolas and his family also decided to go, the women would fly to Naples a few days early, staying in Sorrento before joining Artemis, Tim and the children in Rome, returning to Sorrento with the Costas at the end of the trip.

The week after Rissa's birthday celebrations was busy, with three items of varying importance. One was the news that the contents of Kathy Hart's storage unit were finally on their way to Brambury and would arrive sometime in November. When Larry and Cyndi Porter volunteered to drive up to Maine and oversee the removal by the moving company, Tim mailed them an extra key to the padlock. The Porters later reported everything had gone smoothly and that the Gibbses should be prepared for 30 storage tubs, of varying sizes. The Gibbses had already arranged to have everything delivered to the moving company's storage. Then they could take their time sorting through it all. Kathy's attorneys in Singapore had been notified that the storage unit was empty, they could stop paying the rent. Tim and Artie were gratified that the boys would soon learn more about Mama Kathy and would finally have their baby photos and whatever other treasures they'd find in the shipment.

The second item of interest was the departure of the senior Gibbses for their long-delayed trip to South Africa. Both were excited and relieved that they were finally going! They were flying into Johannesburg and had planned their itinerary to see as much of the large and geographically diverse country as possible. As Lu said, "We'll sleep when we get home, how often in our lifetimes are we going to see elephants, lions and giraffes in the wild?"

Since they originally planned the trip, Lu's DNA had been tested and revealed a higher percentage of DNA from the African continent than would account for just one ancestor. She was further excited to see that part of her African DNA came from the southern part of the continent. As far as she was concerned, that meant wherever they went in South Africa, she'd be following in the footsteps of at least one of her ancestors.

The third item was a panicked phone call to Artemis from a project manager with whom she'd be working on a new project kicking off later in the month. Due to circumstances outside of the control of the project team, the deadline for completion had been moved up. When Artie and the project manager reworked the schedule, all thoughts of traveling anywhere but to the project site disappeared.

Tim, the children and those who'd planned to go to Rome with them, Sarah, James, Liz and the Hubbards, were disappointed but decided to go another time.

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With the arrest of the traitorous Senator, Tim and all the White Hats redoubled their efforts to find the terrorists' main server. The White Hats were credited for discovering the politician's perfidy and encouraged by their success, they were even more determined. For all his efforts and determination, Tim stuck to his schedule of 3 days of agency work and 2 days or nights of White Hat work, no matter how ancy it made him!

Artie hadn't been very happy when Tim told her they couldn't visit the DiNozzos in February. However, when he followed that with the reason, that they were instead going to the West Coast of the U.S., she forgave her husband's superiors. Tony and Maggie were disappointed when they heard but quickly agreed to 'Walt's Place' in April. The babies would be older then, with Jed only two weeks from his first birthday and the twins would be 11 months old.

Tim spent several hours Wednesday and Thursday nights on his covert work, still frustrated at not being able to find that main server of the terrorists. He was diligently following every clue, every link, thinking outside the box but hadn't found it.

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Jethro and Lu were so happy when their plane landed in Johannesburg that they thought about kissing the ground. While they had no complaints about the flight itself, it was a long trek of 11 hours. As Jethro said, he'd never complain about the 8 hour trip across the Atlantic to the U.S. ever again! Lu reminded him it'd been almost two years since they'd been on a flight longer than the 4 hours it took to reach Athens.

They'd been prepared with books, magnetic Backgammon, Checkers as well as a game of Yahtzee, 3 decks of tiny playing cards, their Cribbage board, over-the-ear noise blocking headphones, puzzle books, sleep masks, Lu had to promise her husband she'd never tell anyone that he used one, inflatable pillows and blankets. They'd downloaded an app on their phones that would help teach them to speak Zulu and Afrikaans.

They walked every hour, the flight wasn't full which helped with the traffic in the aisles, stayed hydrated, ate a few of the snacks they'd purchased after they were through Security and tried to sleep. Neither had slept much the night before, they were too excited, but that didn't seem to matter now. Jethro took the language lessons in Zulu while Lu took the ones in Afrikaans, and then they swapped and practiced speaking to each other. They played a few games of Yahtzee and then swapped to one of their favorite card games, Spite and Malice. It may not have put them to sleep but they had a good time battling it out, each game taking at least 30 minutes to play. After they ate the last meal they'd be served, they watched an in-flight movie and some of the TV shows. After that, they were finally relaxed enough to sleep.

Now, while they waited in passport control, Jethro sent texts to Tim and Tony, letting them know they'd arrived. What amused him, after the long flight, was that there was only a two hour time difference between London and Johannesburg! However, that meant he didn't have to worry about waking either of his boys with the texts; they'd both be at work.

Lu and Jethro were fascinated by the sights of the city they could see through the windows of their transport during the ride to their hotel. Johannesburg was a lovely city with a lot of green space, they saw many trees and parks. There was a very tall building that made Jethro think of the Space Needle in Seattle. Their driver told them it was the Hillbrow Tower, built for their telecommunications. He chuckled as he relayed that during the 2010 FIFA World Cup a huge football was fitted to the tower to celebrate the event.

As soon as Jethro stepped out of their transport at the hotel, he knew they'd made the right choice. It was a lodge in a big city but there was enough quiet that he could hear birdsong! They checked in with the friendly staff, who showed them their lodging for the next three nights. Their 'chalet' as it was called, was curved on one side with a thatched roof. Inside was a sizeable room with tile floors, ceiling fans and mosquito netting on the large four poster bed. At the other end of the room was a comfortable looking lounge area with a kitchenette off to the side. The bathroom was well equipped. Surrounding either side of the front door was a terrace with chairs and two Giraffes, African wood carvings. Off to one side, a paved path led the way through more trees to the lodges' two pools. Lu told her husband she was almost sorry they had sight-seeing to do! He reminded her they'd be here for 3 nights, plenty of time to use the pools and walk in the gardens.

They unpacked and then changed out of the clothes they'd worn on the flight. They'd have them washed but wouldn't wear them again until their flight home. They showered, put their swim suits on and walked over to the pool closer to the Reception room. They swam to their hearts' content as they had the place to themselves. After the long flight, the swim felt wonderful. Afterward, they got drinks and appetizers at the bar, enjoying them on the poolside patio. A few other guests wandered in, a couple from Germany and two women from Italy and they chatted a bit, mostly in English although Jethro and Lu knew a little German and a little Italian. Eventually, the Gibbses excused themselves, ordering dinner from the hotel kitchen, taking it to their chalet to eat.

They both slept like rocks that night, although they woke early, before the sun was even up! Remembering this trip was originally planned to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, they did just that.

Later, they were picked up by their driver/guide. Jethro liked to spoil his bride and had hired a private guide to see the city. She would show them the highlights of Johannesburg and take them to two museums, the Apartheid Museum and the Origins Centre at Wits University. They'd also visit the Mandela House before they met Liz Crane's friend Emaline, the woman who'd advised them to visit despite the drought, for lunch at a restaurant of her choosing. After lunch, they hoped to visit the Randlord Mansions, the mansions built by the 19th century gold magnates after gold was discovered in Johannesburg in 1886. Lu had read about an area that had evolved into a creative center for arts and native crafts, in the Maboneng Precinct, and they wanted to take a look at that, hoping to find local artists and artisans. Jethro teased Lu that he didn't think she'd find a dress for Geordie and Bec's winter wedding anywhere in South Africa! Knowing he was referring to the dress she purchased in Marrakesh during their honeymoon and wore at Sarah and James' wedding, she laughed.

Once again, as they drove around the city, they were impressed by the amount of green spaces, especially considering they were emerging from a long drought. Their first stop was the Apartheid Museum and they found it profoundly moving. While Jethro remembered more of the years the country had suffered under apartheid, both remembered the newscasts and newspaper articles full of hope and joy when the ugly laws were cast aside. With what they'd heard and seen in the media, it was very interesting to see more of the story, the history behind apartheid and the struggle to liberate the country. Their guide took them through the rooms, explaining everything and answering their questions. Jethro smiled to himself when he noticed other people were listening to her talking about the various exhibits. As they left, they were surprised when they noticed the clock, they'd been there nearly two hours.

When they were on their way again, Lu looked at her husband, "I know I have the heritage, I know some of my ancestors came from Africa, I know my family survived the Jim Crow laws in the South at home, but I've never felt it applied to me. I don't look African-American and although I am a woman of color and have had to deal with bias, prejudice and just plain racism, I never internalized it as a black woman. I couldn't have, I was a grown woman before I knew that we had African ancestors! I've always identified myself as a Latina." She sighed, "We'll need to have a museum, a memorial, more than one, when the war is over."

Their guide spoke, "You're speaking of America?"

"Yes."

She shook her head, "You don't sound like Americans on TV and in the movies."

Jethro said, "We've lived in the United Kingdom for several years, before the war started. Even so, people in the U.S. don't really sound or act like actors do on TV and in the movies."

"Oh, that's good to know. We're told it's a crisis, not a war; it sounds horrible."

"Yes, we were lucky that part of the family was already in the UK and with help we were able to evacuate the rest. With a few exceptions, our entire family, close to 50 of us, lives in Europe now."

"That must be difficult."

Lu shook her head, "We're together, healthy, we have work or in our case retirement income and all but one of our kids live nearby. We really only have to deal with being homesick. There are thousands, millions of people, children, at home who are in danger every day from the terrorists. And thousands now who have been slaughtered in hate crimes."

"Then you are right, when it's finished, you should build memorials and museums so that it does not happen again."

The Gibbses nodded, suddenly heartsick and tired. Their next stop, the Origins Centre, helped dispel their grief and anger. The museum exhibits and explores evidence of early man and related hominids in South Africa as well as some of the more recent native cultures. Jethro was very interested in the examples of the evolution of stone tools. There were sketches and drawings of the skulls of early hominids with discussions of their differences and similarities. They were there for another two hours, glad they'd made plans for a late lunch with Liz's friend.

Their guide left them at the restaurant where they met Emaline, Liz's friend. She was easy to spot when they walked in as they'd exchanged photos. She was friendly, informative and witty, appreciative of their efforts with the Zulu and Afrikaans languages and listened to their thoughts about the Apartheid Museum. They also asked her advice on various things. For instance, they'd booked two safaris, one here in the Gauteng province, inside Pilanesberg National Park, and the other in Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape province. They weren't sure they should do both. However, Emaline reassured them that they would see different vistas and animals, have different experiences on each one. That's what they'd hoped for.

She told them a bit about her life, she was a British citizen whose late husband had been a Captain in the Royal Navy. She met Liz Crane many years ago when their husbands worked together on a joint operation and the two woman had remained friends. When Emaline's husband died, she'd decided she needed a change and came to South Africa to spend the UK winter months. That was seventeen years ago and she was still here. She'd lived near Cape Town for the first few years, enjoying the weather, the coast and the region. A business opportunity brought her to Johannesburg several years ago and here she was.

Their food was delicious, they'd asked Emaline to recommend local dishes, wanting to try new things. As they ate, their new friend inquired about their plans for the rest of the day, wondering if they were meeting up with their guide again. When they replied in the negative and told her their plans, she asked if she might join them for their visits to the Mandela Home and Arts on Main.

They'd originally planned to do the Johannesburg Hop On/Off bus this afternoon but decided to save that for the next day. They happily agreed to her joining them and then, after a silent conversation with her husband, Lu asked their new friend if she'd like to join them for high tea at the Westcliffe afterward, adding that it would be their treat.

When Emaline looked like she would protest their paying for her, Lu put her hand on the other woman's. "Liz has told us how wonderful you were to her and Dave during the months he and your late husband worked together. It was just weeks after they'd lost their three godchildren and they were still raw, trying to make sense when there was none to be had and basically muddling through life, helping the children's grandparents. Liz and Dave are very special to us, they're godparents to all 11 of our kids, and of course we love them for themselves. Think of this as a long overdue thank you for helping to ease their hearts."

The woman's mouth dropped open and her eyes filled with tears. "You're the parents of Tim, Sarah and Patrick? You're the ones who found Tim? Liz never said!"

Jethro smiled, "Tim found me and yes, we're their parents." He gave her a brief history of the beginnings of their family and how it had quickly grown and was still growing.

She beamed at them, "Photos, do you have photos?"

Lu nodded, "Yes, we have photos, we can look at them at our tea, how's that?"

"Oh yes, certainly!"

Leaving the restaurant, they followed Emaline to her car and rode to the Mandela House. Nelson Mandela lived in the small house before and after his long imprisonment; it had been restored in 2008 and 2009. Walking through was akin to having a history lesson of the country. There were photos, documents, letters, stories of the country during the struggles. There was a great deal going on outside, too, with street vendors, musicians, restaurants and markets. After they'd seen the house and taken several pictures, they bought a few souvenirs outside, with Emaline helping with the languages and pricing.

From there, they joined a walking tour of Maboneng Arts and Crafts Markets where they visited thriving galleries, retail stores, industrial spaces, entertainment venues, and restaurants. The results of the creative energy of Johannesburg's urban artists were clearly visible while they walked around Maboneng, a Sotho word meaning 'Place of Light.' They fell in love with two paintings, by separate artists, and purchased them, having them shipped to the Manor. Lu purchased yards of hand woven fabric along with several little dresses, for all the little girls in the family: Victoria and Jilly Palmer, Rissa, Hope and little Diane. She also found sturdy hand woven cotton fabric to make shorts for all four babies, the little girls and Davey. She thought it was a little too young for Kyle but bought extra anyway. After all, there might be more grandbabies! Her husband smiled happily when she held up a dress she would wear in Greece and in Brambury if the following summer was as hot as the last summer had been in the greater London area. It always made him happy when she indulged herself.

From there they drove to Parktown, to see the opulent mansions with their distinctive architectures, built for the owners of the gold mines in the late 19th century, into the early 20th century. As it was a Saturday afternoon, the only days tours were regularly available, they were able to join a tour organized by the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust. Their first stop was at Hazeldene Hall, built in 1902, with verandas made of cast-iron imported from Scotland. After viewing several other mansions, all quite beautiful and unique, they were taken to a mansion called Dolobran, a strange but impressive house built in 1905 and featuring, among other things, stained glass that had been dubbed 'hallucinatory'.

Still talking about the mansions and the various architecture, they drove from there to the Westcliffe Hotel for their tea. That was a delicious adventure and they had several photos taken, sending the shots of the three of them to Liz.

After their sumptuous feast, they said goodbye to Emaline, returning to the lodge to rest their weary feet. Once again, they swam laps in the pool close to Reception and were drying off, considering drinks and some light appetizers when the Italian ladies they'd met the day before appeared. Over drinks and the appetizers, they compared their days, the Italians saying they were a little envious of the couple having not one but two personal guides! The ladies had been on the Hop On/Off bus and recommended it, saying it gave them a better idea of the city. At least that's what the Gibbses thought they said, both vowing to work on their Italian language skills when they got home. They did ask if the women spoke Greek and laughed when the women nodded, saying the typical tourist phrases, 'how much is this' and 'where is the Parthenon/Agora/toilet'. The women had also visited the Johannesburg Botanical Garden and recommended seeing it.

After their tea and the appetizers, the Gibbses didn't want any dinner and decided to take a twilight swim, which was lovely. Both of them slept like proverbial logs. Up early, they ate a hearty breakfast and prepared for their tour of the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site, which would include caves, an underground boat ride and museums. They'd be picked up here at the lodge and returned at the end of the tour, although the Gibbses would ask to be dropped near the Botanical Gardens.

They were most excited about the caves. In the Sterkfontein Caves, they'd see where the 2.3-million-year-old fossil Australopithecus africanus, nicknamed "Mrs. Ples", was found in 1947. Mrs. Ples is the most complete skull of an _Australopithecus africanus_ , considered to be the precursor of the genus Homo, which includes humans, ever found in South Africa.

When they reached the site, the tour started with a quick history lesson - starting with the Big Bang. One of the exciting events for the couple was viewing the area that contained the first ever evidence of a hominid multi-family burial ground, in caves that were created 2.3 billion years ago. They had to wear orange hard hats and do quite a bit of crawling, but it was worth it!

Before they left the site, they were given lunch and had time to visit the gift kiosks. They bought enough postcards for each of their kids and grandkids as well as a few souvenirs.

On the way back to the city, they fell asleep, only waking when their guide laughingly called their names on his microphone. Amazed to see they were the last ones in the large van, they thanked the guide and their driver, gathered their belongings and dragged themselves the 30 feet to their chalet. They thought they'd try to get to the Botanical Gardens later, they knew they had no hope of hopping on or off anything at the moment. However, after another nap, they admitted they were done. They'd had a wonderful time, had enjoyed each of their tours, and their guides, were glad they'd been able to spend time with Liz's friend Emaline, but now it was time to relax, pack and get ready for the first of their safaris!

Eventually, they made it as far as the pool and swam some laps, their upper bodies weren't what was tired, although Jethro said he could feel some of the muscles he'd used crawling through the caves. Remembering there was a fitness room with a spa, they found it and slid into the warm whirlpool with sighs of relief. Who would have thought they'd need to use a hot tub in southern Africa?

They ordered dinner and then had another swim while it was prepared. This time, they had drinks and ate their dinner on an area of the patio that was screened to keep the insect population out. After they ate, they took their drinks to the open patio where they sat until dusk.

Returning to their chalet, they quickly packed, putting the clothing and shoes they'd been advised to bring on their safari where they could easily reach them.

Their van picked them up the next morning for the drive to Pilanesberg National Park, where they'd stay 5 days, 4 nights. The drive from Johannesburg was three hours but Lu, Jethro and the others in the van were so busy looking out the windows that the time went quickly. Once at the Lodge, they were taken to their luxury room where they freshened up after the drive, unpacking and stepping out onto their balcony, hoping to see some wildlife. While they didn't see anything close, they did see a watering hole and hoped they'd see animals gathering in the morning.

Finding the restaurant, they had a hearty lunch, sitting with the other two couples who'd been in the van with them. The 6 of them comprised their tour group. As they were finishing, their guide, who'd been in the van with them, appeared and they followed him to an 'open game' vehicle. The vehicle resembled a long bed pickup truck with a two door cab open to the sky. The truck bed had typical sides that were effectively made higher than a truck with use of opaque siding that looked like canvas. That allowed people to stand to see the animals without totally revealing themselves. A series of 4 sturdy metal poles held up the siding and a roof covering of the same material, with a sturdy metal gate across the back. Although the drive was bumpy, the 'road' was two tracks in the dirt, the group was occupied looking for wildlife. Lu and Jethro each had a pair of binoculars and spotted the trio of giraffes just as their guide called their attention to them. Jethro laughed, he'd seen giraffes with Kelly and with his grandkids at various zoos, but seeing them in the wild, seeing how tall they really were, was amazing. At one point, their vehicle stopped and their guide told them that two lions had decided to nap in front of the vehicle. Nobody was going anywhere until the animals moved. While they waited, they watched as a herd of zebras sauntered by, apparently knowing the lions weren't hungry at the moment.

As they started up again, all of them snapped as many photos as possible of the two lions, male and female, as they sauntered away. The male turned to look at them, as if posing for photos, and then roared. Jethro said later he bet those lions had a good chuckle once the truck was out of their way. They hadn't gone more than a few miles farther when they spotted several elephants! They stopped to watch them until the elephants moved on. There were two babies with them and they watched avidly as the babies were protected by their mothers.

They were in the bush all afternoon, finally returning to the lodge and a delicious dinner. Wanting to recap the day with their fellow tourists, they had drinks in the lounge, examining their photos.

After a good night's sleep, the tour group started out early for their first full day, grabbing something hot drinks with a small breakfast. Leaving before dawn, they hoped to spot some of the nocturnal creatures who inhabited the park. When they saw tiny points of light in the trees, their guide explained those were 'lesser bushbabies'. They also spotted a mother and baby warthog eating grass and even more exciting, they saw a leopard resting in a tree! They were still talking about the leopard 30 minutes later when they spotted a group of vervet monkeys.

Around a bend in the tracks, they saw a body of water, Mankwe Dam, which is really more of a lake, in the distance and heard elephants bellowing. Driving very slowly, the driver got them close enough to see using the binoculars. A herd of Elephants and a herd of Cape Buffalo were apparently ready to fight over who got to drink the water first. A huge elephant, their guide said she was the leader or Matriarch, was bellowing the loudest, her ears fully extended. A little baby elephant nearby slipped under her to apparent safety. Baby evidently hadn't been fully trained yet as he didn't know what to do with his trunk, holding it straight out, then to one side or the other, finally curling it up. The humans watched in silence as the Matriarch continued to sound her disapproval of the intruders. Finally, the Cape Buffalos gave in and the elephants drank.

Returning to the lodge, the group had breakfast and chatted about what they'd seen and heard before dispersing to their own activities. They'd have lunch mid-afternoon before going out on an afternoon game drive. That day, the Gibbses took advantage of the lodge's amenities, spending most of the late morning in the pool. After lunch that afternoon, they had their afternoon game drive and saw black rhinoceroses, a mother and baby, white rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, more giraffes, impalas, hyenas and zebras and everyone's favorite, the elephants. In the early evening, as they were beginning their drive back to the lodge, the driver suddenly stopped and the guide whispered to look. The animal the driver spotted was a cheetah. Although it was almost out of camera range, everyone took photos anyway.

After another delicious meal, Jethro and Lu headed to their room, they were tired and would leave before dawn again the next day. They were learning not to jump at the nocturnal noises, especially the lions roaring. That took some getting used to!

Over the next two days, they repeated the routine, up and out before dawn, back to the lodge late morning, out again around 3 and back in the early evening. Along with the animals, there were more than 300 species of bird in the park and they saw many of those, including ostriches and two huge martial eagles. And they encountered a lion or two.

On the fifth day, their last, they headed out before dawn, as usual, and smiled at the numbers of animals at the waterhole, their best gathering yet! Thinking of all the wonders they'd seen, the Gibbses were very glad they had another safari to look forward to!

Reluctantly, in late morning, they climbed on the van that would return them to Johannesburg. They'd reach the city in mid-afternoon and had decided to stay another night in Johannesburg, at the same lodge. They'd arranged for a shuttle to take them to the airport in the morning, for their flight to Cape Town. When they'd been planning this, they originally thought to go straight from Pilanesberg to the airport but realized they'd be tired and possibly a little dusty after their morning in the bush and didn't want to arrive that way in a new city. So they'd stay one more night in their chalet at the lodge and hoped to have time to finally take the Hop On/Off bus, to see a little more of Johannesburg before they left in the morning. They also wanted a swim, one last dinner on the patio and hoped to watch the stars appear from their front patio, if they could stay awake that long!

The Hop On/Off bus was fun and reacquainted them with the sights they'd seen nearly a week ago. There were a few new things and they hopped off a times. Still, they were back at the lodge in time for a good swim and dinner and Jethro claimed to have seen a few stars appear before he fell asleep.

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The next morning, the couple was feeling quite refreshed and ready for the next adventure as they waited to board their aircraft. With a short 2 hour flight, they were checking into their hotel by midmorning. This one was called the Tree House and did feature plenty of beautiful trees. Their room had a sea view and they admired the view for several minutes before unpacking what they'd need for the next 5 days, 6 nights.

The first thing they did, this time, was to see the city via Cape Town's Hop On/Off bus. When they reached the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, they hopped off. This was an area Liz's friend Emaline said was a 'must see'. The houses were brightly painted, originally painted by people who'd been forced to live there as slaves, brought from Malay, Indonesia and Africa itself to work on the Cape. When they were freed, they painted the buildings as an expression of their freedom and the tradition survives.

The Gibbses took a walking tour, visiting the 'District 6' Museum and a large spice company as well as a couple of community projects. They passed on the cooking lesson, but did enjoy a cup of tea. Exploring the area, they had fun visiting the shops, stopping in at a local café for delicious snacks.

Having spent most of the afternoon exploring Bo-Kaap, they were happy they'd made reservations for tea at Mount Nelson Hotel, recommended by Emelina. There the couple relaxed, enjoying their rooibos tea. Rooibos, a broom-like plant, is grown in a small mountainous area in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Along with its many health benefits, it is caffeine and stimulant free. Lu had noticed it in the market in Brambury, called 'Red Bush' there and decided to try it. She loved it as did Jethro, even James, the tea _connoisseur,_ liked it. Now it was fun to sip the tea in its native habitat.

Back at their hotel, they had a snack later, looking out their window at the sea view as they ate. They turned in early, they'd had a busy day and had more to come!

The next morning, they ate breakfast at the hotel before meeting their guide for the day. First, she would take them to Table Mountain, where they would see spectacular views of Cape Town and the area surrounding it. They would have seen it anyway; however, in 2012, Table Mountain had been declared one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. When they'd had their fill, their guide would take them through Cape Town.

When they reached the looming mountain, Lu smiled at their guide who announced they had 'Skip-the-Line- tickets for the cable car. It was a 5-minute ride that had Lu holding onto Jethro. She really didn't mind heights, usually! It was worth it, though, when they reached the top and looked down at the city. As the sky was clear, they could see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned, as well as ships coming into and leaving Table Bay.

Jethro bought them coffee at the café and they sat on the terrace, mesmerized by the 360 degree view of the city and its environs. Their guide took them on a walk of the area, telling them more of the history.

When they'd finally had enough, they purchased a few souvenirs at the shop on the mountain before descending in the cable car. From there, the guide showed them Cape Town, the three of them stopping for lunch at a local café. It was a wonderful day and Lu thanked Jethro again for convincing her to hire guides. It had certainly been worth it, in both Johannesburg and here!

Back at the hotel, they swam laps before showering and dressing for dinner. Tonight, they were dining at a restaurant that had been one of Emelina's favorites when she lived here. They'd enjoyed the cuisine up north and were now slowly exploring the Cape cuisine which they were finding quite tasty.

They enjoyed the meal and the ambiance at the restaurant and asked their server to take a photo of them under the restaurant marquee, for their new friend. When they told their server why they wanted the photo, he smiled, held up his hand to wait and then presented them with a menu, signed by the owner, for their friend.

The next morning saw them on a ferry to Robben Island to visit the place where Mandela had been held. As they toured, Jethro remarked that he was glad they'd already seen Mandela House and knew the good things that had happened to the man after his release.

Back on the mainland after a couple of hours, they returned to the hotel, changed into beach clothes, picked up a picnic lunch from the hotel kitchen, beach chairs and towels from the front desk and set out for the beach. It was a lovely day and they were glad to have time to relax! After getting their feet wet, they waded in as far as their knees and stood, marveling at where they were, the southern end of the continent of Africa, how cool was that! They managed to take at least one decent selfie and then a young lady offered to take their photo, so they had a couple of pictures to prove they'd dipped their feet into the ocean. On the way back to the hotel, Lu laughed, "We've been to Morocco in northern Africa, and here to the very end of the continent, to South Africa. Think we'll see anything in between?"

Jethro thought about that, finally saying, "We got here, didn't we? Who knows where we'll wander off to next time!"

Still in their swim suits, they turned in the beach chairs and the insulated bag that had held their lunch and went for a swim, laughing at that. Jethro said, "If we stay much longer at the Manor, we might have to have a pool of our own!"

"Dig up that beautiful garden? Jethro!"

"No, I was thinking an above ground pool that we can put away for the winter. They make oval shaped ones so you can swim laps."

"Oh, that does sound like fun! How much longer do you think?"

Jethro looked at her, "How badly do you want to go home?"

"Not so much anymore, our family is here, safe and I love our lives here, I mean there…in the UK! The only people I haven't seen are my siblings and I haven't seen them in decades, years before the war."

He nodded, "I would have met them at our wedding."

"Yes. We've more or less gone our own ways. I think when Morgan left me, my brothers were afraid I'd ask them for help, money, I'm sure and my sister doesn't believe in divorce. So, by Morgan leaving me after Tegan's death, I became a bit of a pariah." She shook her head, "We weren't close to begin with! Oh, we were when our mother was still alive but she seemed to be the only thing we still had left in common. That's one of the reasons I love our family, the boys and Sarah have been through so much, good and bad, together, there is no way they'll drift apart. Not very far apart and not for long. And I know as hard as Tim and Tony worked to become what they are now, they won't let it happen." She sighed, "It's the Palmers that concern me."

"Because they're Ducky's?"

"Yes. And because Jimmy doesn't have anyone else and the way Ed Slater treats him certainly can't make him want to be part of the Slater family!"

"Jimmy has a brother but he hasn't seen him in as long as I've known Palmer, going on 15 years now. So, what do you want to do about it?"

"I'm not sure there is anything we can do, except make sure he knows we love him and consider him part of our family. I'd certainly be willing to do what we did with Tony, adopt him as my son. "

Jethro nodded, "Some of the kids have mentioned it to me, they're concerned about him too. Tim, Tony, Sarah, Geo, Abby, Ellie, Barry."

"Good, then we'll figure it out. Ellie, not Rob?"

Tilting his head, he said, "She said Rob brought it up but the day she and I spoke, he'd been called into work."

"Good. We'll need to tread lightly with Jimmy and Ducky."

"I think Duck might be relieved." He looked at her, "Back to our original topic, how do you feel about staying in the UK?"

That surprised her, "You mean after the war? Won't everyone be transferred home?"

"SecNav will want Headquarters back aboard the Navy Yard, so the Vances will go and I imagine most of the non-Gibbs-related staff."

She chuckled, "What non-Gibbs-related staff? Oh, yes, Joel and uh…well, Bec has two agents besides Alan, right?"

"Yes and there's an Intel Analyst not involved with any of us. Plus Delores, Fred, Natalie and Pam. And the mail room guy. Possibly everyone in IT besides James, although most of them were already here before the war."

"Are you saying everyone will go or not?"

"I believe some will stay. London's a larger office now, with Antwerp as a subordinate office. And I think Leon's seen the benefits of having Intel Analysts closer to their regions. London has a hot-shot team with our future daughter-in-law, our possible future son-in-law, our daughter-in-law, Tim and his two lovebirds."

She laughed, "Ray and Kendra?"

"Yes. Ray was evacuated but he's an INV agent, as is Kendra, they can be the team if Ellie and Tim move on."

"Where are…oh, you mean if Rob and Ellie move home?"

"Yes, I imagine her family would like her closer than across the Atlantic and as far as I know Rob's still dead set on his clinic."

"He's not, sweetie. Once the shelter and camp were gone, Rob started letting that dream go. "His" people are gone."

"Maybe the ones he knew, but the area will still be poor, still have need."

Lu bowed her head before looking up again, tears in her eyes, "No, the city of Baltimore will start moving people, pushing them out, they want to rehabilitate that whole area, gentrify it. They've wanted to do that for years. The only things keeping them off our backs were the economy and the agreement Tim and the others made with the city council, to close the camp after Nate and Juanita were gone. We knew they'd come after the shelter once the camp was closed but now, with the shelter also gone, there's nothing standing in their way. Rob may want to go home but not for his clinic. And if we have that camp in Vermont, that'll make things easier for the Bishops, the Slaters and Abby's brothers – and your cousin, too." She smiled, "I think Bec and Geo might be the only ones who leave. Well, Charlotte too, if Bec goes. Which means Joe will leave and then, well Freddie going or staying depends on both Abby and Joe." She frowned before continuing, "To answer your original question, I won't mind staying. Life's much nicer in the UK." She chuckled, "We've only spent two weeks of our lives together in the United States. And with all of our kids in Europe with us, it's hardly fair to compare! Besides, you know we'll follow Tim, Artie and the kids!"

"I don't think Tim wants to go home anymore. His life is nicer here, too."

"They'd stay forever?"

"Don't know." Jethro changed the subject and they talked about their tour the next day. It was a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula. That reminded them both that they'd need cash for various entrance fees. The guide had gone with them to get cash yesterday and they'd stashed it in the room safe.

Glad for their relaxing afternoon, they had dinner in a restaurant recommended by the hotel and once again enjoyed the food and the ambiance. With a full day ahead of them, they turned in early, excited about the tour!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who've read my story Fish, the safari vehicle is close to how I intended Gibbs' pickup to look after the roof was built. Laughs at self, I got all excited when I saw a photo of a safari vehicle!


	78. Chapter 78

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta, Alix33, who has been a great resource for information about her homeland. She's in the story as Emelina, although that's not her real name or background. I hope you're enjoying the trip to South Africa, I learned an incredible amount about the country as I wrote this and it's now on my 'bucket list'.

Chapter 78

As they boarded the bus the next morning, Lu chuckled, saying to her husband, "We should feel right at home, this is about the same size as Big Blue, isn't it?" He grinned at her in agreement.

Once everyone was settled, the guide told them what they were going to see and do that day. "We'll take the day to explore the Cape Peninsula, discovering some amazing scenery and the rugged coastline of the peninsula. We'll also see some unique cultures in charming towns along the coast, view the wildlife and of course we'll stop to explore beautiful beaches. I know several of you have commented about seeing the penguins on Boulders Beach as well as visiting not just one but two oceans. That's something to brag about! Equally as exciting will be our trip to the very edge of the African continent as we take in the Cape of Good Hope! Now, before we get started, some housekeeping…does everyone have cash? Some of the entrance fees are covered today, but not all of them. Let's see a show of hands, who brought the recommended amount?"

He smiled at the raised hands, "Excellent, well then, off we go!"

They had a wonderful day. Their guide, Simon, was knowledgeable, friendly, funny and patient. Each stop was given plenty of time. The views were spectacular and Simon graciously took many photos for people, including Jethro and Lu. They stood, grinning, behind the signs for the Cape of Good Hope, the ocean pounding away in the background. They loved watching the penguins on Boulders Beach and, taking Simon's advice, followed the boardwalk next to the restrooms to the quieter side of the beach. Along the way, they saw penguins in their nests and under trees along the boardwalk. At Cape Point, they took the funicular up to the lighthouse, almost gasping at the sights, feeling they could see half the world from this vantage point.

While they kept their eyes open for antelopes and ostrich, they also watched the ocean for whales! When Simon spotted one, they all gathered around him. They were close enough to see the Southern right whales, a mother and her calf, as Simon explained, without binoculars, much to their joy. As they stood there, entranced, they also spotted bluenose dolphins and another whale that Simon said was a humpback!

During the course of the day, they saw the marker where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean supposedly merge. Although they were very tired by the time they were taken to their hotel, they were also exhilarated by everything they'd seen and done.

After sleeping well, they took some time over breakfast the next morning to plan the day, their last in Cape Town. They decided to return to Bo-Kaapa, do some shopping and have lunch there, leaving their afternoon free for whatever new adventures came their way.

The following day, they said goodbye to Cape Town as they joined a 3 day Garden Route and Safari Tour. The drive would take them along South Africa's beautiful Route 62.

This first day, their destination was Oudtshoorn, the 'ostrich' capital, five or six hours drive from Cape Town. They'd have several stops along the way and would travel through varied landscape. Jethro and Lu watched out the window as the road seemed to wander through part of the arid, desert region of Klein Karoo. They ventured through areas of rugged plains and towering cliffs. At each of their stops, the Gibbses alternated stretching their legs and taking photos, Lu carefully writing down what day of the trip the photos were taken and in which locations. Their guide was very helpful with that, explaining what there was to see at each stop.

When they reached Oudtshoorn, the couple checked into their hotel and then re-joined the group for a trip to the Cango Caves. As they drove, their guide told them more about the caves. Located in Precambrian limestone, cave paintings and artifacts indicate that the caves were in use throughout prehistory over a long period during the Middle and Later Stone ages. Although the tunnels and caves extend more than 2 ½ miles, only about a quarter of that distance is open to the public. There were two types of tours people could take, the "Heritage Tour" or the "Adventure Tour"; Lu and Jethro had already decided to stick with the Heritage Tour.

The tour was very interesting, the guide took them through the caves, wandering along, admiring the stalactite and stalagmite formations, telling them the history of the caves in story fashion. The lighting was spectacular, showing off the beauty of the caves. The tour itself took about an hour and the Gibbses took several photos.

Back at the hotel, they were on their own for the evening. During the day, they'd spent some time with a couple from Slovakia and had dinner with them that evening.

Jethro and Lu had decided to participate in the next morning's optional excursion, to an 'elephant walk' at a nearby reserve. A ranger went with them as they walked alongside the huge mammals in their natural environment. They thoroughly enjoyed that and once again, were glad they were going to Addo Elephant Park!

From there, the Garden Tour took them to Wilderness National Park, about an hour's drive. Meeting a local guide, they took canoes out on a calm river, floating through lush forests. When the guide had them stop paddling and just be still, they heard birdsong, surrounding them. It was peaceful and beautiful.

After their two hours of fun on the river, the tour continued, taking them on a relaxing coastal scenic drive. The next stop was at one of the world's highest bungee sites at Bloukrans Bridge. While some of their fellow travelers stayed for that particular adventure, the Gibbses and others opted for a short hike to an historically old tree in a nearby forest. They enjoyed being in the fresh air again as well as the mild exercise. On their return, they were relieved to see their tour mates had survived their bungee jumps, although more than one person said he or she would never do it again. Lu smiled at them, "You don't need to, you've already proved yourself by jumping off the highest bridge in Africa!"

Their stop that evening was in the coastal town of Sedgefield and Jethro was happy they arrived well before dark. After a snack, the couple hurried to the beach for a dip in the Indian Ocean. It felt wonderful and they admitted to being thrilled to swim in an ocean so far from home.

The next day brought them to Port Elizabeth, where they were dropped at their hotel. They'd made reservations for a whale watching trip and quickly changed, bringing jackets, binoculars and of course their camera! The ocean air felt wonderful on their skin and they enjoyed the boat ride – and spotted three whales!

Back on dry land, they changed again, this time for a late lunch/early dinner. While they'd had plenty of rest, they were tired and wanted to be ready for their second safari. The next morning, they were picked up and driven to Addo Elephant Park for their next adventure!

Their accommodations were very different this time. Each unit was inspired by African culture and was built on stilts, boasting wide open glass panels that provided amazing views from the bedroom, lounge, even the bathroom. A seasonal river ran below and they saw baboons, kudo, warthogs and of course, elephants drinking from it.

Out in the bush, the Gibbses were introduced to an underground photography hide. Rather like a bunker, the hide had open 'windows' for viewing elephants and other animals naturally without disturbing or influencing them. They had a great time getting what looked like close up, in-your-face shots of elephants and zebras when in fact, they were standing below ground nearby, their eyes and the zoom lenses on their cameras watching the animals.

Here, they also stayed over in the bush. Told to be careful about keeping the tent door closed, at one point Lu forgot and the couple found themselves visited by several vervet monkeys. After the animals finally left, Lu noticed her pink foam curlers had gone missing! She and Jethro laughed about the monkeys figuring out what they were for. They told their guide who said not to worry about the monkeys eating the things.

The monkeys further entertained themselves later by sliding down the sides of their tent! The guards, there to keep predators away, shooed the monkeys off the tent, although it seemed they would sneak back for some more fun. Jethro remembered Emelina saying she'd first been on safari in Kenya, where the Masai provided safety in the bush.

The restaurant where they ate the night they stayed in the bush was open on all sides, with rafters under the thatched roof. That night they had an authentic African dinner, watching fascinated, as it was prepared. As they were eating, Jethro looked up to see a large cat-like creature studying them from the rafters. None of the staff even blinked an eye!

One day, they were on a walking safari, when a lion roared, nearly right in front of them! The lion approached them before stopping, making more noises and then stood his ground, watching as they retreated and moved away. When they'd stopped shaking, their guide told them that the lion was likely protecting his mate, probably a new mate, their group had inadvertently interrupted the lions' honeymoon.

At night and early morning here, in the bush and back at their camp on the river, lion roars were even louder and the elephants did their fair share of trumpeting and bellowing at dawn.

After four wonderful, fun filled and adventurous days, their safari adventure came to an end. They were driven the two hours back to Port Elizabeth and the airport.

Their flight to Johannesburg was brief, one and a half hours. As their flight to London wouldn't leave for several hours, they checked their baggage and met Emelina in Baggage Claim. Lu reflected later that it was great to see someone they knew, that it felt a bit like coming home, at least to a familiar face.

They had time to finally visit the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens, which was lovely and quite different from the bush! When they'd seen everything, Emelina drove them to another favorite restaurant where they had cocktails and told her about their adventures, thanking her again for encouraging them to take both safaris. Over dinner, they gave her the autographed menu from Cape Town, as well as a few other souvenirs they'd brought for her. When it was time, she drove them back to the airport and they said goodbye, urging her to come visit the 'clan', including Liz and Dave Crane, in the UK; she promised to think about it.

Making sure they had their sleep masks, ear plugs, headsets, games, books and other distractions for the long flight home, they boarded. By the time the jet was in the air, Lu was talking to the couple across the aisle about their adventures. Other people heard and joined in. This 11 hour flight would be a short one!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While the senior Gibbses were carousing around Cape Town and Addo Elephant Park, their son and grandchildren decided to accompany their daughter-in-law to her new project. Having ruled out Rome because of her work, Artie mapped out the amount of time she'd need to work on the new project and then showed it to her husband. He looked at it and smiled, "Are you thinking we should go with you?"

"Yes! I'll work Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday while you and the children play. We can fly or, if we leave Sunday, we can take the train!" Artie pursed her lips, "We'll need more adults with us, I don't want you stressed caring for the littles by yourself for most of three days."

"Sarah, James and the Hubbards were interested in Rome, let's see if any of them, or anyone else, wants to go to Amsterdam for a few days. We could return on Friday, either flying or taking the train." Tim smiled, "I'm excited! We've been before, we had fun and we know our way around a bit."

They approached the adults first and found Liz, the Hubbards and the Powells excited about the new plan. Maisie and Penny had already made plans and stayed home, promising to keep their eyes on LJ, Mac and Joe while they were gone.

Once they'd reserved lodging for all of them and purchased their train tickets, Tim, Artie and Claire told their kids. They were so excited, Kyle and Rissa jumped up and down while Greg and Andy grinned from ear to ear, Hope was happy they were going somewhere her siblings liked and Jed squealed. Ainsley and Cal were equally excited, although a little quieter about expressing their enthusiasm.

Early the following Sunday morning, they took the train from Brambury into London to St. Pancras International station where they boarded their train to Amsterdam. The trip took just under 4 hours and soon they were disembarking and heading for their hotel. Claire remarked later that it was so much easier to travel with people who knew where they were going! Their hotel was centrally located, along a canal, although it wasn't close to Artie's project. However, they would be close to a Metro line that would take her very close to her project.

It was still early afternoon and they were all hungry, so after checking into their rooms, the group left again. They had lunch at a café close to one of the canals, everyone fascinated with the boats on the water. Even Jed noticed them and did some baby babbling. Hope answered him, telling him they were boats, sort of like Big Blue, except they moved in water instead of on roads. Her parents and older siblings looked at each other, amazed at the little girl's understanding, she wasn't even 3 yet!

After lunch, Tim and the boys had a call with Patrick, with Rob holding his phone. Then they went for a walk around the city, carefully avoiding the Red Light areas. Stopping for ice cream treats, they continued on, the kids making a list of places they wanted to come back to. On their walk back to the hotel later that afternoon, they stopped at a couple of markets, purchasing food for breakfasts and lunches, which they could take for picnics in their insulated bags brought from home. Back at the hotel, they went for a swim before deciding what to do about dinner. As Artie had preparations she couldn't do until the last minute, i.e. that evening, they decided to eat at the hotel.

Over the next four days, the travelers had a wonderful time while the civil engineer was pleased with the way her project was proceeding. She was able to join her family for dinner on Tuesday night and then met them early Wednesday afternoon when she was finished. She'd have to return in a few months for the final phase but in the meantime, she'd keep track from home.

They'd saved a few places Tim knew she'd want to visit with them, including a boat ride on one of the canals and had a great time that afternoon. The kids loved the city and the older kids as well as the adults were wonderful about helping Tim with Hope and Jed. Thursday, they took a day trip to a region called "Waterland", home to three particularly picturesque villages: Edam, Marken and Volendam. They enjoyed Edam, known now primarily for its cheese, although in the past it had been a shipyard and port.

Marken is the country's most traditional fishing community. The town is on the water and the tides could be temperamental, which led to some interesting architecture over the centuries as residents adapted. Houses were and still are built on little hills or on pilings to keep them dry and out of the wet.

The third town, Volendam, was the most touristy, with many souvenir shops. However, the kids were allowed to help make cheese and they also saw a windmill in action, which fascinated Kyle. The kids were a little sad when told windmills now only exist for tourists, there are no working windmills left. The people who made the cheese and talked about the town as it was, as well as the windmill, were regular people in clothes they would have worn a hundred years ago. They enjoyed the cheeses, Artie and Claire both adding to the Edam they'd purchased in that town. Knowing they were kitschy, they purchased a few souvenirs before making the trek back to Amsterdam.

By now, they'd also become addicted to The Netherland's treat, 'Friet & mayo' or French fries and mayonnaise in paper cones. There were other sauces to be tried, peanut sauce, ketchup with onions and a really messy concoction with peanut sauce, mayonnaise and raw chopped onions.

When they returned to the city, the kids stayed with Aunty Liz, Aunty Sarah and Uncle James while the rest of the adults did some more shopping. Tim had seen something he wanted to bring home for Joe and once Sarah saw the object, she agreed. Artie and Claire each bought a few items and both went a little crazy buying flower seeds as well as tulip and other Dutch bulbs. When Tim fell in love with a cuckoo clock, it and Joe's gift went home with him. They'd taken a vote and were taking the train home.

They pulled into Brambury station close to 4 PM Friday afternoon, after switching trains at St. Pancras. All of them smiled when they saw Joe waiting for them with Big Blue.

Joe said next time they all left, he was either going with them or staying in the City, saying that the three Manor residents left behind, he, Uncle LJ and Grandpa Mac, had wandered around the place like lost souls, laughing at themselves for complaining that it was too quiet. LJ had deserted them for a couple of days calling his buddy in London, catching a ride in with Leon one morning and staying with his friend for two nights. Maisie and Penny took pity on them, making dinner for them one night and Tobias and Gail invited them to dinner another night.

Tim laughed, they'd only been gone 5 nights! Artie shook her head, "Joe, we left plenty of food, we even cooked things for you and froze them!"

"They were great, Artie, thanks! I ate a couple of them on the two nights I was alone. I think they ate at the pub once. I stayed in the City one night; Char and I had dinner with Geo and Bec which was fun. But I missed you!" The kids swarmed him and he laughed, kissing whoever he could reach.

Tim gave him a quick hug, "Thanks for taking care of everything, brother, we appreciate it! In fact, we brought you something."

"Ooh, a present!"

Mac and LJ weren't there, so they gave Joe his present right away. Knowing he was taking care of everything, including keeping an eye on the older men, they'd loaded up on gifts for him, including the gift Tim was most excited to give him. Across from him at the table, Sarah grinned, she was as excited as Tim about the gift.

When Jose was about Kyle's age, his father died suddenly and although his mother worked very hard and little Jose did his best to help, they couldn't afford to pay the mortgage on their home. In her efforts to avoid homelessness, his mother sold almost everything she had of any value, hoping to make enough to rent a smaller home or apartment.

When she and Jose's father had first married, they'd lived in northern Italy, close enough to visit his family in Switzerland, and traveled extensively throughout Europe. Among his mother's prize possessions from those travels was an entire set of Delft pottery dishes from The Netherlands. Now, she sold all but one piece of her beloved set, a small pitcher meant to hold milk or cream. She gave it to her son, telling him to hold onto it so he'd remember when life had been good and that his parents loved him and each other. Two years later, she was killed in a bus accident while Jose was in school. He was put in foster care and eventually ran away from his abusive foster parents, finding Nate's camp and first sharing a tent with Bill, Barry and Freddie and then when Bill left, Geordie.

When Tim met Jose a few years later, his new friend still had his mother's pitcher, it had become almost a sacred object to him and his tent mates, a symbol of hope that things had been better and could be again. Whenever there was a sock or a shirt that could no longer be worn or used for anything else, it was given to Joe to help keep the pitcher safely wrapped. Every morning when he repacked his case, he made sure the pitcher was in the center, well cushioned from any falls against the pavement or any blows by the bullies that tormented the homeless kids.

It happened anyway. One afternoon on the way home from school, they were in high school by then, Barry, Joe and Freddie were accosted by two big men, who after hitting and kicking them, threw their suitcases against a brick wall and then dared the boys to go after them. One of the kinder shopkeepers called the police before managing to get the boys into his store, locking the door behind them and hiding with them in a storage room. The two men, who'd been working to break down the door to the store, vanished as the police arrived and while one of the officers tended to the boys' injuries, the other one gathered the suitcases. It wasn't until they were back at the camp and Big John brought them hot chocolate from the shelter, that Joe gathered enough courage to open his suitcase. They heard the rustle of many broken pieces before he got to the pitcher. Tim, Sarah and Robbie were with them by then, they'd been at the library, and none of them ever forgot the wails of grief and anger from their friend when he unwrapped the pitcher to find it in a thousand smashed pieces, some of it reduced to powder. Nate had hoped that it would be in big enough pieces that they could fix but the damage was too much.

Joe was so distraught that Nate sent Big John to Lu to ask her to call Bill. He came as soon as he could and took Joe and Freddie back to his share rental with him for a few days while Lu called the school the next morning, saying the boys had a family emergency.

If he'd been asked, Tim didn't think he could accurately describe the shape of the pitcher, although he'd seen it many times. However, during their walk their first day in Amsterdam, they'd passed an antique store and there in the window was Joe's pitcher. Although Sarah had only been 7 at the time of the breakage, she agreed with Tim, it was their brother's mother's pitcher.

They stopped at the store later and Tim asked permission to take a photo, explaining why, and then sent the photo to Geordie, Barry, Bill and Rob. He didn't dare ask Freddie, not with Joe sometimes working side by side with him. His brothers each said it was Joe's pitcher and that was enough. While Sarah helped with the kids, Tim returned to the shop to purchase the pitcher.

Now, everyone at the table sat up straight, the kids, Artie and James having heard the story, and watched in anticipation as Joe carefully opened the package. The store owner, perhaps touched by the story of Joe's pitcher, had done a stellar job in wrapping it. Inside the package was a smaller box that he could just see through the pile of packaging 'peanuts'. Pushing those aside, Joe looked up with a twinkle in his eye, "A box of packing peanuts, great, thanks!"

He used his Swiss Army Knife to open the box and then dug through more peanuts. Then there was silence as Joe stared at the pitcher, still wrapped in bubble wrap. Tim shifted restlessly, had they been wrong about the shape? Finally Joe looked up, tears in his eyes, "It's just like the pitcher, my mama's pitcher! How…where?"

Sarah explained, "Tim saw it in a shop window our first day in Amsterdam. We were on a walk with everyone so couldn't stop but went back afterward. I agreed that it looked just like your pitcher but we decided to ask the others. Tim asked permission to take a photo and then he sent it to Barry, Geordie, Bill and Rob. Everyone said it was just like yours. We decided to take a chance that it was the right shape."

Tim finally added, "And we didn't have any raggedy shirts or holey socks, so the shop owner packed it for us."

His brother laughed, "This…thank you so much! I feel like I have my mother back, after all these years." He looked around the table, "Did you all know?"

The kids nodded, the little ones proud they'd kept the secret for Uncle Joe. Finally he took the pitcher out of the box and held it up so everyone could see. Then he realized something, "Freddie doesn't know?"

"He might know by now but we didn't tell him. We wanted to surprise you if it was right and we didn't know how closely you might be working together."

Sarah shook her head, "He doesn't know, I asked the guys not to say anything to him or to Charlotte, Ellie, Bec or Abby."

Joe beamed, "Thanks, Sari! Oh boy, I can't wait to show him and the others – and Mom when they get back. And Char, she knew about it before we met, Geordie told Bec who told her. And Nate, do we have another Skype call set up?"

"Not until the wedding but we can have one before then. He'll be happy too."

"Ok, good, but let's wait until Mom and Dad get home and do it all at once!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Despite the relatively short train ride and the negligible time difference, one hour, Tim was tired that night, falling asleep before Artie came to bed. He slept late the next morning, asking Sarah to drive when they visited Patrick. As they'd missed seeing him in person last Sunday, they were going early, on Saturday and might return the next day. They changed out some of the older postcards, from Prague, Cornwall and their very first trip to Greece, for more current ones, moving the Japanese and Singaporean cards in with the new ones from The Netherlands. Kyle hadn't had time yet but he promised his sleeping father he'd bring a drawing of the train they'd taken to Amsterdam. He'd seen a sketch by one of the street artists in the city and asked his parents to buy it so he could copy it and learn how to draw like the artist, saying he would pay them back from his allowance. With a smile, the artist gave him the sketch as well as some other sketches of his and included his name and address. "Enjoy this and practice with the other sketches, too. When you have learned to sketch for yourself, send me one of yours, all right?"

Beaming with excitement, Kyle promised, holding out his hand for a shake. Tim and Artie also thanked the man, tucking his contact information away. Now, as Kyle talked to Patrick about the train drawing he was planning, he also told him about the sketches the artist gave him and how he was going to learn to sketch. Behind him, Sarah raised an eyebrow at Tim who nodded. They'd talk to Kyle's teachers, encourage him to sketch and draw and hope they discovered what else he'd need. They remembered Kyle studying the obelisk at their grandmother's grave in Singapore, figuring out how it could be opened. They weren't sure what that meant although both realized Kyle always wanted to know how something worked. He didn't take things apart and put them back together again, as Artie did in her childhood, but he always wanted to know 'how' or even better, figure it out for himself.

Back home from Patrick's, Tim and Artie went for a walk out back, enjoying the crisp Autumn air and the red and yellow leaves on the trees and the ground. They waved hello to the shepherd, walking as far as Butterfly Hill before turning back.

Monday morning, Tim joined James in the walk to the Tube station and the ride into the City. They'd brought their bags of souvenirs and laughed at how happy they were to have gifts for their teams.

Their teammates were happy with their desk toys and played with them, off and on throughout the day. Tim and Bec watched them, shaking their heads and then laughed at themselves whenever they found a "windmill" or another toy souvenir in their own hands.

Tim left with his brother-in-law that night, still feeling a bit tired. When he questioned James, the man shook his head, "No jet lag and only 1 hour time difference. Got a bug?"

"I don't know. I don't feel sick or achy, just tired."

James snorted, "Too much time away! Stay home for a few months, that might help!"

"Good point and we don't have anything planned until Winter half-term anyway."

When he told Artie about their conversation that night, she frowned, "Maybe we have been on the go but it's never bothered you before. Is it traveling with the baby?"

"I don't think so, he's no trouble and we've had a lot of help with him and Hope when we travel."

"If you're still feeling tired next week, go see your doctor."

He chuckled, "Which one?"

"The one who isn't part of the family!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The man put his bags in the trunk of the car before going back into the house to make sure everything looked 'normal'. His note was in the kitchen where it would easily be seen. He made a face as his stomach turned. He wondered if he'd eaten something bad or if it was his nerves. Shrugging, he stepped into the garage, pulling the door to the kitchen closed behind him.

Once he was out of town, he relaxed a bit. When he drove across the border, he sighed in relief and then nodded as he was waved through at the checkpoint. He'd forgotten about the license plates.

Forty-five unpleasant miles later, he pulled into a car rental lot and within a few minutes had rented a car, transferring his luggage, personal belongings and papers from his car. He didn't know if he'd be returning here or not. Before he left the lot, he made a phone call. When he disconnected, he felt a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. However, he wasn't done yet.

Hours later, he took an exit from the freeway and using the directions he'd memorized, navigated through the city until he found his destination. Finding a place to park was a good sign and gathering the keys and a large manila envelope, he locked the door and, taking a deep breath, entered the building. At security, he emptied his pockets and handed over the envelope. When the guards asked him his business there, he told them. There wasn't anyone else around and he was here to tell them anyway. Not these particular people, but it was a place to start.

The guard's body language didn't change but the man noticed his breathing had increased. Or maybe it was his imagination. In any case, he was given back his envelope, escorted to the elevator and up three floors.

Following the guard, he came to an abrupt stop at an aisle with desks on either side. A man in a suit stood up, saying the man's name and he nodded, adding his first name. The man in the suit said, "You told Officer Gibson you suspect your wife is one of the domestic terrorists?"

The other man nodded, holding out the envelope, "Here's all the proof I could find. But I have more to tell you. And before I came here, I called the hot line and left a tip, is that what you call it? Said that I suspect her and the man she works for. In Idaho, where we live." He added, "I'm not crazy, although right now I sort of wish I was. I'm a Navy veteran, served my country proudly and I can't believe she's…" His knees started to give way as tears rolled down his face. He'd been determined to get help and to get to safety and now here he was and he still couldn't believe it.

The security guard was still there and caught him before he hit the floor. The man in the suit brought a wheeled desk chair over and they sat him down. Suit man nodded to the security guard, who patted the man on the shoulder and left. Suit man handed him a bottle of water, "Here, better drink this. Are you feeling sick?"

He nodded and shrugged at the same time. "I fell asleep after breakfast, I've never done that before. I felt a little dizzy and sick to my stomach when I woke, that's part of why I decided it was time to get out of there." He drank half of the water in the bottle.

"Did you get sick at all?"

"Yes, in the car, my car. I pulled off the road and threw up, drank a little water, washed my face and hands and kept going."

"Your car? What do you mean?"

"I stopped and got a rental car in Hermiston, left my car there. In case anyone was looking for me."

"All right. I'm Special Agent Ron Sacks, I'm in charge of the team here. Do you feel any better now, think you could walk over to my desk?" He gestured to an office about 6 feet away.

The man nodded, "Yes, thanks." He moved down the aisle, embarrassed by his near-collapse. Once he was settled in the office, he answered the agent's questions, first giving his name, address and date of birth and then his wife's information, including her maiden name.

He'd organized the information in his mind. Now, realizing he was safe, he told his story. "I need to start with what happened over a year ago. We lived in a small town in Georgia, where I'd lived all my life, except for my years in the Navy. She, my wife, is from a neighboring small town. When I retired from the Navy, we moved back there and I went to work nearby, I was in my 40's then. Our daughter was 12 when we returned, she spent the rest of her childhood there. It was small town America, you know? Except there was some sort of undercurrent. I knew it wasn't me, it wasn't directed at me or my family and I couldn't pin it down. Since I'd just become a civilian after 20 years in the U.S. Navy, I chalked it up to being new to civilian life. As I said, our daughter grew up there, when she graduated from high school, she left for college and after that, went to work for the federal government.

"After a couple of years, she was transferred to an office in Athens, Greece. We continued on in our little town, I had a small accounting business and with my pension, we had enough. My wife got her real estate license and worked in a real estate business in town. I tried to talk her into going to Europe to visit our daughter, but she wouldn't budge, saying she'd had to move around for 20 years with the Navy and she was done with that, she never wanted to step foot outside the U.S. again." He stopped to drink the rest of the water before resuming, "After 4 years in Greece, my daughter told us she was being transferred to Washington, DC, the headquarters for her agency. She's with NCIS, that's…"

Agent Sacks had his hand up, "I know who they are, I've worked with NCIS several times. So she was transferring to the Navy Yard? That's a substantial promotion."

"I remember her saying that it was a promotion. But then things changed, the attacks became more frequent and then we were told the attackers were domestic terrorists and they were attacking people of color and everyone on that awful list. The director of NCIS changed Bec's orders to London and then the whole headquarters was moved to London." He nodded his thanks for the new bottle of water that appeared in front of him and removing the cap, took a few swallows.

"When I finally got it through my head that she was still working at Headquarters, I was very proud of her and told her. However, my wife was furious, wanted her to return to the U.S., told her that if she was a real patriot she'd come home. I didn't understand what she meant, but she was so distraught, I chalked it up to her being so upset. However, Marian stopped talking to our daughter, they've never been very close but now she was the Ice Queen when Bec called. It was so bad that I started calling Bec only when her mother wasn't home.

"And things were changing in our town. People we'd been friends with for years were withdrawing from us, and that undercurrent, whatever it was, seemed to grow stronger. Guys I'd known since kindergarten, been friends with, were either distant or overly friendly. I could not figure it out. Then they started talking to us, asking us to join an exclusive club, to help fight for our country, to return it to how it should be. We were noncommittal, not sure what they were talking about.

"At home, my wife's routine was changing. Her normal routine was to do her real estate work part-time four days a week and the rest of the time, she was visiting church friends and playing cards with her lady friends. Then I noticed she wasn't talking about real estate at all anymore but she was playing more games, some still during the day but more at night.

"With the news so grim about the attacks, I worried about her at night but she waved me off, said what could happen in our little town. However, shortly after that, she came home one night, crying, saying she'd been followed by a strange car.

"That was about the time the pressure kicked up a notch or two, for me or us, depending on who was talking, to join this exclusive club to bring the country back to 'normalcy'. We were offered a bribe, which I pretended was a joke, I was followed and I was starting to be afraid of old friends. We talked about leaving but we didn't know where to go or how. Did we take a suitcase each and make a run for it, leave at night or during the day? Still, leaving felt unnecessary. Neither of us were sure what was happening and Marian said I was being influenced by what I saw and heard on the news, that I was reading too much into normal living. To tell you the truth, that idea was comforting. Then one morning I came home from my morning coffee in town and was followed again, this time it was clear it was me they were following. Occasionally, they'd pass each other and get right behind me, close enough that I was afraid they were going to force me off the road. When I got home, I found my wife on the phone with our daughter. That was unusual because of the time difference, Bec was at work and we've never called her at work. And also because Marian hadn't voluntarily spoken with Bec since her transfer to London. As I walked in, I heard her talking about being scared and us needing to leave.

"As I said, we had been talking about leaving, but didn't know if it was better to go at night or during the day or where we'd go. As I walked in the house, I heard her on the phone with our girl, and I could see several vehicles approaching, some of the ones that had been following me and others. They went by the house but while we were on the phone with Bec, they came back and started just driving back and forth. Long story short, our daughter called in the cavalry, or rather one of her co-workers did and we had to be airlifted out by a U.S. Marshal and a Homeland agent. I'm convinced they saved our lives that morning."

He told Agent Sacks about their journey from there. "We stayed in a residential hotel near the Canadian border for a few weeks but Marian hated it, said it was too cold and in the middle of nowhere. So we drove southwest, driving through Idaho. She liked it there, wanted to find a place but I knew there had been attacks in the state and didn't want to stop, especially in a rental car with out of state plates! We continued to Oregon, stopping in Hermiston for a couple of weeks to see if we liked it there.

"I loved it, everyone was friendly and although the town is bigger than we're used to, it was still fairly small and I learned my way around. We bought a car and found a mobile home that was being rented on a short-term basis. We moved in there, it was in beautiful shape. Marian didn't want to have a mobile home park as our return address and with my Navy pension, we needed a permanent address anyway, so we rented a private mail box at a UPS store. You know how those work?"

Agent Sacks nodded and the man continued, "We were in Hermiston for seven weeks and as I said, I loved it. However, Marian did not. She criticized everything and nagged at me about living in Idaho. Then one afternoon, she shows me a letter, a job offer, from a real estate business in Heynes, Idaho. Other than me staying and her going, I didn't have much choice. When Marian's made up her mind, it's set in concrete.

"So off we went to Heynes, Idaho. A town with an even stronger undercurrent than I felt in Georgia." Opening the manila envelope, he showed the agent what he'd discovered. He pointed to a bloodied object in a photo, "I have that in a plastic bag in my suitcase. I found it behind the washing machine. Agent Sacks, my wife isn't selling any real estate. She goes to the office and she talks to people but she and her boss are planning attacks." He pulled out a listening device, in a plastic bag. "She has the key to the real estate office and I made a copy. One day, I waited until they were both out of the office and planted this. I know it can't be evidence, but at least you'll know I'm not crazy." He continued, telling Sacks all of the little and big pieces of the puzzle of his wife's life. "She leaves at night when she thinks I'm asleep, I've always been, or used to be, a heavy sleeper. She comes home hours later and showers but the towels smell like smoke and sometimes like, well, you know how blood smells. And the attacks have increased. Not in Heynes, but within a 30 mile radius."

From his envelope, he pulled out three photos, of assault weapons. "I found these at the real estate office."

Sacks took everything. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"No. I planned to stay with a Navy buddy when I got here but she'd know to check there and I don't want to bring trouble down on his head." He sighed, "I left a note that I'd be at his place, that he'd called saying he needed help. He knows that, I asked him to cover for me before I thought better of it."

"And your daughter's still overseas?"

"Yes. In London."

"Do you know her supervisor's name?"

"I'm not sure. It's either an Agent Morris or an Agent McGee. McGee's the one that called in the helo to rescue us in Georgia. And he's the adopted brother of her fiancé."

Sacks hid his surprise, "Are they Joel Morris and Tim McGee?"

"Yes, that sounds right. Do you know them?"

Sack tilted his head, not giving anything away. "What time did you call the terrorist hotline?"

Childers told him and Sack nodded. "Wait here while I check on that."

Sacks didn't go far, his team was in the bullpen and he asked one agent to verify the call into the hotline and to get a copy of the recording of it. Another agent was given the task of determining the status of the tip, whether any action had yet been taken. It had been four and a half hours since the tip was called in.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim logged into his White Hat account Tuesday evening, feeling he'd been away too long, and found his team celebrating, they'd had a breakthrough just minutes before. Following an anonymous tip to the terrorist hotline that was automatically fed to the White Hats, they'd successfully hacked the computer of a businessman in Idaho, retrieving calendars and a membership list of his terrorist group, complete with names and addresses.

As Tim looked through the list, he blanched when he saw two familiar names: Marian E. and Benjamin A. Childers, along with an address in the same town as the hacked terrorist. Those were also the names of Bec's parents. He knew that because he'd asked Bec when he was filling out the many forms and reports required after ordering the emergency extraction of her parents from their home in Georgia. It had been months since the rescue, but the memory was still with Tim.

Looking at the address listed, he sighed in relief as Geordie said his future in-laws were now living in Oregon. Remembering that Geordie had a late shift that night, Tim sent him a text, asking for the Childers' new address. Geo replied two hours later and Tim looked online, at the Oregon town's website, complete with photos and maps.

The street the Childers lived on was in the middle of town, in fact it was the main street of the small municipality and while Tim didn't see any obvious apartments or houses in the city's photos, that didn't mean they weren't there. Plugging the address into a search bar, he winced when the results appeared.

The address was not a house, apartment, mobile home park or anything residential. It was a UPS store where people could rent private mail boxes that were useable as permanent addresses. He knew because he'd had two. One near the Navy Yard for Gemcity fan mail his publisher sent him and one in Baltimore that was used by the Camp Alumni Non-Profit group and to provide homeless people with permanent addresses for job applications and once hired, Human Resources.

That still didn't necessarily mean anything; however now he started to search for the address listed in Idaho, specifically in the public records of Heynes, the small town in Idaho where the businessman/terrorist and his hacked computer lived. He soon found the rental agreement when Marian E. Childers and Benjamin A. Childers rented the house at the address listed in the terrorist's computer. Their previous address was listed in Georgia and the Oregon address was listed on the forms as an alternate mailing address.

Sick at heart, he knew he couldn't go any further. He was too close to this and any further involvement on his part could get the whole hack, the whole list of terrorists' names and addresses tossed. Yes, the law enforcement agencies had extraordinary powers because of the undeclared war and some of those had been shared with the White Hat community, but the White Hats were also subject to the same rules as law enforcement. If they went off the rails, they'd be shut down, shut out from helping to save lives.

Updating his logs, he sent them to his White Hat lead. Then he asked to meet with the lead, citing the list pulled from the terrorist's server. When his laptop chimed, he started talking. His lead used a voice changer, as did Tim and every other White Hat hacker, with the result that although Tim had worked with this person off and on for years, he had no idea of gender or identity. None of them did, they worked anonymously. Each of them had a unique screen name and, as far as the White Hats were concerned, that was it, although they'd all been vetted before being allowed to join the White Hats, so someone knew. Tim was certain Homeland and/or the FBI knew who they were and obviously his own director knew he was a member of the group.

After telling the lead what steps he'd taken and where he'd stopped, he was thanked for stopping when he did and told that the lead would handle it. Tim smiled when the person asked what he would have done next if allowed to continue. Tim rattled off checking the Idaho State Department of Motor Vehicles for vehicles registered to the Childers and see what address was on record there. He also suggested looking online for photos of them, wondering aloud if their yearbook photos, from the high school in a small town in Georgia, would be online and if any current photos, say from their drivers' licenses could be found.

This was a huge, fubar mess. Not only was Bec, a trusted, up and coming NCIS agent, the daughter of two probable domestic terrorists, she'd requested a rescue of those terrorists. And he'd helped her. His name was on the request to the Marshals and on the records of the request to Homeland.

He felt even worse after he was ordered not to divulge any of this to the daughter of the terrorists and he was barred from any White Hat work until further notice. He figured that at the least, he would have to be vetted again, that is, the White Hat leaders would make sure he still met their qualifications. After the contact ended, he realized he had not received orders to refrain from divulging this to anyone besides Bec. He needed to tell Leon and fast.

It wasn't quite midnight when he sent Leon an email asking for a very early meeting in the morning. He sighed in relief when he had an affirmative reply in minutes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- All of the stories I've included here about animals on the two safaris are true, told to me by my friend Sheri Bell, the lucky one who went on safari in Kenya, not South Africa. The monkeys stealing the curlers, sliding down the sides of the tent, the Masai protecting visitors in Kenya, the cat in the rafters in the bush restaurant, the 'honeymooning lions', the animals napping in front of the van so it couldn't move, the underground hide/bunker, the lions roaring at night, the near battle of the elephants and the Cape Buffalo at the waterhole, the baby who stood under his mama and didn't know what to do with his trunk are all experiences of Sheri and her late husband Bob, who was terrified of the monkeys and I think was the one who left the tent door open. When I mentioned in passing that I would be writing about a safari, she grabbed her photo albums and spent a few hours telling me about their trip.
> 
> -We saw FBI Director Henry Sailes earlier in the story and Agent Ron Sacks is canon. Assistant Director (AD) Callaway is an original character from my story What the Heck Happened? (in the At What Price universe), where he was Tobias Fornell's boss, AD Callaway, who was poisoned by the bad guy.
> 
> In our current story, when Fornell retired, Sacks moved up into his position and is reporting to Callaway. I doubt Callaway will make an actual appearance in the story.


	79. Chapter 79

Chapter 79

After a few sleepless hours, Tim was walking to the Tube station shortly before dawn when a familiar SUV pulled up and the security agent sitting shotgun asked if he wanted a ride into the city. Tim didn't but climbed into the backseat of the SUV anyway.

Leon took one look at his new Deputy and knew it was bad, whatever 'it' was. McGee had been fine at work Monday and Tuesday, diving right back into work after his time away. Usually he was fairly sanguine with problems, working them out, asking for help when he needed it. This time, Vance didn't bother asking if whatever was wrong was classified.

Tim followed the director into his office and after thanking his boss for the cup of coffee he was handed, asked that the SCIF be engaged. Leon nodded and gestured to the conference table.

Sitting, Tim kept his hands around the hot coffee cup, he was cold and felt a little shaky inside. Somewhere in his brain his biometric engineering degree kicked in, diagnosing something close to shock. He sat back in the chair and squared his shoulders, "Last night, I logged into my other workplace and found my teammates celebrating." He told Vance what he'd seen and what he'd done. "Once I confirmed the people on the list were in fact Agent Childers' parents, I sent the results of my work to my lead and then met with that person." He briefly explained their online anonymity. "I was thanked for stopping when I did, ordered not to divulge anything to Bec and I'm suspended from that online community until further notice."

Leon nodded, thinking for a few minutes before finally saying, "I suppose there was always the possibility of something like this happening, finding a familiar name listed as a terrorist. Although not Agent Childers' parents. Here's what I see happening.

"First, there's the plea for help from the Childers, the one that led to their extraction. If they're terrorists, what was that all about? Had their fellow terrorists turned against them? Or was it a way to slip a couple more terrorists into a smaller group? Or…it's possible that if they found out somehow that the Georgia group was about to be arrested, or suspected trouble was coming, that they used Bec, and providentially you, to get them to safety. Possibly they didn't expect actual help but were providing a bit of cover for themselves. Calling her at work might provide eyewitnesses to the cover. It might have been a blind bust, one where there was not a list of names, just the fact that there were terrorists in that town. Whatever the explanation, we can't touch that, we can't touch any of it.

"Homeland will do a thorough investigation of Agent Childers, including her phone calls and any electronic records with her parents. That must happen without our interference. Otherwise there could be suspicions of a cover-up and Bec's record must be spotless. Yes, you and I know it is, but it will be up to Homeland to determine if she knew anything. I don't know whether I'll be informed, strike that, I'm sure I will be because Sailes knows about your other work and may know whatever code you use as an identifier. If Sailes knows, Homeland knows. I won't be able to do much to help Bec, I hope the investigation will be quickly accomplished." He paused, "Do you have any idea how soon they'll be arrested?"

Tim nodded, "It's been four hours and forty five minutes since I blew the whistle. In my experience, the law enforcement entity, whether it's Homeland, the FBI or the Military Defense Squad, moves in immediately. They're probably already in custody."

"Ok. Let's hope Bec doesn't feel the need to contact her parents in the next few days. As for your situation, because of your call for the emergency extraction and your discovery of this information, I'm certain Homeland or the FBI will also investigate you. For the cleanest result, we'll have to let this play out. You'd better work here in the office. I was about to tell you to work from home but I'm afraid that might raise more suspicions. And we need to separate you and Childers, you cannot be seen in her company, nor can you contact her in any manner. That's a direct order.

"Let's do this, between Joel and I, we have enough work to keep you occupied for at least the next week. And because it's classified, you should not work in your office with the glass walls, two steps from the bullpen and Agent Childers. There's a small conference room behind Pam, we'll set you up in there and you can send an email to your teams that you have work from me and cannot be disturbed. Who do you want as SIC?"

"Sir, I'd like to start using the deputy designation. For Asia, Agent Dorneget. For Europe and the United States, Agent Piro. I'm including the U.S. agents with Piro because the time difference between Marseille and the West Coast offices is less than the time difference between them and Tokyo. Also, since we don't know what will happen when this breaks, in this instance I'd rather Agent Piro, who is not related to any of us and does not work in this office with my two sisters-in-law and me, be in charge in my absence.

"May I continue to work on refining my list of INV candidates? I have everything on paper, printed out and I won't make any phone calls before letting you know first. I'm assuming you'll need to monitor any electronic work I do. Would it help to record my phone calls, on the office phone and my cell?"

Vance swore and then sighed, saying, "Tim, I want you to come out of this as sparkling clean as Childers. When are your parents returning?"

"Tomorrow, Director, the 1st."

"Good! You have my permission to tell your father. Not the specifics, no names and this is highly classified, he cannot so much as hint that he's talked with you. Until then you'll have me for support here and your family at home, although they won't know why. I know I don't have to tell you to avoid Geordie and Bec. And no, NCIS will not record your calls, however, it's probable that Homeland will be on your cell and office phones as well as your house phone at the Manor."

Tim closed his eyes, nodding his agreement. Quietly, Leon said, "No good deed goes unpunished. I have faith that you have the inner strength to handle this and I'll be here."

Leon's hope was that, given the United States' Attorney General Peterson and FBI Director Sailes' knowledge of Tim's work and his ethics, they'd work closely and quickly with Homeland to clear him of any conspiracy or any other type of wrongdoing. Bec Childers, however, was about to go through some very difficult times. He thought of everything Pete Russell had said about her, that she had the potential to go far in the agency. If Homeland interviewed Pete, and he hoped they would, that might make a difference.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Deciding it would be better if he tried not to think about the situation or anything related, Tim took his laptop into the conference room, glad it wasn't quite as small as Leon said. There was a desk with an office chair, an office phone, table and chairs for two, a couch, a window and much to his surprise, a double cabinet and counter with a small sink, along with a microwave, mini-fridge, an electric hot plate, an electric kettle, coffeemaker and a toaster, a kitchenette. There was also a closet with pillows, blankets and sheets on a shelf, a TV on one of the walls and a full bathroom.

When he asked Pam about it, she smiled, "Occasionally, there are people we need to tuck away for a few hours or even a day or two. The couch is a sofa bed." She smiled, "It hasn't happened here, but there's a room like this at the Navy Yard, too, and the director has stayed over a few times."

Shaking his head, he returned to his new office, drafting an email to send to his teams and Bec. He didn't think it necessary to notify the other Field Team leads. After Leon approved, he sent it out.

Several minutes later, Leon sent him a note that Tim should get some sleep now, before he and Joel dumped all their work on him. Acknowledging the suggestion, Tim worked on his new agent list for a few minutes before he gave up, grabbed a couple of the blankets, a pillow, took his shoes off and stretched out on the couch, setting his watch alarm for two hours.

He woke when the alarm went off, feeling worse. Now he was groggy on top of cold and still a little upset. When he found himself shivering, he wondered if he'd caught a bug in Amsterdam or on the train. Putting his shoes back on, along with his jacket, he wrapped one of the blankets around him. Then he filled the electric kettle and plugged it in, finding some tea bags in a drawer, along with two coffee mugs, 2 plates, bowls, forks, knives and spoons.

The hot tea warmed him and folding the blanket, he left it on the couch as he returned to work. There were files in his inbox from Joel and Tim got busy with them. He had the blanket around his shoulders again, and was thinking about how hungry he was when Pam knocked on the door, "I'm ordering lunch, what would you like?"

"Hot soup, please, any kind as long as it's hot. And a hot roast beef sandwich, hearty sized, with horseradish. And a bottle of orange juice and more tea bags?" He handed her money to cover the costs.

She touched his hand when she took the money and jumped, "Ooh, you're cold! Oh my gosh, I wonder if maintenance closed the air return in here…" She crossed the room and stood under the air return. "I bet it's closed, I'll get them right up here."

Tim shook his head, "I can do it if you have a step stool." Building maintenance, whether here or at the Navy Yard, were notoriously slow in responding, especially to 'immediate' requests.

Pam Cook was one of the most efficient people Tim had ever met but she was, as she put it, height challenged and this building had 9 foot ceilings. She disappeared, returning with a folding step ladder. In less than a minute, Tim opened the air return and then quickly moved away, shivering again as the first few seconds of air were very cold.

Pam disappeared with the step ladder while Tim sat at the desk again, still wrapped in the blanket. When she returned with the food, Leon came in with her, both looking at their colleague. He had a headset on, with a knit cap on underneath it, a blanket wrapped around him, and was sound asleep. Pam stood under the air return, "It's open but blowing cold air! I'll call Maintenance."

Leon nodded as he put the box of food on the small table before waking Tim. "McGee!"

Tim flinched and jumped up out of the chair, "Boss, call out?" Leon swallowed his laugh, now was not the time to tease!

Looking around, Tim remembered what had happened, what was happening and then realized his boss was standing right there.

"Sir?"

"Thought I'd have lunch with you. Are you feeling all right?"

"No; I'm hoping it's not a bug."

"Huh, let's eat and then see how you feel."

Tim drank the orange juice first, then the hot soup, which felt really good going down his throat. He tried not to inhale the sandwich but it was delicious. He finished chewing and swallowed before he spoke, "Sir, I'm warming up, I was probably just hungry and tired."

"And upset, don't blame you. All right, if you feel like working, fine, otherwise, go home and get a good night's sleep."

"Thanks, Director."

"If there's any news that I can share, I will."

Tim nodded. Finishing his lunch, Leon returned to his office while Tim went back to his files. He worked until 4 before he quit for the day, still emotionally exhausted. He grabbed his jacket and left the office. He slept on the train, relying on habit to wake up at Brambury and he did. The walk in the fresh air felt good. Mentally, he'd reviewed the family's schedule for the week, glad there weren't any special events, no company expected. Then he smiled, his parents would be home tomorrow!

While Tim struggled to get through the shock of his discovery and the ramifications, Leon spent the day fighting his urge to call FBI Director Henry Sailes. He knew he had to stay out of this, for the sake of his agents' careers. That didn't mean he didn't want to know what was happening.

After Tim left, Leon felt even worse. The London team had a call out and while Bishop, Esposito and McCoy were doing a great job, he knew it was probably killing Tim to sit it out. Not only sit it out, but do so in secret, hidden away. He glared at his phone, of all days for it to be quiet!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In Washington, D.C., Henry Sailes was walking to his office when he had a call from his SAIC in Portland, Fornell's former protégé, Ron Sacks. What he heard made him smile. "That's good news, Sacks. How many terrorists did we net?"

"37, Director. The tip was called in by the husband of one of the female terrorists. He made the call as he fled their home, waiting until he crossed the border between Idaho and Oregon. Then he drove to Portland, to bring us what proof he'd found and to tell us his story. More about him in a minute. We left here not quite sure if the wife was involved but when we arrived in Idaho, we had word from the White Hats that they'd hacked the business man's computer and pulled names and addresses of members of the local terrorist group. The wife's name was on there.

"When we put the cuffs on her, she smirked, I don't think I've ever seen a nastier smirk and then she started ranting about people who shouldn't be here, in the country, people that should have gone back to Africa…she went on so long, she covered just about everyone on that list of theirs and admitted taking part in some of the attacks, in Georgia. She was bragging, Director, said she was so good, they sent her to Idaho. She bragged about that, too, said she'd tricked her stupid do-gooder, uh, several derogatory words, daughter into 'rescuing them' from their town in Georgia. When the woman started spitting, we, well, you know, sir."

"Duct tape, yes, her choice. What have you got?"

"Three things. First, the husband's name was on the terrorist list. However, each member had to sign when they joined and we have a handwriting expert checking out his signature. When I told him that he was on the list, he was horrified, he'd been wobbly when he got here and after I told him, he…well, we called the EMTs and they took him to the hospital. They're keeping him for 24 hours observation, he's in the prison ward."

"Your gut feeling?"

"He's not a terrorist, not one of them. And there's another piece I haven't mentioned. When he arrived at our office, he wasn't feeling well and I asked him if he was sick. He said he'd been sick, in his car, which was parked in a rental car lot in Hermiston. The State Police found his car, got it open, found the vomit and are testing it for any toxic substances. Childers reported he fell asleep after breakfast, something he hasn't done since he was a child."

"You have things under control then. Let's keep his name out of the media. If you need to say anything, just say he was distraught when he learned of his wife's involvement and has been hospitalized."

"Thanks. The second thing is the couple's daughter. She's an agent with NCIS in London, leads the field team there and supervises a two agent team in Antwerp. First, we don't know what she knows and second and this is concerning, a year ago she helped rescue her parents from a supposedly imminent terrorist attack in Georgia, with the help of her colleague, Timothy McGee."

Sailes groaned, "Damn! All right, we'll handle that here. You have anything on that?"

"Mr. Childers' statement, which I recorded as he told me. He also wrote it out and signed it."

"That's good and there may be eyewitnesses at NCIS but we're still going to have to investigate her from birth through present day."

"Yes, sir. Ah, you should also know that Agent Childers is engaged to one of McGee's siblings, I think the Marine."

Sailes made another unhappy sound but managed not to swear. Sacks continued, "The daughter is really the second and third item, Director, whether there was any foreknowledge of the rescue and/or any knowledge of her mother's work as a domestic terrorist or even collusion with the mother."

"How long has she been overseas?"

"Five years and four months. She left her hometown immediately after graduating from high school, working and living in Lowell, Massachusetts, where she attended the University of Massachusetts, getting her degree in Criminal Justice. She graduated with honors and went to FLETC in New Mexico rather than the center in Georgia. That might say something or it was just the next session available. Anyway, she worked for a legal firm during her college years, until she left for FLETC.

"After FLETC, she was hired by the Mayport, Florida NCIS office. She spent her probationary year there and did about 5 months more as a junior agent before being transferred to the Athens, Greece, office. She was the junior agent in that office for four years. She was also acting Senior Field Agent in Athens for several months there while the SFA was on maternity leave and she did another stint as acting SFA in London, while their SFA was on leave for two weeks."

Continuing, he said, "In the Spring of 2017, she received transfer orders and a promotion to the Navy Yard, as an SFA. However, before her report date, NCIS headquarters were moved to London and her orders were changed to London where she became the SFA there. Subsequent to her arrival, the Team Lead was bumped up to Assistant Director and Childers was made de facto Team Lead, a spot she still holds. One more thing, when the Senior Field Agent in Athens eventually quit, Childers was offered the job before receiving the transfer orders for the Navy Yard."

Sacks paused for a couple of seconds, "We've only seen her records so far, haven't had a chance to do any legwork on it and I'll send everything we've got. We did find the record of the emergency extraction a year ago. Her mother called Agent Childers' cell, while the agent was at work, and told her 'they' were closing in on them and didn't know what to do. Her father wasn't home when the mother first called, but then he came in, saying he'd been followed home and there's more about the resident terrorists trying to bribe them and putting pressure on them to join. From what we've seen, they asked for immediate help and one of Agent Childers' co-workers, Agent Timothy McGee, who runs some sort of pilot program in various offices, contacted a U.S. Marshal and asked for an emergency extraction. The marshal and a Homeland agent completed the extraction by helicopter. Director, the marshal that Agent McGee contacted is the one I referred him to four years ago, during the IPF problems."

Ron knew he was stepping out on a limb but every instinct he had was telling him this, "Director, I know we need to prove it but I feel strongly that the female terrorist, the mother, threw her daughter under the bus. And McGee too."

Sailes nodded. "I don't disagree; however, we need to prove it, either way, dirty or clean and duped by the terrorist. I need to notify NCIS as soon as possible. Ron, while I notify Director Vance, have your team keep going with the investigation, look at Childers first. I'd suggest part of your team look into Agent Childers' background while the others look at the rescue. And find out how long the mother has been a terrorist, it's possible she's lying about 'being sent to Idaho', that she joined after leaving Georgia, and took the chance to throw not only her husband but her 'do-gooder' daughter under the bus.

"Having said that, do not assume innocence. We need a thorough investigation. If the daughter is guilty, I want her locked up. If she's innocent and a unknowing pawn of her mother's, we need to make sure the world knows she's squeaky clean. IF she is. How long will the husband be hospitalized?"

"Until tomorrow afternoon. After that, I'd like to put him into protective custody. That way, he's not under arrest but we know where we is. If he's not cleared, then we'll arrest him. If he is, then he starts a new life. Again."

"All right. In this case, the priorities, because of their security clearances, are Agent Childers, Agent McGee, then Mr. Childers."

They nodded and Sailes continued, "If Mr. Childers is not involved and was entered onto the membership list without his knowledge, then he's not a terrorist. Pull in another team to work with you but I want the impossible – the NCIS agent investigated from birth to tomorrow and get that wrapped up as soon as possible, either way. If you determine Childers was not complicit with the phony rescue, then drop your investigation into McGee.

"Good job, Agent Sacks. Keep going with it and thanks for bringing me in on it so quickly. And Ron, you report directly to me for this case, I'll let Assistant Director Callaway know."

Walking into his office, he looked at his phone. Although he reported to Peterson, he rarely spoke with him about individual cases and certainly not before the investigation was even off the ground. However, he also knew his boss and Secretary of the Navy Porter were sometimes at the same meetings and events. As soon as Leon knew about this mess, he would notify her. Sighing, he hoped like hell that Bec Childers was not complicit. It would not only tarnish the agency, it would severely damage McGee's credibility and reputation, if not destroying them both. They'd better have enough evidence to declare them crystal clean. He had no doubt about that with McGee, but he didn't know Childers.

Making a decision, he asked his executive assistant to place a call.

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Vance had trouble controlling his personal feelings about the mess. He'd had to do it before, the last time was Parson's witch hunt of the MCRT and he'd lost the entire team, one of them permanently. Now, two of his best agents had their careers on the line and he'd only make things worse for them if he stuck his nose in.

Illogically, he'd hoped for an early call from Sailes but the day dragged on and no call. Tim left for home and Leon shook his head, hoping he'd be able to sleep tonight. He'd be glad when Gibbs Sr. got home, Leon always felt a little itchy when he was out of town. As much as they'd disagreed back in the day, he knew he could count on Jethro Gibbs when it came to crunch time. It was the same personality trait that drew him to McGee, reliability and consistency, although with Jethro, the consistency sometimes made Vance want to hit something.

He was still at his desk, about an hour after McGee left, when Sailes finally called. When Sailes told him what he knew so far and what they would have to do to either clear or accuse Agent Childers, Leon told him what he knew. Once Tim knew that Sailes was aware of his White Hat work, he'd readily agreed to full disclosure of his searches and discoveries to Director Sailes. When Sailes gave an audible sigh of relief that McGee had been the catalyst before handing off the information, Leon relaxed a little bit. He told Sailes about the rest of the early morning meeting and what he'd decided to do to keep the agency in the clear without suspending his agents.

Sailes frowned, "You've got McGee locked up?"

"No! Two weeks ago, we promoted him to Deputy Assistant Director. What I did was give him my private conference room to work in and he'll be working on his DAD work until this mess is cleared up."

"Promotion, good! So he's not working with his team or the field team?"

"Correct. He's not working with anyone but me. Following my direct order, he hasn't seen or spoken with Agent Childers since he left work yesterday, several hours before he logged into his…Henry, how are you going to keep his other work out of things?"

"I don't know, haven't gotten that far yet. Will he continue?"

"Not as of last night. He'll remain offline until he gets the all clear."

"You mean from us?"

"And them."

"Oh geez. One less warrior, we do not need this! Leon, does Agent Childers know?"

"Not from me or anyone at the agency. Because I received the information via McGee's covert work, I decided it was up to you to tell her."

"When we're done with the investigation and if she's in the clear. If she's not, she'll know from the charges when she's arrested."

Leon sighed. "She's clean, but I know you have to prove it and that's fine, good even. She'll have to be squeaky clean."

"Right. I know this is probably an idiotic question, but how close are McGee and his brother, the one who's engaged to Childers?"

"He's the one who rescued 9-year old Tim and 3-year old Sarah at the bus station in Baltimore. He also became their legal guardian when he turned 18."

"Of course. Sometimes I hate this job."

"Me too and I'm told that's a healthy thing."

Sailes snorted and they quickly wound up their conversation. After reviewing his notes, Leon called his boss to tell her. She was understandably not happy, although she didn't blame her agents and she agreed with the investigations.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Artie was surprised when Tim came home early, but she forgot her surprise when she realized her husband was deeply troubled about something. He said he hadn't slept well the night before, that he'd tossed and turned so much, he'd moved to the couch in his office. When she asked if he was working that night, he shook his head, "I'm off all week." Then he smiled, "I'm all yours!"

She patted his face, "I think before anything else, you need sleep, my love. What time did you go into the office this morning?"

"Early, I had a meeting with Leon at 0600. I was walking to the Tube when his SUV stopped and offered me a lift. Our meeting started about 5:45, when we got in. Then I worked on agency files all day, you know the new Deputy stuff."

"Oh, that wasn't good?"

"It was all right but there was a case and I wasn't able to work on it. Honey, after the kids are asleep tonight, I need to talk with you."

"All right. Is everything all right?"

He smiled, "Well, I'm home with my wonderful wife, so yes, everything is good!"

"I will allow that deflection because you've already asked to speak with me later." She followed that with a kiss and then turned her husband and gave him a little push toward their bedroom. "Go, sleep!"

Andy woke him when their dinner was ready. Tim blinked his eyes as he heard his son's voice telling him to wake up. Finally he smiled, "Hey, Flootle Bug."

"Hi, Papa. Dinner's ready. Mama says wash up and come downstairs. Why are you so tired?"

"More sleepy than tired. I couldn't sleep last night and then I left for the City before dawn." Tim shook his head, "I even took a nap and I'm still sleepy!"

"You mean here, the nap you just had?" Andy stood at the bathroom door while his father washed his face and hands.

"No, at work! I'm working on files for my new thing, you know, the DAD thing and Leon is letting me use his private conference room, which has a couch in it. I slept for two hours!"

"I didn't know people got to sleep at work! Except I forgot Grandpa used to make you and Uncle Tony live at the office, right?"

"Your aunt Ellie, too and that was when we had a tough case. And firefighters sleep, and live, at the fire stations while they're on duty. C'mon, I'm starving!"

Although James looked like he wanted to ask or say something, the kids and Sarah provided the conversation over dinner. Tim, Andy and Rissa handled the dinner cleanup and afterwards, the family spent some time together in the family room. James decided not to ask any questions, his brother-in-law looked a bit out of sorts. He was also much quieter than usual.

When the kids were all in their rooms for the night, Tim and Artie sat together on the couch in Tim's office. Tim sighed, "Last night, I found a problem that affects me and other members of the family, although no one who lives here. Until the problem is resolved, I will only be working on my daytime work, and I won't be able to hang out with any family member who doesn't live here with us. No one in the family knows, they cannot know. There must be complete silence about this, no questions, no talk, no guessing, no nothing. If anyone contacts you with questions, just say you don't know and will not speculate. That's what you normally do anyway, right?"

Artie nodded. "Yes, but I haven't had anyone try to get information from me since shortly after they all moved over here."

Tim thought about that, finally saying, "Maybe Dad read them the riot act."

"It could be, since no one has nosed around since then. Are you all right? Is this why you're so tired?"

"I'm not all right, what I found is upsetting and I'm more sleepy than tired. And yes, I think it's part of the reason. The other possibility is that I'm coming down with something I caught on our travels, because I was tired after we got home." He smiled, "I will be all right, as long as I have you and the children to come home to."

They cuddled and then Artie sat up, "What about the dinner on Sunday? Everyone but the DiNozzos will be here."

Tim shrugged, "If things aren't resolved, then I can't see or talk with them. They'll be here to see Dad and Mom anyway."

"Tim!"

"Honey, I can't plan that far ahead." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Maybe I'll be sick and stay upstairs all day. Might be true anyway."

"If we postpone the dinner until the following weekend, will that help?"

Tim thought about it, finally saying yes. "If the matter isn't resolved by the end of next week, then it's even worse than I thought."

"Is there a possibility that it will be resolved by Sunday?"

He twisted his lips. "I'd like to say yes but it doesn't seem likely. However, if it is and we've already rescheduled, that would be fine. If we don't reschedule and it's isn't resolved, then it'll be…awkward at best."

"Then we will reschedule. You're upset, there's no need to make things worse for you."

Mentally adding 'or Bec and Geordie' to Artie's statement, Tim said, "Thank you."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As Leon was getting ready to leave for home, he had a call from Secretary Porter. "Leon, I've just had a call from USAG Peterson and Secretary of Defense Cyrus. They're insistent that Agent Childers and our Deputy Director be put on Administrative Leave until the investigation is complete."

Leon sighed, he'd been afraid of this. "With or without pay?"

"With pay. That was the only concession I was able to wrangle for them, with pay."

"Thank you for that. I'll take care of it tonight. May I tell Childers what's going on?"

It was her turn to sigh, "No, they are insistent on waiting until the investigation is complete. They've got a full media clamp down on it."

"I see. I'll let you know when they've been told."

Disconnecting, Leon made a face as he put his briefcase back behind his desk, notifying his driver that he'd need another half hour. The security cameras showed Childers at her desk, looking like she was working on reports. Trudging to the door, he looked at Pam. "Time to go home, Ms. Pamela."

She looked up, surprised but at the look on his face, simply nodded. Gathering her belongings, she shut down her computer and locked the filing cabinets and her desk. With a quiet 'goodnight' to her boss, she walked out the door, shutting it behind her. He'd only sent her home early once before, years ago and that was shortly before the mess with the Reynosa cartel blew up in their faces or more specifically, shot up a small market in Stillwater, Pennsylvania.

Returning to his office, the director called Childers, saying he needed to see her. When she arrived, he motioned to the chair in front of his desk and she sat. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Agent Childers, I've been ordered to put you on Administrative Leave, with pay. I'm not at liberty to tell you why nor do I know how long you'll be on leave."

Stunned, she stared at him, finally asking, "Is there anything more you can tell me?"

"Yes, don't give up. Also, with the exception of your fiancé, I'm giving you a direct order not to discuss, mention or even hint of this to anyone. I will tell you that if you do talk about it with anyone besides Geordie, it'll make things far worse for you."

Wondering if her legs would hold her up, knowing she was shaking, she slowly rose to her feet. She handed the director her badge and he accompanied her to the bullpen to take her weapon. He remained to watch as she packed a few personal items in her go bag. She walked to the elevator and as the doors closed, she thought she heard Vance whisper, "Don't give up."

In the lobby, she waited for Geordie. They'd planned to have dinner out tonight, he'd pick her up when he finished his duty shift. Now when he arrived, she walked out with her go bag and handbag stuffed full of her personal items. He took one look, put the car in park, set the brake and hurried to her. She shook her head at him, saying, "Take me home, please."

Later, when she started talking, she told him word for word what Vance said. Geordie listened and when she finished, asked a few questions. "When you walked into his office, did he keep you standing?"

"No, he gestured to a chair. There are two chairs in front of his desk; I sat in one of them."

"And he said he'd been ordered to put you on Administrative Leave?"

"Yes, I thought that was a little strange, but I've never been through this before."

"Of course not, sweetie. When he ordered you not to talk to anyone, he said your 'fiancé'?"

"Yes, at first. Toward the end, when he was warning me it would be worse if I talked to anyone but you, he referred to you as Geordie."

"Ok. He said not to give up?"

"Yes, he said it twice. At first when I asked if there was anything he could tell me and then again, when the elevator doors were closing."

Geordie wrapped his arms around his love. "Bec, he sent you messages with his words and actions."

"He did?"

"Yes. First, he had you sit. If he was supportive of you being put on Administrative Leave, angry or upset with you, he would have had you stand. Second, he said he was ordered to put you on Administrative leave. That tells me he was reluctant to do it. Third, he told you not to give up, twice. That tells me that he's on your side and will do what he can to fight for you. Fourth, he called me Geordie. In a situation like that, normally a CO will refer to one's partner by their title. He referred to me as Geordie, not the Captain or Captain Perry or Gibbs."

"Oh!" Bec nodded, "That helps a bit, but I still don't understand."

"I'm guessing you're not meant to and they, whoever that is, don't want you to try."

"Who can give him orders?"

"The Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs, the Attorney General, the President."

She opened her mouth but Geordie shook his head, "Sweetheart, while this feels awful and sounds really bad, from what Vance said, we'd better not try to figure this out. It could truly make things worse. And, who knows, if there's an investigation going on in the States, with the time difference, it could be over by tomorrow or Friday. If it's here in Europe, it might take longer."

He sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her, "I'll stay home with you or if you want to go away somewhere for a few days, we can do that."

"That's a good idea. But we have the family dinner on Sunday."

"So we'll miss a family dinner, we'll catch the next one."

She chuckled at that and relaxed into his arms. "Where shall we go?"

"Mm, Dublin, Paris, Disneyland, Nice?"

"Paris! It won't be crowded and might be less expensive."

"All right, want to fly or take the train?"

"Fly, we can take the train some other time. Do you remember the name of the hotel Tim and Artie stayed in?"

"No, but let's find our own anyway." Geordie had a sudden thought, one he really didn't want to voice but did anyway.

"Bec, we should check with Vance to make sure you're clear to leave the country."

At her look, he held his arms out, "Hey, for all we know, whatever trouble this is has something to do with your visa."

"All right, then what's our Plan B? What's our alternative in the UK?" Bec added, "Someplace where we don't know anyone."

He laughed, "Gretna Green and we'll get married. We've done everything, have our paperwork done."

Bec thought about that. It wouldn't be her dream wedding, but they could do that later.

"Maybe. I was thinking of dramatic ocean waves crashing down."

"Uh…Cornwall? We could rent a cottage, walk on the beaches, go hiking."

"Yes, that sounds wonderful! And let's drive so we can stop at anything we see on the way. I'll call Vance right now."

When she reached the director, now at home, she asked if she was allowed to leave the country for a few days, saying she and Geordie wanted to go to Paris if possible. He said he'd check, asking if they had an alternative in the UK and she mentioned Cornwall.

As Vance expected, leaving the UK was out of the question. Sailes wasn't happy with the request, saying she was lucky they weren't taking her into custody. Leon's response was that since he hadn't been allowed to tell her anything, his agent had no idea how serious this was. Sailes said he'd think about Childers leaving London at all and would get back to him later.

Frustrated, Leon barely refrained from slamming his phone onto the nearest solid surface when he disconnected. As he stood there fuming, he realized he hadn't yet told McGee he was on Administrative Leave. Grabbing his cell phone and a jacket, he left his house, growling at his security team to follow him as he stomped down the street to the Manor.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As the director approached the Manor, he slowed to a stop. He couldn't invite himself into the man's home to bench him. Walking past the Manor, he ignored his security team, finally finding the way to the walking path. He'd walk home that way and then call his Deputy Assistant Director.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Now wide awake after all the sleep he'd had during the day, Tim was restless and taking his phone and a flashlight, told Artie he was going for a short stroll on the walking path. James offered to go with him but Tim turned him down, with a smile.

The chill night air felt good when he stepped outside and Tim stopped to stretch, feeling better than he had all day. Once on the path, he turned left, towards open country. He hadn't gone far when he heard people in front of him. He had one of his knives on him and transferred it from its holster into his jacket pocket. Although there had been no problems in the years he'd lived here, he wasn't taking any chances, he was just edgy enough today, with everything that was going on. Shining his flashlight ahead, he recognized one of Vance's security team and nodded to him. "Out for a walk?"

"Boss is, so we are."

Tim turned back toward the Manor but he was too late. Vance saw him and called his name. Tim turned to look at him. "Director?"

"Need to talk to you."

Tim stood still as Vance approached him and told him the bad news. Tim stared at him for a few seconds, finally realizing this was not Vance's idea, before reaching into his pocket and handing him his badge. "Weapon's in the lock box inside the house." He looked at the security team, "One of them can come with me."

Having no idea what was going on, the team looked at the director, who motioned to one of the agents. Silently, he joined Tim.

No one was in the kitchen, family or living room when they reached the house. The other agent followed Tim into the senior Gibbses' suite, where the lockbox was bolted to the floor of the closet. Tim opened it, retrieved his weapon and handed it to the man. The man quickly wrote a receipt and gave it to McGee.

After Tim escorted the agent to the back gate, locking it after him, he returned to the house, standing in the living room to gather his thoughts. They needed help, this was ridiculous. Mentally replaying Leon's words to him that morning, he realized there was something he could do. He'd hold off another day or two, certain Homeland would have what they needed by then to prove there was no collusion in the airlift. His parents would also be home, perhaps his father would have some ideas.

Locking up and setting the alarm, he retreated upstairs to join his wife. She looked up from her book as he walked in, "What's happened?"

"I'm now on Administrative Leave. I'll still be paid but I'm not allowed to go into the office or work from here and I had to surrender my badge and weapon."

Her mouth dropped open as he stood just inside the doorway. "What will we do?"

"Continue our lives. If this isn't resolved by the end of day Monday, I'll make some calls. I'll ask if Bedford needs a substitute prof."

"That's a good idea. But you'll be paid by the agency."

"I'll submit my resignation."

"Timotheos, you're very angry. Can we talk about this?"

"I am angry, Artie. It's been 18 hours; the part of the problem that involved me should have been resolved by now. When our old team investigated things like this, we worked 24/7 to get the answers. It's unconscionable to leave people hanging like this, disrupting their lives without them knowing why." Pausing, he winced, "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to sound so harsh, I'm not angry with you. And yes, we'll work this out together, what happens next and how it will affect our future. The reasons why, no, that hasn't changed."

"What if you quit?"

"They'll at least want me to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement."

"Will you have to sign it?"

He gave her a wolfish smile, "The calls I'll make might take care of that. May I borrow your laptop?"

"Yes, but not right now, it's building a draft of the new bridge."

"Ok, when you're done. I want to strengthen your security. Already did mine. Told James to do his and Sarah's. I'll do the phones tomorrow."

"All our phones?"

"Yes. I'll do the kids' phones before they leave for school in the morning, then yours when it's convenient."

Reaching over to the nightstand, she handed her phone to him and he got to work. Minutes later, he handed it back to her. "There, no more snoops."

"Someone's been listening?"

"I'm sure they have. I have extra burn phones if you'd rather use one."

"I do have a conference call tomorrow, but I'll use my laptop."

"What time?"

"At 4 PM and the bridge draft will be done tonight. You can tighten security in the morning."

Tim nodded as he started undressing and disappeared into the bathroom. Artie resumed reading when she heard the shower. Emerging from the bathroom a few minutes later, he asked who was doing the airport run and Artie replied, "Sarah and I are going, would you like to join us?"

"Yes, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind! Now, come to bed, Timotheos."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They circled the airport twice before they spotted their two weary travelers emerging from Baggage Claim, pushing a luggage cart. Artie stayed with the van while Tim and Sarah hopped out and headed for their parents, giving each a quick kiss before Tim relieved his father of the cart. "I got it or do you need it to prop yourself up?" His father started to protest and then sighed, "Yeah, probably a good idea. That flight was even longer coming home than going. And I'll be danged if our luggage hasn't gained weight since we checked it!"

Sarah frowned, "More than 11 hours? What happened?"

Their mother huffed, "Nothing, sweetheart. It was 11 hours, it just seemed longer. Much longer."

"Too much fun and you're exhausted! We'll send a text so the kids won't ambush you, no hugging!" Tim leaned toward them, "Can't promise I won't ambush you, though. Missed you both something fierce. Did you have fun?"

"Yes, it was fun, lots of adventures to tell you about. After we sleep."

Sarah grinned, "And eat, we have food waiting for you. Just plain food though, nothing exotic or international!"

They laughed, moving slowly toward the passenger doors as their kids shooed them away from the cargo doors in the back.

They were both asleep when they reached the Manor and then smiled as they stood in the driveway, looking at the house. Lu nudged her husband, "Look, honey, we made it home!"

Jethro grinned, "Yay! What is that old saying, "East, West, home's best!"

Inside, they were directed to the kitchen, to the table and chairs. The kids, off early today, gave each a kiss but didn't push for more. They'd been told about the long flight and that their grandparents needed to eat, possibly take a walk and then sleep for a few hours. Rissa and the boys understood, they still remembered flying to and from Virginia for Christmas and how tired they'd been afterward. Hope didn't remember but she followed her siblings' lead.

After soup and sandwiches, they went for a walk with Sarah, Tim and the kids while Artie disappeared to prepare for her conference call. After the walk, the couple disappeared into their suite. Sarah and Tim set their watch alarms, they'd wake them in four hours.

Tim was in his office three hours later when someone knocked on the door. He opened it to find his dad and pulled him into the office, shutting the door. "Now can I hug you?"

Dad wrapped his arms around his son, "So good to see you and everyone. We had a wonderful time but oh boy am I glad to be home! Three weeks, Timomine!" He stepped back, still holding his son. "We haven't been apart for that long since you were in Cambridge." He chuckled, "It was a first for Lu and me, too…another honeymoon!" He ruffled Tim's hair, "You really did miss me, no haircut while I was gone." With a smile, he continued, "We'll get away when we can, we need that, same as every couple, but three weeks is too long. Although we needed that long for South Africa."

"Otherwise you would have been rushed?"

"Yes; we wouldn't have seen and experienced a lot of what we did."

"Four postcards arrived earlier this week, we guessed they were the first ones you mailed as they were all about Johannesburg or your first safari."

"Only four? We sent one to each kid. Big kids. Eventually. And then we sent a group one for your kids, and one for the twins, Maggie asked us to, for their baby book. We brought extra cards home, thought you'd also like one for Jed's baby book."

"Yes, please, that's a great idea! Freddie and Joe have been in Manchester on a job so Freddie's might have come. Three of them arrived here and Geordie's was the fourth. I haven't talked with anyone in a few days, so more might have arrived."

"Good! We brought presents, too. Is everyone coming over this weekend?"

"No, we had to reschedule to next weekend."

Jethro looked at his son, "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you but it cannot be mentioned to anyone else. Vance gave me permission to tell you and never rescinded it. I'm on Administrative Leave, with pay."

"Why, since when and for how long?"

"It's a long story, he told me last night and I don't know how long."

"Ah son, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

With a huge sense of relief, Tim told him what he could, closing his eyes as his father wrapped his arms around him. He laid his head on his dad's shoulder, "Feels good, I haven't been able to talk to anyone else. How old are we?"

"In father and son years, we're almost four, since our Thanksgiving in Cambridge."

Tim smiled into Dad's shoulder. "Younger than Rissa. So we're allowed to cuddle for a few more years."

"Forever, as far as I'm concerned, Timothy. I know you won't ever tell your kids they're too old to need you. How do you feel about all this?"

Tim tilted his head, sideways on his dad's shoulder, "I had faith it would be a short process, there were plenty of eyewitnesses on our end. But they haven't told the other party anything, although that person is also on Administrative Leave, with pay. There's more but I'll tell you later."

Changing the subject, he said, "We cancelled the trip to Rome when Artie's project got moved up. Instead, we took the train to Amsterdam and had a blast."

"Tell us about your whole trip tonight, son. And then we'll tell you about ours when everyone's here. How'd the kids do when they got back?"

Tim gave him a half smile, "Fine, they returned to school and nursery school on Monday. With only an hour's difference in time, there weren't any problems. And Jed went to the nursery with Hope. Artie had meetings all day, I had work and Sarah had to go into the City and we've decided it's time for him to start socializing with other babies." Tim looked at his father, "We never intended you and Mom to be full-time baby minders!"

Dad chuckled, "We know that but it's been fun sharing in his care, watching him grow. I missed more of Kelly's babyhood than I thought, judging from our experiences with my namesake."

Artie called Tim, telling him his mother was awake and wanted them to join everyone in the family room. Tim and Dad found the kids and the Powells in there, waiting to hear about the Gibbses' adventures in South Africa. When everyone was settled, James and Sarah brought in sandwiches, fruit, fresh vegetables and drinks for an indoor picnic dinner.

Thanking her daughter and son-in-law for the food, Mom said, "I hear most of the family will be here on Sunday. How about we tell you everything then? In the meantime, your grandfather and I want to hear all about your adventure in Rome!"

Artie replied, "We've rescheduled the family dinner to the following weekend; I hope you will tell us some of your adventures before then! My project schedule was changed, so we went to Amsterdam instead of Rome."

They talked some more, the kids telling them more details about their adventures. When their grandparents started yawning, the kids laughed, saying it was time for them to go to bed. Before they did, while everyone was still there, Tim told them that he was taking some time off from the agency and his other work. He said, "I thought I'd see what it's like to have time off and not travel anywhere!"

Andy frowned, "What are you going to do?"

"Tonight, I'll sleep a full 8 hours! Then tomorrow I'll walk the girls and Jed to school and nursery school and then I'm going to write. I started a new book after Christmas last year and I only have 2 chapters written. And, since your mother has started a new project, I'll have lunch at the pub. After that, I have some other projects I'll work on."

"Are you going back to work next week?" Greg looked worried. His father never just stayed home from work and he didn't understand why he wasn't doing his 'other' work either. He knew they weren't supposed to know but he and Andy had never forgotten what Papa told them when the war first started, that he'd have orders to fight but wouldn't be able to tell them about it.

"I'm not sure yet, we'll see."

Rissa looked at her brothers, but they didn't say anything else. She didn't like this, something didn't feel right. But her parents and grandparents were there and they weren't acting a lot different so she guessed she wouldn't worry.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Friday, Tim did just as he'd told the kids he was going to do, although Jed came home with his father. Daddy wanted to spend more time with him while he could.

They played together, bundled up for another walk and then came home for Jed's nap. Jed woke a couple of hours later, hungry and wet. His daddy, who was also hungry, changed him and fed him downstairs in the nice warm kitchen.

Dad came looking for them, "Good, you're both up! Want to have lunch at the pub with us? Sarah and LJ are going too."

"Yeah, that sounds great, Dad. Need a few minutes to get Jedy and me into something warmer."

Jed obligingly finished and accompanied his father upstairs. Tim waited to change until after he'd changed his son, having learned from experience. Back downstairs, Sarah held the baby while Tim picked up the front carrier to put it on. His father stopped him, "Do you mind if I take him?"

"Not at all."

The five of them spent a convivial couple of hours at the pub, the baby alternately sleeping in his carrier and sitting on Grandma or Grandpa's lap. LJ told them more about the empty Manor and how he'd bailed on Joe, staying with his friend in London. "I felt bad, but he and Freddie were working in Manchester and Joe was commuting. He left their van there and took the train home but still, he usually wasn't home until 7:00. And that was too much quiet for me. I hung out with Cesar at the Fornells, Mac, Maisie and Penny at the Hubbards, Ducky and I played chess and rummy and we all came here, but I just got too lonely at the Manor. Leon offered to send Jared over but I didn't want him to be stuck with an old man." He grinned, "I did have a few homemade meals! Tobias, Maisie and Penny, Dani, my buddy's daughter and of course all the great dinners you left for us. Nighttime wasn't the problem, it was the long days. I missed the baby crying or the kids playing, Jethro and Lu laughing, Artie popping in and out with her work, missed all of you!"

Tim nodded, "Think about going with us next time. You won't be bored, that's for sure!"

"Where are you going next time?"

Jethro groaned, "LJ, we just got home!"

"Sure, but you always seem to have the next trip planned."

Artie shook her head, "We're not going anywhere for the rest of the year."

"Huh, well that's only a couple of months."

Jethro opened his mouth to say something about Seattle and San Diego when Tim caught his eye and gave a nearly imperceptible head shake.

Lu sat back, "Artie, your wedding anniversary is before ours, you should plan a getaway."

Tim huffed, "Can we go now?"

That raised eyebrows but he didn't say anything else. When Sarah asked if they were still thinking of going to the U.S. in May or June, Jethro and Lu nodded. "We want to look at property in New England. If there are no babies due or weddings planned, we're going for a couple of weeks."

"Just you two?"

Artie smiled, "If they go during summer half-term, we're thinking of going along and come home a few days earlier than they do. We'll let them look at property while we visit the beaches in Maine or possibly Cape Cod."

"Ooh, Maine or Cape Cod, both sound like fun! And you can see the Porters, if they aren't already over here!"

They laughed at that. Lu thought about going to the U.S., "Ellie, Rob and the Palmers should go, it would be easier for the girls' families to see them than flying over here again. Bec and Geordie too."

Tim didn't say anything, but his father, sitting next to him, noticed he tensed, before he caught himself, when Lu added Bec and Geordie. Jethro remembered his son saying someone else was also on Administrative Leave, so it might be Bec. He put it aside for now, concentrating on the conversations. LJ wanted to go to New England and Sarah said she'd love to show James around and then realized she'd only seen Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut.

Lu chuckled, "So several of us will go and split up to do different things. Some of us will be property hunting, Tim, Artie and the kids will be on a beach, the girls will reunite with their families, oh I forgot Charlotte and Abby! Char's part of the Childers' family and I bet Abby's brothers would be happy to fly in to see her. I don't know whether the boys will be able to go, summer is Bill, Freddie and Joe's busiest time, but Barry might be able to. Maybe Tony, Maggie and the Colonel?"

LJ looked at Artie, "Think your mama would want to go?"

Startled, she thought about it, finally nodding, "She might, she loves to visit new places. I don't think Mimi will, though, she doesn't like long flights." She looked at LJ, "What made you think of my mother?"

"Richard. He's sweet on her."

Tim smiled while Artie replied, "The feelings are mutual. I believe they're trying to figure out how to make their relationship work. He doesn't want to leave his grandbabies and family, she doesn't want to leave Mimi."

Sarah was the only one at the table who was surprised, until she remembered her mother-in-law saying something while they were in Greece. Now she said, "That's easy, six months in Greece, including winter and six months in Marseille."

Lu huffed, "Does she keep her apartment and leave it empty for 6 months of the year? Do they move in with Tony and Maggie for 6 months? Is there room for Mimi when she visits or for the DiNozzos when they visit? Do they leave for Greece after Christmas or before? Does that mean they won't be in Greece for our vacations? That would mean not seeing all of us and missing our Greek Christmas. It sounds easy to us but then we don't have to figure out the details. Jethro and I had it easy, the boys made my decision for me! They said they were grown men and they promised to visit – and they did. And now they're here with us, I win!"

They laughed with her. Tim and Artie excused themselves when Jed started moving around in his carrier, the sign he was beginning to wake up.

When they got home, Artie asked Tim how he felt and he said he was much better, that he finally felt caught up on his sleep. She shook her head, "I wonder if that was cumulative, we do lead busy lives, my love. And you don't help yourself with your two jobs!"

He opened his mouth to disagree but realized she was right. Then he wondered how Bec was doing. At least he knew what had happened, he hoped Vance or someone had told Bec.

Artie had her project to deal with and Tim decided to work on his new INV agent candidate list. He had everything he needed and he knew when he went back to the agency, he'd be slammed with everything waiting for him. He smiled to himself, he also had everything on his hard drive that he'd need for his analysis of the NCIS offices. He was being paid and he wanted to work, Vance could yell at him later.

When his sister, parents and LJ wandered in from the pub, he asked if one or more of them would watch the baby. Lu held out her arms and Jed let out an excited squeal, making them all smile. As LJ said, that was a '4 alarm' squeal!

Tim started upstairs when his dad caught up with him. "Are you working on your book?"

"Not right away, I have real work to do. I've already done the research for two projects and want to start working on them."

His dad frowned, "Timothy, you're not supposed to be working."

"I'm being paid and both projects are things I like doing and I have a deadline on one of them that I don't want to change."

"All right, guess I can't blame you." Dad stopped at the office door and Tim smiled, "If you want to talk, come on in."

Dad followed him in and pulled one of the chairs over to sit next to Tim.. "You're upset about everything that happened, that's natural." At Tim's look, he said, "You are, son, I know your tells. From what you said yesterday, you were hoping for a release to work today. It might still come, Timiny. Remember the time difference. If the investigation is being conducted in the U.S., their Friday is just getting started."

"It is and yes, I know. Dad, this may turn into a witch hunt. May have already done so. I'm prepared to leave the agency and the federal government permanently this time. If this isn't resolved by next Friday, 10 days after it started, then I'm going to start looking for another job, here in the UK. I checked with the regs and I'm allowed to resign while on Administrative Leave. If the decision is in our favor, or at least my favor, then my pension and benefits go with me. I know with our high profile cases and being the MCRT that it wasn't that unusual to have some mud slinging going on. However, this is my 3rd time through this and it stinks. I haven't been culpable, well, let's leave out Parson's attack, otherwise, I haven't been culpable of what they've accused me of or would like to accuse me of. And yet I work my ass off for them, go the extra mile, stick to the rules and I get crap. And especially this, I was helping a colleague who was clearly panicking and in need of help. All the investigators had to do was interview the rest of the folks who were there. I think someone recorded it, the recording might still exist. That should have taken a day, two at the absolute most."

"You're right. However, I'm wondering if this got kicked up the chain of command. Not just Homeland, it could be Defense too. They might be investigating both of you from birth to now."

Grimacing, Tim thought about that before saying, "Then they should be contacting my grandmother, godparents and uncle for anything before the hit and run. Lu and Nate, Mrs. Hoover, Larry and Cyndi, Pete Donovan, management at the bank and at Norfolk. Fornell and Sacks, even their AD Callaway has worked with me. And you, Ducky, Tony, Ellie, Abby, Jimmy, hell, even Ziva. And they should have warrants for all my records, which are all stored offline, I have them."

"Your journals, too?"

"Yes, I have the old handwritten ones well protected and in storage. I also scanned them onto my word processing application so they are electronic documents. For a few years, I stored everything in cyberspace, on the Cloud. Then I did some undercover work on the Dark Web for the Hats and after that I moved everything from the Cloud and onto physical storage devices."

"They're stored here or in the States?"

"Here, they came with us from Cambridge. They'll need to request a warrant from the UK to access them."

"After they've figured out where they are and then, yes. Going out of the country might cause a significant delay, do you remember how long it used to take for an out of state warrant to be approved?"

Tim groaned and his father nodded in sympathy. "How many chapters will you have in that book you're writing?"

"Make that plural books, even with my agency projects! I might become a full-time writer, if I decide not to take the return and cut the cord."

"What will that do to your partner if you do?"

"Yeah, I've thought of that."

His father patted his shoulder. "Have fun working. I still think you're crazy, but I understand." He kissed him on the forehead before leaving. Tim smiled as he booted up his laptop.

Jethro and Lu quietly spent the next few days catching up with their kids, on an individual basis. Each one made a special point of asking their father what was going on. Rob said Ellie wouldn't talk but he knew something was wrong. Freddie said the same thing about Abby, Abby spent her time with them asking nonstop questions about their trip. Tony said he hadn't heard from Tim or Geordie all week, unusual for both of them. That answered Jethro's question but he didn't know what to do about it. Lu tried to schedule a visit with Geo and Bec, only to be gently told they were unavailable for the next week or so. When she told her husband, he shook his head. "That's it! Here's what we're going to do. Make one of their favorite dishes and I'll take it to them. Let me go first, honey and straighten a few things out."

"I don't understand, have we done something wrong? Are they upset with us?"

"No, I think they're in need of our support but afraid of disturbing…things."

"Jethro, say what you mean!"

They were in their suite, so he sat her down and told her what little he could. When he finished, she got up and changed her shoes, "Come help me make that roast beef with the rub that Bec likes and Tim's enchilada casserole that Geordie likes. I don't know what's happened but they need us and they won't turn us away if we have food."

"Honey, I don't think they'll turn us away anyway."

"Do they know about Tim?"

"As closed mouth as our other NCIS kids have been, no. Or they think he's hiding away in a room somewhere, working for Vance. Tim says that was his original cover story."

"Should we stick with that or tell them the truth?"

"Stick with that." Jethro had an idea now about what triggered the investigations, although he didn't know why.

"Jethro…"

"Just trying to help our kids, Ella Rose."

After they made the dishes, they put them in Lu's insulated casserole carrier and borrowed Sarah's new-ish car to drive into the City. Halfway there, Lu sent them a text that they were bringing dinner and to please let them in when they arrived. She smiled at the reply, "Of course, thank you and YUM!" As they parked the car, Jethro asked her not to mention Bec's parents. When she asked why, he said he didn't know, he was following his gut.

While Lu wondered if that had to do with what was wrong or if it was something unrelated, they entered the building. Geordie answered the door, taking the dish carrier and remarking on the wonderful smells. Once he put it in the kitchen, he hugged and kissed both of them. They returned the greetings and then smiled at Bec who also hugged and kissed them. "Welcome home, feels like you're been gone forever!"

"To us too, although we had a wonderful time." They'd brought the gifts for Bec and Geo and handed them over, smiling when both exclaimed in happiness. Lu had been a little worried about her choice for Bec's gift as the colors were a little bolder than she usually wore, but her daughter-in-law tried it on immediately and seemed to be very happy with it.

"Good! Now, how have you two been?"

Bec looked at her and closed her eyes. Lu wrapped her arms around her. "Bec, honey, what's wrong? Is it pre-wedding jitters?"

Bec shook her head and then sat back, reaching for Geo's hand. "I've been put on Administrative Leave and I don't know why."

Jethro frowned, "With or without pay?"

"With, thank heavens."

"That's a good sign."

"We thought so too until we realized if I wasn't paid, my work visa would be void and I'd have to leave the UK. So it might be good or it might just be they don't want me to leave."

"How long has it been?"

"Since the end of the day Wednesday. Oh, I forgot I'm not supposed to talk about it with anyone but Geordie!"

Lu nodded, "Then we won't talk about it! Now, are you hungry?"

When Bec nodded, Geo smiled, "That's good, hon." He looked at his parents, "She hasn't been eating much."

"We made two dishes for you, so you can have whichever you want or both!" Lu smiled, "I also brought cookies for dessert. Kyle, Rissa and Artie made them before they went to Amsterdam; they've been in the freezer."

The senior Gibbses stayed for close to an hour, leaving when Geordie's stomach started growling. They wanted their kids to have all of what they'd brought them, not feel obligated to share.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Friday, Tim received a coded text that told him to check his WH account. As a smiley face accompanied the text, he hoped it was good news and he was right. His lead wrote that he'd been cleared, vetted and asked to resume his excellent work. There was also a note from a screen name that Tim's team called, 'the Big Cheese', the rumored head of the White Hat Hackers. The note congratulated Tim on his findings and overall work and apologized for the overlong delay in clearing him. Two days and he was given an apology. Smiling happily, Tim logged on, working for several hours.

Tim found the weekend easier to deal with. The kids were home, Artie wasn't working and he was supposed to be home on weekends. It rained all day Saturday, which led to playing cards and games and Tim, Artie and Sarah making bread from scratch! James helped and the others, Lu, Jethro and LJ, were duly impressed, loving the fresh bread.

By Sunday, the storm had passed and the sun was out. They went to church and then went home, had lunch, put their jackets and wellies on and went for a walk on the muddy path, engaging in an occasional stomp in the puddles. Jed and Hope had naps when they returned.

Tim alternated between working and writing on Monday and Tuesday. He'd hammered out four new chapters of his book and felt he was close to being halfway through. As far as his agency work, he had his list of INV candidates but would have to wait until returning to work before contacting them. He'd made solid inroads into his analysis of the NCIS offices and, while not yet finished, he was satisfied with the conclusions he'd made so far. By Tuesday evening, he was frustrated that the witch hunt was apparently still in progress.

On Wednesday, one week after the start of all this, he put dinner in the slow cooker and wondered when the hell this was going to be over. He thought of calling Vance but dismissed the idea, if the director knew anything he could tell him, he would have. He decided to wait until Friday to start getting real about his plans to leave the agency. He spent the day on White Hat work, having some success, although it was still not the terrorists' main server he and every other White Hat was convinced existed.

Thursday, he and Artie were eating lunch when the house phone rang. Artie answered it and held the receiver out to Tim. "It's Vance."

Tim made a face; they had an appointment this afternoon and he had White Hat work to do. "Yes?"

"Need you here this afternoon."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You need to come in this afternoon."

"No. I'm busy, can't make it." Tim hung up. They had an appointment with the pediatrician this afternoon, for Jed's six month checkup, a milestone for the little guy and his parents.

They left the house soon after, Artie driving them into the City. The doctor was pleased with Jed, who squealed his own happiness. His height, weight and development were right on target. The doctor was amused that the little boy's features didn't look like either of his parents. His coloring, yes, he had dark hair and his skin was the same tone as Andy and Rissa's. Whereas Tim's eyes were more green-blue, Jed's eyes were blue-green. Tim showed the doctor a close-up photo of his father with Jed, taken the day before, and the doctor smiled, "Ah, a chip off the grandfather block! Yes, I can see his facial structure will likely settle into a similar pattern as he grows up. Is your father pleased?"

Artie chuckled, "He's what the Americans call "over the moon" about it. Tim is his only living child, he lost a daughter when she was young and he didn't know that Tim was his son until 2 years ago. So, yes, he's very happy."

"Wonderful! Now, there are a few more things we need to do today. First, I like to have a 6 month photo to go with his birth photo, so we'll get that taken." The doctor went on to describe the other events that would happen.

Forty-five minutes later, they reached the haven of Big Blue and drove their unhappy baby son home. He'd had 3 vaccinations, with another one given orally and he was not happy, despite being cuddled and having part of a bottle. They'd tried all the tricks, rubbing the injection sites, distracting him with his favorite toy and cuddling but he was still hurting. Tim had been told what to expect and informed that at least 50% of baby's upset during shots was a result of parental upset.

Artie later told Tim that Andy's vaccinations were the worst, because she didn't know what to expect and by the time she had Marissa, she was an experienced mama. That made Tim feel a little better. Eventually, little Jed fell asleep, his zik, otherwise known as a pacifier, firmly in his mouth. The nickname came from Hope; the Turkish word for pacifier is 'emzik', which the little girl adapted as 'zik' or 'zik zik'.

On the drive home, Artie looked at her husband, "How do you feel?"

He chuckled, "I'm glad that's over with for a few months!"

"Good! Are you going to call Vance when we get home?"

"Maybe. I'm curious." He smiled, "Since nobody has stopped us and arrested me, I hope this is good news."

"Then you'll go back?"

Tim looked at her, "Time to talk about it."

She nodded and he sighed, "This is my third time through something like this and I don't want to go through it again. The first two times I was separated from the agency; the first time, Tony, Ziva and I quit, the second time you know about, with IPF. The thing is, I brought the problem to the director's attention in the first place. I just…I hate it. I hate that none of the good things I do matter. Look at this, they promote me to some stupid position and two weeks later toss me out. My life has been examined at least 2 other times by the FBI or Homeland and they STILL felt the need to tear it apart again. It's ridiculous and I don't think I have it in me to chance going through it again. Nor should you have to feel the insecurity of my job, when I'm not even allowed to tell you what happened!"

She took a deep breath, "I knew about that when we discussed you returning after Bedford and accepted it. But Tim, the pressure on you is mounting. Not only with the various positions and work they keep giving you but also the pressure of your other work. Vance must have approved that or you would not have been working the schedule you have been these past months. I don't pretend to understand how a federal agency works but it seems very strange and hard on its employees. If you want to leave, I will support you.

"However, I ask you to think about this: you've been upset and frustrated over this situation, more than I've ever seen…even more than with IPF and Hatman. You are not usually someone who makes decisions when your emotions are too strong. I suggest that you wait, give yourself some time. Perhaps return to the agency and then begin your search for another position. Do so from a place of strength rather than anger and disillusionment."

He relaxed, sitting back against the seat. "All right. What would you think of me returning to Bedford, if there's a position open?"

"A permanent position?"

"Yes."

"I would love it. However, that would mean we would not move to the States and we do have a house there."

"Would you mind not going?"

She smiled and then thought about it. "I would like to continue living here, despite whatever Brexit will bring and I don't mind not living in the States. I feel as relieved as I did a year ago when Vance changed your orders. I know that along with the war of hatred, there are still mass shootings that are unrelated to the terrorists. It's no longer 'just' the schools, it's any public place. I would be very happy not moving there and even happier to stay here. Do you think we'll be able to stay in the Manor?"

"Honey, have you looked at our financial statements? If the Malet family was willing, we could buy the Manor from them and still have money for the kids' college funds, our travels and whatever else we want to do. We could both quit work right now and remain at the Manor, except for the need for medical insurance."

"And we'd have to be citizens to be eligible for NHS. If I could have dual citizenship, I'd agree to that. How about you?"

Tim sighed, "Couple problems there. If I keep my U.S. citizenship, even if it's a dual citizenship, the IRS will be after me for taxes for the rest of my life. And I don't want to give up my U.S. citizenship."

"And what about your parents and siblings?"

"I don't know. I think some of them will want to move back when the war is over and some of them might want to stay. Barry, Freddie and Joe I can see staying. Charlotte loves it here, so does Abby. Barry and Alan are doing well together. However, I don't know what happens to the lab and autopsy when Vance moves headquarters back to DC. Breena will probably want to move home, which means we lose Ducky, too. Tony…I don't know. He's got kids to worry about now, he might not want to return to a country that's still so dangerous – and I'm sure Maggie won't want to, plus her dad's here. I don't know if Bill will want to go home. He's making more money here, he and Nikki seem to be all right."

Artie smiled, "That leaves Sarah, Rob and Geordie."

"Sarah and James will stay. He'll probably need to leave the agency in a couple of years, one more promotion and he'll have gone as high as he can in IT. And there are many tech companies that would love to have him. I don't know if Sarah ever planned to return home after grad school.

"Rob and Ellie are different. I haven't heard Rob talk about the clinic he wanted to open in Baltimore since the shelter and camp were destroyed. I think, but don't know, that Ellie would prefer to be closer to her parents, which makes sense. So I can see them moving back.

"Geordie and Bec, I hope she's cleared and they can move forward again. Oops!"

"Cleared of what? She was the other person under investigation?"

He winced, "Yes and I've been under orders not to discuss it with anyone. Dad doesn't even know. And I still can't tell you what happened."

"All right. Assuming she is cleared, as you say, what do you see them doing?"

"Geo will be happy to live wherever Bec's career takes her and if Vance holds out for a few more years, she could very well be the next director."

Artie laughed, "YAY!"

"Exactly! But to get on that track, she'll need to make a few more moves, to larger offices with more responsibilities for her. And those offices will have to be in the U.S., she's been away for too long now as it is, although she'll get a pass because of the war. And she did an excellent job when she was thrown into running the team and handling some of Joel's responsibilities, when Vance was ill. So, I don't see them staying. Dang, I'm going to miss Geordie."

"Do you see us retiring here?"

He made a face, "Wow, I didn't see that question coming! I don't know, won't it depend on what's going on with the kids, the country and what we want to do? Right now, yes, I'm fine with retiring here but that's at least 18 years in the future."

"It doesn't have to be, if we solve the medical insurance problem."

"You're right!"

They turned onto the street that would take them home and chuckled as they got closer. There were at least 8 dark SUVs parked around the Manor. Artie said, "So, if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain."

Tim just shook his head. They stopped and turned a corner, away from the SUVs. Pulling up near the Hubbards' home, Tim called his father who answered on the fourth ring, Tim figured he was looking for some privacy.

When he answered, he was whispering, "Where are you?"

"Two doors down from Claire's. We saw the SUVs in time. Who's there?"

"Everyone! Vance, Porter and Sailes. They've already met with Bec, she's good."

"Figured that when we weren't chased by sirens. I was a little afraid Cyrus was there too."

"No, thanks be! Are you coming home?"

"I guess."

"Get home, Timothy. Then we can finally talk about whatever happened."

"All right, Dad, Artie's pulling out now." Artie rolled her eyes at the two of them, returning to the Manor and neatly parking Big Blue between the SUVs.

Tim ignored all of it, wishing he could just go upstairs. He smiled at his wife as he gently removed their sleeping son from his car seat and cuddled him. "I'm going to take him upstairs, change him and put him to bed."

"A reminder of your priorities?"

He grinned, "Exactly!"


	80. Chapter 80

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the anonymous reviewer and others who asked if Tim was having a bit of a hissy fit in the previous chapter, you're spot on, he was absolutely having one, thank you for noticing and raising the question. He was tired clear through to his bones, upset at what he found, worried about Bec, worried about Geordie, probably angry and certainly embarrassed at having been played by the Childers regarding the whole airlift rescue. Not to mention that this is the 3rd time his life has been put under a microscope 1) During Parson's 'witch hunt'; by 2) NCIS personnel compromised by the ultra-covert agency IPF after he discovered the coma patient is his brother; 3) Homeland and the FBI for possible collusion with the domestic terrorists. So yes, he was whiny. After all, he's a human fictional character and therefore not perfect.
> 
> And he's not done yet! Read on…hope you enjoy, would you love to hear from you!

Chapter 80

Walking in the front door, Tim and Artie found the trio in the living room with Dad and Mom. They nodded in their general direction and continued upstairs where they took Jed to his room. Once he was changed and in his crib, they returned to the living room.

The two sat down. Across the room, Artie saw Lu roll her lower lip and knew she was fighting a smile. Before either of them said a word, Lu asked how the appointment went.

Jed's parents smiled and Tim replied, "He's perfect, right on track for his age. He had to have 3 shots though and was very unhappy."

Tim looked at Vance, "That's why I couldn't get to the office. There was no way I was going to miss Jed's 6-month check-up." Artie, his parents and Vance noticed he didn't apologize.

Tim looked at the others. "I assume since no one has arrested me, that you've decided I'm not a terrorist after all?"

Porter visibly winced at that. And then glared at Director Sailes, whose superiors were the ones who'd dragged their feet and made this a bigger deal, at least for McGee, than it should have been.

Sailes had the grace to show his embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Agent McGee. My boss and SecDef got carried away in their enthusiasm about finding possible terrorists among Federal agents."

McGee just stared at him, not saying a word. Artie cleared her throat, "I don't know who those people are but from what you've said, they clearly have no respect for their own employees. As an outsider to the politics of the United States, it seems to me that's the way it's become in the whole country, a lack of respect for anyone else." She stood, saying, "I'm glad I'm not a citizen of such a country!" and walked out of the room.

Vance cleared his throat, "Do you have an idea when you'll be able to return to work?"

"Before I say anything, I'd like the decision in writing. Maybe I'll frame all three of them, you know, to hang on my office wall and hope the third time is the charm."

Eyebrows went up but Tim just sat. Porter rose and, giving him a look that he interpreted as 'she was proud of him even if he was being a bit too sassy', handed him a manila envelope with three letters, one from Secretary of Defense Cyrus, one from the US Attorney General Peterson and one from her, with the 'all clear' and a thanks for his patience. Porter's document had more to say but Tim decided to read it later. All three documents had been notarized.

Sailes mumbled something about being sorry to just drop in but Tim ignored him. Looking at Secretary Porter and Director Vance, he said, "I have other work to finish that will take the remainder of today and tomorrow. I'd like to return Monday."

"That's great, Deputy Director, thank you."

"What am I allowed to say and to whom?"

"You and Agent Childers may speak now, of course and your brother. As for the rest, it's up to Agent Childers. We've declassified the discovery you made, however who knows what and when is up to Childers. As for the rescue investigation, that's also declassified. We didn't want to give you a squeaky clean report without letting people know why it's important."

"I'd like a copy of the investigative report on me."

Sailes nodded and handed him another envelope. Tim took it without a word and then looked at the FBI director. "If you'll excuse my language, I know this sucks from my perspective. I imagine it's just as bad from yours."

Sailes replied, "It comes with the job and I've hated every single one of these I've had to do. And yes, it's far worse when it's someone you know and trust, someone you know in your bones is one of the good ones. However, it is sometimes necessary. Unfortunate but I suppose that's one of the risks we take when we sign on." He held out his hand and Tim shook it.

Lu returned, smiling at the three as they walked out the door and then turned on her son. "Now, I want to know what that was all about!"

Tim shook his head, "I can tell you more but not everything. That's up to Bec, it's her story, Mama."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Bec sighed in relief as her laptop chimed with a Skype request from her brother-in-law. She accepted, saying "Tim, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Bec, how are you doing? I can't imagine how you're feeling, I've been so worried about you and Charlotte. I'm sorry you weren't told from the start, I tried everything I could think of to persuade Vance but it wasn't his call either. And I know he tried but it wasn't even SecNav's call. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. I think I'm kind of numb right now, wishing I could stay this way. I…she's always been a bigot, it's the main reason I left home as soon as I could, but she went to church every week and I hung onto that, her faith. I never dreamed she was capable of hating anyone enough to maim, burn and kill. That's so…I don't have words yet. Charlotte and Joe were with us when they told us, they investigated her, too."

"Oh geez, I didn't realize that."

"I'm so thankful for Geordie and Joe and you, all of you, my family. I talked with my dad; he's staying at a friend's house in Portland, where the FBI office is."

Tim was shocked and so relieved that he was glad he was already sitting down. "Uh, I don't know about that part of the story."

"You don't? Then how did you know my mother is a terrorist?"

"I can't tell you over Skype. Is there any chance of you four coming over tonight? I think we all need to talk and Mom and Dad want to see you. Although you probably want to be alone."

"No, I mean yes! We want to see Jethro, Lu, you, Artie, Sarah and James and the kids. We want to feel normal again. Or normal-ish. I need you all, need our family. If it's all right, yes, we'll come and so will Charlotte and Joe."

"Good. Uh, Bec, you said your dad is staying with a friend. How is he?"

"He's pretty shaken. Did you know he's the one who called the tip line? He did that once he crossed the border from Idaho into Oregon. He spent a couple of days in the hospital after he went to the FBI but he's all right now. We're going to have to figure something out for him but that's for tomorrow. Geordie says we'll be there in about 90 minutes, I need to freshen up and we're in Friday commute time now."

"All right, I'll let everyone know you'll be here. Love you all."

He heard Geordie say, "Back at you" as they disconnected.

The kids arrived home from school and of course had seen the SUVs. Kyle reported with a grin that he'd been in the playground and that when he waved, one of the SUVs flashed its lights at him. "Were they here? Who was it?"

"Yes, they were here and it was Uncle Leon, Secretary Porter and Director Sailes. He's the other director who comes to visit his family sometimes."

"Oooh." All the kids nodded, they remembered they'd been here for their Fourth of July party.

Andy looked at his dad, who smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "Andy wants to know why and I can finally tell you! Rissa, would you please get your mother and Uncle LJ if he's around? Greg, how about finding your aunt Sarah and uncle James, I heard him come in. Kyle and Hope, how about you bring your grandparents? Let's sit in the family room."

When everyone gathered, Tim smiled and James, for the first time all week, relaxed. Tim suddenly realized his brother-in-law would have had a work order to remove Tim and Bec's access to the NCIS network. He sent him a sympathetic look and got a woebegone one in return.

Tim started his explanation with that in mind. "First of all, thank you for not asking questions I couldn't answer and a special thank you to James. You rock, bro, and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."

James nodded, finally saying, "You were still here, still alive and nobody had come for you but every day was a worry, Tim, and Vance made it clear I was not to say anything." Tim gave him a hug.

Then he started over. "Ok, I'm going to tell you this as a story with made up names because I can't tell you the real ones.

"During my quiet work Tuesday night, I discovered something bad about someone named Exzee. Now, Exzee isn't anyone we know, but she is connected to someone we do know, someone named Dirf. I found out that Exzee is a very bad person.

"Because I know Dirf, I couldn't continue to do any more work about Exzee. So I put together the work I'd done and gave it to one of the people I work with to finish.

"The next morning, I had to tell Uncle Leon because of what I found and because of Dirf and because of something I helped Dirf with months ago, something good that we thought helped Exzee. Is everyone with me so far?"

Hope nodded, "Bad Exzee, good Dirf, good Daddy?"

"Yes, Hoppie bug, thank you. When I told Uncle Leon, we knew that other people in the government would have to decide whether Dirf really was a good person or was bad and just pretending to be good. And because I'd helped Dirf help Exzee, the government people would have to look at me too, to make sure I was really a good person and not just pretending. Because Dirf and I see each other at work, the government people decided neither of us could work or talk to each other until they decided if we were good or bad pretending to be good. That's why I was home last week and this week.

"Today, Uncle Leon, Secretary Porter and Director Sailes came to tell me that the government people know now, again, that I'm a good guy, I wasn't bad and wasn't just pretending to be good. They agreed Exzee tricked Dirf and me into helping her. They gave me a paper that said I hadn't done anything wrong and that Exzee had tricked Dirf into helping and I'd helped Dirf without knowing any of the story. And that's the end! I'm going back to the office on Monday and will return to my schedule."

Greg asked, "Are you going back to both jobs?"

"Yes. I've been doing the quiet one all week and will continue. I'll go to NCIS Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then will work at my quiet job on Thursdays and Fridays. No work on Saturday or Sunday!"

Andy looked surprised, "Don't you have to be on call with Aunt Bec's team?"

"My team is, your aunty Ellie, Mr. Ray and Ms. Kendra, but I don't have to be unless one of them can't work. That's one of the changes now that I'm a Deputy."

Kyle chuckled, "Daddy, you're too many things!"

"Nah, I'm your mama's husband, your daddy, son to your grandpa and grandma, brother to a whole bunch of sisters and brothers, and…you know, you're right, Kyle!"

They chuckled at that. That helped the kids and the adults with the main story although Tim could see that his sister and mother were trying to figure out who Dirf and Exzee were. Dad, Artie and James knew who Dirf was, nobody here but Tim knew who Exzee was and how she was connected to Bec. Strike that, he was sure his father had it figured out.

Tim and James pulled dinner together, making a simple, although large, casserole dish of macaroni and cheese, with a little sautéed onion and 4 different cheeses, using a traditional English cheese as well as some of their Dutch cheese and some of a Vermont Cheddar they bought at the American Food Store, and slid it into the oven. They'd add pre-cooked slices of chicken and green peas during the last fifteen minutes. Sarah made a salad with Kyle's favorite "crunchy things", Artie made braided rolls, the kids set the table while Dad got the drinks and Lu played with Jed, who was awake and feeling better about his earlier trauma. His siblings were warned to be extra careful with him, their parents explaining the little guy's shots. They shuddered at that, they'd all had flu shots in the recent past.

When they heard Joe's van and another car, Tim slipped outside to greet Bec, his brothers and Charlotte. While he was out there, he quickly told them about Dirf and Exzee. Despite her anger and grief, Bec laughed and Geo beamed at him. Geo and Joe each gave him a strong hug, knowing he'd been through troubles too, simply for helping Bec. They were horrified when Tim told them James had known that he and Bec were both in trouble, either fired or on Administrative leave, he hadn't known which, but had had to keep quiet.

When Bec walked inside, she nearly fell into Lu's arms and let go. Dad was there too and, folding Charlotte in with them, they held onto both women, comforting them as best they could. Eventually, they pulled apart and Bec looked at the kids, who were scared, and Sarah and Artie, who were both crying. She looked back at the children, "I understand your daddy gave me a new name tonight." She reached for them, "I'm Dirf, sweeties and Exzee is my mother."

The older boys were so shocked they stood still before following their siblings in hugging their aunt. Geo followed them and in no time, there was a crying, hugging mass of Gibbses. Finally, a young voice was heard, "Auntie Bec, isn't Grandma your mama? She's not bad!"

Bec half laughed, half cried, "She's my mama now, Rissa, but I grew up with another mother and until today, I called her mom. Now her name is Exzee. But I don't ever have to see her again."

Rissa frowned, wondering how bad a mama had to be for your babies to not want to see you. Her father picked her up and hugged her, telling her they'd talk about it later, just them. She nodded and buried her head in her daddy's shoulder, saying some prayers for her auntie.

Dad finally cleared his throat, they'd moved into the family room by now, "Bec, what I haven't heard is anything about your dad. Is he all right?"

Bec nodded, "Yes and now I understand why Tim thought, well what he thought. She forged his name, Tim. The FBI had a handwriting expert look at the list and they were able to prove he didn't sign the thing. And she gave him a drug that put him to sleep whenever she wanted to go out. The last morning, he had breakfast and then fell asleep, which he hadn't done since he was Jed's age. He was ready to leave then, he had a bag of evidence, he was waiting for her to leave but then she put something in his orange juice."

On a chair nearby, Sarah visibly paled and Tim and Dad reached over to take her hands. Bec continued, "He put everything in the trunk and then drove away, watching the rear view mirror all the way to Oregon, afraid they'd come after him. When he crossed the border into Oregon, he called the hotline and left a tip. As it happens, later they were able to trace the call, so that was another point in his favor. From there he drove to the largest town in Eastern Oregon, only he got sick on the way and threw up in the car. He stopped in that town, it starts with an "H"…" Geordie supplied, "Hermiston."

She nodded and continued, "He was still afraid they'd come after him and of course they knew his license plate ID. He stopped in Hermiston and rented a car, transferring everything out of his car, locking it up and leaving it on the lot. Then he drove to Portland and went to the FBI office, walked in and told the security guard that he was there about his wife." She and Geordie had decided not to say the word terrorist in front of the children, that would be up to Tim and Artie to decide.

"The agent was Ron Sacks, Dad says he knows you?" She was startled when Tim and her father-in-law both smiled. Jethro said, "He's Fornell's former protégé, we worked with him a few times."

"Oh, that's good. Anyway, Dad said they took care of him, he was so shaken, he could hardly stand, he still had a headache from the drugs in the orange juice and he was overwrought. While they got him into a chair, he heard Agent Sacks on the phone with someone, telling them to break into his car if they had to and to test the vomit."

Sarah exclaimed with a smile and Tim and Dad squeezed her hands. "Make sure Abby knows that part, Bec, she saved me years ago by doing that."

Bec nodded, "I know, Sarah, it's called the Sciuto protocol. It's taught at FLETC as one of the forensic protocols for crime scenes, whether they're primary, secondary or tertiary scenes."

"Good!"

"Dad still wasn't doing well, so Agent Sacks called EMTs who took him to the hospital. He was there for two days, Dad says he was in the lockup ward but never knew until later. When he was discharged, the FBI put him into protective custody while they figured out if he was also bad or had been tricked." She looked at Tim, "I don't know all of your part."

He nodded, "I went to work, my other job, that Tuesday night, the first time since our return from Amsterdam. I found my team celebrating as they'd been given a tip that came in from the hotline just minutes before and they found a lot of useful information. When that happens, if it will take too much time for one team to handle, we post whatever we can't handle on a board and other teams can work it.

"I took part of it off the board, looked at names and found Exzee and your dad. Only I didn't know it was them, of course. I set out to prove it was some other people with the same names, praying for a coincidence. I asked Geordie, who sent me their new address in Oregon and well, after a couple of hours I'd found enough evidence to prove to myself that it was your parents. I contacted my lead and turned it over to that person, knowing I could get the whole thing thrown out of court if I went any further, because of our connections.

"I met with Vance at 0600 Wednesday morning and told him everything. We knew I had to stay out of the bullpen and away from you. He set me up in a little conference room in his suite and I worked there all day Wednesday, leaving about 4. I was out back for a walk, by myself, that night, when I ran into Vance's security team and that's when he told me SecDef wanted both of us off duty, although with pay. That was thanks to Secretary Porter, who pointed out that we'd lose our visas if we weren't paid, that the UK government wasn't going to care if we were on Administrative leave, no pay, no job, visas voided. And then we could have gone anywhere.

"Anyway, that's my story, until today when the gang of three showed up to tell me I was a good guy after all." Tim leaned forward, "We're not only clean, Bec, they did such a thorough job that we're both shiny clean. I've been talking with Artie about this, how unhappy I've been, for both of us, but when I read the letter, it's clear that you and I don't need to worry. And if we ever had to do this again, and this is my 3rd time, whoever's looking next time can start with last week and work their way forward. Don't know if that's a comfort to you but it's what Leon wanted for both of us, crystal clear records, with proof, so nothing will hold us back."

Bec nodded, fighting tears again. Tim turned to Charlotte, "Did they give you a letter?"

She nodded and he said, "Bec, this goes for you too. Get certified copies and store the original in a safe place, like a safety deposit box. If you have a safe, put it in there. Bec and I will have copies in our permanent files, and I'll take a notarized copy with me anytime we travel, until I'm sure we weren't put on a no-fly or no-travel list. Bec, Charlotte, we'll each need to check with the State Department about that. Secretary Cyrus or Homeland might have done that and not bothered to tell Secretary Porter or USAG Peterson and I don't trust Cyrus or Homeland to have lifted the ban."

His father nodded in agreement while Geordie sighed. "How fast would that happen, Tim? We're leaving town for a few days after the wedding."

"I'll call State tomorrow. I don't know whether they'll tell me about Bec or Charlotte but I'll try." Tim looked at his watch, "Or DUH, it's early afternoon in the U.S., I'll go try now." Bec got up with him and Charlotte joined them. "We'll do this together."

With a smile, they went upstairs to Tim's office where he pinged Mrs. Bess, relaxing a little when her assistant Blake answered and said, "Are you all right? And will you hold for two minutes? She's just finishing a call and won't want to miss you." Tim nodded yes to both questions and in less than two minutes the Secretary was on Skype with them. "Timit, are you all right? Why didn't you call?"

"We're all right but it's been a difficult 9 days, Mrs. Bess. I didn't want to drag you into this. I was confident we'd be cleared and we were."

Tim introduced Bec and Charlotte. Charlotte was nearly speechless that Joe and Geordie's brother had pinged the Secretary of State, was apparently given priority and now was talking to her like an old friend, calling her Mrs. Bess and the Secretary calling him an obviously affectionate nickname. Tim gave Madam Secretary an abbreviated version of their story, sure she knew the whole thing anyway. "What I forgot to ask when I met with Secretary Porter and the directors this afternoon was if there had been a travel ban on any of the three of us and if it had been lifted."

She twisted her lips, "There was, however, it's been lifted and deleted from all systems."

"Seriously?"

"Timit! Of course! Henry and I trust you both implicitly, remember that we wanted you and Doc G to raise our son if anything happened. I've never met Agent Childers, but Bec, you and Geo sent us an invitation to the wedding and Geordie's a Marine, I trust his judgment! Ms. Howe, I did look at your records and you're as clean as your cousin. Congratulations to all three of you. And Bec, we haven't sent our RSVP yet, but we'll be there. How's your father?"

"He's pretty shaken up, ma'am, but now that I know the whole story, and he didn't have to tell me, he's starting to pull himself together."

"That's good, where is he?"

"Staying with a friend, ma'am, in Portland, Oregon."

"When is he flying over for the wedding?"

"We don't know yet, I was so messed up with this and then today…"

"I understand, it must have been hell. Tell you what, we're coming over early, I have a meeting I need to attend, but we're stopping in London first to drop Henry off. If we can make the dates work, your dad can ride over with us. He's in Portland, if he can meet us in Boston on the 25th, that's the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, he can fly with us. Is he planning to stay for a while?"

"Yes, at least through Christmas. We hope he'll stay permanently, as long as we're here."

"Great. Tell him he can bring whatever he wants to bring with him, clothes, household items, whatever. We'll be light on passengers, only three of my staff are going, so there's plenty of room."

"Ma'am, he'd fly with you on a State Department jet?"

"Absolutely. He's not only a veteran, he also saved a lot of lives by blowing the whistle on that group. As a disabled veteran, he's allowed free flights on DoD owned aircraft when there's room and we definitely have room for him and in this instance, State is close enough to the Department of Defense. It's possible the FBI can find him a seat on one of their flights from Portland to Boston."

"Thank you, that's wonderful. If you'll let me know what time he should be there, we'll coordinate his flight from Portland."

Tim cleared his throat, "Bec, the Porters are right there, if he needs a place to stay overnight or someone who knows you to meet him, I'm sure they'll be happy to do that."

The Secretary smiled, "Larry and Cyndi? Are they going to the wedding? We haven't seen them in years!"

Bec nodded, "Yes, ma'am, they're coming. They haven't missed any of the Gibbs' weddings."

"Great! If one of you will send their contact info, either Henry or I will ask them if they want to fly with us."

Tim smiled, "Just sent it to Dr. Henry."

"Thanks! Bec, I'll have Blake send you the dates and times."

"Thank you, here's my contact information."

Secretary nodded, writing it down and then looked up sharply, "Did one of you say you talked with them _today_?"

"Yes, ma'am. All three of us did."

"Bec, Charlotte, tell me you knew they were investigating you before today?"

Charlotte shook her head while Bec waggled her hand back and forth to indicate she'd known something was happening, saying, "Geordie and I figured out a few things but I had no idea it involved my mother. We thought maybe someone was kicking up a fuss, a year later, about the funds spent on rescuing my parents. I was at the office when there was an announcement that Tim would be working incommunicado for an undetermined amount of time. I told Geo about that after I was put on Administrative Leave the same day and we put that piece together, that he might also be involved. So it was either a case and I couldn't think which one - or the rescue."

"So you both found out today, this very day, that your mother and aunt is a terrorist?"

They nodded and she sighed, "I'm so sorry you had to find out that way, to be told you were found innocent of something you didn't even know had occurred and that your own mother and aunt…I can't imagine. I know there wasn't a good way to tell you but to find that out all at once, that stinks!"

Charlotte couldn't help herself, she giggled at that and Mrs. Bess smiled. "If any of you or any of your family ever find themselves in trouble again, please let me know! I can at least try to help and I promise not to make things worse."

There was a knock on the door and Kyle said, "Daddy, the mac 'n cheese is ready and we're hungry! Mama says to say hello to Mrs. Bess for her and goodbye from you."

Laughing, they dutifully thanked the Secretary and disconnected the Skype call. Charlotte's eyes were still wide, "How do you know her?"

"From MIT. She and Dr. Henry, her husband, wanted to adopt Sarah, Robbie and me when we were there. And then she helped us get Hope back almost 2 years ago."

"Story, Tim!"

He made a noise, "Sarah's better at telling it than I am. C'mon, I'm starving."

Walking back downstairs, Bec thought that so much had happened today, she didn't know how she felt. Glad and relieved to be exonerated, although she'd never known what she was supposed to have done, sickened, horrified and heartbroken about her mother. Although they hadn't been close for many years, she was still her mother. And she was heartbroken for her father, grateful he was safe and healthy, that the FBI had quickly proved his innocence and grateful for her fiancé and their family, and that Charlotte was here with her, that her cousin wasn't alone at home hearing the awful news.

The directors and Secretary Porter hadn't told her any details, but her father told her about the bloodied shirt he'd found behind the washing machine. Her mother hadn't just been a member of the domestic terrorist group, she'd injured, possibly killed, at least one person.

When LJ said grace before dinner that evening, he added a prayer for the Childers family, for strength and grace to deal with their troubles. While the kids kept things going as they ate, Bec, Charlotte, Geordie and Joe let everything wash over them.

Joe was still in shock at everything that had happened that day. Charlotte had called, frightened, asking him to come to Bec and Geo's flat and he'd left the jobsite, this one luckily closer than Manchester, and hightailed it to his brother's place. There he found Leon Vance, whom he knew and two other government officials, he recognized the woman from Tim's swearing-in ceremony three weeks ago. Friendly one week, accuser the next. Man, he was glad he didn't work for the government!

When he heard what they were telling Bec and Char, he couldn't believe it. Bec's mother, Char's aunt, was a terrorist, that was almost inconceivable. Bec was a great person, he already liked having her for a sister, just like Artie, Maggie, Ellie, Abby and of course Sari, and he was horrified that she'd been under suspicion of also being a terrorist. While the government officials were still talking, he idly wondered what these people thought terrorist Bec or terrorist Char would have been doing to further their cause in London?

Now home with more of his family, he felt safe and hoped Char and Bec did, too. His dad walked behind him, stopping to give him a little shoulder rub and an affectionate neck squeeze. Joe relaxed a bit, happy to be the child of Lu and Jethro Gibbs. He was glad all of them were, all the sons and daughters. He wondered what was worse, losing your mother to death at a young age or to find out she'd been lying to you for years and was a monster? He decided Bec's situation was worse, he loved his mother without reservation and honored her while Bec and Charlotte were stuck with the monster. He was glad Charlotte had wonderful memories of her own mother and had been close to her. He remembered something that Charlotte had told him once, when he'd said something about how strong Bec was. She'd said that Bec's strength came from her father, who encouraged her to follow her dreams and from Bec's determination to maintain a civil relationship with her mother and her acceptance that there might not ever be more than that.

Emotionally and physically exhausted, both couples stayed the night. The media lid on the terrorist sweep would be lifted for the morning news cycle and Bec wanted to be with the family. Char wanted to be with her cousin, Joe and Geo along with Bec's in-laws, Joe's family.

Geordie had an early duty shift and would take the Tube into the City. When he slipped down to the kitchen before dawn on Saturday, he found Tim and Dad, the coffee already brewed and breakfast in the oven for him. He looked at his brother, "How long have you been up?"

Tim chuckled, "Since yesterday morning. I planned to work a few hours last night but got caught up in something that we didn't finish until about an hour ago."

"How many hurt?"

"One twisted ankle and a strained shoulder out of 26 people, we used drones to warn them. The guy with the twisted ankle tripped over a tree root and the strained shoulder happened to a woman who was carrying someone's 5-year old. They ran to safety, all of them. And then we had the drones flying in circles around the terrorists so the Defense Squad could find them. The net count was 12 terrorists."

"Net? They use nets or was that the bottom line?"

"Bottom line, 3 of the terrorists chose suicide."

"Wow and you do this how many days a week?"

Tim gave him a look, "How many years did you give to Special Ops? We do what we can, Geordie. This is how I can contribute while keeping my family safe."

His brother grabbed him in a hug. "I know we do, little brother, I know. I just worry about you, it's part of my job as your older brother."

Tim smiled, "I know all about worry, Geo. I'm all right. Leon and I worked out a schedule so I'm with my family on weeknights and on the weekends, without being a zombie."

"Leon knows?"

Tim huffed, "He made it my first priority."

"Wow! That's…how'd he know?"

His brother shrugged and Dad poured more coffee for each of them, tapping Geo's shoulder. He got the message, quit asking questions. Tim had never asked him any questions about his Special Ops experiences and he needed to give Tim the same respect. He was surprised and pleased that his brother had shared as much as he had.

When he was ready to leave, he was startled when his father waved keys at him, "C'mon, I'll drive you to the station, it's frosty out this morning, don't want you slipping!"

He was further surprised when James joined them. His brother-in-law explained that they'd installed an upgrade to the agency's servers last night and he wanted to check in with the implementation team, see how the production testing was going. He smiled, "Can't ask them to come in before dawn if I won't do the same thing." Then he chuckled, "I won't stay long, don't want to make them nervous."

Dad smiled, "Treats?"

"Ordered them from the bakery on the way from the Tube. They'll be ready by the time I get there."

Geo chuckled, "A good boss!"

"Thanks! I learned as I worked my way up, how I would treat my team, what I wanted to do, how I would manage and things I would definitely never do. Sadly, I have had to actually do a couple of those."

"Ugh, life, huh?"

"Apparently. Are you and Bec staying through the weekend?"

"Yes, neither one of us wants to go back to our flat. Bec wasn't allowed to leave London, so we've been stuck inside most of the week. Took walks and went out to eat but she was being watched, so that wasn't much fun. And right now, she needs all of us. I think Char and Joe will stay, too. Uh, we wrote an email to the DiNozzos, the Hubbards, Liz, Penny, the Palmers, the Fornells, the Clachers and your folks, James, and the Porters last night, don't know what the news feeds will say this morning and we didn't want them to be blindsided. Artie said she'll talk with the rest of the Greek family. The Baton Rouge is due into her home port Sunday night, we decided as long as Liz and Claire know, the uncles are covered."

Dad said, "We planned to tell folks but Bec said she needed to. Ok, here we are. You two be careful, love you both."

Both younger men smiled, saying they loved him too as they left the van.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The Manor residents were not terribly surprised when the rest of the Gibbs' siblings and their significant others arrived hours earlier than planned on Sunday. Tim, Artie and the children had just returned from a visit with Patrick when Rob and Ellie arrived. Ellie was so happy to see Tim that she hugged him; with a smile, he hugged back. The DiNozzos had called Saturday after they read the email and saw the U.S. news. Bec felt better after talking with them, the Colonel had even talked with her and Charlotte, telling them they should be proud of who they were as people, as Americans and shouldn't allow Marian's hatred and criminal activities affect their lives. He asked about Bec's father, saying he was looking forward to meeting him at the wedding. The Porters had also been in touch and were happy about meeting Bec's father, suggesting he might want to fly to Boston a few days early, so he could get some rest before the overseas flight and that he was welcome to spend Thanksgiving with them if he'd like. They were excited about flying with the McCords!

When Bec called her dad Saturday night to tell him about the overseas flight with the Secretary of State and the Porters inviting him for Thanksgiving, he was speechless. As the shock started to wear off and reality set in, he'd realized he had no home and the only trustworthy friend he had left was his Navy buddy. Now his kids wanted him to live with them, Charlotte and her boyfriend would also be close. He'd had an email from his son-in-law's parents, expressing sympathy and support as well as letting him know how welcome he'd be. He laughed at the description of their family and life at the Manor.

While he would be eternally grateful for his buddy's support, he desperately missed his daughter and niece and moving to the UK felt like the right decision. He couldn't wait to meet their rescuer, Tim, his son-in-law's brother, who apparently was friends with the Secretary of State. Bec said that's how they ended up with a free ride overseas. When Agent Sacks, who he tended to think of as 'his' FBI agent, arranged for him to fly on an FBI jet from Portland to Boston, he cried again.

In the end, because he didn't have the clothes or shoes he needed for the wedding or winter in London, Larry Porter offered to take him to his tailor to have a tux or suit altered or made and shopping to buy winter clothes. With that in mind, he would fly from Portland to Boston on the 13th, spending two weeks with the Porters before the three of them joined the McCords for the flight to London on the 26th.

Bec was thankful to have something positive to report to the family that Sunday when they gathered. In two days, her father would travel to Boston to start the first phase of his new life. That made everyone happy and relieved.

Eventually, the family got around to their original reason for gathering, to hear their parents' tales of their trip to South Africa. By now, everyone had received their postcards and most had their gifts already. It was fun to hear about the animals on the safaris and the various tours they'd taken, along with the people they'd met. They had a great time watching the recordings their parents made.

When they finally moved from the living room to the dining room, Tim and Jimmy were surprised to find "Happy Birthday" banners and balloons decorating the room. Jimmy's birthday was Wednesday and Tim's was Thursday. Sarah chuckled, pleased with their surprise, "We talked about doing this when we planned the original dinner for last Sunday but Artie and Breena wanted to wait until it was closer to your actual birthdays. Then when we changed our plans to today, including your birthdays made sense!"

Tim looked at Jimmy, "How many birthdays have we celebrated together now, do you know?"

Jimmy thought about it, "Mm, I'm not sure, some years we had cases or you know, didn't celebrate at work. Out of the 14 years we've known each other, I'd say maybe 10 birthdays?"

Tim nodded, "That sounds right."

The two of them beamed at their family. Dinner was Tim's enchilada recipe, made by Artie and James, with a vegetable salad made by Bill and sopapillas made by Sarah and Lu. The salsa was homemade and dessert was a marbled sheet cake, made by Sarah and Breena, with gallons of ice cream provided by Ducky. Jimmy commented on the enchiladas, they were also one of his favorite dishes. Tim was too busy eating to comment but eventually asked his parents if they'd brought home any new recipes from South Africa. Lu held up a new cookbook and they all cheered.

The Gibbs siblings had an agreement not to exchange birthday presents. As much as they loved each other, it was too expensive. However, cards were welcomed and the two birthday boys had fun sharing their cards, which were mostly funny. The DiNozzos joined them for cake and ice cream, via Skype, and stayed for the cards. The kids thought it was fun that Uncle Tony, Aunt Maggie and Uncle Colonel had their own cake and ice cream!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After their lovely Sunday, Tim and Bec admitted they were more than ready to get back to work. Bec, Geo, Char and Joe left very early Monday morning, as Bec needed to go home first, she didn't have work clothes with her, while Tim and James went in on their regular train.

Tim thought of buying treats this morning but he'd feasted so well yesterday, he couldn't bring himself to have more treats. It was just as well, when he arrived, he found a bakery box of goodies in the bullpen and cards left discreetly on his and Bec's desks, welcoming them back, the cards were signed by both teams. As Bec's SFA, Barry's boyfriend Alan, and of course Ellie were at the party yesterday, Tim wasn't surprised they'd spread the word.

That day, November 12, was Veterans' Day in the U.S., a holiday for federal employees. However, the UK celebrated on the second Sunday of November, having a moment of silence at 11 AM. The Manor residents had observed that moment of silence yesterday. Today, they'd work and have another American holiday off. Tim sent an email to the veterans in his family, including Bec's dad, thanking them for their service, remembering his grandfather Gibbs and reminding his father and LJ to wear their Veterans' Day flag pins.

He smiled when he had email replies from his godfather and uncle, they'd reached Brambury late last night. The Baton Rouge, now berthed in her home port, was not scheduled to sail again until sometime in April.

Between catching up with emails and working a case with the field team, Tim didn't have a chance to schedule a meeting with Vance to review the INV candidates' list. He sent a request for a meeting as soon as he got to work on Tuesday, smiling at the quick reply from Pam.

He was so intent on being able to contact his candidates once Vance gave his blessing, that he didn't think about how and when he'd put together his list. Walking into the director's office, Tim joined Vance at the conference table and handed him a folder with a copy of his list.

Vance looked at it, "You're ready? How you'd do that?"

Tim remembered but mentally shrugged. "I'd already printed out everything I needed to review to come up with my list. I actually forgot it at home that Wednesday, locked in my office. I had a list of 20 from my first run-through and took that down to 15. You have copies of everything in the folder, including my rationale for adding or removing."

"You worked last week."

"Yes." Tim kept his gaze steady; as far as he was concerned, this was not up for discussion. Leon shook his head, before deciding not to say anything. He was just thankful McGee and Childers had agreed to return to the agency. That had concerned him and now he wanted to kick himself for doubting his agents. He hadn't thought either of them were in any way complicit or culpable but he'd allowed his own anger and frustration to exacerbate his worries about them returning.

As they went through the list, Tim reminded the director of Bishop's participation in selecting the last batch of agents. He wanted to include Watson and Piro this time. Vance agreed and when Tim returned to his office, he sent emails, with the list of 15 agents attached, to the two agents. Neither was aware of the other's participation and Tim asked each agent to keep quiet about what he was doing. He wanted clean 'picks' and didn't want any rumors circulating.

Bec was a little tense and Tim remembered her father was flying to Boston on a FBI flight today. She sent him an IM when Cyndi Porter texted that her father had arrived; they were on the way home from the airfield.

For the next several days, Matt Watson and Race Piro worked with Tim to identify the next group of INV agents, finally settling on a short list of 7 to fill 5 positions. At that point, Tim informed the Agents in charge of each of the offices that would have a new INV agent. He was particularly pleased that Matt made the suggestion to move his floater, Gage, to Seoul as he spoke fluent Korean. Overall, Matt and Race's picks were solid.

Before Tim began calling his new candidates to offer them INV positions, the American expats celebrated Thanksgiving. Because of the wedding, now scheduled for Saturday, December 1st, the Gibbs clan did not hold their usual dinner with NCIS expats and American students studying at Bedford. The extended family would gather over the weekend but no one outside that group would be there; as it was, they'd have 51 people. Tim checked with Bedford University but the American students who'd feasted with them over the last few years had graduated or moved on. Curious about their lives post university, he emailed each of them Thanksgiving greetings. The results pleased him and he smiled when he read that the families of both students from the American South had relocated to, respectively, Connecticut and California. Those two former students and the one from the state of Washington were employed within U.S. 'safe zones'.

The Morrises had a brunch Saturday morning and most of the NCIS folks went to that. It was fun to see everyone and not have any hosting responsibilities! Lu, Sarah and Artie thought they'd talk with Carol Morris about alternating Thanksgiving brunches or dinners from now on. And then wondered how long 'from now on' would be. And as Lu said, Leon might want to host one sometime.

That afternoon, the Gibbs clan gathered for their Turkey Day celebration. This year, while trying to leave room for Bec and Geo's wedding, their plans had gone from having Thanksgiving the day before the wedding, to 'just' family, to no Thanksgiving at all. However, when Tony reported that Marseille was on call Thanksgiving weekend, it seemed clear they had an answer to trying to do everything on one weekend so the DiNozzos could be there for both Thanksgiving and the wedding. The DiNozzos would miss the clan Thanksgiving this year.

The next day, Sunday, Sarah drove Tim and the boys to visit Patrick. Tim sat, holding Pat's hand while the boys told their sleeping dad about their week. As they left, Tim thought there might have been a slight movement but when he turned to look, nothing had changed. Still, that was the first time in 4 years that there had been a hint of anything, unless he'd imagined it. And as Tim still reminded the boys and Sarah, as long as his brother breathed he had hope.

The Monday after Thanksgiving brought Henry McCord, Bec's dad, Ben Childers, and the Porters to London. Bec, Geo, Sarah, Rob and Tim were at the airfield when the plane landed and the Gibbses were able to spend a few minutes with the McCords, introducing Bec to them. Henry had room in his schedule to come to Brambury for dinner Wednesday night and would try to join them for lunch at the office another day. He had several appointments but was sure he'd be able to see the family before the wedding.

The Porters laughed at being back for another Gibbs wedding. They were staying in the attic suite. The Manor would once again have a full house with the McCords spending Saturday and Sunday nights in the Master where they'd have their own bathroom, while Tim and Artie would be in the 2nd Master, the DiNozzos would be in the library, the twins would share Jed's room, the Colonel was staying in the old gentlemen's room, Mimi and Sophia were staying in the Gibbs' guest room and the senior Powells were staying in their kids' guest room. Susannah, Ian and his parents had an Airbnb they were sharing with the Costas, who were coming from Sorrento on Friday and the Greek twins, Cassie and Matthaíos were also staying there. Neither Gaia or Theo, the twins' parents, nor Sophia's former daughter-in-law Ana would be able to attend the wedding.

The NCIS: Athens group, Pete, Trina Russell and two of their offspring, NCIS office manager Kim and her husband Evander, Artie's 'property guy', and Bec's former co-junior agent, Rusty Mayhew, were staying with friends. The Russells were with the Vances and the others with friends in London. Kim and Evander's friends were former Athenians who would also be at the wedding, Bec told Geo he'd met the woman, Eva, that first day at the café on Aegina. Artie knew her too, Eva and her husband Caleb were not only friends but also her original connection to the 'property guy', Evander.

Dr. Henry was the last one off the jet and it quickly taxied out and left with the Secretary of State. Henry had a ride to his hotel and was soon on his way. Rather than take her dad straight home, Bec and Geordie took him with the Porters to the Manor when he'd meet Jethro and Lu and those who hadn't been at the airfield.

Childers, who asked to be called Ben, was a pleasant man who was still recovering from the shock of discovering his wife was a murdering terrorist. He arrived with his clothes and not much else, having decided to donate all the household furnishings and put everything else in storage. Before he flew to Boston, his Navy buddy and Ron Sacks had driven with him to Heynes, Idaho, to make sure he had everything he wanted. Now he was excited to meet Tim, thanking him for helping to rescue him from his former home in Georgia. He also expressed regret that he'd been caught in 'Marian's murderous web'.

In the scant two weeks they'd been waiting for his arrival, Bec and Geordie found a new flat and with help from their family and friends had moved almost immediately. It meant paying double rent for a couple of weeks but Dad and Mom Gibbs took care of that as well as helping to buy bedroom furniture for Bec's father.

Their new flat had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with plenty of space between the extra bedrooms and the master suite. The kitchen was a bit larger than in their old flat and the living room was much larger. They purchased a bed, nightstand, TV and a recliner for their new roommate.

Once they arrived at the Manor and he met Geordie's parents, Ben was introduced to LJ, Mac, Ducky and Cesar Fornell. Bec was hoping her dad would find common ground with them and maybe occasionally join them for their pub lunches and card games.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

With Bec and Geordie tucked into their new place and the arrival of her father and the Porters, the family settled in to enjoy their guests. Henry McCord arrived for dinner as planned. When he had his first glimpse of the Manor, he stopped in his tracks, grinning. "Is this the remnants of a Manor house?"

Smiling, Jethro nodded. "Tim's our historian, I'll let him tell you the story. It's interesting how it follows the history of the country."

They enjoyed their dinner guest who was interested in everything about the house. While the kids were upstairs, Dad distracted the others so Tim could show Dr. Henry his hidden room. That astounded the older man, who wanted to look at everything that was in there, smiling at the modern table and chairs Tim used for his work along with the number of heaters and lanterns. He also approved of the bracing and insulation that the Gibbses had added in an effort to keep the room in one piece and the wind out.

He'd been able to change his plans and would stay over, his security team driving him to and from his appointments during the week. He insisted on staying in the 2nd master until his wife arrived, then they'd exchange rooms with Tim and Artie. Security was pleased he was staying at the Manor, they approved of the security already in place and that the residents were all Americans, with the exception of James and Artemis. As James worked for NCIS and Artemis was married to a Deputy Director of NCIS, they weren't worried.

As the week progressed, Geordie and Bec felt that after the craziness of the past month, they were ready for the wedding. Although her family worried about Bec, her father and cousin dealing with the hideous blow they'd suffered, the truth was that Bec and Charlotte were handling it well enough, considering.

During her first years at NCIS, continuing into her assignment in Athens, Bec had given herself the gift of therapy to deal with her feelings about her mother. Now she dug deep to bring everything she'd learned to the forefront and in that way was able to enjoy the anticipation and joy of her wedding and marriage with Geordie. Her cousin followed her lead and her father did his best. Bec felt he was dealing with far more than she was and thought some of what he was facing were new emotions. While the daughter had recognized her mother's bigotry years ago, Marian had, for the most part, carefully hidden it from her husband. He was dealing with the knowledge that his marriage had been full of deceit, that the woman he'd loved had been full of hate and that she'd used their daughter and him to further her evil cause. Those days before the wedding, Ben made a conscious decision to let the physical distance from the war in the U.S. help him keep the demons at bay and allow him to also experience the joy of his daughter's new life. If the last days of his marriage in Idaho and his terrified drive to Portland seemed to have the haze of a distant memory around it, so be it – for now.

The family had a schedule for the arrival of their out-of-town guests and were happy that all but the three from the Athens office were staying in Brambury, either at the Manor, with extended family, in a local hotel or Airbnb.

With Lu and her sisters-in-law, Bec had selected a beautiful wedding dress that was simplicity itself and Charlotte, her maid of honor and only adult attendant, found a dress that suited her and complemented the bride's. Lu would wear her ensemble from her own wedding.

Geordie had a tough time selecting his best man, finally putting his brothers' names in a bowl and asking Bec to pick a name. For the wedding, Geordie would wear his dress blues, while his best man, Barry, would wear a tuxedo. As all the Gibbs brothers, except Patrick, had tuxes, Geo asked them to wear them to the wedding, laughingly telling Rob, Tim, Dad and James to wear their tailcoats. Rissa, Hope and Victoria Palmer were the flower girls while Kyle and Victoria's brother Davey were the ring bearers. Rissa and Victoria had new dresses while Rissa's dress from her aunt Sarah's wedding was altered to fit Hope. Greg's suit from that same wedding was altered to fit Kyle and Kyle's suit, also from Sarah and James' wedding, was altered for Davey.

While Geo's new father-in-law had purchased clothes in Cambridge and Boston as planned, he didn't want a tuxedo of his own and they made arrangements to rent one for the weekend. Ben slept a great deal that week and was relieved when told it was jet lag. He suspected it was also due to being able to let go of much of the stress he'd been carrying.

With the men wearing their tuxes, Bec also urged her new sisters to have some fun dressing up. Ellie was particularly happy about that as she had a collection of bridesmaid's dresses that she kept because she liked them but rarely had a chance to wear. When she showed Lu what she was planning to wear, her mother-in-law smiled and asked Bec if she minded a change in her own outfit. Jethro's tease about not finding a dress in South Africa for Geordie's winter wedding had planted the seed and now Lu found a way to wear another of her lovely travel finds without freezing. Artie and Sarah watched, amused, and then turned to their own closets to pull together outfits that would look well with their husbands' finery. Maggie was the only one who bought something new and that was because her shape had changed a bit with her pregnancy and motherhood of the twins.

Bec and Geordie weren't taking their honeymoon right away, they'd wait until February for their nearly month long trip to Australia, one of the few countries Geo was comfortable visiting. Jethro and Lu, after discussing it with their fellow Manor residents, invited Ben Childers to stay at the Manor while Bec and Geo were away. LJ was happy about that as the Gibbses and the Powells would be in the U.S. for several days of Ben's stay. Charlotte thought she might stay out there, too. Working online for her American employer, she loved exploring the City but felt most at home in Brambury with Joe, his family and the open countryside so close.

By late Friday, all of the out-of-towners had arrived. The Russells arrived from Greece around noon. Bec and Geo took Big Blue to the airport to pick them up and take them to the Vances' home in Brambury. They stopped on the way back to have lunch out with Bec's former boss and his family.

Madam Secretary's flight arrived in the early afternoon. To Leon's surprise, she contacted him when the jet landed, asking for a tour of the NCIS office. He agreed and was in the lobby when she and her entourage arrived. The director thoroughly enjoyed the looks of surprise and outright shock as they toured the office.

Tim was working on something with Agent McCoy in his office and was so engrossed he didn't notice anyone was there until Leon cleared his throat. Tim looked up, exclaiming, "Mrs. Bess!" She gave him a hug, shook hands with a speechless Kendra McCoy and admired Timit's office. The team had a call out while she was there and Agent McCoy nearly ran to her desk. The Secretary watched as the field team quickly left, with SFA Alan in the lead, and the INV team got busy. Tim quietly gave her a rundown of what they were doing. When his headset beeped with a call, he spoke with his floater in Singapore who had a quick question about procedures for a case in Vietnam.

When Tim and James arrived home from work, they found the place buzzing with activity. The McCords were ensconced in Tim and Artie's room, the DiNozzos and the Colonel were home, the twins and Jed were making friends, Mimi and Sophia had arrived, along with George and Edith Powell. The Clachers, Costas, Matthaíos and Cassie were in town and came by to say hello, Bill and Freddie were there and the Porters had just arrived home from a day of visiting some of their favorite places. It was a good thing that the babies weren't trying to sleep because the noise level was close to matching the children on Christmas morning.

James made his way to his parents to say hello, while Tim kissed his wife, picked Hope up so she could see and made his way through the crowd, greeting everyone. The babies were in Jed's kiddie corral, set up in their grandparents' suite where the Gibbs kids and their cousins were playing with them. None of the trio were properly crawling yet but they were sitting up, and trying various methods of movement. Jack did a sort of crab movement, pulling and pushing himself sideways with his hips, legs and arms while Diane had discovered that if she was careful, she could roll over once or twice to get where she wanted to go, the trick was to aim herself properly and roll in the right direction. Jed was perfecting the art of scooting on his butt which, although slow, was working all right so far.

The Hubbards, Penny and the Cranes walked in on the heels of Tim and James. The returning sailors were warmly and loudly welcomed home. As the Captain and Admiral were introduced, Nikki, Abby, Rob, Ellie and Barry walked in the door.

Bec, Geo, Ben, Charlotte and Joe arrived about a half hour later. Nikolas and Sergio looked at the crowd, looked at Lu, Artie, Tim and Tony, Nik lifting an eyebrow in question. Laughing, Lu nodded and the others followed him to the kitchen. He and Tim raided the refrigerator, freezer and pantry, finding enough of this and that to make several large pizzas.

In the meantime, Sergio told Jethro he needed to ask questions of the crowd. Jethro whistled and there was sudden quiet. Sergio looked around, "Hello, I'm Sergio Costas, part of the Gibbs Greek family, although I'm Italian and we live in Italy. So, we are making pizza for dinner tonight and must ask if anyone is allergic to anything? Nuts? Meats, vegetables, fruits? I don't know what Nikolas and the others are planning to put on the pizzas. Sarah, if you want your Tabasco peanut butter pizza, you'll have to make it yourself!"

The Porters, Gibbses and Powells laughed quietly while Sarah grinned. "That's fine, your daughter likes it too!" In the crowd, Damaris raised her arm, "That's right!"

Nikki raised her hand, "Would it be possible for me to have a separate, smaller pizza, please? And may I put the toppings on myself?"

"Of course! Sarah is trained in the making of smaller pies, she will help you with that."

When no one said they were allergic to anything, Sergio and Sarah disappeared into the kitchen to help, Sarah promising Nikki they would wear gloves to work with the pizza dough and that she'd let her know when it was time to put her toppings on. Andy and Greg were asked to look for the household supplies of disposable plates, cutlery, napkins and cups. Their grandmother thought they were in the hall closet while Artie thought they were in a cupboard in the laundry room or possibly in a box in the garage. The boys eventually found some of them in the lower cabinet of their grandmother's china hutch in the dining room, stuffed in on top of the china while more supplies were found in the back of the aforementioned cupboard in the laundry room.

When one of the out-of-towners caught a glimpse of pizza dough being expertly tossed in the kitchen, several people gathered to watch. Sarah made two smaller pies, tossing them before calling Nikki into the kitchen to select and place her toppings. She first had her wrap a scarf around her hair, as Sarah and Artie had done, as there was a considerable amount of flour in the air.

Nikki smiled happily when she walked in, everyone was wearing gloves and those with long hair had it tied back and covered. Artie and Tony grated various cheeses while the pies were prepared with a spread of either tomato sauce, pesto or additional olive oil as a base. Fresh spinach was carefully washed and patted dry before being chopped into bite sized pieces and added to the pies, along with bits of fresh basil leaves. Tonight, Nik also allowed mushroom slices to be added, along with slivers of grilled chicken, thin slices of Italian sausage, finely chopped green onions, sliced black olives and the grated cheese. They had a hungry crowd to feed, they needed to use all the ingredients they had on hand!

Nikki chose a thin smear of pesto as a base for her pie, along with fresh spinach, pieces of artichoke heart, some of the grilled chicken, mushrooms, chopped greens and goat cheese crumbles, saving some of that to add after the pizza was baked.

Donning gloves, she had fun applying the pesto to her pizza before placing her toppings. Once done, she watched as Sergio, also wearing gloves, placed the two smaller pizzas in the oven. She smiled her thanks, always appreciative of people's care and consideration in regards to her needs. Her autoimmune system was compromised which meant she had to be extremely careful around other people and rarely ate food prepared by others. During flu season, she wore a mask and gloves to avoid others' germs and when possible, worked from home. She knew many people thought her odd but she was past caring. What might be a simple cold to others could cost her weeks in the hospital or even threaten her life and she wasn't going to risk dying because someone thought she was odd!

Once Nikki was finished, Sarah grabbed a fresh pair of gloves and joined Bill, also gloved, in making salad, finding enough greens and a little of this and that for two big salads. Once the salads were made, Bill filled a separate, smaller bowl with salad and covered it, popping it into the refrigerator. He also poured a salad dressing he knew Nikki liked into a separate container for her. Watching him, Sarah smiled, happy to see how much he cared for his girlfriend.

The boys made pitchers of lemonade and cold tea while Sergio thought to make a mock cheese cake, made with frozen lemonade and nearly frozen whipped cream. However, when he thought about the size of the crowd, he changed his mind and instead surveyed the cartons of ice cream in the freezer, smiling at the bags of frozen cookies he found. With Rissa's help, he located several different toppings they might use and that was dessert: cookie sundaes with several choices for toppings, including peanut butter, slices of fresh fruit, maple syrup, thawed and sliced strawberries and blackberries, milk chocolate, butterscotch or dark chocolate chips along with the more traditional ice cream sauces.

Finally, the pizzas were ready for the ovens and went in, after Sarah and Nikki's pies were pulled out, lightly covered and placed in the warming oven. While they waited, Sergio looked at Tim, "Tell me one thing, my friend?"

"What's that?"

"How is it you have this huge box of gloves?"

Nikki smiled, listening while Artie, Tony and Sarah laughed and Tim shrugged, "We're not really sure why we have them. They arrived with us from the U.S. but it was months before we looked in the packing box they were in. We think they were in the safe house we were staying in and our security detail packed them, thinking they were ours. We use them when we clean, do laundry and when we bake. Saves our hands from a lot of exposure to household cleaners, germs, hot water and a lot of hand washing, leaving us with dry skin, when we prep, cook or bake."

Sergio nodded, "They are very handy. We use them as well, although I have not thought of buying this large a box for home. The restaurant, yes, but not home!"

The kids set the table, putting down hot pads to protect the table from the hot pizza pies and giving each place setting extra napkins. The crowd took turns washing up, the babies were installed in high chairs, two of them borrowed along with cribs, for the weekend, and given appropriate snacks, the kids took a count of people and made sure there were enough benches and chairs to seat everyone. They put the pitchers of lemonade and cold tea on the table, while James and his dad added several bottles of beer and wine.

Everyone was seated and applauded when Nik and his cooks brought the pizzas in. Nik nodded, bowing happily to the crowd. "Enjoy, please! My name is Nikolas Costas, I am the son of Athena, or Mimi as our children call her, the brother of Sophia, the uncle of Artemis and another member of the Gibbs Greek family, although I am the only Greek in my immediate family and I too live in Italy! Sergio and I taught Artemis, Timotheos, James and Sarah how to throw dough and make pizza. I'm happy we can put their lessons to good use tonight!"

After that, the only sounds were happy noises and requests for another slice of this or that pie, or to pass the salad or one of the pitchers.

Relaxing as she ate the best pizza she'd ever had, Bec reflected that she could never have imagined this as their rehearsal dinner. Not that they'd had a rehearsal but it was the night before their wedding. It was a wonderfully casual, unplanned gathering of friends and family with a spontaneous dinner, hand- made, literally, by family members. Next to her, Geo wrapped his foot around hers and they grinned at each other, this was perfect. Nothing fancy tonight.

They'd be a little more formal tomorrow but this was great, nobody would be a stranger at the wedding. Looking around, she saw her dad laughing about something with Grandpa Mac and LJ while the Colonel and Artie's mother were deep in conversation with Secretary McCord. Dr. McCord was talking with Bill, Barry, Ellie and Freddie while Nikki and Abby were having an animated conversation about something. One of the Greek twins, Cassie, was deep in conversation with Rob and Bec remembered Cassie was studying to become a medical doctor. Sarah and the younger of Nik's girls were laughing about something while Kyle listened, giggling and adding his own words. Tim caught her eye and raised his coffee cup in a toast to her. With a smile, she returned the gesture.

 


	81. Chapter 81

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In one of my previous stories/series I added a new Assistant Director to the NCIS: LA OSP office, to replace the late Owen Granger. My OC AD is Assistant Director Ferrer (a small tribute to the actor, who I adored in 'Crossing Jordan'). Neither the canon character of Owen Granger nor my fictitious AD appear in my stories, they're only mentioned as Assistant Directors responsible solely for OSP.
> 
> Also, there's an updated character list at the end of the chapter.

 

Chapter 81

Despite the season, the sun was shining brightly, if not warmly, the next day. When Geordie told Bec it had also shined on Tim and Artie's December wedding as well as his parents' January wedding, she decided it was a good omen, which made her fiancé and her father very happy. After breakfast, they packed up everything they'd need for today and tonight and left the flat. Their wedding clothes were already at the Manor.

The newlyweds were off work the week after the wedding and would spend a couple of nights in a 5 star London hotel, courtesy of their siblings and parents, before taking a road trip. While they were away, Dad Ben would stay with his new family and friends at the Manor. Sunday morning, he and the senior Gibbses were hosting a catered brunch at the Manor for all of the out of town guests, giving Bec and Geo more time to spend with their friends.

The wedding would begin at 2:00, which left plenty of time to party afterward. Rather than having a sit-down dinner for the 90 something guests, food would be served buffet style in the dining room with plenty of tables, chairs and benches scattered throughout the dining room, lounge and family room. As Jenna the wedding planner had back-to-back weddings, she would do the decorating this morning, which, after the 'flash' dinner party last night, was a very good thing!

When Jenna arrived, she was amazed to hear about the dinner, not seeing or smelling any signs of it in the house. The cooking and cleanup crews did a remarkable job removing all traces of pizza making, the kitchen floor had been vigorously swept and mopped and the dining room floor, living room and staircase carpets had been vacuumed.

Jenna decided to use the same arrangement as she had with the last indoor wedding here, that is to have the officiant on the staircase side of the lounge so that guests would be less crowded. Lu told her Bec's mother wasn't attending and that it was a very painful subject. Accordingly, she adjusted the seating so the bride's father would sit with the groom's parents and be surrounded by the rest of his new family. Lu and the senior women of the family discussed it and Mimi, who'd known Bec almost as long as Geordie had, volunteered to sit with Ben during the ceremony.

For the décor this time, Jenna went with a blend of autumn and winter stems and blooms, with a simple holly vine winding up both sides of the staircase. This time, it looked wonderful! She again used cream toned covers for the lounge furniture and the chairs for the ceremony, with a white carpet creating an aisle through the center of the guests, for the bridal party's entrance.

For her bouquet, Bec wanted blooms that reflected their birth months, surrounded by complementary colors. Charlotte's bouquet echoed the dominant color in the bride's bouquet. The only downside to Geordie wearing his dress blues was that he could not wear a boutonniere. However, with just four weeks left of his Marine Corps career, he and Bec decided the lack of boutonniere was acceptable, especially considering the number of shiny medals and ribbons on his jacket. Tony's lapel posy matched the color in Charlotte's bouquet. The flower girls would scatter singular petals of the flowers in both bouquets.

The wedding was lovely, Bec and her dad had a few minutes together before they took their walk down the aisle and both were relaxed and happy. Geo's eyes were glued to his bride, the woman he'd met on a small Greek island three years ago. The Gibbs siblings paired up to read prayers and poetry. Jimmy sang a beautiful solo, accompanied by Tony on a rented piano. He and Jimmy had been practicing on Skype, with Breena, Ducky, Maggie and the Colonel listening closely for any imperfections.

Ben Childers cried as his daughter said her vows, although he was proud and relieved that they were happy tears. He noticed he was surrounded by his new family and felt blessed. The warm, friendly Greek woman who sat next to him told him that she had started out as mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to the Greek family and along the way, she and the Gibbses had adopted each other. She also said that she'd met Bec shortly after Geordie did and liked her right away, they all had. That made him nearly glow with love for his daughter.

The party after the ceremony was a lot of fun with lots of laughter, music and dancing. Bec had asked for a couple of Greek dances, to show her father what that was like. He was amazed as most of Geo's siblings and all of the Greek family, including the Italians, Scots and a few of the Americans, demonstrated some of their favorite Greek wedding dances. Artemis led one, joined to the other women, including Bec, by handkerchiefs and scarves, while her uncle the chef led the men, including Geordie. Even the children, all the way down to little Hope, danced, while the four babies watched, moving and squealing with joy. Jilly who was walking, did her own little dance to everyone's amusement and her parents kept forever the recording of her doing her own thing, followed by her dancing with Penny and then in Granducky's arms. Ben laughed as Maisie, Mac and Ducky did a Highland fling while the others danced Greek.

By 8 PM, the crowd was down to residents and guests of the Manor. The newlyweds had been sent off with much fanfare and gradually the others took their leave.

The caterers had cleaned up so well there was little left to do, much to the residents' relief. The junior Gibbses and the junior Powells would vacuum and sweep again in the morning but for now they were done. Once the littles went upstairs for their nighttime routines, the adults went their own ways. The four older gentlemen disappeared into their room while the Powells, junior and senior, disappeared into their suite, the DiNozzos, Porters and the McCords joined the junior Gibbses upstairs while Lu and Jethro collapsed in their suite.

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Although they'd planned to, none of them made it to church on Sunday. Instead, they slept in or relaxed, finally bestirring themselves when they realized the caterers were due in a little over an hour. By the time they'd arrived, Tim, Artie and the kids were downstairs, ready to help. Ben, LJ and Mac emerged from the former playroom, also ready to help. As the guests began to arrive, Ben, Lu and Jethro welcomed them at the door, happy when the newlyweds sauntered in. Rob, Ellie, Freddie, Bill and Barry came in a few minutes later with Charlotte and Joe hot on their heels. Nikki, Alan and Abby had begged off.

Ben was surprised when one of the Greek fellows, Evander, who was not related to anyone here, said that he and his wife were responsible for Geordie and Bec meeting. He and his wife Kim had fun telling Bec's dad about their day on the little Greek island after a long, hard week at work, how Artemis had contacted Evander to rent vacation houses on the island while Geordie tagged along with his brother, sister-in-law and the kids. They'd met in a small café near the beach and neither Geordie nor Bec ever saw much of anything else, as they spent all their time talking with each other. Kim added that Geordie's leg was still bad then and he walked with a cane, so Bec had given him a sightseeing tour of Athens by car. Ben nodded, he'd been told by his daughter, weeks later when she was TAD in London, that she was going to see a Marine she'd met in Greece. He'd never heard the whole story before.

The Russells, his daughter's former boss and family, told him more about Bec's life in Greece and how much they missed her when she was promoted to London. Director Vance and his lady friend had returned for the brunch, much to Ben's surprise, he'd thought their attendance at the wedding was a courtesy. Then he heard the children call him 'Uncle Leon' and understood a little more. The man took him aside to tell him how much he valued Bec, her work ethic and excellent investigative skills and that he was happy she'd found love. He told Ben that many agents were more or less 'married to the job' and he was always happy when one of them married and started a family. When Ben asked about the large Gibbs family, Leon told him a few stories about Jethro and his old team, how much the man had mellowed and how the family had expanded from a 'work family' to more, evolving into today's large happy group.

Kim, Evander and Rusty said their goodbyes after a few hours at the Manor, they were flying home that afternoon. With Lydia in charge of the team, Pete Russell and his family were spending a few days in London. His wife said it was nearly impossible to pry him away from work and she was going to take advantage! On his tour of the Manor, Ben remarked on a few of the paintings he saw and now that the artist was in the house, the older man commented that he was a fan. She thanked him and at his request, gave him an autograph with a little sketch. After telling him to come visit her studio when they were in Greece next summer, she gathered her family, said their farewells and left, taking Director Vance and his lady friend with them. Ben was dumbfounded at that, they were going to Greece? He thought about that and then relaxed, smiling, thinking about enjoying his life here.

The newlyweds left shortly before 3:00 PM. They promised to keep in touch and finally confessed they were taking the train to Paris on Tuesday, staying at a lovely, small garden hotel recommended by Sergio.

Ben was almost glad when they left, he really needed a nap! He thought he was over the worst of the jet lag, but guessed with the dinner, the wedding and the brunch today, not to mention meeting more new people than he could count, he was just plain tired.

That afternoon, Tim, Artie, Rob and Sarah were happy to spend a few more hours with the McCords and the Porters. The four were picked up at 6:00 that evening for their return flight to Boston. Rob and Ellie were so tired, they decided to stay overnight. Rob was off on Monday and Ellie had her go bag with her, she'd go into work with James and Tim.

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Monday morning, Tim woke his eldest child very early with a kiss, wishing him a happy 15th birthday. They'd have Andy's family birthday tonight and he'd have his last overnight at the British Museum on Saturday as 15 was the age limit. Greg and one of Andy's friends who'd been with them every year, would also go. Younger brother was sad as Andy could no longer go with him in July for his birthday and Kyle still had a year and a half until he was old enough to go. Tim refused to think about that, that his littlest boy was growing up so quickly. Then he corrected himself, Kyle was no longer his youngest son nor was he a little boy. Although 6 ½ wasn't too old to cuddle and he wasn't yet too big to pick up.

Tim tried to remember how old Robbie had been when he was too big to pick up but he had no idea. He comforted himself with the thought that he himself hadn't been fully grown when Robbie was growing up, he hadn't reached his full height until he was at MIT. Still, it upset him that he couldn't remember how old Robbie had been.

Shaking off his slight melancholy, Tim found James and Ellie waiting for him downstairs and off they went for their walk to the Tube, shivering in the cold. When Vance's SUV pulled up, they climbed in without hesitation, admitting they'd been hoping for a ride. All four of them slept all the way to the office, much to the amusement of the agents driving and riding shotgun. Ellie was mad at herself, here she had a chance to ride in the director's SUV and she'd slept the whole way!

Alan was already in, with pastries and their favorite beverages for them. The new INV agents were originally scheduled to arrive this week but due to circumstances beyond Tim's control, namely his unexpected leave, their training had been pushed back until the first of the year. In the meantime, the self-training manuals were now updated and would be shipped to them this week.

Sitting at his desk, Tim pulled up his task list. One of the higher priorities this week was to formally name Tim's two deputies, i.e., his multiple seconds in command. Ned had been on the list from the start but choosing the second one was difficult, he was torn between three of his agents, all equally qualified.

Finally, he'd copied Geordie and last week, he'd put the three names on three folded pieces of paper in a bowl and had James pull a name without looking at the paper. He was happy with the choice, Race Piro, although any of the three, Ellie, Race or Faye Dawson in Seattle, would have been great. Matt would also have been great but Tim wanted one deputy in Asia and one either in Europe or the States. Selecting Race meant his two most experienced INV agents, his two most experienced NCIS agents overall, would be his deputies.

After sending a note to Leon with his ideas for telling his new deputies and announcing it to the INV and Field agents and their superiors, he tackled the next item, kicking off vacation scheduling for 2019 for his agents.

Pulling up an old email from the SecNav, he found the dates in February they'd be in Seattle and San Diego and put that on the team calendar, then went back to January and plugged in a Friday and Monday half-day for a ski vacation. Looking up the kids' summer half-term 2019, he plugged those dates in as well as the Easter trip to Athens combined with the days in France. Checking the end of summer term, he entered tentative dates for Greece and did that again for their fall half-term in October. He shook his head, they'd just returned from their 2018 fall half-term vacation and here he was scheduling the next one!

Because he had multiple calendars, one for each office and one for all of the INV agents, he'd written an app for the calendars so that each was capable of updating the other. He sat and looked at his schedule for a few minutes, glad they were staying home for the next month! He thought James was probably right, they needed to stay home! He was a little tired from the weekend, but it hadn't been his wedding nor had he had a big part in it, a nice change. He was still playing with the calendar when he remembered their planned visit to the Royal Family at Sandringham House after New Year's. Swallowing a sigh, he entered those days.

Their 'hardcore' travel schedule started in February. They would be away for 10 days, home for 5 weeks and then leave for another 10 days for their trip to 'Walt's place' and of course their week in Greece. That would be followed by the May Day holiday, Jed's first birthday, the twins' first birthday, Kyle's birthday and then their 10 day trip to New England.

He sent Artie an email asking what she thought of staying home for the May Bank holiday next year, which would be May 6th. He listed what they'd be doing and for how long between January and mid-April. She answered an hour later, saying staying home was fine but when were they going to visit the DiNozzos in Marseille? Wondering how important his brother felt it was for them to visit and then feeling like a jerk for even thinking that, Tim was almost happy when they caught a case.

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Andy's birthday dinner was fun as it was an eclectic mix of his favorite dishes. Watching him open his gifts was even more entertaining. Tim and Artie had placed a special order for one of their retro games, with all four of Andy's initials on it: JAMG and the date. He grinned when he saw it, "Wow, cool, thanks!" They had other gifts they'd give him later. His grandparents gave him a new fishing rod while his aunts and uncles gave him binoculars, a new sleeping bag and various other outdoor 'toys'. He smiled at the sleeping bag, hoping he'd get to use it in the U.S. in June! Mimi and Yaya, Aunt Susannah and Uncle Ian gave him a pair of new roller skates. He also had birthday cards from the senior Clachers and the senior Powells and both had gift cards from the same place, much to Andy's delight. Granducky, the Palmers and the Hubbards gave him a two person tent, which sent grins around the table. He looked up, "Does this mean when we go camping in an RV that I can sleep outside?"

His mother smiled, saying, "Yes" rather firmly, while Tim managed a smile. He had serious qualms about that and had to tell himself that his children would not be sleeping in tents in a homeless park in Baltimore. If he thought he could stand to sleep, or spend more than 3 minutes in a tent ever again, they could buy a big family tent. With a real floor and actual beds, nope, no tent for him, he wanted a cabin or an RV.

He risked a look at Sarah, who was looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. He tilted his head, thinking that his kids weren't growing up on the streets, they should have the freedom to camp and sleep in a tent if they wanted. She shuddered, pulling her wrap tighter around her. The sleeping bag had been enough of a stretch for all the former camp dwellers; they'd given Ellie the money and asked her to buy and wrap it. They'd been fine with the binoculars and the other things; Tony had insisted on picking out the binoculars, ordering them online so they'd be in Brambury on time.

Greg, Kyle, Rissa, Hope and Jed gave him a book he'd wanted and he kissed each one of them, making the baby squeal. After his siblings were in their rooms that night, Tim and Artie sat with Andy for a few minutes, explaining his other gift. "We've set up trust funds for each of you. Each birthday through your 21st, we'll put some money in so it can start earning interest for you. As each of you turn 21, you will have the same amount, which means we'll need to give you more now while Jed and Hope will get smaller amounts every year."

Andy smiled, "That's fair."

"Good." With a smile, they told him how much his trust would have and watched as his jaw dropped. "All that for me?"

"Yes. If you want to use it earlier, say for additional education, we've made provisions for that." Tim swallowed, "We want to make very sure that each of you are taken care of, that as you begin your adult lives, you won't want for anything."

"Papa…"

Tim shook his head, "I swore I would do something like this for my children, Jammer, and I'm happier than I can express that we're able to do it." He chuckled, "I never envisioned being able to do this much but that's icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned."

Andy pulled him into a hug, stretching his free arm to pull his mother in. "Thank you so much, Mama, Papa. We'll be all right, all of us."

First telling him how proud they were of him, as their son, as a big brother and as a person, they kissed him goodnight.

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Tuesday morning, Tim had his meeting with Leon about his deputies. Leon teased him about the word, asking if he liked his new title so much he wanted to spread the joy. Tim chuckled at that, "It has a nice ring to it. I'm not sure what the full title would be for my SICs though. 'Deputy SSAIC' or "Deputy Lead of the INV program" or "Deputy INV Lead"?

"Which one do you like best?"

"They're not SSAICs and the second one is too clunky. I like the third one."

"I agree, let's use that. How do you want to tell them?"

Tim smiled, "I'd like to do as you've done, ask each of them, explain what the job entails. I also want to add that they'll be in charge on my Thursdays and Fridays out of the office."

"I agree. Do you have a list of responsibilities…" Leon huffed as Tim handed him a piece of paper, "of course you do." He took a quick look, initialing it. "Good, I like this, comprehensive while leaving room for change if necessary."

"After I speak with them, I'll send an email to the INV teams, with a copy to the Office Leads, the Field Leads and Secretary Porter."

Vance thought about that for a minute before smiling, "Timothy, it's time to start putting yourself out there, letting your light shine. I'd like everyone to know of the program's success and our plans for the future. Let's send an email agency wide and include the announcement of five additional INV agents, where they'll be posted and with which offices they'll be working. Then do an overall list with INV agent locations and what offices your teams are handling." He smiled, "Put yourself here but don't assign yourself to any office. I want it understood what your position is now. We won't announce it until the budget for my 3rd Assistant Director is passed but this will set it up quite nicely."

Surprised, Tim smiled and before he had time to think about it, asked the 'delicate' question he'd been holding since the initial "We want you to be an AD someday" meeting. "Sir, when that happens, will we both be in the same location?"

"About time you asked, although I guess we were side-tracked. The answer is possibly. If we're still here, in London, when the budget is approved, then yes. If we've moved home, well, it depends." Vance leaned forward, "Since we don't know when any kind of move will happen, here's my educated guess. And I'm pulling that 'education' from conversations I've had with you and Joel. And AD Ferrer, but he's not really part of the equation. He's quite happy where he is, handling what he does and prefers not to make any changes. I should qualify what I'm about to say by telling you that, except for you becoming an Assistant Director, these are all tentative plans." He chuckled, "I think those are all my disclaimers! Now, the Morrises. They've been here for 8 years and would like to move home when it's safe. I'll have a few SSAIC vacancies in the States, there are a few who were ready to retire but agreed to wait until the war is over. And some of that depends on your analysis of the offices.

"Anyway, Joel's departure leaves London open. Now, I may be wrong but it seems to me that you and your family are quite happy here and wouldn't mind staying a few more years."

Smiling, Tim replied, "We've talked about it, yes. Not all of us, but Artie and my folks. Artie and I don't want to move until all the shooting stops. Shootings not attributed to the terrorists are still happening and in more public places. We don't want to risk it until there's tangible progress made on that front."

"Agreed. Jared's already decided to go to university here and Kayla wants to stay for her Masters. I'll have to go when Secretary Porter sends the Navy and Marines home. Now, what I hope will happen is that when Joel leaves, you'll take his spot and run London, Antwerp and the INV program, although your deputies will handle the everyday operations."

He chuckled at the look on Tim's face, "Figure two to three years here post-war, then I need to move you into an SSAIC spot at home. I haven't looked to see which SSAIC might be retiring in the next 4 or 5 years. For this discussion, let's say it's Joel. Then you can slip into his spot and you can handle the AD stuff from there. That's about when Secretary Porter wants me to start working with the Department of the Navy. And Tim, I know I've hinted about this before but I'm just going to say it out loud. When I retire, if you want the job, I will recommend you."

Tim swallowed hard and then made a noise, amusing Vance. "Ahh, thank you? I mean, thank you! I don't know, we've talked about what might happen but we've never come to any conclusion. Depends on where and how long and…all that."

"It won't happen until we're back aboard the Navy Yard. I'll want to oversee the agency's repatriation, figure at least 3 years past that."

Tim nodded, "That makes sense, the question is really when will the war be over, isn't it? Everything stems from that."

"Right. You're closer to what's going on than I am, any best guesses?"

Tim shook his head and then made a little motion with his hand. Vance started laughing and laughed so hard he thought he might slip off his chair as he engaged the SCIF. That acorn certainly did not fall far from the tree! As his laughter slowed, he said, "Sorry, once in a while you're so much like your father that I wonder how it is we never figured it out."

Tim grinned, "Thanks! If Andy looked like Jed, I would have known the first time I met him!"

"Maybe, but now that I know, you also have a look of Jackson Gibbs about you, even with your resemblance to Captain Hubbard."

"Wow, double thanks!" Tim leaned back in his chair, "As far as what's going on, conventional wisdom still says the war won't be over until we know who the enemy is, all of them. Otherwise, any that aren't caught will just fade into the background and wait for another opportune time. That could lead to more years of guerrilla fighting and feeling like we're all living in a powder keg. Our best chance for obtaining that information is still through the White Hats."

"And?"

Tim looked at him. "And we're tracking several people, tracking and hacking. We need to find what's been nicknamed, "The Unholy Grail", the terrorists' main server or database, wherever they keep their list of members."

"You believe there is one?"

"Yes. They're too well organized and they must have money coming in from somewhere. The trick is to keep them from killing, maiming or burning while we trace and hack."

"Tall order!"

Tim nodded with such a determined look in his eyes that Vance didn't say anything else.

Back in his office, Tim spent some time working on his general announcement. Ned was working overtime on a case and Race had a medical appointment this morning. Tim sent separate emails to the two agents that he needed to speak with him and that nothing was wrong. He rolled his eyes at himself for that.

Ned was the first call, "Hey, Tim. I'm doing a complex search that'll take a few minutes. What's up?"

Tim smiled. "I have a question for you. Would you consent to being one of my two deputies? Instead of having one Second-in-Command, I want two, so the work won't be overwhelming. You and one other agent would run the program when I'm out, and that includes my Thursday and Friday schedule, or busy with my Deputy Assistant Director responsibilities. And Ned, this is long-term, permanent." He gave him a few other details he knew would make his agents happy.

"I…wow, yes, thanks! What are the responsibilities and how will we split the duty?"

"First, congratulations and thank you! Second, I haven't had a chance to speak with the other agent yet, so I'd like to wait to share my idea of the split. I should also say that if you have additional ideas, I'm open to them. As far as the responsibilities, I'll send those to you but they are not much different from what you do now when I'm not around."

"Tim…"

"Everything's fine, Ned. The recent time away was something outside of our duties here and all is well. Very well, as a matter of fact. It's not classified but other people were directly affected and I feel it's up to them whether or not they tell their story. They're fine, too, by the way."

"Good! So, a witch hunt that netted nothing."

Tim laughed, "Aw Ned, I miss you, wish you could have stayed here!"

"I appreciate that; however, then I would not have met Daniel."

"Very true! As soon as I speak with the other agent, and they also consent, I'll send an email to the agency. Oh and your title will be Deputy INV Lead. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great! So I should wait to tell anyone."

"Anyone except Daniel, yes, please. I'll have that email out as soon as I speak with the other agent."

"The field team and Bailey are still here but I won't say anything until after Owens sees the memo."

"Of course you could send him a text to look at his email. Or I could, if I had his cell number handy."

"That would be great, Tim, thanks! His number is…" Ned gave him Owens' number and Tim jotted it down. He wouldn't text him until after he talked with Piro and was ready to send the agency memo.

"All right, I'll text him once everything is set. Good talking with you, Deputy Dorneget!"

Ned chuckled, "Thanks, Boss!"

They disconnected and with a smile Tim poured another cup of coffee and worked on his memo. Race called 15 minutes later and also agreed to become one of Tim's Deputy INV Leads. While Tim told him who his fellow deputy was, he sent an IM with that information to Ned. They were getting raises with the new responsibilities, which pleased the three of them. He included the Human Resources job class ID with the position description he sent to Ned and Race. While there wasn't a job class for "Deputy INV Lead", there was a position close enough to use and HR had already approved its use.

When the draft of his memo was ready, he sent it to Vance for approval. In his mind, he still needed to do that when sending out something about the INV program to the agency. He had it back in minutes with a note from Vance saying he approved and he would send his own memo congratulating the two in the morning, knowing Ned's SSAIC likely wouldn't see this until Japan's start of business Wednesday morning, meaning between 10-11 PM Tuesday night, UK time.

Addressing the memo, Tim used the ''all agency personnel" address, copied Secretary Porter and then blind copied Artie and Dad. He resisted sending a copy to Secretary of Defense Cyrus and USAG Peterson, hoping the SecNav would forward the memo to Cyrus. He was giving it one last read when he had an IM from Vance that he would send a copy to Sailes. With a satisfied grin, Tim pressed the Send button. And then sent texts to SSAIC Owens to please look at his email and to his wife and father to look at their email. Then he sent an IM to Leon telling him Owens had been alerted to read his email.

By the time all that was done, he was surprised to find it was lunchtime. He, Jimmy, Barry and James had lunch out together. By the time he met them in the lobby, they'd seen the email and asked questions as they walked to the café. Tim laughed, "I'm not doing anything different and really, neither are Ned or Race. We're formalizing what they've been doing since Day One. Each of the more experienced INV agents has had the lead when I've been out, I think McCoy and Bailey are the only ones who haven't, because they're the current newbies." He smiled, "I put the candidates' names on slips of paper, folded them over a couple of times, put them in a bowl and asked James to pick a couple, although he didn't see whose names he drew."

James snorted, "I didn't even know there were names on the slips, Tim. For all I knew, you were teaching yourself a magic trick!"

Grinning at his brother-in-law, Tim placed his order, a minced meat souvlaki and a bottle of lemonade, enjoying both. He was finishing his souvlaki when his cell chimed. He took a quick swig of his lemonade before answering, "Agent McGee."

"Timothy, congratulations on this next step! I'm proud of you!"

"Thank you, ma'am. It feels good to have this formalized."

"I imagine. And just so you know, I forwarded your email to the Secretary of Defense. I didn't say anything, although I was sorely tempted."

Tim chuckled, "Mm, I think I'll restrict my comments to saying thanks!"

They disconnected and Barry stared at him while Jimmy and James laughed. James said, "If you lived in Brambury, you wouldn't be surprised. She shows up every now and then. Her drivers even know when Tim's kids wave to them from the playground at school."

"So it was," Barry leaned forward, nearly whispering, "Secretary Porter?"

Tim nodded. "I report to Vance and I'm a deputy AD, so yes, she takes an interest in me, especially after…well, everything."

Barry shook his head, "Next thing you know, we'll be calling you 'Sir'!"

Tim rolled his eyes, "Not likely!" He ignored James and Jimmy who were close to a case of the giggles.

They had a case that afternoon and as Ellie was out at an appointment, Tim pitched in with the rest of his team. When Agent McCoy had a case come in from DC, she split off. By 1830, Jimmy confirmed the London death was a suicide and Alan, running the field team in Bec's absence, had everyone do their preliminary reports before dismissing his team for the night, they could do the rest of their reports in the morning. Esposito and McGee were already halfway out the door after McCoy waved them off, she didn't need any help.

Jimmy and Tim rode home together, the first time they'd done that in weeks. Tim grinned at a text from Jim O'Brien, the Team Lead McCoy was working with, saying he was impressed and could tell she'd been trained by the best. Smiling, Tim replied, saying he had been, too. Jimmy shook his head, "Are you ever off duty? Do you ever not have to answer your cell?"

"Sure, Thursdays through Sundays. Unless it's Leon."

"Ok, let me rephrase that. When do you not work?"

"Saturday until Monday morning at 7 or 8 and just about every evening."

"Thursdays and Fridays too?"

Tim leaned forward, saying very quietly, "Not the place to talk."

"Oh, geez!" Jimmy shut his mouth. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

Dad picked them up at the station, dropping Jimmy home before turning around and heading to the Manor. He was grinning, "So proud of you!"

"For appointing deputies?"

"For everything you're doing, son! You're working two jobs, yeah, I know you're mostly working a 50 hour week. However, considering what you're doing, that's a lot. And it's being recognized, you're moving up in the agency and I know Leon is positioning you for an AD position."

"When the budget's approved."

"It'll go through eventually. Maybe SecDef will feel guilty and push it through."

Laughing, Tim told him about his wish that Porter would send the memo to Cyrus and how she'd called him to say she had. And that Vance told him that he would send a copy to Sailes.

When they got home, Tim was surprised and happy to find that they'd waited dinner for him. Hope had already eaten as it was time for her nightly routine but she and Jed were both awake and waiting to see him. He cuddled with them, reading them stories and listening to Hope talk about her day at nursery school. Jed clearly called him 'DaDa' and Tim smiled at his baby son. Artie was right, he'd had no idea how much he'd missed of the older kids' development and what it would have meant to him. How much work, how much love and how full of awe a brand new life could be. Tim wholeheartedly loved all of his children but he'd had no idea that the love he had for his baby would be so powerful, almost overwhelming him. These past months, since baby Jethro was born, had been filled with discovery and growth for father and son and it had also further strengthened his bonds with all of his kids. As he put Jed in his crib, he kissed his soft little cheek. Then he picked up Ms. Hope and sat with her on his lap, cuddling some more. She squirmed in his arms a bit, getting comfortable. When he thought she was asleep, he tucked her into bed, smiling as she murmured, "Love you, Bapa." He whispered, "Love you, Umut." Although she normally called him Daddy, she'd never forgotten the original name she'd called him and it surfaced every now and then.

Downstairs, he found Rissa and Kyle eating and he apologized for keeping them waiting. Rissa smiled, giggling when he pretended to take a bite of her spaghetti. The rest of the family sat down to eat with him and he listened to Rissa and Kyle talk about their days. When it was the older boys' turn, Greg reported a high scoring mark on an exam he'd been dreading while Andy talked about a new book they were reading in Literature. He was in his last year of lower secondary school; in the Fall term, he'd begin secondary school, which was high school in the U.S. He'd join Jared Vance and their cousins, Ainsley and Callum, although the proper order, from youngest to eldest, would be Andy, Callum, Jared and Ainsley.

When the kids were finished talking about their days, Tim looked around to see who was next but his mother shook her head. "Oh no, Timmo, tell us about your day. Seems like it was exciting!"

With a laugh, Tim told them about asking Ned and Race to be his deputies and sending out a memo to everyone at the agency. He told the kids, "I've never done that before! I've written some that have been sent by other people but I've never had my name as the sender."

Andy watched his father as he told them about what he'd done. He was amused, calm, even happy. Sitting back, Andy relaxed as he listened. Kyle hadn't been worried, he knew his papa could handle anything but it was nice that he was smiling. Greg's face was surprised when his father pulled him onto his lap. He was 10, almost 10 ½ but didn't mind a bit. Rissa and Kyle giggled at him, he'd looked so surprised. He snuggled into his dad's arms a little more, he'd forgotten how good this felt. He knew Papa snuggled with his father, Grandpa, sometimes, but he didn't think he sat on his lap. Papa's legs were too long!

When Tim and Artie were finally alone in their room, she too was surprised as he grabbed her and pulled her in for a deep kiss. "Oh ho, I knew there was more!"

"Mm, later."

"Oh no, my love. You're excited about something, besides us, and I want to know what! Otherwise, I'll be terribly distracted."

"Ok, this is what might happen, we won't know for sure. However, it looks like we'll be staying here a few more years! We knew we'd stay until the war is over; the new part is that Joel and Carol are being transferred, can't tell anyone that, and I'll take over here for Joel, for two to three years, then we'll be transferred to an office in the States, but not necessarily on the East Coast. Leon says if we're interested, he wants to recommend me for his job. He told me later that if we aren't interested, he'll do his best to make sure we're placed where we want to be before he retires."

"We'll be in the States then?"

"Yes and if we say yes, I'll be posted at the Navy Yard after he retires. But I can take an early retirement a year or two after that. I can't start collecting my pension till I'm 55 but that's not a problem."

She smiled, "So we have more time to decide and we get to stay here a little longer. I hope it's long enough for Andy to finish secondary school. Greg has four years before he starts secondary."

"I know, it'll be close but I have hope."

"Timotheos, what about our house?"

"Good question! We don't really have to worry about it until the war is over and the Marines move out. After that, I don't know. If some of the family move home, they could live there? Barry will need a place closer to the Navy Yard than Baltimore. And I imagine…uh, hadn't thought of that."

"What?"

"Alan, he transferred in from…you know what, I'm not going to think about them tonight!"

She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her again, laughing as they fell together onto the bed.

**********************************************************************************************************************

UPDATED LIST OF CHARACTERS  
  
(Original list is in Chapter 62)  
  
Canon Characters:  
  
NCIS: Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee, Tony DiNozzo, Ducky Mallard, Abby Sciuto, Jimmy Palmer, Sarah McGee, Breena Slater Palmer, Victoria Palmer, Leon Vance, Jared Vance, Kayla Vance, Elaine at the diner, Clayton Reeves, Ned Dorneget, Eleanor Bishop, Pam Cook, Nikki Jardine, Eric Jardine, LJ Moore, Henry the Security Guard, SecNav Sarah Porter, Megan Porter, Tobias Fornell, Emily Fornell, Ron Sacks, Ed Slater, Tom Morrow, Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., Susan Grady, D'Arcy McKinna, Cassie Yates, Richard Owens, Jane Melankovic, Dwayne Wilson, Natalie from the next aisle over, Delores Bromstead, Barbara Bishop, George Bishop, John Bishop, Robert Bishop, Penelope Langston, Ashton (Abby's friend at NASA, episode is "Eye Spy"), Director Hutchins (referred to as Hutch, episode is "Semper Fidelis"), Ziva David, Mac Fielding;  
  
Madam Secretary: Elizabeth, Henry, Stevie, Allie and Jason McCord. Blake Moran, Jay Whitman;  
  
Criminal Minds: Rossi  
  
List of Original Characters:  
  
The Gibbs Family:  
  
Artemis (Artie, Mama) Midei: Tim's wife; their children: Jason (Andy) Andrew Gibbs; Gregory (Greg) Griffin Gibbs; Kyle Timothy Gibbs; Marissa (Rissa) Athena Gibbs; Hope (also Umut) Luella Gibbs; Jethro (Jed) Alexander Gibbs; Artemis originated in 'Finding Home' as 'former college girlfriend who taught Tim to speak Greek); the character of Andy originated in 'Finding Home' as Patrick's son Timothy Andrew, same character, same birth and adoptive fathers, different circumstances. Trivia: Artemis' name was originally Andrina, to be called Andy for short but I didn't want two Andys so changed Andrina to Artemis/Artie. 😊  
  
Luella (Lu, Malu, Mom) Gibbs: wife of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, adopted mother and grandmother of…everyone. Formerly ran the Baltimore shelter where Tim, Sarah and Rob lived for a few years. Originated in 'At What Price'; finally given a name in the 'Serendipity' universe; 😊  
  
James Powell: husband of Sarah McGee Gibbs; brother-in-law of Tim and Patrick (David); Originated in 'Finding Home'; 😊  
  
Rob (Brill) McGee Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro; previously adopted (legal ward of Geordie Perry and Timothy McGee). Married to Special Agent Eleanor Bishop; Originated in 'At What Price'; 😊  
  
Geordie Reid Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro. Fiancé/Husband of Special Agent Bec Childers; Originated in 'At What Price'; 😊  
  
Bill Colter Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles', dating Nikki Jardine; Originated in 'Serendipity' 😊  
  
Barry Rudd Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles', dating Alan Walker, Bec's SFA; Originated in 'Serendipity' 😊  
  
Freddie Brooks Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles', dating Abby Sciuto; Originated in 'Serendipity' 😊  
  
Jose (Joe) Maier Gibbs: adopted son of Lu and Jethro, formerly one of the 'Baltimore Uncles', dating Charlotte Howe (see below); Originated in 'Serendipity' 😊  
  
David Hart/Patrick McGee (Gibbs): Tim and Sarah's brother, Greg and Kyle's comatose/'sleeping father', husband of the late Kathy Hart. Also an adopted son of Lu and Jethro; Originated in 'At What Price' 😊  
  
Kathy Hart: deceased first mother of Gregory and Kyle, wife of David/Patrick, native of Singapore, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, her family and the Tecks.  
  
Maggie Barnes: wife of Anthony DiNozzo, Jr., unofficial daughter-in-law of Jethro and Lu; Originated in 'Finding Home' 😊  
  
Jackson DiNozzo: baby son of Maggie Barnes and Tony DiNozzo  
  
Diane DiNozzo: baby daughter of Maggie Barnes and Tony DiNozzo  
  
The Greek Family:  
  
Athena Midei (Mimi): grandmother to Artemis, Susannah and imprisoned grandson Dimitri, twins Matthaíos and Cassie and the Italian grandkids Caterina and Damaris. Great-grandmother to the Gibbs' kids and Ana's (see below) kids. Mother of Sophia Costas, Nikolas Costas and Gaia Costas. Mother-in-law of Theo, Gaia's husband and Sergio, Nikolas' partner.  
  
Sophia Costas: mother of Artemis, Susannah and imprisoned son Dimitri. Mother-in-law of Tim Gibbs, Ian Clacher and former mother-in-law of Adriana (Ana). Yaya (grandmother) to the Gibbs' kids and Ana and Dimitri's kids. Former wife of Kosmos Galinis;  
  
Nikolas Costas: Artie's uncle. Partner Sergio, daughters Caterina and Damaris. Master chef in Sorrento, Italy; 😊  
  
Gaia Costas: Artie's aunt. Husband Theo, children Matthaíos and Cassie. Gaia and Theo are both archeologists;  
  
Susannah Midei: Artie's sister. Husband is Ian Clacher;  
  
Adriana (Ana): former wife of Artie's half- brother Dimitri, former daughter-in-law of Sophia and Kosmos. Mother of 4 of Sophia's grandchildren and Mimi's great-grandchildren;  
  
Kosmos Galinis: former husband of Sophia, former stepfather of Artemis and Susannah. Will remain in prison for the rest of the story.  
  
Others in Greece:  
  
Peter Lekkas: biological father of Artemis and Susannah; Rhode Elytis: Peter's wife; they have 4 children together;  
  
Kim and Evander: Kim is NCIS: Athens' office manager and Evander is a real estate agent, aka Artie's 'property guy'; originated in 'Finding Home'; 😊  
  
Eva and Caleb: mentioned as wedding guests. Eva is an employee of NCIS: Athens and friend of Artie's. She introduces Artemis to Evander. Originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Tim, Sarah and Patrick's birth family: 😊  
  
(See Penny in canon characters)  
  
Maisie (Grammie) Hubbard: Tim, Sarah and Patrick's maternal grandmother; Originated in 'At What Price'.  
  
(Captain) Jim Hubbard: maternal uncle of Tim, Sarah and Patrick. Wife: Claire, children Ainsley and Callum; Originated in 'At What Price'.  
  
Liz and (Admiral) Dave Crane: godparents of Tim, Sarah and Patrick; Originated in 'At What Price'  
  
Extended, new or 'other' family:  
  
Davey Palmer; adopted son of Jimmy and Breena Palmer; Originated in 'Fallout';  
  
Jillian Mallard Palmer; the Palmers' baby daughter;  
  
Colonel Richard Barnes (Uncle Colonel); father of Maggie Barnes, father-in-law of Tony DiNozzo. Originated in 'Finding Home'.  
  
Larry and Cyndi Porter; MIT friends and mentors to Tim McGee; Originated in a story not yet posted! 😊  
  
George and Edith Powell; Sarah's in-laws, James' parents. Originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Alastair and Fiona Clacher; In-laws of Artemis' sister Susannah. Ian's parents;  
  
Charlotte Howe: Cousin of Bec Childers, dating Jose (Joe) Maier Gibbs; Originated in 'Finding Home'.  
  
Jerry Bishop; Ellie Bishop's dad. Travels to Brambury for her wedding to Rob; Originated in 'Ripples'. 😊  
  
Gail and Pauley (P) Tehema; Gail is Tobias Fornell's wife; her daughter Pauley is Emily Fornell's best friend and stepsister;  
  
Cesar Fornell; friend of Mac Fielding, LJ and Colonel Barnes; father of Tobias Fornell, grandfather of Emily Fornell; Originated in 'What the Heck Happened';  
  
Nate Eastman, Juanita Eastman, Big John: from the Camp in Baltimore. Juanita is killed when the domestic terrorists attack the camp. Nate and Big John move to Texas to live with John's brother Randy. Originated in 'At What Price'.  
  
NCIS Agents and Employees:  
  
(Canon characters in bold)  
  
Joel Morris, wife Carol (London); Originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Bec Childers, husband Geordie Reid Gibbs; SFA, London (formerly Athens); Originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Lydia Worden, SFA, London & Athens; partner Marty; Originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Pete Russell, wife Trina, kids (Athens); close friends of the Vances; Originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Rusty Mayhew, junior agent in Athens; Originated in 'Finding Home'.  
  
Lynne: junior agent in Athens; Originated in 'Finding Home'.  
  
Roger Martinez, wife Marla, formerly Marseille, now Hamburg; Originated in 'Finding Home'.  
  
Rick Carter, wife Denise (Navy Yard) Originated in 'At What Price'. 😊  
  
Jim O'Brien, wife Annie (Navy Yard) Originated in 'At What Price' 😊  
  
Evan Fuller, DiNozzo's former SFA (Navy Yard) Originated in 'Serendipity'  
  
Alan Walker (SFA, London)  
  
Ray Esposito (DC Field Office, London) Originated in 'Finding Home'  
  
Cassie Yates (SSAIC, Singapore)  
  
Dwayne Wilson (Team Lead, Singapore)  
  
Richard Owens (SSAIC, Far East Field Office [FEFO], Japan)  
  
Jeff Andreson (Team Lead, FEFO, Japan), Originated in 'Finding Home'  
  
Jane Melankovic, (SSAIC, Northwest Office, Seattle)  
  
Bob Chalmers, SFA/de facto Team Lead, Northwest Office/Seattle; Originated in Serendipity 😊 😊  
  
Assistant Director Ferrer (mention only): NCIS:LA OSP  
  
NCIS Offices with Investigatory (INV) Agents:  
  
(Canon Characters in Bold)  
  
MARSEILLE: Race Piro;  
  
NAPLES: Chase Ortiz; (just the name; not the teen girl from 'Finding Home'!)  
  
LONDON: Timothy McGee, Ray Esposito, Eleanor Bishop, Kendra McCoy  
  
SEATTLE: Faye Dawson; Liana Braff;  
  
SAN DIEGO: Henry Tighe;  
  
JAPAN: Ned Dorneget; Ted Bailey;  
  
PERTH: Melia Centeio;  
  
SINGAPORE: Matt Watson 😊, Originated in 'Finding Home'; Art Estes;  
  
SEOUL: Randy Gage;  
  
INT'L FALLS: Fiona (Fi) Scott;  
  
Other Characters:  
  
Emaline: Liz Crane's friend who helps Jethro and Lu explore South Africa. Although this is not her real name or background, Emaline represents my awesome beta, Alix33; 😊  
  
Mr. Teck: Private secretary to and cousin of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, also a cousin of Greg and Kyle Hart Gibbs and their late mother, Kathy Hart;  
  
Queen Elizabeth II: a fictionalized version of Her Majesty, the longest-reigning monarch, cousin of Greg and Kyle Hart Gibbs; also His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh and various members of the Royal Family.  
  
Jean Teck Cabot: (deceased) fictional cousin of Queen Elizabeth, Mr. Teck, mother of Elizabeth Cabot Hart, grandmother of Kathy Hart, great-grandmother of Greg and Kyle;  
  
Robert Cabot: (deceased), husband of Jean Teck, father of Elizabeth Cabot Hart, grandfather of Kathy Hart, great-grandfather of Greg and Kyle;  
  
Elizabeth Cabot Hart: (deceased), daughter of the Cabots, wife of Teddy Hart, mother of Kathy Hart, maternal grandmother of Greg and Kyle;  
  
Teddy Hart (deceased), husband of Elizabeth Cabot Hart, father of Kathy Hart, maternal grandfather of Greg and Kyle;  
  
Police Officer Ng: in Singapore, helped Tim with the details of the boat accident that killed the Cabots and the Harts;  
  
Attorney Che: in Singapore, he and his father told Tim the truth about Kathy Hart's early life;  
  
Mitchel Shaw: husband of Cassie Yates (Singapore); their adopted kids are Isaac and Riley;  
  
Lynn Wilson: wife of Dwayne Wilson (Singapore);  
  
CO Sheridan: a former CO of David Hart (aka Patrick McGee);  
  
Ginny Slater: Breena's mother and wife of Ed Slater, also appeared in Fallout and After;  
  
Colonel Martin: Geordie's CO at the U.S. Embassy in London. Originated in 'Finding Home';  
  
Elaine (see canon) and Jacob: owners and operators of Gibbs' favorite diner in VA;  
  
Kadie: Tim and Artie's gestational carrier, husband is Harry;  
  
Christopher Malet: Owner of the Manor, the Gibbses' landlord. Descendant of the original owners (Lord & Lady) of the Brambury Manor;  
  
The shepherd: Shepherd who tends a flock of sheep in the countryside 'out the back gate' from the Manor. Waves to the Gibbs' kids and helps Tim;

Nigel Paddington: Tony's cousin. Nigel is the much nicer and younger brother of Crispian Paddington, the guy who made Tony pay back a loan from their Uncle Clive in "South by Southwest".   
  
Ben Childers: Bec's father;  
  
Marian Childers: Bec's mother, a domestic terrorist; also known as Exzee in the story Tim tells his family about his troubles.  
  
Jenna Laurence: in the UK, wedding planner;  
  
Sheila: in Virginia, wedding planner for Tim & Artie, Lu and Jethro;  
  
Bets: London friend of Sarah, helped her find place to live;  
  
Michelle: Bets' sister, an estate agent. Found the Manor for Sarah and later helped Barry, Bill and Freddie find flats;  
  
Marvin Lee Hatman: head of IPF who ordered harassment of Tim McGee, now imprisoned;  
  
Christopher Malet: Tim's landlord and signer of Winnie the Pooh books in the library at the Manor. Also descendant of first Lord Malet, awarded title and land by William the Conqueror around 1066. Fictional (Malet, not WtC!).  
  
Avrit Coffey Sifts: the new head of IPF, replaced Hatman. By the way, Avrit Coffey Sifts is an anagram. Has anyone figured it out?  
  
Secretary of Defense Cyrus: responsible for the long wait for Tim and Bec to be cleared of collusion with Marian Childers. First appearance in the story was on Skype during McGee's meeting with Fornell, Sailes, Porter & McKinley at the U.S. Embassy in Greece in 2017;  
  
Director Henry Sailes: Director of the FBI; wife Joy and children were part of the refugee group leaving the U.S. on SecNav's jet in July 2017;  
  
Director Beau McKinley: Director of the CIA; son Dan, daughter-in-law Connie;  
  
US Attorney General Geoffrey Peterson: Boss of Director Sailes;  
  
Fred Christopher: Diplomat who helped Tim with the judge during Greg and Kyle's adoption hearing in Greece. Originated in 'Finding Home';  
  
Drs. Biros-Santos: husband and wife who were legal guardians of Artemis while she was an underage student at MIT. (Tim & Artie's wedding);  
  
Dr. B (full surname Baghdassarian): Tim's Department Master while teaching at Bedford in the UK;  
  
Dr. MacAdam: President of Bedford University, wanted to offer Tim a job in 2018.  
  
Places:  
  
Alexandria: Gibbs' house, you know it's canon, although I think I've stretched the insides a bit. And does anyone else think the show is now using a different house for the exterior shots? Or else the real world owners have made enough money from the show that they've done an extensive renovation on the exterior! It doesn't look sad anymore, which is a good thing.

Amzida: a fictional, ancient city in Turkey where Artemis works on a pedestrian bridge so that children walking to school will be safe. While there, she lives in a apartment with plenty of room for her family to visit. Tim, the kids, Jethro and Geordie and Artie have their favorite shops and restaurants there. When rioting breaks out, Artie's rescued by 3 'mystery' men (Marines sent by Geordie) who help her escape the violence. In the process, she rescues an abandoned 4-month old baby whose mother has been killed. Artie names her Hope.  
  
Arlington: Property with big house and several outbuildings purchased by Tim and Artie from Penny Langston. Former tobacco plantation. Fictional although I based the look on a real property I saw in the Midwest on a road trip when I was 9. I wanted to live there.  
  
Cambridge, Massachusetts: home of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Real.  
  
Bedford University, in Brambury, UK. Fictional.  
  
Brambury, UK. Fictional.  
  
The Manor: Former Manor house, now much reduced in size. The Gibbses live there. Fictional. 😊  
  
Balmoral Castle & Sandringham House: Descriptions are fictional, although I've been to Sandringham House on tour in 1998 or '99. I remember LOTS of art work and very formal furniture. Wish I'd known I was going to write a story including Sandringham House 20 years later!  
  
Varkiza: Town near Athens in Greece where Artemis' grandmother Mimi lives. Real town, but except for having beaches, everything else in the story is fictional.😊  
  
Aegina: the island is real, however the villa from the first visit and the houses from the subsequent visit are fictional. Those houses originated in 'Finding Home'. 😊  
  
Baltimore shelter: fictional. Originated in 'At What Price'.  
  
Nate's camp: fictional although there are organized camps for the homeless and some municipalities around the U.S. are putting in 'tiny houses' for them. No Nate in control, though. Originated in 'At What Price'.

 


	82. Chapter 82

Chapter 82

If Tim needed any further cheering up, Hope's 3rd birthday party with the family did just that. After a nursery school celebration with her friends, the little girl reveled in the family party. As the Greek family had been in Brambury for the wedding and most would return in a few weeks for Greek Christmas, they attended her party via Skype, as did the DiNozzos and Porters.

The rest of the clan partied with her at the Manor. To the little girl's delight, it snowed the night before and the kids and their adults had fun out back, sliding down the hillsides on sleds, toboggans and saucers, screaming with glee. Tim had just completed a slide down the hill with Rissa and had his phone in hand when he spotted Leon and Dani on the way down, both with their mouths open, their faces full of happiness. Quickly, he took several photos, sending them to his friend and boss later.

It was a day for lightheartedness, that was for sure, everyone seemed happy and playful. While folks waited their turn with the snow equipment, they made snow people, with many photos taken. The junior Gibbses spent about an hour cross-country skiing, towing Hope and Jed behind them in a little sleigh. Rissa was excited that she had her own skis and had no trouble keeping up with her brothers. Hope was happy because today she was three and next year she would be four and could have her own skis, just like her big sister and brothers! In the meantime, her parents thought they'd go downhill skiing one weekend and find a pre-beginner's ski class for Hope.

When they'd had enough, everyone went inside for hot chocolate or non-alcoholic cider and Hope's chosen lunch, her favorite 'sammiches', homemade French fries and crunchy fresh veggies. After they ate, the birthday girl opened presents, loving every single one of them and then they had cake, a caramel, chocolate and vanilla swirl, and three different flavors of ice cream. When they finally finished, almost everyone returned to the snow for more fun. Two of Hope's presents were toys for the snow, one her very own saucer, and she wanted to try them out.

Babies Jilly and Jed were fascinated with the snow, although Jed did not like the icy, cold feeling of snow directly on him. The two of them in their snowsuits made a sweet and fun photo as their dads pulled them around in the little sleigh, a little larger than a children's wagon, that Grandpa and Uncle Bill made for the littles. The 'skis' could be detached in the spring and an axle and wheels affixed, turning the sleigh into a wagon until the next ski season.

When it snowed again that night, the town was covered and the Gibbses skied to church, a unique experience! Lu drove Big Blue, thankful for the snow tires, in case the plows came through before church let out. She also brought Jed, Hope and the new sleigh. When the snow was still on the streets after church, Daddy, Grandpa and the older boys towed Hope and Jed home in their sleigh.

By the time Hope thought to ask if she and Jed could ride in the sleigh to see Uncle Patrick, the roads were clear. Still, they had plenty to tell the sleeping man when they visited. Remembering the movement he thought he'd seen on a previous visit, Tim watched his brother carefully but didn't see anything.

They were nearly back to the car when Kyle realized he'd left an envelope full of old photos they'd replaced. Sarah got the others into the car while Tim and Kyle returned to Pat's room. Kyle found the envelope and, giggling, gave his sleeping father another kiss, "It's not Sunday again, I forgot something and came back. Now Daddy and I are really leaving!" Tim kissed his brother's forehead, saying quietly, "What Kyle said, Twick, we'll see you next Sunday." He turned to look back as he walked out of the room and this time he saw Pat's mouth move, his lips starting to pucker as if trying to kiss someone. And then there was nothing, just the still, silent, comatose form of his brother. Telling Kyle he was going to the restroom, Tim spent a couple of minutes composing himself, wiping away a few tears. He wondered if his desire for his little brother to wake was so strong that he was beginning to imagine things. Neither movement he'd seen had been noticed by anyone else, nor had the staff reported anything. He decided to do some research about comas and what might or might not be signs of awakening and also to stop by during the week more often. Now that he was in the office every day, it was easier to do, he could work through lunch once or twice a week and leave a little early to see Patrick. Maybe more stimulus, voice, touch, would help.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Wednesday evening, Tim logged in to his White Hat account. Artie would be off work Friday afternoon and he hoped to get enough work done tonight and tomorrow to fulfill his WH work and join her for an afternoon to themselves. Of course, he also hoped he'd find something worthwhile in his searches.

Although the traitorous Senator had been arrested for treason and his assets, including his electronics, seized, Tim had copies of everything he'd found while he'd been hunting for the evidence. The WH tech who'd busted him had willingly shared the link that gave him enough evidence to blow the whistle. Tim had done his preliminary work differently than the whistle blower, which accounted for the other tech's earlier discovery. Tim found that his fellow WH hacker was lucky the Senator really was a traitor; he'd found no signs that the evidence or anything that led to it had been confirmed prior to Homeland's own follow-up.

So this time, in reverse of the old proverb, the hare beat the turtle to the finish line. However, as far as Tim was concerned, the search was not yet over and it was not a competition. Even more determined to find the 'Keys to Hell', now also known as the 'Unholy Grail', he backtracked to the link where the other tech had stopped, and continued from there, looking into every single link, every mention of a name, an event, a place, a club, a business, anything. For each link, he delved as deeply as he could before he hit the proverbial brick wall and started anew on the next link.

He was about 30 links deep, when he saw something that made his heart pound. Not only did it appear to be the 'Unholy Grail', the size of it helped convince him of that, it also looked familiar. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, remaining still for several minutes, sifting through his memories to find where he'd seen something similar. Once he had the memory, he got to work.

After his hacking attempts failed to gain him entrance, he sat back in thought again before going forward, this time looking for a 'back door' into the server. Sometimes those were created and left by the original programmer, a common fail-safe action. If all else failed during a server crisis, the programmer could enter through the back door. Sometimes they were created by hackers to access data while avoiding various security measures.

His third attempt at cracking the door resulted in a message that had his eyebrows nearly to his hairline. The message was an image of him putting cuffs on Ajay Khan with a caption that read, "You caught me, TFM, you can do better than this. Think outside that box you live in!" His memory was correct, this was Khan's work. During the lead up to Khan's arrest, Tim had learned more about his style and his habits; now that knowledge was proving fruitful.

Stopping to study the image, Tim noted a few things that seemed to be highlighted. His fifth attempt got him in and this time he was amused as the passcode was 'bullpen', the box Khan apparently believed Tim lived in. How or why Khan thought the man who'd busted him would be the one to find this thing, he had no idea. As he delved deeper into the server, he found hints and warnings of traps and alarms to avoid.

His watch alarm beeped at him, he was past his quitting time but he kept going. There was no way he was leaving without extracting every bit of information he could find, it was all too possible they'd never be able to reenter the server. Nor could he risk having any of the other White Hats joining him, he didn't trust that Khan hadn't built booby traps for anyone else trying to hack in.

It took him additional time to find and start copying the data. Copying it in pieces, he didn't want to trigger any alarms, he loaded it all onto his substantial cache of memory sticks and an external hard drive, relieved to have the information stored offline.

Realizing he needed help, he called his dad. Jethro picked up on the 2nd ring to hear Tim say, "I need your help down here, good things are happening. Wear your warmest clothes, we'll be here the rest of the night and more." Jethro said yes, sliding out of bed. He dressed in the lounge, glad they didn't have any visitors at the moment, stopping to write a note to Lu. When everything was ready, he joined Tim, armed with two thermal carafes of coffee, bottles of water and a pack full of snacks. He told Tim he'd moved the coffeemaker, 5 lbs. of coffee and a 3 gallon jug of water to the basement. The basement and hidden room doors were locked from the inside and the basement security system reenabled so they'd be aware of anyone looking for either one of them.

Dad's help was invaluable. While Tim continued searching and copying, Jethro labeled each memory stick with a number and gave him additional ideas of what to look for. Along with schedules of attacks planned throughout the U.S., at Dad's suggestion he looked for and found old calendars and narrative histories of the attacks, for instance, a list of who'd chosen 'suicide by cop' rather than arrest, families left behind of those arrested or dead.

While Tim continued hunting, Jethro took the list of planned attacks and called Secretary Porter, who immediately contacted the Secretary of Defense, tying him into the call. In the meantime, Gibbs also brought Leon into the conversation.

Before they sent any information, Tim compared the membership list with the database of federal employees and the military, looking for names that appeared on both. Once he was sure he wasn't sending information directly into the enemies' hands, he paused long enough to download the planned attack data to the SecDef's secure server. After that, they started sending the list of terrorists' contact information as well as the list of government employees and active duty military who were also on the terrorist membership list. It was imperative they keep them out of the loop until they could be arrested.

Although Tim never said anything, his father guessed the first names he searched for amongst the government employees included the West Wing, cabinet members, including the Secretary of Defense and the USAG, the Joint Chiefs, as well as the aides of everyone he looked at. Next to be downloaded was a list of those involved in which attacks or was scheduled to be involved in future attacks.

Once Gibbs gave him the information needed to access the basement, Vance arrived with his own laptop partway through the download, ready to help. Although he'd suspected that Jethro knew and was helping Tim with his covert work, he was impressed with the hidden workspace. Although it took a few hours, the three men downloaded all the information to SecDef, USAG Peterson, the SecNav and Director Sailes.

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When Lu woke that morning, she found a note from her husband that said, "Tim and I are working and safe but DO NOT look for us or call – unless the house is on fire. Love you." He'd drawn a little heart next to that which made her feel a little less frightened.

She made breakfast, smiling when Artie came in with Hope; she looked worried but relaxed a bit when Lu shook her head with a smile. "They're working and we're not to interrupt unless it's a matter of life or death, literally." She leaned toward her daughter-in-law, "I hope they're close to winning this war; it's frustrating not to be able to talk about it!"

Artie nodded, giving her a kiss. "Thank you, I feel the same way! I'm grateful neither had to go to the U.S."

James and Joe left for work, Artie drove the children to school and the nursery before starting her own work day, the older gentlemen were still asleep, and James left a note that Sarah had been writing most of the night. That left Lu to herself and she sat at the table, enjoying a late morning coffee when her husband, son and their boss suddenly appeared in front of her, looking grimly satisfied and exhausted. Deciding to wait for Jethro to tell her what he could, she poured coffee for each of them and reached for the refrigerator when her son stopped her. "It's all right, Mom, I'll make breakfast for us. And yes, you can stay, as long as you don't mind the quiet! We did good and now we're tired."

She kissed him, her husband and hugged Leon, "I'm glad you're here and I hope you'll be able to rest. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Smiling at the tired responses, she added, "As I know you can't answer any of my questions, I'll leave you three alone. And maybe start writing a suspense novel about a father, son and their friend who engage in stealth work!"

Tim cooked bacon and made scrambled eggs while Leon worked the toaster and Jethro, having restored the coffeemaker to the kitchen before Lu woke, made a fresh pot of coffee and poured juice. They ate quietly, only looking up when Sarah wandered in, poured coffee, finally noticed them, frowned, opened her mouth, shut it and waved as she left.

As tired as he was, Tim couldn't help himself and started laughing. He was still overwhelmed at what they'd done over the past 14 hours, finding the information that would end the war. Realizing he'd never said why he'd been able to access the server, he cleared his throat, quietly dropping his little bombshell. "That was the work of Ajay Khan."

Two sets of eyebrows rose and two mouths stopped chewing as he continued, "Leon, you remember I told you the other White Hat tech got through the Senator's stuff before I did?" Leon nodded and his dad, who'd also heard about that, blinked. Tim tilted his head, "Turns out, he was quicker because he didn't stop to confirm the evidence he found." He chuckled, "I've been a criminal investigator for so long, I forgot not everyone works the same way we do and not every White Hat is in law enforcement! However, this person stopped when he or she found enough to blow the whistle and Homeland obviously confirmed it.

"Anyway, I had additional information and kept going. Tonight, I mean last night, I was going through more of the traitor's information. I was about 30 levels deep from where I started when I found a huge file, bigger than any I've seen since we started hacking the terrorists. If it wasn't the 'Unholy Grail', it might lead me to it or be as useful. Trying to access the file got me to another server, but I couldn't hack it. I finally found a back door and…" he told them about seeing the image of him arresting Khan and the message from the man and the passcode that finally worked. Frowning at that, Vance listened intently as Tim continued, "While we were working toward his arrest, I spent a lot of time studying his work, his habits, his methods, how he set up files, everything a hacker does, whether consciously or not, to personalize his or her work. That's paid off twice, when we arrested him and again today."

His father frowned, "Let me get this straight. After we arrested him in 2013, he hacked into our servers to pull that image and then at some point put it in the terrorists' server, 3 years before the attacks started?"

Leon thought about that. "Actually it was 2 years before they started, it took the FBI a year to tie the attacks to the combined group and then only when they escalated. Still, good points and I imagine during the course of the investigation, he'll be questioned about that."

Tim nodded, "Remember we had Khan, Kevin Hussein and Heidi Partridge at NCIS in 2014, so that narrows it down another year. And yes, I know that still doesn't explain the image or his guess that I'd hack that server, I'm saying there was more than one opportunity. Anyway, back to the data on the server, the date of origin for the membership database is 2011. However, the earliest events and calendars are dated 2009. They planned this for years and might be responsible for more carnage than Homeland and the FBI know, or are saying."

Vance nodded, "Make sure you include that, all of that, in your report. That'll need to go to everyone we contacted this morning." He looked at the other two, "I have to say, that's the most satisfying work I've ever done – and it wasn't even for the agency!"

Jethro huffed, "Yeah it was, Leon; it was for the agency and the country and . everyone in the U.S. or scattered around the world because our home isn't safe."

Tim smiled, "We did it! It's…wow!"

The other two chuckled. When Tim's cell buzzed, Vance held out his hand for the phone. Looking at the ID, he rolled his eyes and accepted the call saying, "This is Leon Vance. McGee's off duty for the next 24 hours, sleeping for at least the next 12."

On the other end, USAG Peterson made a noise, "All right, I was warned but I did want to thank him."

Without a word, Leon handed the phone back to Tim who took it, saying "Hello?"

"Thank you, this is phenomenal! Thank you and God bless you."

Tim nodded and disconnected, shutting his phone off and looking at Vance, "Who was that?"

After he stopped laughing, Leon told him.

He left while Jethro gathered his son to him, "Every time I think I'm as proud of you as I can possibly be, you prove me wrong. This…son, you found the information needed to end this mess!"

Tim nodded, closing his eyes. "They'll release our names, won't they?"

"Probably not for a few decades, it'll be classified. Maybe on the 50th anniversary of the day it's officially declared over."

"100th anniversary would be better."

"Peterson and Cyrus know it was you; ask them to give you lifetime anonymity. I plan to do the same thing and I'm sure Leon will as well. So maybe there will be a big reveal after all three of us go."

"Kids will be around. Be a surprise to them."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Maybe to Hope and Jed but not to Rissa and the boys. And I'll bet at some point, they'll tell their little sister and brother that Dad was an electronic warrior during the Second Civil War. Or you can tell them before you, geez, I don't want to talk about you dying, even if it is from old age."

"Ok, don't much like it either. Thank you for all your help, everything. Was so much easier once you came in."

"Share the burdens when you can, Elf Lord."

Tim smiled at that and his dad pulled his head down to kiss his forehead, mission accomplished.

As Tim trudged up the stairs to his bed, his mind was still whirling. He couldn't believe they'd just pulled that off! When he realized he wasn't moving anymore, he found he was standing in front of the door to Artie's office. He knocked and peeked in, smiling tiredly as his love wrapped her arms around him.

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The rest of the week was a blur after the marathon work Wednesday and Thursday. He slept for several hours that day, Artie waking him around 4 so he'd be able to sleep that night. He logged into his agency email, chuckling at a note from Vance who said he was working from home on Friday and McGee should take the day off with 'no charge' which Tim interpreted as not calling it in. As he wasn't expected at the office anyway, he was okay with that. When he tried to log onto his White Hat account on Friday, he was blocked. He frowned at that but smiled when he received a coded text from the "Big Cheese" saying, "Congrats, thank you and you're officially off duty for the next month, unless there's a new emergency. Great job, White Hat!"

Tim chuckled, he'd forgotten that the reason he'd worked Wednesday night and Thursday morning was to spend time with Artie on Friday! He was even happier when Artie finished work by 10:00 that morning. Borrowing Sarah's car, they zipped out of town for the day.

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Over the next few days, Tim began to wish for that anonymity as it seemed like everyone working with the massive amounts of data about the terrorists tried to contact him day and night with questions. They didn't know his name but somehow his office phone number was out there. Finally he rolled his calls to the security office. While the security officers taking the calls rejected them, they made a list of the callers and notified the director. A call to Secretary Porter put an end to that, although for the next few weeks, Tim was given a list of questions every week. At least someone was triaging them so the questions were not repeated. In the meantime, the Secretary of Defense agreed to lifetime anonymity for the three men, specifying a reveal only after the last of them passed.

Over the month he was 'off duty' for the White Hats, Tim decided to make it a more permanent break. While no notice was necessary, he sent a coded text to his lead and another to the 'Big Cheese'. Then he and Dad got busy in the secret room, removing every trace that anyone had been in there in recent centuries, much less spent hundreds of hours over the past year and a half.

They kept the heaters for use in Artie's office, Joe's room and the attic suite. The table and chair that had served as Tim's desk set were donated and the lanterns were distributed between the house and Dad's camping gear. The only thing Tim left were the blankets and the insulation he and Dad hung, they're remove those before they moved from the Manor but thought they'd helped the overall winter temperature in the building.

They also left the suits of armor and various ancient accessories where they were. When they removed the blankets, et al, they'd move the antiques back where Tim originally found them. He had photos of the layout the first time he walked into the room and, as much of a mess as it had been, he and Dad would put everything back. Dad teased him about the owners opening a museum down here, memorializing his historic, covert, electronic work in the middle of medieval armor, weapons and furniture. Tim rolled his eyes, although he thought about writing a letter to the owners, the Malet family, to be given to them 'someday', telling them about his use of the room. After all, he'd wanted to know the history of the Arlington house when they bought it. It didn't have to be a big deal.

Another piece of information fell into place when during a meeting Sailes casually mentioned that months ago, a member of the powerful lobby who'd joined forces with the terrorists had voluntarily supplied a membership list. That list had now been matched against the list of terrorists. Tim had wondered why the White Hats had never been tasked with identifying them, now he knew.

Eventually, Tim sent a new schedule to his agents and their office leads, showing him as in the office all week, but with time blocked out for his Deputy Assistant Director responsibilities. Although he had other duties, he was still occupying his office near the bullpen and jumping in on cases whenever he could.

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Several days after discovering the 'Unholy Grail', Andy and Greg approached him after their siblings were in bed. "Papa, we have a question for you."

He smiled, he'd seen their looks and thought he knew what it was. "What's that?"

"Are you still, uh, doing your war work?"

Smiling again, he shook his head, "No, kiddos, I've completed that service." Pulling them closer, he whispered, "When I'm an old man, we'll talk about it, until then it's classified."

"How old?"

When he told them, their eyes got big and they frowned. He kissed them, "The information will probably be declassified before that, but my name won't be revealed until after I'm gone."

"It…wow, that means you did something big."

"That's enough, boys, and no talking about this with Kyle or your sisters."

"But they know you were doing something."

"Then you may tell Kyle and Rissa I'm no longer doing whatever they think I'm doing, but nothing else and you may not say anything to Hope – or Jed when he's older. If my name were to be revealed, there could be safety issues for all of us. This is very serious, boys."

Andy's eyes widened and he nodded quickly, "Oh! I promise, Papa!" Greg echoed his brother, following that up with another question, "Does that mean you know when we're moving?"

"I don't know except to say that the war isn't over yet! When I know, I'll tell everyone."

"Will it be soon, do you think, before next autumn?"

"I don't think it will be that soon, Jammer. You'll be starting your secondary education here."

"What if I want to go to college here, will that be a problem?"

"No, son. But if you're asking whether we'll still be living here, I…wow, that's a little over 4 years from now." He chuckled, "We can make all the plans we want, sweeties, but as far as what will actually happen, no one knows until we get there."

They looked at him as he smiled, "You can figure out more ways to ask but I can't predict the future any more than you can."

Smiling, they thanked him. He asked them a few questions about their own recent adventures and happily listened as they told him.

Later, he thought about the answers he'd given them about the war ending and realized something they'd all missed! Yes, they'd pulled lists of names, events and calendars but those were all for the present. Unless the war came to an end within the next 12 weeks, that server would need to be accessed again keep the good guys' information up to date. With a sigh, he called Leon.

Vance swore for a few minutes before agreeing with Tim. Tim, who'd had a little more time to think about it, suggested that the White Hats assume the responsibility. Further, he would train 2 or 3 of the White Hats and monitor them the first month. Then it would be the White Hats' responsibility to manage until the war was over. Vance thought about it for a couple of minutes before agreeing; the only thing he didn't like was McGee having to do the training. Tim made a noise, "It's either me or Khan, Leon. As it is, I'm going to need help to remove that image of Khan and me. Nobody else needs to see that."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Yes, sir. James Powell."

"Excellent! He'll need a higher level security clearance, but that's not a problem."

"He can't just sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement?"

"He could, but I have plans for him and this will eventually lead nicely into that."

Tim chuckled, "Good! About contacting the White Hats…"

"Is there someone in charge?"

"Yes. The title is "White Hat Chief Tech."

"How do I contact that person? I'll do it, I know you're willing but I'm curious!"

Tim texted him an email address. "Say who you are and that you have something with which you need help for the war effort. It'll be easier to talk than email. The Chief Tech will call you from a burn phone, you'll be sent a text or email with the number so you'll know who it is." He told Leon his White Hat screen name. "Reference me using that, please and let them know the request originated with me. That works because I've been blocked from the system for a month and would not have been able to contact the Chief."

"Blocked?"

"Another way of saying they gave me a month off. A reward!"

"Huh, that's interesting. I won't mention that or that I know you personally."

"Thanks."

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In the meantime, life continued. While there was no official or public notice of any change in the war, people began to notice fewer attacks were reported. Behind the scenes, Tim, who was included as part of his Deputy responsibilities, learned that Homeland and the FBI were slowly and stealthily removing terrorists from their everyday lives. They were approached at night or when away from home and taken into custody, those who didn't commit 'suicide by cop' and there were increasing numbers of those. In one meeting, Sailes theorized that they were now capturing the hard core of the terrorists, those who'd planned ahead. Still, it would take time to round up the entire list.

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As winter settled in Brambury, the Christmas season was in full swing. The market town of Brambury was festively decorated and many of its residents followed suit. The Manor residents put lights on the trees in the front garden and around the entrance to the building. That was followed by the installation of their tree; this year it was Rissa's turn to attach the star. Before the tree was raised, the men held it up off the floor and the boys held the top part for their sister as she attached the star, her mother making sure it was on good and tight. Then the family raised the tree and started decorating. Ladders were in place for Rob, Bill and James, the tallest of the Gibbs boys, who decorated the top portions. Once the parts needing ladders were fully decorated, the rest of the family moved in. Leaving plenty of room for the DiNozzos to add decorations when they arrived, the family finished and the kids moved in to set up the train. Although he could no longer sit up under the tree, Kyle was all right lying down and he, Hope, Rissa, Davey and Victoria got the tracks and train in place. Then the Train man directed his siblings and cousins as to placement of the village, which by now had surely surpassed anyone's definition of a village. A castle, the Manor, regular houses, stores big and small, churches, a wild life park full of animals, streets, a frozen pond in the village square with people representing the family skating on it, this year four babies were added, sitting in a sleigh pushed by their daddies, a snowy ski hill with more people skiing and sledding, a large sleigh similar to the one at the old Christmas Tree farm in Virginia, complete with a hill of trees, snow people, more trees and snow everywhere.

Sadly, this would be the last year this train, its owner and the suburbanized village would fit under the tree. Kyle had already found a new place to display everything, in the family room, and was working with his grandfather and uncle on a design.

The last day of school before the term holiday was December 14th and the Junior Gibbses swung into action that afternoon, taking the children into London to experience some of the Christmas fun and to see Santa Claus. Jed was a little puzzled by Santa but his mama and daddy were close by so he didn't fuss and squealed when he was bounced on the big red knee. With Greg's help, Hope knew what to tell Santa and came away looking very pleased with herself. Rissa and Kyle were also prepared and smiled as they slid down from the big chair.

The tree had been up for over a week by December 19th when the senior Gibbses met the DiNozzos and the Colonel at the airport. After kisses and hugs, the twins were buckled into their safety seats while Grandpa and Grandma greeted the Colonel and then grabbed Tony and Maggie for more kisses and hugs. Eventually, the luggage was tucked in, their gifts had been shipped directly to the Manor, and they were on their way home.

The twins were a complacent pair and as they'd been here a few weeks ago, things still looked familiar. All three of the babies squealed when they saw each other, making their parents and grandparents very happy. After naptime, Jilly came to visit and the four of them had a happy baby reunion. They played on the floor of the nursery together while their silly parents and grandparents took many photos of them.

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When they returned from South Africa, Lu and Jethro were in a quandary regarding bringing the Palmers further into the family. Lu had finally invited Ducky for tea and asked him if he would mind her adopting Jimmy. He looked at her, puzzled, "Are you asking me?"

"I am asking if you'd have a problem. If you don't, I'll ask Jimmy. If you do, then we'll let the matter drop." She explained that she was concerned about Jimmy's lack of family, other than themselves, and hoped to bring him, Breena and the children closer into the family, adding that she had no intention of treading on the elderly doctor's fatherly toes.

He chuckled and then his face grew sad, saying, "Jimmy's father died when he was Greg's age and his mother remarried when Jimmy was in college. She's not part of his life, to my knowledge she's never been told she has grandchildren nor that they live here. She may not even know Jimmy's married. They were estranged before her remarriage and the gap has widened ever since. Shortly after his father's death, his mother told him and younger brother Stevie that they were going to live with his aunt Jean, his father's older sister, who lived about 30 miles away. The boys packed up all their belongings and Mother Palmer rented a small truck so they could take their bicycles and larger items. However, when they reached Aunt Jean's, no one was home. Mrs. Palmer opened the door and the three of them unloaded the suitcases, boxes of books and toys, stashing their bicycles in the garage.

"As the boys didn't know what bedrooms they'd have or if they were sharing, they'd only been there once before, the suitcases and boxes of their belongings were placed in the living room. Mrs. Palmer told the boys she had to take the truck back and would see them later, telling them to make themselves lunch. They said goodbye, Jimmy says he does not remember being worried.

"When Aunt Jean came home an hour or so later, she was quite surprised and upset to find her young nephews 'dumped' on her. While Mrs. Palmer told the boys they were going to live with their aunt, she'd neglected to tell Jean. She was quite a bit older than Jimmy's father, with no children and no wish to have any children.

"Jimmy says he believes one of the reasons she didn't call Social Services immediately is that the boys had made sandwiches and had glasses of milk for lunch and had washed their dishes and cleaned off the table – and that neither of them cried when she said their mother had lied to them and that they couldn't live there. Long story short, they lived with her until Stevie graduated high school. That first day, Jimmy promised her she wouldn't have to do anything to take care of them, although they'd need her help to get signed up for school, to sign report cards and acquire new clothes when they were needed, but they would take care of themselves. And that's how they lived for 8 years, without another word from their mother." Ducky shook his head, "Jimmy isn't particularly close to his brother, although they are in touch via email and Facebook. In some cases, such as Timothy and Sarah's, adversity brings siblings closer. Jimmy and Stevie stuck together when they had to and I don't believe there's any bad blood between them. However once grown, they found they are happier apart, perhaps not having to face unpleasant memories that way. Steve went to university overseas and has never returned to the U.S. He, too, is estranged from their mother."

Lu frowned unhappily, "Do you know what happened with the mother?"

"From what I've gathered over the years, what Jimmy learned from his aunt, and I will tell you this because of your interest in our boy, their mother didn't want to be a parent, she'd never wanted to be a parent but her husband sweet talked her into having the two children, promising her he would take care of them and raise them. Jimmy says he did, until he became ill.

"Unlike your girl and boys, Jimmy and Stevie had a roof over their heads, and their aunt fed and clothed them, signed their report cards but as Jimmy promised, she didn't spend any more time with them than she had to. She worked long hours and was sometimes away for a few days, but Jimmy says they always had light and heat and knew the neighbors quite well. The brothers were Boy Scouts and I'm told their troop leader always made sure they had a ride to and from their meetings and any outings and that they knew to call him if they needed help. Sometimes they were invited to stay over with him and his wife; Jimmy says those were the best times and that he and Steve knew they could ask for help if their aunt wasn't available and would get it. He says that because they knew there was help nearby, they didn't feel they needed it. They spent holidays with the neighbors, friends or the Scout Leader. And to this day I have no idea why none of those people called Social Services."

Lu huffed, "I might. If the aunt had lived there for any length of time, the neighbors probably knew her well, knew what had happened and either sympathized with her or rationalized that the boys were better off with Aunt Jean than going into foster care. And they may have kept covert eyes on the boys, too. It sounds horrible to say this, but it's not that uncommon and it's not limited to either gender and certainly not to single parents or guardians. What did they do during school vacations?"

"They attended summer school, which was probably a godsend, and were within walking distance of the schools. When they weren't in school, they did odd jobs, mowed lawns, weeded gardens, babysat other people's children, rode their bikes to the library or occasionally the movies. Both studied hard, knowing they'd need scholarships to continue their educations. Jimmy says they kept the house relatively neat, his father had established that, so the aunt never had to do much housework, the boys even did the laundry. Basically, Jimmy and Steve continued living the routine their father set up for them, haircuts every month at the barber's, new shoes, underwear, trousers, long sleeved shirts and jackets in the fall and new shorts and shirts in the spring. When their trousers got too short, they'd ask Mrs. Scout Leader to measure them, saying their aunt had been too busy. They would make a list of what they needed, hand over whatever money they had and their aunt would purchase the clothes for them, presumably paying for the rest or perhaps there was a financial arrangement with the mother. They'd find packages of clothes or shoes on the kitchen table with their names on them. Jimmy has said that occasionally she would bring home large boxes of toilet paper, boxes of macaroni and cheese and frozen dinners. They ate those along with sandwiches, fruit, fresh spinach salads and carrots, the only vegetables they both liked. From what Jimmy has said about their school records, I suspect one or both of the boys learned to copy their aunt's signature."

Lu nodded, "I'm fairly certain Tim learned to copy Ellen Brill's signature, Robbie's birth mother, early on and used it to sign all of their school reports and papers until Geordie became their legal guardian. Either it was Tim, Nate or Juanita." She thought about the Palmer boys. "The house looked neat and tidy on the outside and the boys looked cared for. Obviously they didn't get into any trouble."

"Correct. When they outgrew their bicycles, they found used ones in good condition and paid for them with their own money. They'd already sold their old bikes, toys and books and saved part of their earnings from their odd jobs to buy the 'new' used bikes.

"Their former scout leader and his wife attended their graduations. Neither their aunt nor their mother attended any of them. They both took driver's education at their high school and once they got their permits, someone went driving with them, I believe that was a friend's older sibling. When Jimmy graduated from high school, he remained at the house, got a job and attended the local Community College full-time until Steve finished high school, then the two of them left.

"By that time, they'd had a note from their mother in which she wished them good luck in their lives. There were no acrimonious scenes, no angry words. The same sort of thing happened when they left the aunt's house. Both boys did odd jobs until they were legally old enough to work and then worked part-time around their high school classes. They each paid rent to the aunt and bought their own food."

Lu made a face, "When her husband dies, the boys' mother decides she's not responsible for raising her sons because her husband promised he would. She then dumps them on her husband's closest relative, the older sister, who sounds like she might have been a career woman and also not interested in children. Although the aunt did more than the mother! Part of parenting is providing for the child's physical needs and the aunt did that and I suppose even some of their emotional needs by not signing them over to Social Services."

Ducky huffed, "If you say so, I find the whole situation unacceptable. Jimmy told me that before he and Steve left for good, they borrowed a truck from friends, returned to their old house and loaded up all the furniture, appliances, leaving a note for their mother. They sold it all, using the money to help buy what they needed for college, including Steve's passport, student visa and airfare overseas. Both had full ride scholarships. The interesting thing is that Jimmy didn't own a car until shortly before he began to work at NCIS. He was only able to purchase one then because he received a bank check from his mother, via an attorney's office, part of the profit from the sale of the house. Steve received the same amount."

"It's strange, isn't it? I'm glad they had help and that she didn't outright abandon them and then shared the house proceeds with them. I'm beginning to understand why Steve left the country! Did they ever hear from the aunt or their mother again?"

"Yes, their aunt died a few years ago and willed them the proceeds from the sale of her house, car and belongings. It wasn't a fortune but Jimmy says it meant a great deal to him that she did that. He heard from his mother when she remarried, I don't know how she found their contact information. Perhaps the aunt was still alive."

Ducky took a deep breath, "Luella, I will be most happy if Jimmy agrees to become your son, I look forward to sharing parenting and grandparenting duties with you. I am curious about Jethro, however."

"He says Jimmy has always been yours and he won't tread on your toes. He also wants to talk with you and eventually Jimmy and Breena."

The good doctor smiled, "And so he has been mine. We talked about adoption at one point; however, that was before I retired. Perhaps once you've discussed the subject with him, I'll do the same. I'm not concerned about Jethro usurping my place with our children, I trust him as well as Jimmy and Breena!" They smiled, both happy.

Shortly after, Lu and Jimmy had a lovely talk. Jimmy was gobsmacked when she asked to be his mother, to adopt him. He sat there blinking, his mouth open and then closed his eyes. Taking several calming breaths, he opened his eyes and nodded, finally saying, "Yes, I'd love to be your son!"

"Wonderful!" The two hugged and then Jimmy laughed when Lu pulled the paperwork needed from her pocket. With a twinkle in her eyes, she said, "I've been through this before, it's very easy for adult adoption." Before she went home, the paperwork was signed and she'd have it notarized before mailing it. When Breena was told, she cheered before hugging and kissing her husband and new mother-in-law.

Ducky called Lu a day later, asking where she'd found the proper paperwork, Jimmy had agreed to legally become his son. Lu printed out what they'd need and had it ready for the men when they arrived. Once everything was signed, the three of them and Jethro visited the local notary and then mailed the paperwork off to Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, Ducky and the Palmers' permanent residence and to Alexandria, in the State of Virginia, the Gibbses permanent residence.

By the time the DiNozzos arrived for Christmas on the 19th, legal forms acknowledging the receipt of the request and acceptance for adoption of James Palmer had been received from the District of Columbia and the State of Virginia. The Palmers asked to make the announcements at Christmas dinner.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Remembering Rob's comment months before about never having enough time with his siblings, Tim took the rest of the week before Christmas off so he could spend time with Tony, Maggie and the babies. While they were staying until New Year's, he wanted as much time with them as possible, along with spending those fun pre-Christmas days with his wife and kids. The children were wound up, as usual, and busy finishing whatever Christmas presents they were making and/or wrapping.

Thursday, the first full day the DiNozzos were in town, Tony, Maggie, Tim, Artie, Sarah and Breena, left the kids and babies with the grandparents and great-grandmothers and went into the city to visit NCIS, having lunch with that bunch, Abby, Ellie, Bec, James, Jimmy, Barry and Alan. When Joe, Charlotte, Freddie, Geo, Bill and Rob were able to meet them at the restaurant the siblings realized they were all together, except for Patrick. Nikki was also missing, due to a meeting. Tony looked at them all, "So who are you people?"

That set them off and they laughed, teased and joked their way through the meal. After they'd finished and were enjoying after lunch beverages, happy that Bec's phone was quiet, Jimmy and Breena had a little whisper together. Then smiling, Jimmy said to the group, "We have an announcement. We'll tell the others at Christmas, but since we're all here now…I am officially one of you! Lu and I are now legally mother, well the document says parent, and son, which I guess makes Jethro my stepdad, like you and Jethro, Tony. And Ducky and I are now legally father, again parent, and son!"

There was dead silence while the group absorbed the news and then pandemonium broke out with cheers, hugs, thumps on the back for Jimmy, kisses for Breena from her sisters-in-law and general chaos. Luckily, there weren't many other patrons and those who were there had enough Christmas spirit to be amused and entertained rather than upset. When Geordie asked how all that had come about, Jimmy laughed, "The way I understand it, Lu brought it up while they were in South Africa, saying she was concerned about me not having family besides all of you and of course Ducky. They talked about things and Jethro suggested she adopt me, like she adopted Tony. When they got home, she talked with Ducky to make sure he was cool with it and he said we'd talked about formalizing our father-son relationship and decided against it but that was before he retired. And you know, Tim, if your adoption or the discovery happened while Gibbs' team was still intact, you would have had to leave the team. That's pretty much why Ducky and I didn't pursue adoption back then. So, Lu and Ducky both talked to me, and Breena, we agreed, did the paperwork and here we are!"

Tony grinned, "Isn't it great having a mom again?" He and Jimmy had talked several times about missing mothers.

"Yeah, it sure is! And we've told the kids they can call Lu and Jethro Grandma and Grandpa. Now they have two grandmothers and three grandfathers!"

"Great! Breena, have you told your parents?"

She shook her head, "No, we'll Skype with them on Christmas and tell them then."

"Are you going to change your name to Mallard, or hyphenate it?"

"The two of us are going to hyphenate; however, we're thinking of changing the kids' surnames to Mallard. Of course, that means we'll have to change Jilly's middle name but that's easy enough to do. My Palmer dad was a great guy, a good father, and I'd like to honor him by keeping his name. And my brother will pass it along too, he's got two kids."

Some of his new siblings were confused by that, having no clue Jimmy had a brother, so he explained Steve to them. Tony noticed he didn't say anything about their childhood.

When a phone eventually rang, they all made faces. Tim pulled his out and put his finger to his lips, "Our boss!"

Accepting the call, he said, "Hello, Director" and then listened as Leon asked if he would be home that evening, he had something for him.

"Sure. Artie and I are in London now, having lunch out."

"I forgot the DiNozzos are here. Tell everyone hello for me, please. I think I'd rather bring this around after dinner, if that's all right. Does 7 work? I won't stay long."

Tim chuckled, "That's fine, see you then."

He disconnected, put his phone away and picked up his coffee cup. Finally noticing how quiet it was, he looked up, most of them were staring at him.  
"What? Oh, Leon says hello."

The London NCIS'ers managed to look guilty, checking the time. Tim shook his head, "Nope, I cleared this with Joel. All NCIS employees here are in a meeting with the Deputy Assistant Director."

Tony raised his hand, "Me too?"

"You're on vacation, goofball! But yeah, if you want to say that, it's fine by me!"

"Great, I can say I was in a meeting with DAD, who's my brother."

Tim groaned while most of the others laughed, he'd walked right into that one!

Sarah looked at Rob, "Robbie, do you see anything funny about that?"

"No, Sari, I don't. Our brother was our dad for many years!"

Tim mouthed 'thanks' at the two of them while they smiled smugly at the others. Alan was puzzled, looking around until Barry said he'd tell him the story later.

When Bec's phone rang, the group broke up, although the call was not a case. It was her junior agent, reminding her he had a dental appointment that afternoon.

Home again, the DiNozzos and the Gibbses spent the rest of the afternoon together, playing with the kids and the babies when they woke from their afternoon nap. Tim was happy when he finally got to hold Diane for more than a minute, playing with her and telling her he was Jed's daddy, her uncle Tim. She babbled at him, he understand mama, dada and grah, who Tim supposed was granddad, or the Colonel. After he relinquished the baby girl to his wife, Jack came to him and they had some fun together. Finally, his own baby boy was in his arms and he cooed, "Dada!" He sat on Tim's lap, looking at the others, babbling sounds that Tim and Artie both thought meant Grandpa, Grandma along with various sounds for his siblings. When he wanted to get down, he started rocking on Tim's lap and squealed happily when he was put on the floor. The three little ones were still working on their mobility, Jack had given up his crab crawl in favor of rolling, although he was still working on ending up where he wanted to be. Diane, having started with that mode of movement, was better at that. Jed was sticking with scooting. Spotting a favorite toy, he started scooting across the room for it. Then he sat back on his legs, frustrated, his toy was too far away and this was taking too long! He made a noise and watched his cousins rolling around for a minute.

Tim looked at Artie, "Is it cheating if we show him how to crawl?"

"No. Andy, Susannah and I showed Rissa."

"Ok, so here I go."

On the floor, he sat next to Jed, sitting back the same as his son. Then he called his name, "Jed, watch me, watch Daddy!" Jed watched his daddy, who got on his knees and then put his hands down and started moving towards the toy. Jed made a noise, watching. When Daddy stopped, Jed moved so that his knees were under him. Daddy copied him and then moved his body up and put his hands on the floor, ready to crawl again. Jed watched him before copying his movements and actually crawling. He caught up to his daddy at the toy and then had to sit so he could use a hand in a pincer motion to bring the toy to him. Tim said later he thought Jed was happier about retrieving the toy then actually crawling. Tim crawled around some more, Tony joining him. The twins watched them for a minute and then went back to their rolling. Jed eventually lost interest in the toy and looking around, apparently thought visiting Mama was a good idea. He started to scoot, then stopped, working a few minutes to get into the right position to crawl. Then he made his way to Mama, squealing with happiness, he could travel!

As she cuddled her son, Artie smiled, saying to Tim, "Do you remember how fast Hope was when she came home to us?"

"Fastest crawler ever! It took all of us to keep up with her!"

"And Rissa had to find her for us, we were staying at the house next to Dad's and she got under the couch and got into the pantry."

Maggie's jaw dropped, "She was under the couch?"

"Yes. Hope was just a year old and Rissa was three. She didn't understand why we were worried about the baby but she helped, telling us what she was doing, if she found a door open." She laughed, "Hope's 3 now, I bet she'll be as big a help as Rissa was!"

Tim looked at the couches and chairs. "Should we baby proof the ones that have space under them?"

"No, he needs to be able to explore. However, we need to make sure it's always clean underneath and make sure there aren't any splinters in the understructure."

"We've got the new rules posted, about doors and windows, no tablecloths, nothing on the beds that will hurt him if he pulls on the covers. And all the cabinet, electrical outlet and lock covers are on and the shield on the stove top."

Tony and Maggie were listening and nodding. They'd done the same thing, starting to baby proof when the twins were infants. As Jilly grew, when her parents discovered anything they hadn't known or had forgotten, they'd shared with the DiNozzos and the Gibbses, which really helped.

When the babies got tired of playing, they started to fuss and were taken to the kitchen for a little snack. Joe was home for dinner that night and he, Tony, Tim, Artie, Sarah and James had fun telling their parents and Uncle LJ about their lunch. Tony rolled his eyes when he said, "I had this great joke, I've been waiting since his promotion to pull it on Tim. I had the opportunity today and said it…big hit, until Sarah and Rob totally ruined it."

Sarah smiled sweetly at him. "We were just telling the truth, Tony."

"What was the joke?"

Tony said it and then Sarah repeated Rob's rebuttal and they all groaned, understanding Tony's frustration. Joe shook his head, "Man, you have to know your audience! You should have known Sari and Robbie would speak up."

"You're right, I should have known. Hmm, I could…"

Sarah shook her head, "Nope. You are not teasing him about the acronym for his new position. It's not like he made it up!"

"But it's not a mean tease."

Tim smiled, "I know it isn't, Tony. Tell you what, Leon's coming over in a few minutes, why don't you try it on him? If he doesn't at least smile, you can claim jet lag or something."

"Ok, what? Leon's coming over? Why?"

"I don't know, wants to talk with me about something, said it wouldn't take long. He lives two blocks from here, you know."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Mm, I think I'll try the joke on Uncle Dave, he usually likes my stuff."

They had the table cleared and the kids were playing in the family room, the babies were in the kiddie corral in the dining room, when Leon arrived.

He smiled as he greeted Tony, Maggie and the Colonel. "Merry Christmas, it's good to see you again so soon! Where are the little ones?"

He followed Tony to the kiddie corral and squatted down to say hello. Jed recognized him and babbled something. That meant instant acceptance by the twins and they grinned at the newcomer.

When Leon stood up again, he found Tim nearby and said, "I'd like Artie to join us, too, if she's not busy."

Artie smiled, "I'm here, Leon."

Tim nodded, "Good, let's go upstairs to my office."

Bringing a carafe of coffee and three cups, they walked upstairs. In the family room, the boys and Rissa looked at each other, wondering what was going on. Andy said softly, "Papa said we couldn't go home until the war's over and it's not over yet."

Greg nodded, "Yes, but we might have to go somewhere else, like Mr. Ned and Uncle Tony did."

Kyle grinned, "Maybe it'll be somewhere that's as cool as here. With a pool, too!"

Their grandfather joined them, hearing the last remark. "If your dad's transferred somewhere, your grandmother and I will move with you."

The kids smiled at that, relieved.

Upstairs, Tim poured coffee for the three of them and then sat on his desk chair while Artie sat next to Leon on the couch. The director shook his head with a chuckle, "I saw the looks; I did not mean to worry anyone. You're not going anywhere nor is anything else going on." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket, "I wanted to give you this in private."

He looked at Artie. "For the past year and a half, Tim's been involved in covert work, at my direction, even though I have no authority over him in the matter. He belongs to a group who works online to help keep the U.S. defenses strong. Up until July 2017, that had nothing to do with the agency and I only knew he was a member of this group because FBI Director Sailes knew, although that might have been an educated guess. This group is anonymous, they use screen names and use voice changers when speaking to one another. When the 'Unwanted' list was published, the Chief Tech of this group contacted Homeland Security and volunteered the group to help in the fight. As they're well known for their good solid work, the offer was gratefully accepted."

As Leon paused to take a breath, Tim said, "We call that person the "Big Cheese". Although I don't believe it's just one person."

"That's the title?"

"No, it's the nickname given that position by members of the group."

"Oh."

Artie worked hard not to smile, as soon as she'd heard the term 'Big Cheese', she remembered. When she and Tim were at MIT and pretty much joined at the hip, he joined an anonymous group of hackers to stop other hackers from accessing or harming the servers, first at MIT and then at other universities and businesses. She remembered the name, White Hat Hackers, because it was such a romantic, ridiculously chivalrous name for a group of geeks. She was a geek too, but wasn't a skilled enough hacker, or much of a hacker at all, to join the group. Now she knew who Tim had been working with over the past year and wished she'd thought of it herself, months ago. It would have made things easier for both of them.

Leon was talking to her and she focused on his words. "I know it's been difficult, although Tim reassures me that once we worked out the new schedule, it got better."

Artie frowned, "I thought you said it had nothing to do with the agency?"

"It didn't until July of '17. Then I found out, quite by accident, that he was a member and I decided to make it his priority. Even though I only have authority over him as an NCIS employee. However, I think Tim was already doing some work in the group, had been for years, and was agreeable with my order."

Tim's finger tapped on the arm of his chair, his signal to her that he was amused. The finger stopped when Vance touched the envelope and said, "Artie, earlier this month, Tim won the war. He won the whole damn thing for us."

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at Leon before turning his gaze to her husband, who was blushing. Although he didn't protest, he did say, "You and Dad helped, Leon."

"We helped _you_. You're the one that found the site and tunneled in, figured out everything else."

He handed the envelope to Artie, "This is the first payment of the reward money for the capture of the first group of terrorists from the information Tim provided. The Secretary of the Treasury will continue to pay the reward for the capture of the terrorists, according to the numbers apprehended each quarter."

Opening the envelope to peek at the check, Artie gasped and without a word, handed the envelope to Tim. He looked at it and closed his eyes. "Leon…I can't, we can't."

"You earned it. The federal government offers a reward of $10,000 per terrorist. Figure that out, that's how many from your list have been apprehended, so far." He grinned, "They've only just begun."

He shook his head, "Look, it's coming to you whether you want it or not. Secretary Porter was concerned about your reaction when she heard about it and asked to deliver this. Unfortunately, her schedule was changed and she got the envelope to the State Department. One of their attaches who was traveling over here brought it to me this morning. If you look at the flap, there's something from Secretary McCord."

Tim looked and smiled at the little sketch from Mrs. Bess, showing Artie, who also smiled. Leon continued, "What you do with the money is up to you. Just a warning though, there will be more."

Artie had several ideas but decided to go for practical, for now. "Leon, you said Tim won the war. I know there has been no announcement, but is it over now? Or will it be over soon?"

"Not yet and soon-ish. Probably another year, possibly two for the cleanup. We want to make sure we get every single one of these buzzards and to do that we have to be very stealthy. That will take time but hearing the plans have made me feel better as we're now able to bring in our stealth military specialists to bring these people in while they're out of the public eye. The fight will go on as it has been but with the calendars of planned attacks and the names of the buzzards, it should pick up. The trick is to take people out without anyone noticing, for as long as possible. We want to capture them all, not spook them into hiding."

"That's what Dad's been afraid of, the hiding bit. That they'd just go to ground to regroup again at the next opportunity. That's awesome about the stealth specialists!"

Leon nodded, "One more thing, speaking of stealth specialists. The White Hats have agreed to take on the responsibility of updating that information and the Chief Tech will remove the block so you can contact him or her to schedule training. Artemis, although we believed Tim was done with his covert work, he realized that it will take time for everything to be cleaned up and during that time, someone still needs to monitor and pull new information from the terrorists' server. He will not be responsible for that, however as it is, as he says, a very delicate hack, he will train 3 White Hats to do what he did. Once he's satisfied they understand, he'll monitor them for a few weeks and will then be done." He looked at Tim, "You decided who you want that information to go to?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, the Secretary of State. She's, uh, keeping an eye on some of the folks we aren't sure of and asked to be the point of contact for the White Hats."

Leon raised an eyebrow, "You called her?"

"No, she contacted me. She has some big doubts."

"I can only imagine! That's good, though. Sailes is trustworthy but right now the Bureau is under Homeland's thumb and the new secretary…"

Tim nodded, "That's what Mrs. Bess said."

He suddenly laughed, "Taxes, they wanted to get that check to me before the end of the tax year."

Leon nodded, "Yes."

"I'm surprised they didn't just take what we owe."

"Don't know about that. Porter said that she, Sailes, Peterson and Cyrus were present when the check was signed and Peterson grabbed it before anyone could change their minds."

Tim cocked his head, smiling at his wife, "We'll handle this right away then." He turned his head, nodding in appreciation to the director, "Thank you for explaining things to Artie, Leon, that means more than the money! Does she need to sign an NDA?"

"Depends, are you going to continue your covert work?"

"Only to train and monitor, so probably another month."

"Then no Non-Disclosure Agreement is needed. However, Dr. Midei, what I've said about the war, the planned capture of the terrorists, that must be kept quiet."

Artie nodded, smiling, "I give you my word and thank you for trusting me. Tim, are you sure you want out?"

His eyes wide, he nodded, "Yes, I hadn't done any work with them in a few years as it was. If there's another emergency, possibly but otherwise, no, I'm done."

She grinned, "Well, you were one of the first in the group."

This time Leon's eyebrows rose and Tim gave him a sheepish look. "I've been a member since we were at MIT. Artie knew about it then."

She chuckled, "I can't believe I didn't remember, all these months! But you weren't as secretive then."

"I wasn't a federal agent then. And there's more at stake now. Leon, how come you never joined? Your specialty was decryption!"

Vance shrugged, "I'm just that much older than you, Tim. I was married with a daughter when I first heard of them, working at NCIS. The director at the time was not a believer. He said it was just a matter of show that the White Hats stopped those Asian hackers that first time and that they had no real loyalty."

"Is he still alive?"

"As far as I know, why? Oh, you want to rub his face in it?"

"No, I thought you might want to."

"Hmm, I'll think about it! Is your name going to be released?"

"They gave me a lifetime pass. Actually, you should be contacted, all three of us are being offered a lifetime pass. If you do, then after all three of us are gone, the information will be released."

"Sweet! Of course, a lot of people know already. What about the White Hats? That Big Cheese person knows."

Tim nodded, "That's okay, the Big Cheese will be silent."

Artie looked at him but he was done talking.

They locked the envelope in the safe in the office closet and then locked the office door as they left. When they returned to the main level, Leon caught Tim's eye as he looked at Lu. Tim gave him a slight nod, good idea. Dad, Geordie, Bec and James already knew he was a White Hat, he'd bring Mom, Tony and Maggie in on it and that was enough. Too many for Rule #4 but he was done with it anyway.

When Sarah and James went out to a late movie and the Colonel and the kids were all in bed, Tim asked his mother, Tony and Maggie to join him. His dad and Artie sat down too.

Tim cleared his throat, "What I'm about to tell you should be secret but I'm done with it now except for some cleanup, so I'll trust that you won't talk about this with anyone not at this table right now. Since July of '17, I've been splitting my work hours between my regular agency duties and a covert assignment given me by…well, Vance gave me the order, I didn't know until later the suggestion, if not the order, came from Peterson, Porter, Sailes and McKinley. Mom, Peterson is the Attorney General, Sailes is the director of the FBI and McKinley is the director of the CIA. Anyway, what's funny, to me anyway, is that none of them had the authority to order me to do the work, it's all voluntary no pay, no glory, the group I worked with doesn't want glory seekers.

"Apparently, all those hacks I did…" his father and Tony's eyes just about fell out of their heads and he chuckled, "Ha, got ya! Back in the day, on our team, I was sometimes ordered to access this or that before the warrant was actually in our hands. What I was about to say is that apparently those two other directors know about that now. Anyway, back to current events, I've been working as a White Hat hacker for the past 17 months and that was made my top priority, over NCIS work.

"Until late January, early February, I was working at night after everyone had gone to bed and on the weekends when I could squeeze it in. Then I stopped as I was exhausted and knew I had to make a choice, between agency and hacking work. I was a zombie husband and father and we were about to add a new baby, there was no way I could continue. When I met with Leon, I told him I had three fulltime jobs, my family, the agency and the White Hats and that I had to drop that to two and would still need an income. He did the unimaginable and worked out a schedule so I worked at the agency Monday through Wednesday and on my covert work Thursdays and Fridays. Then I had the weekends free and sometimes, if I worked Wednesday and Thursday nights, I'd have Fridays free too.

"The White Hat Hackers, the White Hat name is from Western movies where the good guys always wore white cowboy hats, is an anonymous volunteer group that works to prevent cyber invasion by other entities, our enemies, our 'friendly' enemies, groups of 'black hat' hackers who want to bring us down, you name it.

"You'll occasionally see a news item that a hack was fought off. That usually involves the White Hats, as we not only protect, we monitor. I joined the group when it was fairly new, while we were still at MIT and Artie and I used to talk about it, although she never joined.

"I stuck with them until I went to FLETC, then I put myself 'on call', that is only to be contacted in the event of an "all hands on deck" emergency. And yes, that did happen, twice while I was at Norfolk. Anyway, when I joined the MCRT, I dropped out, there was no way I could just disappear into my PC for anything other than a case. Sometimes I'd pop in to see what was going on and Tony, many times when I said I was gaming, I was hacking with the White Hats.

"I've stopped again now and, except for some training, I won't go back. So that's it. Again, please don't mention or talk about it to anyone who's not here right now."

Tony frowned, "Does James know?"

"He's hinted that he does but I've never confirmed it. Sarah doesn't have a great track record with secrets and I couldn't risk it."

His brother winced, nodding. Dad stirred in his chair, "I figured it out and helped him when I could. Obviously not by hacking but in other ways."

Mom frowned, "That morning…you said you were working but not to look for you. Were you in the house somewhere?"

"Yes but I can't say any more than that."

"Oh. Did something happen before you went to Morocco last year?"

Tim paled, closing his eyes, while Dad shook his head. "He said he couldn't say any more. No more questions! He's gone out on a limb telling us this much. Artie, I'm glad you knew, that's a relief."

She made a face, "I should have known, should have remembered, but I did not. Until this evening when Leon said something that jogged my memory, then I realized that's what my dear husband has been doing. I had realized it was work related, obviously he couldn't talk about it and I trust him with all my heart."

Lu reached out to Tim, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I got carried away."

He returned her hug, holding on for a long moment. "That's okay, Mama, I can see how you'd think I'd be able to tell you more." She sat down, relieved, knowing from his use of 'Mama' that it really was all right.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Tim had a nightmare that night, Artie woke him, distracting him so thoroughly that his collywobbles raised by the White Hat conversation were banished.

Friday morning, they had a long conversation about what to do with the reward money given him. While little was settled that day, before the year was out, they'd put the money to work. Neither Leon nor Dad would accept any part of the money for helping Tim. During the first months of the new year, they finally found a way to thank Leon and one with which he agreed, by establishing the Vance Family scholarship fund for U.S. citizens, wherever they wished to study.

Artie and Tim also decided to keep enough of the reward money in their travel account to pay for the family's travels over the next few years and then moved the rest around, dividing a large sum between the children's trust funds, donating to various charities, including those that worked with the foster care systems in the U.S., veterans' organizations and other charities. Remembering the funds Senior DiNozzo mentioned as being raised to rebuild the U.S. after the war, they spoke with him and were given contact information. Tim was almost smugly happy about adding some of the 'reward money for information directly leading to the arrest of domestic terrorists' to the funds to help rebuild so much that the terrorists had destroyed.

After some research, he and Artie also eventually set up an organization that started out to fund scholarships for victims of the terrorists as well as homeless and foster kids and evolved into general assistance for people needing help with almost everything, resettling after the war, helping pay for housing, counseling, medical help, reuniting their families, transportation, education, groceries and clothing as well as links to all kinds of helpful links. The organization's motto was "Pay it Forward", in other words to help others, in whatever fashion. That organization, along with the Vance scholarship and the rebuilding funds, gave Tim the most satisfaction.

But the first several days after receiving the check were about Christmas. Knowing what they did, Jethro, Tim and Artie resolved to enjoy it as much as possible, thinking this might be the last Christmas the extended family would spend together at the Manor. If the war ended soon, some of the family could conceivably be back in the States by next Christmas.

Tony, Tim and their brothers did some last minute shopping together on Saturday, which was fun, if chaotic. Sunday, Tony went with Tim and the boys to visit Patrick, approving of the Christmas tree. Hope and Rissa sent drawings of Christmas trees and Greg pinned those up while Kyle took down the drawings they'd done of the wedding. While the boys talked to their father, Tim put up some retro photos, of Kyle and Greg with Kathy during her last visits and with him during their first visits together. He'd sorted them out and when Tony figured out what he was doing, he helped him. He had sets of photos for several visits per year, as the boys grew up. Kyle from a toddler to a preschooler to a Reception age student to his first year level to today. Greg started as a 6 year old and looked unhappy in most of the photos until they got to Christmas in 2014, the first year they spent Christmas in Alexandria. There were other photos interspersed, the boys in their first snowsuits, sent by Sarah from London in 2014, at Tim and Artie's wedding the following year, playing softball in the garden at the Manor, and other family photos. If Patrick was in the process of waking up, Tim hoped he would see the photos and know his sons were well taken care of, dearly loved.

When they left Patrick's room, the boys stopped at the restroom while Tim peeked back into his brother's room, but there was no change this time. When Tim turned, Tony was right there, "What are you looking for?"

Making sure the boys weren't around, Tim sighed, "In the past few weeks, I've seen two movements. The second one was him moving his mouth, like he was trying to kiss someone. Kyle and I had just kissed him. The boys don't know, I'm the only one who's noticed. I've alerted the staff but haven't said anything to anyone else but Artie. I'm trying to visit by myself more often during the week, maybe a familiar voice or touch helps. I don't know."

"You haven't told Sarah?"

Tim shook his head, "I don't want to get the boys' hopes up. Or scare them, Kyle used to be afraid Patrick would take them away from us."

Tony looked at the pain in his brother's eyes and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, whispering, "Whether he wakes up or not, you're an awesome brother to him and a wonderful father to his children. He won't take them."

Tim nodded, patting the hand on his shoulder in thanks for the encouraging words. When the boys rejoined their father and uncle, they found them in the lounge at the front of the facility, inspecting the Christmas decorations. Kyle laughed, "Look, Daddy, there are the ones we made last year!"

"How about that, Doodle Bug! They liked yours and Greg's so much they kept them!"

Greg smiled, pointing to two more, "There are Andy's and Rissa's. Oh and Hope's, we helped her."

Tim smiled and Tony made a special point of looking at the decorations, glad he was here with them. He didn't know how he felt about the possibility of Patrick waking up. With the medication he'd been given by the IPF goons to keep him in a coma who knew what his mental or physical state would be. Although from what Tim said, there must be something still there. What a lot of catching up he'd have to do!


	83. Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Christmas was a blast with the babies. They were a little upset by the noise and happy chaos of Christmas morning but once they were safe in their grandparents' laps and had objects to claim their attention, they calmed. By the time the rest of the family arrived in the early afternoon, including their mentor Jilly, they were cool with the whole thing. They played in their kiddie corral in Grandpa and Grandma's suite, showing their slightly older cousin their new crawling skills. Jilly squealed and crawled along with them, although she was walking now. Eventually she got tired of crawling, rose to her feet and stood without holding on to anything, astounding her playmates. Then she demonstrated her prowess, giggling as she ran from one end of the corral to the other.

With all the siblings, Penny, the Hubbards and Cranes there, the chaos began anew. More than two hours passed before the living room floor could be seen again. There were a few presents left under the tree, waiting for the Vances and Fornells to join them.

The group loudly greeted Kayla's boyfriend, Jonah, when the Vances arrived. He was new to them and was immediately declared a brave soul for not running right out the door. Em and P grinned at Kayla, thanking her for willing to be first to bring a boyfriend to a family celebration. Leon beamed at all of them.

Dinner was festive and delicious; they once again managed to fit into the dining room while the food was served buffet style in the kitchen. This year, Tim and Artie insisted on treating and with the help of several cooks, there were succulent beef roasts, Yorkshire puddings, perfectly roasted potatoes, with bowls of vegetables gently sautéed or roasted, several salads, courtesy of Sarah and Bill, and fresh-from-the-oven rolls.

In true Gibbs family tradition, before they ate, there were announcements. Drinks were poured and when everyone had something, Ducky, Lu, Jethro and the Palmers rose. Ducky spoke first, "It gives me great pleasure to share with our family the news that Jimmy is now my adopted son!"

The siblings made lots of noise, quieting down when Dad gave them a look, affectionate though it was. Then it was Lu's turn, "And I'm excited to tell you that Jimmy is now my adopted son!"

More congratulations and cheers were heard, along with baby squeals. Jimmy and Breena laughed at all of it, Jimmy finally able to be heard saying, "Thank you, we're very happy! We're hyphenating Palmer-Mallard for the two of us, however, we will be changing the children's surname to Mallard, as soon as we pick Tim's brain to find out how he did it without having to travel to the U.S.!"

Breena added, "We'll also change Jilly's middle name so she's not Jilly Mallard Mallard! She will be Jillian Rose Mallard, Rose for her new grandma."

That was a surprise for Lu and she blinked back tears while grinning like a loon. When things calmed down again, Jethro looked at Vance, "Leon?"

Leon and Dani stood, beaming, "We're getting married! If one of you Gibbses would please share Jenna's contact information…and the lounge will be fine, there won't be that many people." Tim and Jethro started laughing while Lu closed her mouth and grinned, "Sure, we'd love to have your wedding here! When?"

"New Year's Day!" At that Dani started shaking her head and laughing while Leon stopped teasing, telling the family their real plan, "Sorry, couldn't resist! We're actually following in the Fornells' footsteps. The four of us are flying to St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands where Ross will meet us. Dani and I will be married there on December 30th. And I forgot that none of you have met Ross yet! He's Dani's son, a student at the University of California, San Diego, and a year older than Kayla. We hope you'll meet him this summer. Back to the wedding, as Tobias and Gail discovered, there's a bit of paperwork, you have to send a few completed forms ahead of time so it can be processed before you arrive but it's still a lot easier than U.S. citizens marrying here!"

Dani smiled, "And we'll be on a nice warm island!"

Leon looked at Tim, "By the way, you and Joel are in charge for the next three weeks. Have fun and don't bother trying to call!"

Tim laughed, finally saying, "Does Joel know?"

"Sure, I told him yesterday."

"And Secretary Porter?"

"Mm, I might have mentioned it to her."

Tim grinned, "Then go forth, get married and have fun. Please send photos!"

All four promised to do that.

After a day full of joy, laughter and fun, the group dispersed once the kitchen, dining room and living room were clean. When the children were upstairs, either asleep or having some quiet time of their own, the adults gathered for their last beverage of the day. Tony grinned, "I had no idea the babies would be so much fun when they're still so little."

Tim nodded, he'd had the same thought. "They were really into it, playing with the paper and trying to sing along to the carols."

Artie smiled, "They're little people now, no longer infants. Watch Jilly, she's leading the way for our three."

Tim tilted his head, "Today she reminded me of Hope when we got her back. Curious, watching everyone and everything, hates to be left out. And a speedy little thing!"

Lu looked at the four parents, "Crawling is a huge step forward for them. And now that Jilly's walking, I'm sure Jed will be determined to do the same, as soon as he figures out his balance."

Maggie huffed, "Somehow I thought they'd be babies for longer. They're crawling now, once they start walking, they'll be toddlers."

"They'll still be babies, they'll still be dependent on us for everything, except transport. And outside of the house, whenever we go anywhere, they'll still be dependent on us."

"Hope's just starting to lose her babyhood now, at 3." That was Tim, who looked sad for a minute before saying, "I remember when Rissa got to that stage; she was just shy of her 2nd birthday when I first met her. When she grew older, I missed her toddler self until I realized how wonderful her pre-school self was and now her school age self. Still the same child, just learning more new things – and faster. And we have to share her with more people. Kyle wasn't quite 2 ½ when they came to live with me and he's 6 ½ now, a huge change. However, he's still the same loving, bold, kind, endlessly curious child that he was then."

Tim took a breath, exhaling before he turned to his sister, "No segue here, just…I haven't known what to say, I've been afraid I wanted it so badly that I was imagining things. But what I saw was, is, real. Sarah, I've noticed a change in Pat's condition. Twice now, I've caught a movement. One a few weeks ago and another when we returned from Amsterdam. When Kyle forgot the envelope as we left?"

She nodded, she remembered and Tim continued, "He ran back into the room, telling Pat it wasn't another Sunday, that he'd forgotten something. He kissed him again before he left and so did I. As Kyle ran out the door, I looked back and Pat," Tim closed his eyes, trying to clear the moisture from them, "was moving his mouth, trying to make a kiss. By the time I got to him, he was still again."

Sarah had her hand over her mouth and James took her other hand. Tony, who was sitting next to Tim, once again wrapped an arm around his shoulders while Artie, on the other side, reached for his hand. Tim looked up, "I was going to do some research but I don't want to read that it's reflexes or something like that. I just want him to wake up."

Sarah nodded, "Me too."

Lu cleared her throat, "Timothy, Sarah, moving his mouth to return a kiss, that's not a reflex. That's a voluntary movement. Tim, have you let the staff know?"

He nodded, "After the first time, yes and after the mouth thing, I called to let them know what happened. But it's just me, no one else has seen anything."

His own eyes a little moist, Dad also cleared his throat, saying, "Maybe because he knows you, at least recognizes your voices. That would mean, as Lu says, there's something going on. We need to hear what his doctors have to say."

Sarah nodded, "I'll call after the holidays, set up an appointment. There might be some tests they can do." She looked at Tim, "Although you should probably be there if there are."

He nodded. "I'll be there."

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The next day was Boxing Day, a holiday in the UK, which meant NCIS: London employees were also off. Tim thought he'd really miss the 'extra' day off when they moved to the U.S., it was traditionally a wonderfully peaceful day at the Manor. The kids played with their new things while the adults mostly rested and recharged. It was also December 26th, his and Artie's wedding anniversary. While they wouldn't have a night away, they did have plans for an evening to themselves.

Or so they thought. They were walking up the stairs to get ready for their evening out when they were halted by the senior Gibbses, who handed them a voucher for two nights at a 4 star hotel in London along with a card from their kids that said, "Happy Anniversary! We'll stay home to take care of Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Maggie and the Uncles. Have fun, we love you!" It was signed by each of the children, Jed's "J" obviously helped by an older sibling.

Tim grinned at his wife, at least they'd have the evenings. With a chuckle, his father gave him another card, this one from the Morrises. It said, "Happy Anniversary! We'll manage without you for a few days, have fun and Happy New Year!"

Lu looked at Artie, "Getting that for Tim was easy after everything that's happened – and because we know Joel. Before we contacted your employer, I looked your work calendar and didn't see any meetings or time scheduled for work this week."

Artie smiled, "Thank you! I planned to take to take a few days off and let my employer know I'd be available for emergency calls."

Her mother-in-law returned her smile, relieved.

Grabbing his wife's hand, Tim pulled her up the stairs with him and they nearly ran to their room. Opening one of their roll-along suitcases, they threw clothes in, putting some dressy things in their garment bag, as well as city casual, that is clothing a bit more 'city' than 'country' and trendier than they usually wore at home in Brambury. With an eye roll, Artie added her laptop to the suitcase, in case of one of those 'emergency' calls, zipped it closed and with her husband, hurried down the hall kissing each of their babies before heading back downstairs. Tim stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Tony but his brother grinned, "We'll be here when you get home, not leaving until Tuesday afternoon, remember?"

"No sibling things without us, please?"

"We already decided not to, no worries."

"Sarah…"

"You know we won't get in to see Pat's doctor this week, Tim. Go, have fun!"

Dad put a hand on each of their shoulders, giving them a gentle push, "Your ride is waiting and Lu's printed a list of rules." Artie took those, folding them into a pocket of her coat. Dad and Mom kissed them, shooing them out the door where they found a Lincoln Town Car, the liveried driver holding the rear passenger door open for them.

Once they were in with seatbelts fastened, the driver pulled away. Tim laughed, "I thought this was our 3rd anniversary, this feels more like a 5th or 10th."

Artie snuggled into him, "We were married December 26th, 2015. Today is December 26th, 2018, so yes, this is our 3rd anniversary. They must have decided we needed time away, it's been…since when?"

Neither could remember the last time they'd had a night away without the children. They didn't think they'd been away by themselves since Jed was born 8 months ago!

After checking into the hotel, they took a taxi to the restaurant where they had reservations for dinner. Over the next two days, they relaxed and had fun rediscovering who they were as a couple, lovers and best friends. When they finally remembered to look at Lu's rules, the first rule was that they could not call home more than once during their stay and the second rule was to HAVE FUN.

As they rode home in the Lincoln Town Car Friday evening, they'd had one last dinner to themselves, they snuggled. They rested, made love, slept, walked, they both said they'd seen parts of London they'd never seen before, ate and drank, talked and laughed, made plans, dismissing them and making new plans. They talked about the money, what to do with the rest of it as it came in, how to live their lives to the fullest, how to ensure their children and the family were taken care of.

They had a difficult time selecting just one play to see and instead saw two out of the 10 or more running in London on their 'must see' list. Chastising themselves for living in the midst of some of the world's best theater without taking advantage of it, they purchased tickets for two additional plays, one in January and one in early February, before their trip. They also vowed to bring the children to age-appropriate plays. They had the money, they could make the time!

It was late when they got home. After greeting the senior Gibbses and thanking them for their wonderful anniversary, they carried their things upstairs to their room. Then they walked down the hall, kissing each of their babies goodnight. Andy was still up and greeted them with hugs, reporting that everyone was fine. Rissa and Hope were next, both smiling in their sleep as they were kissed by their parents. Across the hall, Greg had fallen asleep while reading, a common occurrence; they gently removed his book and turned the light off, covering him before kissing him. Although they'd thought Kyle was sound asleep, he murmured to them when they kissed him.

Next door, they had a surprise when they entered the nursery. Little Jed was standing in his crib, a first as far as they knew, holding onto the railings. His face lit up when he saw them; he held out his arms to them, bouncing a little in excitement and promptly lost his balance, falling onto his little bottom. He wasn't hurt, he was sitting on the crib mattress. Before he could react, he was scooped up into the arms of his parents. They cuddled with him for a few minutes before he fell back to sleep, his head tucked against Daddy's chest.

Yes, they'd had a wonderful time away, they would do it again, more often, and now it was every bit as wonderful to be home.

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With renewed energy, Tim and Artie made sure they spent plenty of time with the DiNozzos for the rest of their visit. For once, Tim and the others felt they had enough time with Tony and Maggie, including lunches in the city, a visit to the DiNozzos' favorite flea market, more snow play in the Brambury countryside and, as Rob said, just hanging out together. And they all ooh'd and ahh'd when photos arrived of Leon and Dani's wedding on a sandy beach. There were a few sighs as well, thinking of the warm waters of the Caribbean.

New Year's Eve, Jethro and Lu, Claire and Jim, Dave and Liz went out for dinner and dancing while the siblings, cousins and older folks gathered at the Manor for an afternoon and evening of playing with the kids, outdoors until it got too cold and then indoor with lots of games. Pushing the furniture aside in the lounge, they played 'Red Light, Green Light', also known as 'Grandmother Says' and another game called 'Simon Says'.

While they played in the lounge, the older adults set up tables in the family room and had fun playing cards, betting on many of the games.

When it was time to eat, they had an indoor 'picnic' dinner, although few of the adults sat on the blankets spread across the floors. Once the kids were in bed, the Gibbs kids sharing with their Palmer and DiNozzo cousins, more adult games and beverages appeared. Most of the siblings and two of the older adults, Grammie and Uncle LJ, made it to midnight, along with the senior Gibbses, who'd danced their way home to the Manor by 11:30. While the Brambury residents went home, the city dwellers found places to sleep for a few hours.

That month, new civilian Geordie would start his Master's program. Before the DiNozzos left on New Year's Day, Geo's first day as a civilian in two decades, his family presented him with civilian clothes, shoes that weren't boots and didn't need to be polished to a shine, socks with his favorite baseball team's logo, a few baseball caps with various logos, non-regulation underwear and a gift certificate to a local tailor, for a suit. He'd keep his dress blues but having joined the civilian world, he needed a suit. They'd also made a card for him to carry. It read, "My name is Mister Gibbs. I am not allowed to call myself Captain anything except possibly Captain Skivvies. I am a civilian, get used to it." Geordie's siblings had a lot of fun with the gag gifts and he had a lot of fun opening them.

With everyone still at the Manor, it wasn't quite as heart-wrenching to say goodbye to the DiNozzos that afternoon. Their parents drove the city dwellers into London, taking the DiNozzos to the airport last.

While they were gone, the junior Gibbses started gathering what they'd need for their short, two days, one night, visit to Sandringham House. For this trip they were renting a vehicle for the drive, rather than taking the train. Mr. Teck told them no hotel reservations were necessary, they'd be staying in the House with the Royal Family. That made Tim more nervous than he'd been the first time, when he hadn't known what to expect! His parents were also going; they'd been specifically invited by Her Majesty. Once again, Mr. Teck was an immense help, giving them instructions for accessing the grounds, advising them what clothing to bring for dinner and things of that nature. Only a few of the Royal Family would still be in residence, most of them were leaving today, their holiday break over. As the nanny had also left with her charges, Tim packed a nanny cam and their baby monitors to keep track of their littles.

Leaving Brambury about 9:00 AM on Wednesday, they were welcomed at Sandringham House a little after 11:00 AM. Their luggage was unloaded and Tim handed over the keys to the rental. They were shown to their rooms where they freshened up and had one last rehearsal of curtsies, bows, 'ma'ams' and 'sirs' before Mr. Teck led them to the drawing room where they found Her Majesty waiting for them. She welcomed them warmly, remembering the children's names and remarking how big Jed had grown since she'd seen him at Balmoral! Thanking Jethro for his years of service, she pointed out that several of the operations he'd been assigned to had been joint missions with UK military. She also commented on Lu's service to the homeless and her current work with U.S. Social Services, placing misplaced or orphaned children, victims of the terrorists, in loving homes. With a smile, she thanked her in particular for taking such good care of "Timothy and his siblings as well as my cousins Kathy, Greg and Kyle."

Then she turned to Tim, "Timothy, I understand you've been promoted twice since we saw you and then had to undergo a difficult trial. Congratulations on your promotions, I know they are well deserved. As for the other, it was unfortunate and when I was told about it, I was pleased to offer a personal recommendation. By now, I should think your government knows more about you than you know about yourself!"

Tim hadn't known about her recommendation and swallowed his shock, quietly thanking her for her good thoughts and words. She leaned a little closer, "Perhaps you should write a book about those experiences."

He chuckled, "I believe I'll wait for my retirement to publish it, Ma'am."

"Mm. I suppose that's the prudent thing to do."

As she spoke with the children, the Duke of Edinburgh joined them and was introduced to the senior Gibbses. He looked at Jethro, "A Marine, perhaps?"

"Yes, Sir. I was a Gunnery Sergeant. Served in the first Gulf War."

"Thank you for your service, Gunnery Sergeant. And I imagine Timothy joined NCIS to honor you."

"To honor his stepfather, Sir. We didn't know we were father and son for several years after he joined my team."

"I see; that was a serendipitous discovery!"

Jethro and Tim nodded, smiling at each other.

In due course, they were ushered to a dining room for lunch, even Jed, who sat in his high chair enjoying his mashed sweet potato and applesauce. He'd been fussy about being spoon fed lately but today he was fine, much to his parents' relief.

After lunch, the family was given a tour of the great house. When they were done, Her Majesty smiled, "Our Wessex family is still here, you met them at Balmoral. James and Louise are quite enthusiastic about cross-country skiing and there is a sufficient amount of snow on the ground now. If any of you would like to join them, and their parents, we have extra skis." She chuckled at the interest she saw. When she looked at Hope, the little girl said, a little sadly, "I'm not big enough yet. One more year, then I can ski!"

"Oh, that is too bad, Miss Hope. Perhaps you'd like to join me in my sleigh?"

Her little face lit up, "You have a sleigh, Ma'am? Grandpa and Uncle Bill made one for Jed, our cousin Jilly and me." Hope smiled, adding, "Yes please, I'd like to join you."

Her Majesty looked at the others, "Would anyone else like to join us?"

Lu nodded, "Yes, Ma'am, I would!"

"Wonderful! Now, although the Cambridges' nanny isn't here, we do have a nanny who will stay with young Master Jed. She cared for my Phillips great-grandchildren when they were babies."

Tim and Artie smiled, thanking her for arranging that. Her eyes twinkling, she said, "That was Teck's doing!"

They met the nanny and stayed in the nursery for several minutes while she played with Jed. When the couple left him, they kissed him, saying they'd see him after his nap. He babbled something at them, continuing to crawl around the room, exploring.

The older children were already on the snow with Grandpa, James, Viscount Severn and Lady Louise along with their parents, the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Once Tim and Artie found boots and skis that fit them, they caught up with the ski party, having a wonderful time on the estate.

They waved at the Queen, Hope and Lu in the sleigh as they disappeared into the woods. The Duke of Edinburgh declined to join them, saying it was too cold for his bones. He retired to his study, with a crackling fire and his latest periodicals.

For the skiers, the afternoon flew by as they toured the snowy estate. Her Majesty, Hope and Lu had a wonderful time in the sleigh, eventually returning to the house for a bracing cup of tea, with hot cocoa for Hope. After that, the little girl consented to a rest, joining her little brother in the nursery.

Even after several hours in the Queen's company, Lu still couldn't believe she was here and now she was drinking tea with the Queen of the United Kingdom! Out in the sleigh, the two women had no trouble talking and Lu was excited about her Majesty's plans for the Gibbs family. It would be voiced as a proposal, left to Tim, Artie, Greg and Kyle to say yes or no; however, Lu thought they would say yes.

As her Majesty had business to attend to, Lu found her way back to their room. Jethro joined her close to an hour later. She laughed when she saw him, "You look like a sunburned snow creature!"

"Except I'm not sunburned, the Countess was firm about each of us applying and reapplying sunscreen. I'm going to take a quick shower, start to thaw out."

When he reappeared, he was wearing one of the thick robes they'd found in their bathroom. "This is great, very warm. That was fun but you know, you get going, you're moving right along and you don't realize how cold it is. The Earl had us stop a few times in heated huts, he says it's easy to get carried away and come away to find you're close to frostbite. They're nice people. Their daughter is Andy's age, did you know that?"

She shook her head, "No. He's Edward, the youngest of the Queen's children?"

Jethro nodded and she said, "I remember when he was born and I think when he married because there was some talk about his wife looking somewhat like Diana and the wedding was televised. Then they sort of disappeared, which I'm sure they did purposely. I didn't even know they had children until Tim and Artie's first prep session!"

Her husband huffed, "We're Americans, we're not expected to keep up with the Royal Family. Although we are related through the boys and I admit I'm excited to have met them and to stay here. Imagine, 2 kids from Baltimore, MD, and Stillwater, PA."

Lu chuckled, "You should have a photo taken with her and send it to that coal mine owner you don't like."

"Nah, we've pretty much buried the hatchet. Although that is tempting!"

By now they were stretched out, resting; they had another few minutes before they needed to get ready for tea.

Tim and Artie spent close to an hour playing and cuddling with Jed when he woke and then slipped out as Nanny took over as playmate. Hope was up and spent some time with them before returning to the room she was sharing with Rissa to change for tea; her mother stayed to help them while her father went to see the boys. At their request, they were sharing a room and Tim found them also deciding what to wear for tea. After helping them, he slipped back to his room, finding Artie just beginning to change.

When they gathered for tea, the Wessex family joined them along with some of the Queen's cousins they'd met at Balmoral. After tea, the Queen asked to speak with Tim, Artie, Gregory and Kyle in private.

Once in her drawing room, Her Majesty took two envelopes from her desk drawer. "These are Letters Patent, one for Gregory and one for Kyle. Each is a written order as to his status in the Royal Family. While neither of you are in the line of succession, you do have a number, which of course will change when the Duchess of Sussex has her child. Boys, you'll want to keep these documents in a safe place, I know your parents will help you with that.

"I want to talk with you about establishing a scholarship fund in the name of your first mother, 'The Kathy Hart Memorial Scholarship', to be funded by the Royal Family and whoever else wants to participate. My thoughts are that eligible students would be from the UK, the U.S. and Singapore. Students who are foster children, orphaned, displaced or otherwise disadvantaged which, Kyle, is another way of saying poor, will be eligible. Given those conditions, I believe each scholarship should cover all expenses, what is referred to as a 'full ride'."

Greg looked at her, "Ma'am, may we add Greece to the countries? When Mama adopted us we became citizens of Greece, too. And may we add 'Teck' to the name, between Kathy and Hart?"

"Yes, Gregory, those are good suggestions."

Kyle nodded, "Our first mama was a Teck and we're Tecks, and I don't think Mama Kathy's father was a very nice person."

"Perhaps, but nice or not, her father was a Hart and I'm sure she loved him."

That settled the matters of the Hart name as well as which countries' students would be eligible. They moved on to discussing rankings or grades for eligibility. Tim had some thoughts about that. "These students probably already have jobs and may not have the time they need to study to achieve the highest grades. What if the bar was moved down to what we would call a 'B' grade average. Not the best, but better than average. From what I've seen and experienced during my college and teaching years, those are the students who may not qualify for full ride scholarships and who need them the most.

"Many, if not all, would already have jobs and probably work as many hours as they can squeeze in around their secondary school classes. Or they've finished their secondary education, are working full or part time and want to continue their education. In the U.S., having finished their secondary educations, they would have entry level positions and depending on circumstances, their wages would be quite low. In the U.S., those would likely not be living wages, they would not be able to pay rent, eat, pay for transportation and clothe themselves with what they make. Up to that point, through their secondary schooling, they've likely been focusing on survival and finishing their secondary education. They haven't had a chance to shine."

Her Majesty smiled, "I agree, it provides more chances to more of the students who need help. I'm sure there are more details we'll need to discuss before we launch. As our Mr. Teck is spearheading this before we launch, we can funnel our issues through him. While we sponsor many other programs, this one is close to my heart. When we're ready to go public, I want to make a splash, have an unveiling and a celebration. If we do that, it's possible that the news will slip out about your relationship to us. It's important that your family decide whether or not that's acceptable."

Greg and Kyle nodded, looking at their parents who smiled at them, they'd talk about it at home with the rest of the family.

Her Majesty continued, "Now, we'll need someone to represent the Royal Family on the Board of Trustees and the Countess of Wessex has agreed to take it on. She has a business background, does charitable work and is very clever with these sorts of things. I would also propose that the two of you, along with my daughter-in-law, be on the Board of Trustees, at least until the boys reach their majority."

Tim and Artie agreed, that felt right. Artie added, "Ma'am, may I suggest adding one or more of Tim's brothers, the boys' uncles, to the Board? They grew up on the streets with Tim and will have a good understanding of the applicants. I'd also like to suggest that the scholarship be available for those seeking vocational training, not solely college degrees. Three of Tim's brothers are very successful in their work in the construction trades, specifically carpentry and plumbing and each was given an advantage by going through an internship. Part of that internship was taking courses at two year colleges and at the end they earned Associate Degrees."

Tim looked at his wife with respect and pride, he hadn't thought of that!

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The minibus full of Gibbses was quiet as they left Sandringham Estate the next day. They'd had fun and were happily tired, while Tim and Artie had the Scholarship Fund and Her Majesty's question on their minds.

As his father was driving, Tim relaxed in his seat, snuggling with Artie. He was surprised when Rissa shook his shoulder, "Daddy, wake up, we're home!"

With a laugh, he and his love, who'd also been asleep, blinked the sleep out of their eyes, climbing out of the minibus. Unloading the children and the luggage, everyone and everything was moved into the nice warm house. Once Jed was changed and tucked into his crib and the luggage was moved to the appropriate rooms, Jethro and Tim drove the minibus and Big Blue to turn in the rental.

Back in a few minutes, Tim pointed out that Sarah's car was gone. His father nodded, "Noticed that, meant to look in the garage."

When they went inside, Lu told them the Powells left a note, they were away for a few days, returning on Sunday. The four adults smiled at each other, approving.

Friday morning, they started removing the 'Western' Christmas decorations, the elves and such, in preparation for their Greek Christmas celebration on Sunday. Mimi and Sophia arrived that afternoon, while the Clachers arrived by train on Saturday.

As always, the children were very happy to spend time with their Yaya and Mimi and warmly welcomed Aunt Susannah, Uncle Ian as well as Mr. Alastair and Mrs. Fiona. Their Greek Christmas was a lot of fun and of course the children enjoyed opening their additional gifts. Hope was a little confused but when Rissa explained that they had two Christmases because they were Greek and American, she seemed to accept that. Later she climbed onto her mama's lap, asking if there was a Turkish Christmas too. Artie promised to look into it.

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Tim spent the first week back at work training the White Hat techs the delicate art of hacking the 'Unholy Grail', that is after James helped him remove the image of Agent McGee putting handcuffs on Ajay Khan. The two of them spent almost an entire day mapping out the route to the data they'd need monitored, so that the White Hat techs would have specific instructions, along with rigorous training. Tim hoped his Plans A and B, which involved establishing links to a discreet server where new data would fill to or to make a copy of the entire server for training purposes, could be executed. However, he and James finally agreed both those situations would be too dangerous, who knew what other kinds of traps and alarms were lying in wait or perhaps even worse, would reveal the hacks to the terrorists. Plan C, the mapping, would be safer.

On the 12th, Jilly Palmer had her first birthday party, attended in person by her entire UK family, her French and Slater family via Skype. She had a marvelous time, playing with the wrapping paper from her gifts and smashing her face into her cupcake! She also had fun playing with her new toys. She squealed at her on-screen family, making her Slater grandparents very happy; on the next screen over, Tony smiled proudly, his antics had worked!

It was difficult for her Slater grandparents to be so far away from Jilly and her siblings; however, the Palmers were going to the U.S. with the Gibbses in February, and would spend most of their 10 days away with the Slaters. Ducky, of course, would go with them and Jethro and Jimmy set up a call schedule so Jimmy would have back up support if Ed got out of hand. With a big smile, Jimmy said it didn't matter anymore, that he had his own parents now. Although his new parents were glad he felt that way, they still set up a call schedule. Even with those precautions, Breena took steps to ensure her husband would have a pleasant vacation.

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Tim's new INV agents arrived in the UK, reporting for training the following Monday. Although they'd originally been scheduled in late November, the date had been moved back to January in consideration of the holidays. At least that was the public explanation and the one given to the INV trainees. Bec and Tim's 9-day administrative leaves were the real culprit, shorting resources and tossing schedules to the wind.

With 5 trainees the bullpen would be too crowded, so Tim split them into a pair of two and a trio of three for their training. The pair sat in the bullpen, observing, for four hours each day, doing their self-study in a conference room for the rest of their day. The trio did the opposite, conference room in the morning with afternoons in the bullpen for their hours of observation. The last hour of the workday, they met together in the conference room as time permitted, with one of the established INV agents, relaying their experiences and asking questions. Wednesday mornings, they met together in the conference room with Tim and Bec or her SFA, Alan, dependent upon availability, and one or more of the London INV agents. Their 2nd week, Tim mixed up the groups and by the end of that week, they were all in the bullpen, sitting at tables rather than desks, working cases with one or more of the experienced INV agents, including Tim.

That 3rd week of training was a short week for the office and their Antwerp subordinate office as they were closed on Monday, Martin Luther King's Birthday holiday. With the new NCIS team in place in Naples, the holiday duty schedule for the European NCIS offices had once again been amended. With 6 offices now active, rotation of duties for holidays would be much easier.

The junior Gibbses, Powells, Palmers and Hubbards took advantage of that holiday weekend by traveling to Scotland for a ski weekend, leaving Jed and Jilly at home with their grandparents, great-grandmothers, assorted aunts and uncles. The ski resort they were going to had organized activities for those too young to ski and Hope was as excited as her siblings and cousins. Leaving Friday after school gave them all day Saturday and a good portion of Sunday to ski and play in the snow. Andy, Greg, Ainsley and Cal took snowboarding lessons and had a blast, while Kyle, Davey, Victoria and Rissa had fun on the easier downhill slopes. Hope's activities included learning how to balance and walk with snowshoes on, followed by a more advanced lesson in how to walk with skis, using the ski poles and practicing balancing. While her 'pre-junior' class didn't actually ski, they moved around on the skis enough to satisfy the little girl. The lead instructor told Tim and Artie that their daughter was a good student and as coordinated as a 4-year old; he didn't see a problem in teaching her how to cross-country ski, as long as they stuck to easy runs, nothing too complicated or downhill. They were happy to hear that, although they decided to take some time to think about it. She'd need her own set of beginner's cross-country skis, along with boots and poles.

Returning home late Sunday afternoon, the family turned in very early that night after a great weekend full of fresh air and fun in the snow. When it snowed overnight, Tim drove the kids to school and Hope to nursery school Monday morning. Then he went back to bed, he was still tired!

That afternoon, he, Jimmy, James, Uncle Jim, Uncle Dave, LJ and Dad had lunch together at their favorite pub while Jilly and Jed went to play with Hope and their friends at the nursery school. When LJ announced that he and Cesar Fornell were spending the remainder of the winter in Greece, no one was surprised. When he added that Ben Childers was also going, they were surprised although once they thought about it, it made sense. He'd managed to avoid cold and snowy climates during his 20 years in the Navy and until 18 months ago, had lived in the state of Georgia where snow is not an annual occurrence. The previous winter had been spent along the Canadian border where he'd been miserably cold, so, yes, going to warm Greece for a few months made sense.

Shortly after he'd arrived in the UK, he'd received a reward check for the arrest of the 17 Heynes, Idaho, domestic terrorists. He hadn't wanted any of it but was persuaded to put the money to work, for his future and for his family. The amount of money for the arrest of one terrorist was donated anonymously to the rebuilding fund, Ben's way of giving back part what his soon-to-be-ex-wife took away. Because of the extra money, he could afford to share the house in Greece for the winter months.

The group was surprised again when LJ said Mac was going with them. Uncle Jim frowned but didn't say anything, he'd talk with Claire when he got home. He hadn't noticed any difference in Mac and Maisie's relationship recently and wondered if this meant anything more than Mac being tired of the cold. Jethro resolved to talk with Shannon's dad when they got home, he hoped everything was all right with him.

This past year, Mac had spent most of his time with Maisie at the Hubbards; going away for the better part of three months was enough to cause the raising of an eyebrow. Of course prior to moving to the UK, he'd spent 20 years between Florida in the winter and early spring and a beach house in Delaware the rest of the year so perhaps it was 'just' the cold.

After a convivial couple of hours, the group dispersed, Jimmy and Tim heading to the nursery school to retrieve their children while the others drove home through more new snow. Jimmy dropped Tim, Jed and Hope off at the Manor where they found Dad in a deep discussion with Grandpa Mac.

When Jethro and LJ returned from the pub, the younger man found his former father-in-law and asked him to join him for a cup of coffee. Mac nodded, guessing what this might be about.

As they sat in the kitchen, Jethro smiled at his favorite father-in-law. "LJ says you're going to Greece with them, Ben Childers, too."

Mac nodded with a smile, "Yes, we're leaving on Saturday. They've rented the same house they had last year. Richard's not going this year, he doesn't want to leave his grandkids, so there were two beds available. The cold bites deeper every year, Jethro. I didn't go last year because of Maisie. This year, well, she and I are doing all right but I think some time apart will do us good. I want to marry but she doesn't want to. Oh, she loves me, I know that but she doesn't want to get married again, says there isn't a reason. I know I'm old-fashioned but I want to get married. I want to have a wedding, a honeymoon and be happy. She had a happy marriage. I didn't and want to cover some ugly memories with happy ones. She thinks I'm silly."

An eyebrow shot up, "She said that?"

"Not in so many words, no. But she thinks I'm making too big a deal out of us marrying."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Mac. Yeah, I can see that some time away might help both of you."

"Thank you, son. In addition, I'm tired of being cold all the time and it's only January. Last year it was cold until June, or so it felt to me."

Jethro nodded, "It does take time to get acclimated here. You'll keep your cell charged and on? Ask Tim about using it in Greece, seems like there's something; he always takes care of my phone so I don't know. And let's talk at least once a week. We'll miss you around here!"

"And I'll miss you; however I am looking forward to it. I plan to do some sightseeing, like Abby and I did last year. Ben wants to do that, so we'll rent cars and do a little traveling. And we know there's an NCIS office in Athens, we all spoke with Pete Russell when they were here for the wedding and they have friends, former NCIS employees, up north in Thessaloniki. Ben and I may get really brave and drive up there, knowing there are people we can call for help if necessary. We'll be safe."

"Mimi and Sofia will be close by and they have family who know all of us in Thessaloniki, so you're doubly covered! And yes, call Pete or Lydia Warden if you have any problems. Lydia worked here in London for several years, we knew her and her partner Marty pretty well before they moved."

"Good, I'll get their numbers before we leave." Mac made a face, "I'll probably miss Jed's first steps and Hope's next milestone and I'll miss all of the kids. Too bad you're going home in February, you could come visit us."

Jethro tilted his head, saying, "We're all pretty excited about going home for a few days, though. Even if none of us ever lived in Seattle or San Diego, it's America and we haven't been there in more than two years."

Mac nodded, patting his son-in-law on the shoulder, "I know, son."

Jethro sighed, "It's rough. I love our life here, we've had wonderfully happy times, we've grown, learned, thrived and I could easily stay here forever. As long as I could go home for a visit every now and then. But I know our country has changed, for the worse, and if we still lived there, we'd be stressed, sad and probably angry. At the killings, the hate, the divisiveness, our inability to listen to each other, the lack of respect. Here, it's remote. Yes, sure, we watch and listen to the U.S. news, we take it in, but it's not waiting for us outside our front door. We can let it be distant, not affecting our everyday lives."

"You say that and yet I know you and Tim are both fighting the war."

"We are and we're relieved that we've found ways to do so. Still, we live here and like it; we're reluctant to leave."

Mac smiled, "Of course you are! This is where your children live, with your precious grandchildren and they're all thriving. Yes, there are issues, problems but overall, the family is in good shape. This is a golden time for all of you and you don't want it to end. There's nothing wrong with that, you know. You're allowed to want the best for your family and to enjoy it with them, too many people don't get that, especially in today's world. You especially deserve it, Jethro!"

Jethro smiled affectionately, "Thanks, Mac."

Feeling less guilty for wanting to stay in the UK, still concerned about Mac and Maisie and knowing it was none of his business, Jethro went to find his son and youngest grandbabies. He needed a smile and a hug from his Timiny, sloppy kisses from his namesake and giggles and hugs from little Miss Hope.

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The next day was the last day in London for the 5 INV trainees and Tim ordered lunch in for his team as well as the field team. Tomorrow they would disperse to their new posts. Chase Ortiz was assigned to the new team in Naples; Liana Braff to the Northwest (Seattle) office in Washington state, where she'd join Faye Dawson as an INV float for the U.S. NCIS offices; Melia Centeio was the new INV agent for the Perth, Australia office; Art Estes would replace Randy Gage in the Singapore office as floater, Randy having moved to the Seoul, South Korea office; and Fiona (Fi) Scott, who would be based in the FLECT-NCIS center in International Falls, acting as a second floating INV agent for the U.S. based NCIS agents. Tim felt a little tug as he said goodbye to them that evening as he was fairly certain this would be the last group he would personally train.

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Later that week, Tim, Sarah, Rob and their parents visited Patrick's doctor. The physician was thorough, first explaining the stages of coma/severe brain injury and the differing levels of consciousness. He also explained the Glasgow Coma Scale, or GCS, which ranges from a 3, a deep coma on up to a number indicating the patient is recovering, at or nearly fully functioning.

Continuing, the doctor explained, "The evaluation after Patrick's initial injury placed him at a 3, at the very bottom of the scale, with a severe injury. A year later, there was enough progress that he was reclassed at 4 and three months after that, his GCS was increased to 6. However, within weeks he'd regressed and his numbers went down to 3, which is disheartening considering the previous progress. He's remained at 3 since then." Tim managed to swallow his gasp and his brother and father frowned. None of the three said anything as the doctor continued.

"I'm encouraged at what you've seen in your brother, Mr. Gibbs, we'll continue to watch for more signs that Commander Hart is moving from a coma to a slightly more conscious state. In that condition, we would see a return to a sleep-wake cycle with periods of eye opening and eye closing; he might smile or cry, moan or make noises without apparent cause. Not what you hope for, I know. From there, we can hope he'll move forward to a state of partial consciousness where he's able to respond to simple instructions, such as 'squeeze my hand' or 'open your eyes'. He may even be able to communicate with head nods or gestures.

"I must warn you that his recovery may stop at any of these stages or it could continue to progress. If his recovery does continue to progress, we'll discuss moving him to an acute rehabilitation center. However, that's down the road. Now, I've given you a lot of technical information without giving any kind of answer. Unless and until your brother and son returns to a more conscious state, we don't know. We know how to care for them, we've increased our knowledge but with all that, we can only say that every patient is different and the answer to 'if' or 'how long' isn't yet in our grasp."

Dr. Rob nodded his agreement, asking, "Are you of the opinion that touch and sound are important?"

"Yes, Doctor, for three reasons. One, I believe it's important for the patient to hear familiar voices and feel touch. Being touched is a must for human beings and for that reason alone it's important. I also believe it's important on a personal basis, that your brother feel your touches and the touch of his children and that you, his family, use touch and sound as a way to keep yourselves connected with him. As time passes, that becomes extremely important. And finally, I believe it's important for the medical staff caring for coma patients to touch and to speak, to remember that their patient is a human being and needs their compassion."

They had a few other questions which he answered honestly, sometimes having to say, "I don't know."

They left, Tim and Dad looking at each other, knowing they had an unpleasant conversation ahead. Rob had also caught the new information but other than having the same knowledge of Patrick's medical experience as they did, wouldn't be involved unless they had medical questions.

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After the kids were in bed that evening, Tim took two mugs of coffee to the basement where he found his father waiting. Handing over one of the mugs, Tim stated what they'd both been thinking since the doctor's revelation. "The drugs didn't start in 2014, they started a year earlier, in 2013, after his GCS increased the second time. Kathy may have figured it out, she might have noticed the extra people with the medical staff. That gives IPF a motive to kill her. From the records and what we've seen from her journal, she didn't start to have financial problems until late 2013, shortly after he started to regress. They did something to his pay, took away her home, eventually forcing her and the boys into homelessness. I'm sure they had her phone bugged and probably had cameras in the house. They found the guy…whatever his name was, the one who killed her for them, found him a job at the dry cleaners and then when Kathy and the kids arrived at the shelter, a job opened up there for her, too. Maybe he called them when they got the bonuses, maybe they had the place wired, who knows. They got away with her murder – and likely his."

Dad nodded, "Yeah. So, we write it up as an inquiry to a closed case and give it to Vance." He frowned, "We had medical records, the doctors were cooperative as long as we had warrants. But Timothy, I do not remember any documents mentioning a change in his condition. I'll ask Bishop or DiNozzo to double check the file."

Tim closed his eyes, "So they had some of the medical staff in their pockets too. Doctors who conveniently 'forgot' to include those reevaluations with the medical records." Tim suddenly smiled, "I bet they're still on the hospital's database, on Pat's records. If not, they might still be in their deleted form on the hard drive. Since the British doctors have documentation, those records must still have existed when we moved Patrick and his medical records here. In any event, paper and digital copies of the records are here now."

"That's a good point."

"As far as Bethesda and any other hospital, they have to keep medical data for a number of years. Could be on a server that's never changed out, never upgraded, especially if it's old data. Most people wouldn't realize that and unless their IT folks were also compromised, the information is likely still sitting there."

"So we include that in a separate document to Vance."

Tim nodded. As Vance wasn't yet back from his honeymoon, they would start their inquiry the next night. Both admitted they were too tired and too heartsick at this latest discovery to continue that evening.

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One Saturday, Tim, Dad and James took Big Blue to the storage company where Kathy Hart's belongings from her storage unit in Maine had been kept since their arrival in late November. With everything going on, no one had had time to look through them, nor had there been space for any extra boxes at the Manor, not with all their guests over the last couple of months.

When they saw the interior of the storage pod, James was surprised. "There's a lot more than I thought there would be!"

Tim nodded, "Me too. Does anyone remember Mom or anyone saying that Kathy moved things to storage after losing the house?"

Both men shook their heads and Tim sighed, "Yeah, me neither, but that's the only reason I can think that there would be this much, she wanted to keep as much as possible, probably hoping she'd be able to straighten everything out. I'll ask Mom when we get home. Otherwise, why would you need it? You're a Navy family, you're on the move nearly every year, are you storing photo albums here? Furniture? Clothes?" He shrugged, "Guess we won't know until we dig in. There are things I want to take home: photos, in albums or loose; cassette or VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs. Baby books for the boys. Anything that looks like a journal. Letters, envelopes with return addresses; things that will help the boys learn more about their parents, their family and early childhoods."

Splitting up, they systematically sorted through the boxes and storage tubs. Tim consolidated two of the storage tubs into one and the three men used the empty tub to sort the items to take home. They found the boys' baby books, several shoeboxes full of letters from Patrick to Kathy and his family, several photo albums and shoeboxes of loose photos. Another storage tub gave them tapes, CDs and DVDs. Eventually, everything went into that tub, it was easier than moving the mixed media; they'd take the whole thing back to the Manor.

Some of the furniture looked brand new while some was obviously used. The trio set aside three lamps and an ottoman for various spots in the Manor. When they found a set of folding chairs, they took those too, laughing about always needing more of those. There were a few toddler toys that were in good shape, those would go home for Hope now and Jilly and Jed's use at some point. They didn't take the rocking chair they uncovered but Tim planned to keep that, perhaps one day the boys' own babies would be rocked to sleep in it. He gulped, those would be his grandchildren!

When Tim found tubs full of carefully wrapped fine chinaware, he cautiously unwrapped one of the tea cups, looking at the name on the bottom. Nodding to himself, he carefully re-wrapped the cup and put it back in the tub. He'd have to ask Mr. Teck, but he believed this was possibly the china that was the wedding gift from Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh to Jean Teck upon her marriage to Robert Cabot. He was happy that it hadn't been stolen after their deaths, obviously someone set it aside for Kathy. Now he'd keep it for the boys.

They found other treasures, a christening gown and a child's silver feeding spoon, with a note in Kathy's handwriting saying she believed both had been gifts from her mother's godparents. Although the note didn't mention any names, Tim knew who those godparents were.

Because they had James and Sarah's car, a sedan much smaller than Big Blue, they left the bigger items, taking the tubs of photos, mixed media and the shoe boxes home with them. When he had time, Tim looked at the value of the china and with a raised eyebrow, increased the insurance coverage. Over the next few months, he, Artie and the boys would sort through the photos, scanning them into online albums and organizing the physical photos. For the most part, the boys enjoyed their baby books and all the photos, although sometimes they were sad. Still, it gave both boys a sense of who their parents were and a look into their own early lives.

As for the question of whether or not to go public with their relationship to the British Royal Family, they were still debating it; some weeks it was yes, they were ready to be publicly acknowledged as distant cousins of Her Majesty, some weeks it was no. Finally, they decided to let the matter rest for a few weeks and informed Mr. Teck. Tim also let him know about the china, christening gown and spoon, attaching a wedding photo of Kathy and Patrick and two family photos, one with baby Greg and one with preschooler Greg and infant Kyle. Mr. Teck responded with a note saying that knowing the china and christening gown survived meant a great deal to Her Majesty, that it told her Kathy's benefactors had really cared about her. She also thanked them for the photos.

Dad made frames for the wedding and family photos and Greg and Kyle chose where to put them in their shared bedroom. They also added a wedding photo to the photo wall downstairs, in the hallway between the family room and lounge. Photos of the 6 recent family weddings, including a photo from Tony and Maggie's Marseille City Hall wedding were arranged on the wall and the Hart wedding photo joined the others. The kids' pictures were underneath the line of wedding photos and each of the grandkids, including the Palmers, from Andy to little Jackson, the youngest of all the grandkids, now had a baby photo on the wall.


	84. Chapter 84

Chapter 84

For a short month, February seemed to drag as the family's excitement built for their trip to the West Coast of the U.S., specifically to Seattle, in the state of Washington, and San Diego, in the state of California. They were leaving Thursday morning, the 14h, returning on Sunday, the 24th. While they would start on the trip, the children would do their schoolwork at home for a week after their return, including assignments for the Thursday and Friday of that first week.

Although the flight would be more than 9 hours, with the many time zones they'd cross, their arrival time looked like it was only 2 hours after their departure time! Leaving at 9:55 PM UK time, they'd arrive in Seattle at 11:45 PM, Pacific time. The kids thought that was funny. They'd be in Seattle through Monday, leaving Tuesday when they'd fly to San Diego, with no change in time zones. Originally Tim planned to take that first Friday off but the Seattle SSAIC, Jane Melankovic, would be out of the office on Monday, so he would meet with her and his agents on Friday, meet with his agents and the field team on Monday and Tuesday morning if necessary.

For this trip, he wanted to try something new, to ease into Pacific Standard Time before they left. Sarah was interested and agreed to join him in the experiment. It meant Tim working from home and mostly during U.S. hours the days before they left but having just suffered through his own post-honeymoon jet lag, Vance was curious to see if it worked.

The siblings had it all plotted out. With an 8 hour time difference, they planned to shift toward Pacific Time in 2 hour increments each day, 2 hours difference the first day, 4 the second, 6 the third. Once they reached the 8 hours difference between UK time and Pacific time, they would live in that time difference through the rest of the week. Both were skeptical, concerned they'd have double the jet lag, but curious enough to try it.

Before they started their grand experiment, the family said goodbye to Geordie and Bec for three weeks as they left for their honeymoon in Australia. And then hello to Charlotte when she arrived to stay with Joe at the Manor while everyone was away.

As Penny, the Hubbards and Cranes were traveling with the Gibbses, the Fornells and Vances pledged to keep an eye on the Manor and the other houses. While Charlotte wasn't concerned, she was glad to know Gail Fornell and Dani Vance were usually home during the day and Joe would be home in the evenings.

The first part of the jet lag experiment started the Friday night, the week before they left. While their spouses turned in at 11 PM, Sarah and Tim stayed up until 1 AM, playing cards. Saturday morning, each slept in 2 hours past their normal times. Two hours, that was easy!

Saturday night, they increased the difference to 4 hours, which was a lot harder for Sarah and reminded Tim too much of his White Hat days. Still, both persevered, sleeping until 11 AM Sunday morning. So far, so good.

Then came Sunday night, with a work day on Monday. Tim's normal Sunday night routine was bed by 10:00 PM. With the experiment now increasing the time to 6 hours, he was up until 4:00 AM Monday morning and then slept 6 hours past his normal Monday waking time, 06:30, to 12:30 pm, lunchtime!

That was strange but he worked a regular day, checking in with his agents, working a case with McCoy as well as handling a pile of Deputy AD work. Sarah worked on edits for her newest manuscript. Both made it through to their 8 hours difference scheduled sleep time, 6 AM Tuesday morning, when James and Jethro were up and padding around the kitchen. They said 'good night' to both, waking at 2:00 PM. Again, they were successful but by now they acknowledged that most travelers would not have the luxury of tailoring their work and family hours to match the times of their destinations.

By the time they were wheels up on Thursday, the siblings had achieved and sustained the 8 hour difference but wouldn't know if they achieved success until their first day in Seattle. While Secretary Porter thought it was an interesting experiment, she commented that there was no way she could alter her schedule drastically enough to follow that and the rest of her passengers agreed. She was amused and touched that so many of the family were flying with her, either homesick, reuniting with family members or excited about seeing the West Coast of the U.S. for the first time. In some cases, she suspected all three situations. Altogether, there were 30 members of the Gibbs clan aboard the SecNav's jet!

Tim and Artie had also been amused at the response when they spread the word about the trip. Their parents were the first, although that was not a surprise. Next were the Hubbards, who signed on to check out colleges and universities in the states of Washington, Oregon and California for Ainsley, who had another year of secondary school and Cal, who was in his first year of secondary. Missing traveling in general and the U.S. in particular, Penny joined them. Artie's sister Susannah and brother-in-law Ian had never been to the States and decided to take their first look. Sarah was born in California and lived there as a toddler; however, she remembered very little and was curious while her husband and his parents hadn't been anywhere in the U.S. but the DC Metro Area. James also wanted to see the city where his wife was born, San Diego, which Sarah thought was sweet.

As soon as they reached Seattle, the Cranes would take a commercial flight from Seattle to San Diego, for a reunion with their grown children whom they hadn't seen face to face for two years. The Palmers and Ducky would also fly commercial from Seattle to Ottawa, Canada, for a reunion with Breena's family and would reconnect with the others in San Diego.

Abby, Ellie and Rob were planning to fly to New England with the family in June and would reunite with respectively, with Abby's brothers and Ellie's family then.

Knowing it would be cold in Seattle, the average temperature the week before had been 45° Fahrenheit, they'd dressed in layers and brought coats and jackets aboard. It was a long flight but they'd come prepared, their tablets, phones or laptops loaded with plenty of entertainment, a few DVDs for the kids, books, toys and games and of course the Gibbs clan's ubiquitous decks of cards.

Blankets were spread on the deck so Jed, Jilly and their siblings could move around and play. Carefully watched by their parents, grand- and great-grandparents, Jed crawled up and down the length of the jet a few times and then watched in awe as Jilly ran up and down. When Daddy helped pull Jed up so he was standing, holding onto strong hands, Jed took a few wobbly steps, a look of wonder on his little face, giggling at this new adventure. He did that several times throughout the flight, holding onto Mama, Grandma, Grandpa, Andy and more of his family.

Eventually, the babies and the younger children slept and their adults took advantage by getting some exercise. Then they too settled in for naps.

When they landed at the airbase in Seattle and everyone had again thanked Secretary Porter for her generosity, they all disembarked, going through passport control. Ducky, the Palmers and Cranes left as their Uber vehicles arrived to take them to the Seattle-Tacoma airport, commonly referred to as SeaTac, for their flights to Ottawa and San Diego. Once they were on their way, the others waited for their own ride to their lodging. They laughed at the 'party bus' that arrived to transport the 22 of them and their luggage.

Waving goodbye, they waited until the bus was loaded with luggage before boarding. With their short stays in both cities the group had decided to lodge in family-friendly hotels rather than multiple Airbnbs, and were happy to find a hotel with suites, single rooms, a restaurant and indoor pool on site. That helped immensely.

While the NCIS office was over an hour's drive, located on Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, near Silverdale, WA, they'd decided to stay in Seattle to see and do everything while Tim would commute.

Aside from the junior Gibbses, nearly everyone else had their own rooms. The exceptions were Penny and Maisie, who were sharing a room, and the Hubbards. They had a two bedroom suite for that night, they were leaving on their college tour Friday morning, with another reserved for Monday night, when they'd return. Maisie had decided to stay in Seattle, the idea of looking at colleges in what she termed 'frigid' weather didn't appeal to her, not matter how much she loved her grandchildren!

Tim and Artie had one of the hotel's largest suites with three bedrooms and bathrooms. The boys had one bedroom, the girls another and their parents and baby brother would be in the third. All of the rooms and suites had kitchenettes. As the hotel was part of a regional chain, they also had reservations for the San Diego version, with the same setup, earning themselves a nice discount.

As they waited to check in, the group decided to meet in 90 minutes for a first look at the city. That would give everyone time to shower, change clothes and/or rest, no matter how much time it took to get their room keys.

By request, the senior Gibbs' room was on the same floor as the kids' and they took two baggage carts up in the elevator, making sure the right bags went into the right rooms. Tim and Artie were happy to see the crib for Jed in their bedroom, as well as a changing table in their bathroom which they hadn't expected. With the portable high chair they'd brought, their youngest was all set.

They'd packed the warmer clothes last and those were the items unpacked first, along with their swim gear. Artie was still hanging up her clothes when she and Tim noticed the quiet. Jed was playing with a favorite toy in his crib, so his parents quietly left him, peeking into the kids' rooms. All 5 of them were asleep, Kyle cuddled up between his brothers. Tim smiled at that, remembering the first night that Andy stayed with them for a sleepover, 3-year old Kyle had fallen asleep in his own bed early, later waking and snuggling into bed between Greg and their new brother Andy.

In the girls' room, they found Hope spread-eagled across one of the beds while Rissa was curled up, on that same bed, on one little slice of mattress. Shaking their heads, Tim and Artie moved Rissa to the second bed in the room. They had two beds in here, they'd make sure to point that out to the girls and tuck them into separate beds tonight.

After quiet time, which the couple spent playing with the baby and relaxing, they woke the kids and helped them get ready for their first outing. Everyone wore their warmer jackets, taking hats, scarves and gloves with them. Jethro and Lu emerged from their room at the same time as their kids and they met the others in the lobby. There was an IHOP, a family restaurant chain originally called "The International House of Pancakes", two blocks away and as a group, they decided that would probably be enough for today. They were tired from the long flight and the change in time. Tim looked at Sarah and she shrugged. While they were tired from the flight, neither one was feeling jet lagged.

Calling ahead to the restaurant, they warned them that a group of 22 adults and children were on their way and would need one high chair. Then they set out, the kids, with the exception of Ainsley, Cal, Andy and Jed, each holding hands with an adult. It was a quick walk, they'd forgotten that 45°F on the ocean felt quite a bit colder than the same temperature inland. When they entered the restaurant, they smiled as they were quickly ushered to their long table where coffee, tea and hot chocolate were quickly delivered. Tim almost laughed at his father, he was visibly happy to be in something resembling an American diner. Trying to remember where Elaine and her husband Jacob had landed after leaving Virginia, Tim realized he had no clue and asked his father. Dad smiled, "They pulled the diner apart and shipped the appliances, booths, the counter and stools, even the juke box, and all their equipment to a storage unit in Los Angeles that their son rented for them. Last I heard, they were negotiating to lease a place north of LA somewhere."

After their delicious meals, varying from breakfast feasts of pancakes, French toast or a Belgian waffle with eggs, bacon and hash browns to Penny's vegetarian southwestern scramble, Claire's grilled chicken and avocado salad with a sourdough roll, Artie's spinach and mushroom omelette with a short stack, Lu's turkey and avocado wrap, Jethro's steak, eggs and a short stack, Jim's regular stack of 5 pancakes with eggs, sausage and home fries, to the kids', Tim and Sarah's cheeseburgers, Tim's with bacon and avocado, with all the fixings, a little mustard and mayo on the bun, with pickles, strips of red onion, a slice of tomato and lettuce under the cheeseburger itself along with half a plate piled high with fries and a full bottle of ketchup, the group sat back, the adults grinning at each other. Penny laughed at them. "You can take the Americans out of the U.S. but you can't take the U.S. out of the Americans."

Claire shook her head, "I hadn't even realized how much I missed this. Don't get me wrong, we have great food in the UK, but this is home." Tim, who was eating the last of his cheeseburger, nodded enthusiastically.

Maisie laughed, "And to me, the food in the UK is home. Although I do love this." She'd had a short stack, that is three pancakes, with scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and hash browns which she'd said she wouldn't eat. There was no trace of them on her plate, although her fork had a tiny sliver of potato on it.

Lu said, "We can make all these things at home, but it wouldn't be the same as going to your favorite fast food or to IHOP or some of the other American treasures."

Claire laughed, "We do like our comfort food – and our carbs!"

Artie smiled, "I'm looking forward to Mexican food in San Diego!"

The adults smiled happily while Kyle was puzzled, "Mama, Daddy's enchiladas are Mexican."

Tim winked at his son, "You're right, kiddo, they are, based on a recipe I found in an American cookbook years ago. Authentic enchiladas will taste a little differently. Spicier, for one thing."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!"

"It will be, son. I'll ask at the office for the best food trucks and maybe we'll get some tacos from one of them."

"What are food trucks?"

"People who are great cooks but don't have enough money to open a restaurant. They have trucks with kitchens in the back, they cook and sell food from the trucks. If they make enough money, they might open a restaurant."

Cal frowned, "Is that where street tacos come from? I've heard of those on cooking shows."

"I believe so, Cal. I guess we'll find out for sure in San Diego!"

Jethro laughed quietly to himself, later telling Lu he remembered when food trucks were known as 'roach coaches'. She laughed, she remembered that too, except that eventually someone sold delicious food from one and banished the image of a 'roach coach'.

Realizing they all had mini-fridges and microwaves, several of them, including the junior Gibbses, ordered food to go for breakfast the next morning. Then they bundled up again, taking their very full selves back to the hotel. The kids played for nearly an hour before it got quiet again. Tim, who'd been handling emails from Leon, Joel and his agents, realized there was no background buzz of kids talking or playing. He looked around, smiling as he noticed that Artie was asleep, her e-reader in her hand and Jed was in his crib, asleep. Turning the thermostat up a notch, Tim checked on the older children. They were all in the boys' room. Andy and Greg were reading, although Greg's eyes were sliding shut, while Kyle and the girls were curled up on the floor, asleep, blankets over them.

Tim signed his thanks to the boys, glad he and Dad taught ASL to the kids, knowing they were responsible for the blankets. He signed that he wasn't sleepy, he was going to work in the living area, if they wanted to read in there or in the girls' room. When Greg blinked sleepily at him, with a kiss Tim removed his e-reader and pulled a blanket over him. Andy grabbed his tablet and followed his father back to the living area, where he settled in to do some of his schoolwork.

Tim returned to his emails, smiling at a message from his boss. He'd completed his analysis of the NCIS offices while Leon and Dani were on their wedding trip and Vance's note said he'd finally had a chance to study it. He liked the way Tim had framed the analysis, the number of cases handled in each office, the type of case, ranked by priority (terrorism, kidnapping, etc.), along with any information he could find as to why the office was where it was.

His findings pointed to one SSAIC, retired during Shepard's directorship, of the Central/Great Lakes office near Chicago. From the documentation and other information Tim uncovered, this SSAIC, new to the Chicago area and the Midwest in general, was upset with the results of responding to callouts from one location. To counteract that, he split his teams into pairs or single agents, putting them in small offices around the Midwest. The director at the time, before Morrow, had been persuaded to give this arrangement a chance.

Unfortunately, no one had done anything about it since then and the results weren't great. Agents were working on their own, rarely called into the main office and not all of them had the personality for independent work, tough in any line of work, especially difficult in law enforcement.

Nor were there enough cases to justify having that many agents scattered around. Tim started by sifting through 10 years of data and ended up going back another 10 years. His recommendations were to 1) evaluate each agent in the one or two-agent offices, mandating additional training, reassigning them as necessary and 2) consolidate offices into no more than 4, and he thought it could be done with 3 offices, subordinate to Great Lakes. Each should adhere to the same format every other NCIS field office followed, that is a team lead and two or three field agents. He also recommended the addition of 2 INV agents, to be housed in Great Lakes' main office, once that office was safe to work in again. The Great Lakes' Central office agents were currently sharing office space with the FBI in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The singles and doubles had relocated to various spots farther north or remained in their pre-war locations.

Tim had included an addendum with a listing for each agent, making recommendations for training or reassignment, in most cases both. Vance was especially happy with that, thanking his Deputy AD for 'going the extra mile' in analyzing results for each agent.

When he finally looked up, Andy was stretched out on the carpet, sound asleep. Tim gently woke him and steered him into his room, taking his shoes off and tucking him in. Greg was asleep and Kyle had crawled in with him. The girls were in their room, in their own beds. Tim kissed each of his babies goodnight, making sure they were covered up. Then he returned to his and Artie's room, rousing her enough to help her change into jammies. Jed was wet and Tim carefully moved him to the changing table, put a fresh diaper and footed jammies on him, slipped a sleep sack on him and moved him back to the crib, all without waking him. Then he rinsed out the fleece joggers (or in his case, crawlers) his son had been wearing.

He laughed to himself, he and Sarah hadn't thought this through, it looked like they had been successful and now each was on his or her own. He sent her a text and smiled at the reply, she was wide awake and already tired of writing, suggesting they go for a swim. He agreed, changing into his swim trunks, sliding a pair of sweatpants over them, grabbing a couple of towels and writing a note for Artie that he and Sarah were swimming. He took warm clothes to change into afterwards. Meeting Sarah in the lobby, they laughed at their success, glad the two of them were awake. It was 5:30 PM in Seattle and 1:30 AM at home!

After a long swim, they rinsed off, changed and then went to the restaurant for coffee and dessert. Sarah brought playing cards with her and they sat in the lounge, each nursing a soda, playing cards for a couple of hours. When they quit, they were relieved that it was now after 8 PM.

His alarm woke Tim the next morning and he smiled as he realized Artie and the baby were gone, the door was closed and the room was dark. After showering and dressing, he ventured into the living area, finding remnants of breakfast on the table, along with books and toys. Following his ears, he found his family in the boys' room, telling stories and entertaining Jed and Hope. They mobbed him as he walked into the room, telling him how dark it was when they woke up. Luckily, Greg and Artie woke first, got the baby up and breakfast ready before the others were out of bed. Artie smiled, "I found a note that you and Sarah had gone swimming. I take it your jet lag experiment worked?"

Tim chuckled, "It did; however we forgot that everyone else would still have jet lag. We didn't plan for that! We swam for close to an hour, took hot showers in the gym, put dry clothes on, went to the restaurant for coffee and dessert and sat in the bar with sodas and played cards for two hours. Then I watched TV out here on my laptop until I finally got sleepy, around 10. What time did you wake up?"

Artie laughed, "3:30 AM! Do you remember our last Christmas in Virginia, how early we were up?"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that! Are you going to the Seattle Center today?"

"Yes, with the Space Needle and our museum." They smiled at each other, "That should take us the morning, we'll come back for a nap and lunch and then we'll see what we feel like doing. Our 'Kids' Tour' is tomorrow, I'm glad we scheduled it for the morning!" She chuckled, "What do you and Sarah have planned for tonight?"

He shook his head, laughing. "Swimming and cards, I guess. Before we did that yesterday, I read through my office email and she wrote, she said she was bored with writing!"

"I don't ever remember Sarah saying that."

"Me neither. Anyway, I guess I'd better finish getting ready for the office."

He was about to request an Uber when his phone beeped with a text. It was Faye Dawson, one of his agents here, who said she'd pick him up in 5 minutes. Surprised, Tim replied to the text, kissed everyone goodbye, including his parents who'd wandered across the hall, gathered his laptop and headed out the door, telling everyone to have a good time. He smirked to himself, he was just as happy to be in a nice warm office today. Plus he had the day off next Friday, when they were going to Disneyland, although they hadn't told the kids yet.

The Hubbards, minus Maisie, were in the lobby, waiting for their rental car which would be delivered to them. They'd mapped out the colleges and universities they wanted to visit, even if it was just to see the campus. Eventually making a loop back to Seattle, they'd first drive east to Spokane to see Gonzaga and another university, they'd stay over there tonight, drive to Pullman and then Walla Walla WA over the weekend, make the drive west to Portland OR, where they'd tour a couple of campuses, then drive north back into the state of Washington to Tacoma and finally returning to Seattle, where they'd have their final tour. They would return Monday night although Jim thought they'd only get through all the colleges they'd selected if a few of the 'tours' were more of a 'drive-by'.

Tim warned Jim to be very careful in eastern Washington and eastern Oregon, close to the border with Idaho as that state shares a border with Oregon and Washington on its western side, to stay in cities or larger towns, and chain motels or hotels with businesses around them. Their rental car arrived before Tim's ride and he helped his uncle and cousins carry their bags out, smiling at the "America First" bumper sticker. Pointing it out to his uncle, Tim said, "That's a smart idea!"

Jim huffed, "Is there a Brambury in the U.S.?"

"No, but there's a London, in Ohio. It's not very big, but it might help if you're thinking of saying you live there. Will you wear your uni?"

"Dave and I have permission from the Secretary if the situation warrants it, but normally, no, I wouldn't."

Tim made a face and Jim chuckled, "Relax, son, it's only 4 days. Your dad has a couple of Marine buddies out east; I have their information and he's been in touch with them. And Ben Childers gave me the name and number of his Navy buddy near Portland. He also gave me information for an FBI agent there, a Ron Sacks. Says he knows you and Jethro."

Tim nodded with a smile, "He was on Tobias' team, we worked with him a few times. He's a good guy."

"See? Tell you what, one of us will check in every evening, how's that?"

"That will help, Uncle, thanks!"

They were pulling out of the parking lot as Agent Dawson pulled in, right on time. Tim smiled as he got into the car. "Hello! Thanks for picking me up, this is a nice surprise!"

She frowned, "You didn't see my first text?"

He shook his head, "No, I planned to Uber."

She chuckled, "Then I'm glad I sent the second one. I sent the first one yesterday morning."

"Huh, we didn't land until 11-ish, I should have received it. Doesn't matter, you followed up and here we are!"

"How was your flight? Noisy, I'll bet!"

"Actually, it wasn't bad. Secretary Porter was in London, on her way somewhere over the Pacific and offered us a ride, which was really nice."

"Ooh, a Gulfstream!"

Tim laughed, "She travels so much, she practically lives on that jet. But yes, it is a very nice way to travel. The babies could move around, my youngest is crawling and my niece, who's 4 months older than he is, is walking. So they weren't fussy, plus there was a planeload of Aunties and Uncles to play with them."

"A planeload?"

"My godfather and uncle are Navy officers, they came along, with their wives and my cousins who are a couple of years older than my oldest. My sister, her husband and his parents haven't been to the West Coast so they came along." He shook his head, "My sister was born in San Diego but we moved to the East Coast when she was 3, so she doesn't remember anything. My brother's in-laws relocated from Virginia to Ottawa, Ontario province, so he and his family came along and then flew to Ottawa where I'm sure he's wishing he was here with us."

"Ooh, bad in-laws?"

"His mother-in-law likes him but his father-in-law is terrible to him. Just…awful. They were visiting the Thanksgiving after you all were there, Watson stayed longer for his leg to heal and he was there for our celebration. I'd warned him but he told me later he had to leave the room within 5 minutes of the father-in-law arriving, when he realized he had his fists clenched so tight he was drawing blood."

"Who's protecting him in Ottawa?"

"A variety of people. My wife and I met a couple from Ottawa in Greece two years ago and they met my brother and his wife then, so they will be visiting or contacting Jimmy at key times, when Ed is at the house. And his brothers-in-law, married to his wife's sisters, promised to protect him or protect Ed, depending on who loses it first. Even his sisters-in-law will help. I imagine even the mother-in-law will help. Breena did a very smart thing, before she told her parents they were coming for a visit, she told her sisters. I'm not sure how they worked it out, but they're staying with two of the sisters and their families, rather than with the parents."

"That was a smart move!"

"So, how are things going? Anything new in the last two days?"

They both laughed, Dawson telling him about a weird case the field team had earlier in the week, in Seattle. "They handed it over to Metro before I did more than register it in the database."

"Good! How's Braff doing?"

"Fine."

Tim chuckled, "Hey, you're the senior INV agent here, I'm asking for your honest opinion. And in my experience, 'fine' can mean anything from the best thing that walked the earth to 'you stuck me with this dud' and anything in between."

"So noted. She's good, still learning; however, she's bright, quick and adaptable. I like working with her and Tim, I can't believe how much of a relief it is to have another one of us here. Not just sharing responsibilities but to be able to discuss things that no one else really understands. And to be able to…I don't know, go out to lunch every so often without giving myself heartburn by eating too fast so I can get back to the office, even though I'm checking my phone every three minutes."

Tim nodded, "Ah, that makes sense. I only had that for a few weeks before Ned transferred in. Well, sort of. I actually started doing INV work before the program started, on my off times from my special assignment." His visiting professorship at Bedford University felt like a decade ago and he'd forgotten about working for Joel when he had time off from Bedford or that Leon had called that strange time when he was still an NCIS employee although he wasn't, a 'special assignment'.

"Top secret, I'll bet!"

Tim huffed, "Some of it, yes."

"Before I forget, Ned sent a text, asking to talk with you today if you have time."

"Okay, thanks. Do you happen to know how many hours ahead he is from here?"

She told him, adding, "He said it doesn't matter if it's at work or home."

He nodded at that, must be personal and probably urgent.

They were going against traffic, but the ride seemed long, reminding Tim of sitting on the Beltway traveling to and from the Navy Yard. He perked up when they stopped at the front gate, it felt good to be on a U.S. Naval base. They pulled into a parking spot and Tim followed Agent Dawson into the elevator, went through Security with his laptop case, a little embarrassed when one of Rissa's hair scrunchies was found in an outside pocket. The guard was amused as Tim explained his daughter had decided to wear her hair down on the flight yesterday and he'd helped remove the scrunchy from her pony tail; obviously he'd left it in his case. He slipped it into his jacket pocket as he followed Dawson into an elevator.

He was happy to be given use of a conference room for the day and was hanging up his overcoat when the SSAIC knocked and came in. "Good morning and welcome to the Northwest office, Agent McGee."

He smiled, "Thank you, I'm glad to be here and it's great to see you again, Agent Melankovic!"

He'd sent her an email when he realized she was the SSAIC for the Northwest office and found neither of them remembered much about the case they'd worked together 14 years ago, in Jacksonville, Florida, the Southeast office. She remembered it had something to with brides, that Tim was about 12 and read women's magazines to discover what women liked and disliked, that someone got knocked out in the old armory and that their boss was the toughest SAC she'd ever met. At the time, she was a case agent and he was a Probie on Gibbs' team, Kate was their junior and Tony was…vintage Tony.

Now she said, "I forgot to ask you about the frat boy. The one who ate something off my desk."

Tim grinned, "He's all grown up, married a Marine in the reserves and he's a new dad; they have twins, a boy and a girl. He heads the Marseille office. And he's one of my brothers."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "She's a Marine, she must have straightened him out."

"He fell hard, I don't think she had to do much."

"And he's your brother. Adopted?"

"Yes. Turns out I'm the biological son of Jethro Gibbs, my former boss. He married the woman who helped raise me and my siblings. He'd already adopted my sister and three brothers. Then Lu, his wife, adopted us plus the rest of the bunch she helped raise. Along with them, she also adopted Tony. His biological father is still alive and drops in now and then so he won't let Dad adopt him, but his mother has been gone since he was a little kid, so Mom adopted him."

She chuckled, "I stopped listening when you got to the Gibbs' part. That cranky, rude man is your father?"

"Yes and he's pretty mellow now. He's grandfather to my 6 kids, Tony's 2 and our brother Jimmy's 3, so whatever rough edges that were still there after he fell in love with Lu have been rubbed down by the grandkids and his wife."

She'd blinked at the 6 kids and he added, "We have a blended family. Two of the kids are ours together, two are my nephews, who we adopted, one of our daughters is my wife's from a previous relationship, I've adopted her and our younger daughter was an international adoptee."

"Amazing and that's so good to hear. I'm friends with Cassie Yates in Singapore and you know she and her husband adopted two children left orphans by the terrorists."

Tim nodded, "Yes, they were still in the process when I was in Singapore a year ago." He smiled, "That's my story."

"I don't think so, Deputy Assistant Director."

He snorted, "Believe me, it would take all day to bring you up to date and neither of us has time for that!"

She tilted her head back and forth, "You're right. Is your wife with the agency?"

"No, she's a civil engineer; works on projects around the world."

"That's interesting! Do you travel with her?"

"Sometimes, if a project is within a day or two from home. She had a project in Turkey a few years ago, that was a four hour flight and fun to visit. Right now, she's working on a bridge in Amsterdam; the kids and I went with her in October for the project kickoff."

"Wow, Turkey, that seems so far away! And Amsterdam, how far is that from where you live?"

"A couple of hours by train, less time if flying, but our kids are wild about trains and it's much more fun than flying."

"Wow, I wish we had time to talk more. Anyway, let's head out to the bullpen to meet our team lead." She whispered, "They have treats!"

He laughed, "Oh well then, absolutely!"

He followed her down the hall to the bullpen, greeting Liana Braff, who'd only been here a few weeks and meeting the SFA/de facto team lead, Bob Chalmers, and the rest of the field agents.

As they were talking, a case came in and he grabbed his laptop and headset to work with Dawson. Braff was busy with reports for a case she'd worked earlier in the week. By noon, Dawson had everything she needed and Tim logged off. When the SSAIC asked him where he wanted to go for lunch, Tim grinned, "The most American place around here!"

"How long have you been overseas?"

"Five years in April."

"That's a long stretch."

Tim nodded, explaining his rescinded transfer orders 18 months ago. She shook her head, "Then you must be really homesick."

He shrugged, "Mostly around the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. We usually hold a party in our back garden, that is backyard, for all the expats on the weekend after the Fourth and most years we have a huge crowd for our Thanksgiving, which is also held the weekend after. It'll be strange when we move to the States and celebrate on the actual holidays! We live in a beautiful old market town just outside of London, we love our house there, we're friends with all our neighbors, we're part of the school system, shop locally and the public transportation into London, around the island and really everywhere we've gone in Europe is wonderful. And there is an 'American Grocery Store' in London if we're really homesick. However, by now it's home and since we got here yesterday, it feels very strange and the kids are treating it like one of our trips to you-name-the-country in Europe." He laughed, telling her about their IHOP experience.

She shook her head, "I was posted to Pearl for two years and that was odd to be so physically disconnected from the mainland, but it was still definitely the U.S. Any idea when the war will be over?"

"I wish I did."

"Do they call it a war in Europe?"

"Now they do, yes. When it first started showing up in the international news, it was 'the crisis' or 'the troubles'. We American expats have always called it a war. That's interesting, it's one of the first things other Americans want to know. I guess we each want the rest of the world to know how serious, how awful it is." He blinked, "It's not 'Syria awful', we're not flooding the European continent as refugees or stuck on ships that aren't allowed to take us anywhere. The Canadians, the Mexicans and other countries have been wonderful about taking us in. It's not as horrible as the wars after the fall of the Soviet Union, but for us, it's awful."

She nodded, agreeing. "Until things started happening in Idaho, we felt safe here, sort of detached from it. Except that people flew or drove here, bringing whatever they could from home. And the news, I'm a seasoned federal agent and I couldn't stomach watching the news."

Tim closed his eyes, fighting off the images of the massacre. When he opened his eyes, Jane was looking at him oddly, "You've been on the front lines?"

"One of my agents was, escaped only because of the way the garage at his rental home was constructed, a door on each end so he could drive out onto another street while attacks were carried out on his street."

"Oh my God! And you?"

"I've done some covert work, can't talk about it."

She nodded, "All right, then let's decide about lunch." She mentioned several restaurants, recommending a couple for authentic Northwest cuisine and he selected one of the those. Over lunch, which was delicious, he asked for her evaluation of the INV program and she smiled, "We've needed it for years! Cassie says you did a lot of the electronics for Gibbs' team and that this sort of grew out of that. It's wonderful, we can get to the meat, into the details of our cases so much faster with all the electronic records already in hand. Your Agent Childers and I had an email conversation when Agent Dawson first arrived, how she involved the INV agents with her team and we do that too. As far as I can tell, Agent Braff jumps right in with Dawson if she's not involved with something else and Dawson does the same with her if Braff has too much going on. Braff and the other new agent at the International Falls office are working well together. I think you'll be hearing how great it is from the rest of the U.S. offices too. I've had emails and calls from team leads who are thrilled with the help. I know it's not my business, but that poor agent at the FLETC center, all by herself! Who does she report to?"

"Right now, me and the SSAIC in the Northeast office. She's not physically by herself, her husband works remotely and was given permission to work at the FLETC complex. And there are FLETC folks there year around, that was one of my conditions for placing an agent there. Not many, but always at least two. She won't be there forever, she's part of the Director's plan to repopulate the U.S. NCIS offices when it's safe. We might end up with two or three INV agents there, working for all the U.S. offices, to be moved once agents are repatriated. Director Vance hopes to avoid mass chaos by having a few agents in place that can work cases while offices are being staffed."

"Oh, that's great! He transferred everyone so quickly that it almost happened before people realized."

Tim nodded, "I know, all of my family evacuated with the NCIS folks."

"Evacuated…I hadn't thought of them as refugees."

"They are, although they also have jobs, a huge difference. And they can move home, there are safe spots."

Melankovic nodded, "As I said, we thought we were safe here until that group in Idaho surfaced. But Silverdale and the Navy Base, Seattle and her suburbs are good."

Tim was glad he was chewing and therefore couldn't respond.

Back at the office, he pulled Dawson away for her evaluation, which left her smiling and afterward asked Braff to come in, just to see how she was feeling about her new job. He smiled, "It wouldn't be fair to give you an evaluation yet; however I'm happy with what I see and hear. Do you have any questions for me?"

She had a few and he answered them as best he could. After that, he asked for a few cold cases to review. Before he started work on those, he sent a text to Ned, asking if now was a good time to call. Ned answered right away and Tim called him. When his friend answered, Tim's first question was "Are you all right? Is Daniel okay?"

"Yes to both, Tim, thanks. It's my grandparents I'm concerned about. One of their neighbors sent me an email saying my grandmother is very ill and my grandfather doesn't want to bother me."

"Good neighbors to let you know. Have you talked with either of your grandparents?"

"Yes, I called them right away. I finally convinced my grandfather to tell me. She, my grandmother, has Stage 4 cancer, she's on heavy duty chemo. Their friends are helping but I…"

"Need to be there to see for yourself, to help."

"Yes! The thing is, I don't know how long I'll be needed."

"All right, let's think about this. Where do your grandparents live?"

"They're north of San Diego, in a retirement community in Encinitas, California. They moved there from Arizona when I started college at UCSD."

"Would you have time to work?"

"Yes, I'll have to! I need an income and medical insurance and all that."

"All right, I'll need to run this by Vance first but I'm thinking we could do what McCoy is doing in London. She works US hours while physically in London. I'm not sure how that would work, there's a 16 hour difference between Tokyo and San Diego. And Ned, there's no guarantee we could get you back to Japan when you're ready."

Ned agreed, "We figured that."

"I'll need a few hours to work on this. Does your grandfather have help with your grandmother now? You said friends are helping, will they be able to continue that while we figure this out?"

"Yes, I spoke with the three that are helping and they promised."

"Good, that's a relief. Let me call the director. I'll text you with whatever I have, even if it's 'have to talk to…whoever'. Does that work?"

"Yes, thank you so much."

"Ned, this next question is from your friend Tim."

"What about Daniel?"

"Yeah."

"Believe it or not, he and Trinity are talking about moving the kids to the U.S. with me, us. She works for an American company, she's looking into transfers. Daniel, well, he's IT, if he can't transfer, he'll be able to get a job."

"But you'd prefer a transfer for him?"

"Yes, but Tim, that's not.."

"You're a package deal, Ned. Again, I can't promise anything but it can't hurt to ask."

They disconnected and Tim texted Leon, asking if he had time for a call about personnel issues. He shook his head when his phone rang, "What's going on?"

"It's not in the Northwest office, it's Dorneget." Quickly explaining the problem, he shared his idea and then added Daniel Ibarra into the mix.

Leon thought about it. "Yes for Ned, if you're comfortable with him working staggered hours, that's 16 hours, Tim!"

"I know, we'll figure out the days and hours. My initial thought was that his work week might need to start on Sunday."

"All right, yes, I'll approve the transfer package for him. That does mean he may not end up returning to Japan."

"He knows and agrees."

"Good! I'll ask Pam to send you the forms to get the transfer in motion. I'm glad you thought ahead to having floaters in the Asian offices! How long has…uh new guy been there now?"

"Ted Bailey, he trained with McCoy and has been in Japan for about 8 months. He's a good solid agent, has high marks from both Dorneget and Watson." Tim thought about Tighe in San Diego. "One more thing, Leon. Tighe, my guy in San Diego, has expressed interest in taking an overseas position. What happens with the transfer if Tighe or one of my other agents wants to move to Japan?"

"Nothing, the transfer isn't about the staggered hours. His schedule is an exception to standard operating procedure and you'll need to document it. Write it out as an agreement, with the specific hours, leave room for amendment if necessary. I'll take a look at it since it's your first one. Then have him sign the original and get it back to you. Then you sign, I'll initial and then HR gets it."

"And we process the transfer for the other agent, SOP?"

"Yes."

"I don't know about playing musical chairs. Let me think this through and do a little nosing around. I need to write it out before I sprain my brain. In the meantime, I'll get started on the transfer. Thanks, Director! What kind of room do we have in the budget for agent transfers past training?"

"After you and I figured your budget, I added in 3 transfer packages per fiscal year, separate from your trainees. You're in your second year and I uh, managed to roll your post-trainee budget over from the last fiscal year so right now, you have funds for 6 transfer packages."

"6 is more than I'll need unless the war ends tomorrow but thanks for the information and the rollover. Another question, is there physical room for Dorneget in SW and when should I contact the SSAIC? I'd rather not wait until I get there next week."

"Yes, there's room and…do you know Quan Dixon?"

"I do not."

"Mm. How about we do a Skype call with him on Monday? I'll introduce you and stick with the call while you explain Dorneget's predicament. Stick with Ned, don't mention his partner."

"Thanks!"

"I'll send him a note now so he'll have it first thing Monday morning. Now, Ibarra, is he a tech or management?"

"A tech as far as I know."

"Hang on, I'll look. Also, HR asked me to fill you in on this: because you are my deputy assistant director, I'm allowed to speak with you about agency employees, whether or not they're in the INV program."

"Thanks. I asked Joel about that year before last when I first started reviewing employee evaluations. He said he was extending his authority to me."

"And now you have your own authority. Let's see, Ibarra is a tech, although a senior tech. You know, he could work remotely too. As you know, a senior tech is not crawling under desks, he's developing and coding."

"Right. He should speak to his supervisor."

"Yes and tell him not to mention either of us. Field management tends to get their backs up if they think upper management is manipulating them."

"Really, imagine that!" He couldn't help the laugh that escaped and Leon huffed at him. "Ok, so I learned that the hard way! My point is, have Ned tell his partner to ask his supervisor about a transfer and/or a remote move so they'd still have his skills but he'd be physically housed elsewhere."

"Will do. Thanks again."

"You know I'm going to dream about musical chairs now."

With a chuckle, Tim disconnected, waited until he had the transfer forms from Pam Cooke and got busy with those. Then he wrote up the 'Exception to Standard Operating Procedure' document, thanking Leon and Pam for sending him a copy of one, and sent it to Leon for his review. Taking a break for a coffee, the 'Exception' form was back in his inbox with Vance's electronic signature when he returned. Once everything was completed, he called Ned. "Director Vance has approved your transfer to San Diego as a remote employee to Japan. There's a form for you to sign, I'll email it to you, you sign it electronically and send it back to me, I'll sign it and send you a copy once the director has signed it. Then it goes to HR. It's an agreement between us that you'll be working outside of standard business hours. I figured out your schedule and put it in. I've also left room for any changes that might come up. If you have any questions, let me know. I've finished the transfer forms and sent them to HR. I asked for overnight mail, so you'll receive preliminary copies via email and paper copies, which are the ones that have to be completed and sent to HR, sometime on Monday. Unless the service they use actually moves things on weekends! Also, is Daniel close by?"

Ned laughed, "Tim, I can't believe this, I'm being transferred, just like that?"

"Hey, I'm new at bureaucracy, give me time, I'll slow down."

"Wow, thank you so much! Daniel's right here, do you want to speak with him?"

"No, because I want him to have plausible deniability. As long as he can hear me talking to you."

He heard both men laughing and smiled, saying, "Ned, if I were Daniel, I would let my supervisor know that my partner is transferring to San Diego and is there any way he could go, too, and still work for your office, although remotely? The same way you will be, with the 16 hour difference. The director tells me Daniel's now a senior tech, please give him my congratulations, and senior techs don't crawl around under desks, they're developing software and coding. That can be done anywhere. The key to all this is to phrase it somewhere between a question and a request and Daniel should not, under any circumstance, tell his supervisor or anyone else at the office or connected to NCIS that there's been any conversation with anyone in upper management. That could be the kiss of death as far as local management is concerned."

"So Daniel should approach his supervisor. Should he explain my situation?"

"Yes but not in great detail. Just enough to factually convey the gravity of the situation. No emotion."

"Thanks, Tim. Uh, does San Diego know yet?"

"No, not yet, so no telling friends and family in the U.S. yet. You get your paper work back to HR and I'll talk with the SSAIC on Monday."

Disconnecting, Tim pulled up his spreadsheet of offices and people, which also contained information on the languages spoken by the agents and languages spoken by the host country or countries. Since he'd transferred to San Diego, Tighe had completed three language courses, in French, Italian and Japanese, reporting that he'd also joined social groups that spoke the languages, learning more of the everyday conversational lingo.

Piro also spoke Japanese and since he'd transferred to Marseille, French as well as Italian. Ned spoke several languages, including Spanish, Tagalog and Japanese. Tim played with a few ideas, moving Piro to Japan and Tighe to France or moving Ortiz from Italy to France, Piro to Japan and Tighe to Italy. Although Ortiz had only had a few weeks in Naples, she'd been in Braff's group of trainees, that hardly seemed fair.

While he was satisfied with Dorneget working cases for the office in Japan while housed in San Diego, that was going to be difficult for his agent. The difference in hours would mean that Ned's work week in San Diego would begin on Sundays at 4:00 PM, ending at 1:00 AM. He'd work those hours Sundays through Thursdays, with Fridays and Saturdays off.

He'd had a note from Tighe a few months ago that while he enjoyed working and living in San Diego, he wouldn't mind an overseas assignment if there were ever openings. He'd also included information about his new language skills. Tim was impressed that he'd taken the extra step of joining the social groups.

Truth was, now that he'd seen how much work his US floaters were doing and had more feedback from them, the field teams and the SSAICs, he could justify adding floaters, with one in San Diego. Which meant he could assign another agent to Japan, establish Dorneget as the INV in San Diego and then move a second agent in there as a floater. That would give them four floaters for the US, with McCoy dedicated to the East Coast and the floater in San Diego dedicated to the West Coast. Braff in Seattle and Scott in International Falls could handle the rest of the country. He was serious about housing another floater or two in International Falls.

Once the war was over, he planned to relocate the floaters so that they would be more in sync with the offices. However, until Leon shared his office plans he wouldn't know which offices would be repopulated and which would be consolidated or moved.

He shook his head, he needed to think this through and he didn't want to move his agents around only to have the war come to a close and have to reorganize again. Not that the war ending would be a bad thing!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agent Jane Melankovic was in Season 2's "The Good Wives Club".
> 
> Also, 'roach', in this context, is American slang for cockroach.


	85. Chapter 85

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra chapter this week, enjoy! 
> 
> Reminders:  
> DoN = the Department of the Navy; the Department run on the show by Secretary of the Navy Sarah Porter. Although she hasn't appeared in a few years, until the writers give us another SecNav, I'm sticking with Porter.
> 
> CGIS = the Coast Guard Investigative Service, formerly a part of the DoN, is now part of the Department of Homeland Security. NCIS (the show) has had a few episodes working together with the CGIS.
> 
> NIS = Naval Investigative Services, the real-world predecessor of the real-world NCIS. NIS was run by Naval personnel although there were also civilian investigators, e.g., people like our fictional Mike Franks. NIS did itself and the victims a misdeed (to put it mildly) with its mishandling of the Navy's Tailhook scandal in late 1991. By the following year, NIS was gone and NCIS, now run by civilians although still reporting to the DoN, was in its place. For information about Tailhook, use your favorite search engine.

Chapter 85

While Tim was at the office, his wife, children, parents and the rest of the group spent their morning at the Seattle Center, which has the Space Needle, originally built for the 1962 World's Fair, the Museum of Pop Culture, where Tim and Artie ran into each other in 2003, the Seattle Children's Museum and many other fun and interesting things to see and do. They had a great morning, returning to the hotel for lunch and naps. They planned to go back; however, everyone except Sarah was tired, jet lag catching up with them, and they were all cold. Instead, they went walked up and down the stairs a few times and had three hour naps before going swimming.

When Tim returned from the office that afternoon, he found his family taking showers after their swim. Needing exercise, he ran on the hotel's fitness center treadmill and then swam a few dozen laps in the pool. He, Artie, Sarah, James, Susannah and Ian were having an adult dinner out tonight while his parents, the senior Powells, Penny and Maisie stayed with the kids, who were having a pizza and movie night.

The six in the dinner group took Uber to a highly rated, trendy Seattle restaurant recommended by Tim's agents and Agent Melankovic. James made the reservations using his wife's pen name, thinking it was a necessary move for a popular restaurant on a Friday evening. Sarah laughed at his guilty face when the hostess greeted her by her nom de plume. Then she pointed at her brother, "He's Thom E Gemcity." Tim smiled politely at the woman's bright smile and the siblings offered autographs. Once seated, Sarah and James ordered a bottle of wine from one of the local wineries while Tim and Artie ordered a bottle of California's finest white and Susannah and Ian pledged to try both. The food was delicious, the offerings varied enough to please everyone in the group. The wine, conversation and laughter flowed freely, with no one worried about kids, driving or work in the morning.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday morning, the kids disappeared with their grandparents, who took them to breakfast downstairs while their parents slept in. When the couple finally woke, it was nearly 7:00 AM.

They found breakfasts for them in the refrigerator with a note that the kids were across the hall with 'Gpa and Gma'. After they ate, showered and dressed, the kids returned to the suite, preparing for their day.

Their first stop was Pike's Place Market, which was busy and chilly. Meeting with their guide, they had a closer look at the Market, learning its history and listening to a few inside stories. From there they went to the Pacific Science Center and the Children's Science Museum, back at Seattle Center. They were glad to return as they hadn't seen everything the day before and Tim hadn't visited the Children's Science Museum before. There was 'hands-on' fun for kids from 3 and up, exciting for Hope! The kids especially loved the butterflies, in their own separate building, telling their younger sister and their guide all about Butterfly Hill. Hope was excited while Jed wasn't sure how he felt when a few butterflies visited them personally. Kyle said that was good, now they'd all had a butterfly adventure! That brought a big grin to Hope's face, she loved being included in the adventures.

From there, they said goodbye to their guide and headed to Pioneer Square for their tour of Underground Seattle. Penny, who'd been before, Mrs. Edith and Ian, who weren't keen on visiting an old underground, stayed topside with Hope and Rissa. Jed was fine in his daddy pack and the boys found the story of the beginnings of Seattle and how it rebuilt itself, elevating the city after a devastating fire, interesting. Sarah and Tim both thought about the story potential.

In the meantime, the little girls had fun with their minders, chasing Uncle Ian until they finally caught him, taking a walk to see the Tlingit Indian Totem, examining it from all sides before ducking into a coffee shop for hot chocolates all around.

Their next stop was to take a ride on the Seattle Ferris Wheel. Although it had great views of the city and the bay, Tim passed, staying on the ground with Jed and Susannah. Kyle didn't like Ferris wheels and initially didn't want to go, until he saw that the gondolas were fully enclosed. Then he decided it was all right – and had a wonderful time, telling his father, aunt and baby brother about everything he'd seen.

By now, they were hungry and found a kid-friendly restaurant. As a surprise afterward, they had one more tour. Back at Pike's Place, they met a guide who took them on a walking tour in and around the Market for yummy treats, cupcakes, hot chocolate and delicious caramels. Their guide told them how chocolate was made and they watched as one vendor made his Seattle-famous chocolate. Penny, Mrs. Edith, Ian and the girls thought having another hot chocolate was fun!

From there, they Ubered back to the hotel, tired, satisfied with their day, their tummies full of good food and wonderful chocolates. Jed was the only one who wanted anything else to eat that night!

Sunday was a little warmer, 48°F, and the group decided to go ahead with their plans. First, they were going on an Ice Cream cruise on Lake Union, a freshwater lake within Seattle city limits. While in the warmer months, ice cream was served, today they'd have hot chocolate and Tim heard that there might be 'hot chocolate sundaes', obviously those would have to be eaten very quickly! The cruise was only 45 minutes long, perfect for the kids and for their plan afterward.

The cruise was indeed fun. They enjoyed watching seaplanes land and take off, viewing the floating homes, waving from behind the windows of the boat to people watching them from inside the windows of their homes, cruising by the Glass Studio they'd visited on Friday. Consuming the hot chocolate sundae was a fun challenge as they tried to eat the ice cream before it melted, giving the beverage a wonderfully creamy texture and taste. Smart Rissa asked for a separate bowl for her ice cream. She sat at a table, having a bite of cold, creamy ice cream, quickly followed by a sip or two of hot chocolate.

While all this was fun, delicious and informative, Tim and Artie had seen something online that would teach them more about some of the original peoples of the North American continent. After their ice cream cruise, they went to Pier 54 where they'd board a boat for a 45 minute cruise on Puget Sound to Blake Island, a state park believed to be the birthplace of Chief Seattle, the Native American for whom the city is named.

On the island, they'd visit a Tillicum village, where they'd see, hear and experience the history of the local Native People. Tillicum is a Chinook jargon word meaning friendly people, tribe, or family; the name honors the various peoples of the ancient Chinook tribe, who lived in the Northwest for 14,000 years.

While they were on the island, the group would be guests at a buffet of typical food of the Coast Salish people, listening to their stories and watching their dances after their feast. Tim promised he'd try the smoked salmon although there were non-fish and vegetarian dishes too. All this would happen in a traditional Native longhouse.

They'd have time to view some of the Native artwork and explore more of the beautiful island or if it was too cold, visit the museum and gift shop. Tim was especially pleased that they'd found the tour. While he knew it was meant for tourists, it would teach his children more about their country of citizenship. While he, Dad, Mom and Sarah taught the kids American history, it was really a foreign country to them, just as the UK had been foreign to him five years ago. It made him sad; however, it did not make him sad enough to risk their lives by moving back to the U.S. At least on this trip, they'd have a peek into American life as it existed on the West Coast.

The excursion was a great success. The boat ride over Puget Sound was fun and informative. As soon as the crew heard the group was from Europe, they took it upon themselves to tell them more about Seattle, the Sound and Washington State in general. Tim later told Artie they could easily have skipped all the other tours, they learned as much if not more from the crew! Each of the kids, even Jed, had a quick trip to the bridge to say a quick hello to the Captain. They had more hot beverages, non-alcoholic cider, coffee and tea, and dared to venture onto the deck for closer views of the Sound. No one stayed more than a minute or two, it was cold to begin with and a boat moving through open water was even chillier! However, they'd come prepared and were snug in their jackets, hats and gloves.

Once the boat docked at the island, they walked down the gangplank, where they were greeted by their hosts, some of the Coast Salish people. They relaxed in the warm longhouse, removing their outerwear and getting comfortable. After a welcome, they were invited to the buffet. Penny and Tim had already examined the online menu and were pleased with their choices, a venison stew for Tim and a hearty mushroom dish for Penny. Tim also put a tiny portion of the smoked salmon on his plate. Later he said it was better than any fish he'd tried before but wouldn't commit to eating it again. Everyone enjoyed the food and the warm atmosphere, listening to the stories told by their Coast Salish hosts, who represented all the native peoples and tribes of the Northwest. Later they moved to a story circle for more tales and then watched the dances, which were fascinating.

When they'd finished, and really it was too soon, the group split up. Susannah, Ian, Jethro, Lu, Andy, Rissa and Kyle went for a quick walk while the rest of the group stayed inside the warm longhouse, admiring the artwork, visiting the museum and browsing through the gift shop. Artie and Tim fell in love with some of the artwork, having it shipped home. The walkers returned fairly quickly and joined them in the gift shop, buying postcards, sweatshirts, a few tee shirts for the kids along with other items.

The boat ride back to Seattle went by too fast and soon their adventure was over. Many photos were taken, aboard the boat and on the island, although none during the dance, the Gibbses bought prints of native dances, and of the longhouse. Grandma asked the kids to write their memories of their excursion to include with the photos. Grandpa asked them to include the Ice Cream cruise, too and they all laughed, remembering the hot chocolate sundaes.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Monday morning, Agent Braff picked Tim up for work, smiling at the pink bakery box in his hands. "Yum, treats! How'd you do that?"

He smiled, "Asked the hotel concierge. He made a list of what I wanted and added it to the hotel's order for this morning." He tapped his forehead, "Smart guy!"

"I'll say. Did you have fun sightseeing!"

Tim nodded, "Have you been to Blake Island?"

"Not yet, it's been too cold. I hear it's beautiful, you can hike, camp, swim, kayak and canoe out there. Of course, you need a boat to get there!"

"We went yesterday." He told her about their excursion. She smiled, "I like that, I have a goal to learn as much as possible about where I live and that sounds perfect. Have you seen a lot of the city?"

He told her a bit more about their sightseeing adventures and she smiled, "That all sounds like fun, I need to stop huddling inside during the winter and get out to explore."

"How many countries have you lived in?"

She stopped to think, maneuvering carefully around a bus. "Six. Born in the U.S., posted to Australia, then a hop to Thailand, Belgium, Dad worked at NATO for a couple of years, back here for a year or so, then on to Brazil, Italy and then back to the States for college."

He smiled, "A true sign of an expat or former expat."

"What's that?"

"Referring to the U.S. as 'the States' or 'America'."

She nodded, "I'd forgotten that. In all the other countries I've been to, except Canada, they call it America."

They stopped at the front gate of the Naval base before being allowed in, parking next to the NCIS office. Walking into the office felt good after a fun, busy weekend; Tim was ready to get back to work. He left the bakery box in the bullpen, walking down the hall to the conference room he'd occupied on Friday. Booting up his laptop, he looked at the INV database to see what was going on. Gage had a tough case in Seoul and was being assisted by both Estes and Watson in Singapore. Tim nodded, Estes was another new INV agent, in the same class as Braff; he was glad Matt was working with his colleagues.

He sent an IM trailer to Gage, letting him know he was available if needed. There were other cases, London had two, one in Belgium, Bishop was working with the field agents in Antwerp while Esposito was working a local case with the field team, led by Bec's SFA in her absence. Tim made a face, he'd forgotten she and Geordie were still away. Then he laughed at himself, he, Artie and the group had been away for less than a week. He reviewed some case notes, made a few comments and then swapped over to his email.

Ned had signed and returned the 'Exception to Standard Operating Procedures' form, Tim applied his signature, saved and sent it to HR while sending a copy back to Dorneget and moving a copy into his agent's folder. As he saved it, he noticed another email from Ned, he'd received the transfer papers and would work on them at home. Tim looked at the time here, 0835 AM here meant it was 0035 AM Tuesday morning in Japan.

Leon pinged him on Skype shortly after and together they pinged the Southwest/San Diego SSAIC, Quan Dixon. Vance introduced them before adding the reason for their call, Dorneget's transfer and his unusual hours. Vance had already approved Tim's plan to cover the extra expenses of an employee working off hours for another team, producing nothing for the team where he was housed. Dixon pointed out that their Intel Analysts were often in the office outside of the standard business hours. He was sanguine about the addition, adding that he thought Tighe would be happy for the company, at least for an hour a day most of the work week. Remembering what Dawson said Friday morning, about having someone else around who understood her work, Tim made a mental note to discuss that with Tighe.

At 0930, Tim met with the Team Lead, Bob Chalmers, to hear his evaluation of the INV program. He was happy with what he heard and found that Chalmers was curious about the program, saying, "My wife and I are expecting our second child and regular work hours are becoming more important. Will there be more INV agents?"

"Yes. Although for all intents and purposes we're fully in production, until the war is over and Director Vance is able to move people home again, the program will officially remain in pilot. Beyond that, yes, we anticipate more INV agents. I don't know where yet, of course, but for you, a move would seem likely."

"I thought so, although Agent Dawson was previously posted here."

"Yes, that was pure serendipity; she'd just been transferred here and I wanted an agent in Seattle."

Bob smiled, "I got here about a month after she returned from her training. I have another question, if you don't mind?"

Tim returned the smile, "The program is one of my favorite things to talk about."

"I know you've recently been promoted, was that particular to you or is there a career path within the program?"

"Yes, those promotions are particular to me; however there is a career path. We haven't worked out all the terminology yet, but it works the same as the field agent path, although with INV everyone's already completed their probationary year and a few years as junior agents. In your case, you would, after training and what we call the 'burn-in' period, that's 3 months, retain whatever status you had when you joined the program. In reality, you'd still be a rookie INV agent but your records would reflect your prior status."

"And there would be room for advancement?"

"Yes, currently I have two deputies, who run the program on a day to day basis when I'm away or handling my other responsibilities."

"How many agents do you have now?"

"15 and I've just filed a proposal for a few more."

"Wow! And you manage them all! May I ask you your background? If that's too personal…"

"Not at all, I'm happy to share. I started as a case agent in Norfolk, VA, spent a year there, although most of that year I worked off and on for the MCRT in DC. Eventually, I was promoted and transferred there. I was with the MCRT for 11 years. Then I had a family situation that led to me leaving the agency. Subsequently, Vance lured me back with a special assignment in the UK. While I worked on that, the director and I worked out what my duties would be once that assignment was completed.

"The family situation led to me becoming a single parent to my two young nephews and between the irregular hours and the dangers, I couldn't continue in the field, couldn't do that to the boys. That's why I left and eventually that's how the INV position came into being. I'd done a lot of the MCRT's electronics over the years, which I loved but also resented because I wanted to be out in the field more. And I was." He smiled, "I still miss the field occasionally. But there are plenty of adrenaline rushes in the INV position, without the dangers or the irregular hours.

"In 2017, I completed the special assignment and returned to the office in London full-time and formally began my INV career. Although I was due to be transferred home, to run the program from the Navy Yard, Vance pulled my orders while he transferred everyone else in danger into safer locations."

"Wow, that's something. In my former office, before the program started, three of the four of us handled the electronics, so it was shared pretty evenly. When I got here and there was one person, I wasn't sure how it would work. But removing INV from the field does the trick, gives the INV agent time to get things going without having to get to the scene, to concentrate on that, process it all and then start with the records. More and more cases revolve around electronic records and crimes that have threads in cyber space as well as the physical world. Even the older guys are having to admit that."

Tim was fighting a smile and when Chalmers looked at him quizzically, Tim let his smile out. "Sorry, my former SAC on the MCRT hated having anything to do with electronics. Even he will admit now they can be a great tool. Once he understood that, it was easier for him to accept them. Anyway, for my first 8 years on the team, I was the only one who handled the electronics. When one of the others left, her replacement had no problems with them. By the way, she's now an INV agent."

"Is she the only other INV agent from your old team?"

"Yes. Our former SFA is SAIC of the Marseille, France, office, and our former SAC is retired. There are two other INV agents we worked with as field agents aboard the Yard, but neither were on our team."

"Assuming I pursue this, I'll need to speak with our SSAIC before I apply."

"Yes."

"And I'd probably be transferred."

"Almost certainly, yes. I will say this, I've just sent in my proposal to add more agents to the program and my last proposals were approved within days. After that, we won't add any additional until the war's over and Vance moves agents home from overseas or wherever safe spots he moved them to. So if you decide to apply, you'll need to get your application in quickly."

"Are there still oversea spots?"

"Might be, have some assignments pending. Do you speak other languages besides English?"

"Yes, Tagalog, Japanese, a little Mandarin, Italian, Spanish and German."

"Impressive! How fluent is your Tagalog and Japanese?"

Chalmers smiled, "Very. I'm half Filipino. My mother's from the island of Bohol, my dad's retired from the U.S. Navy. He's American with Scottish ancestry, born and raised in Missouri. Saw the ocean on a school trip and joined the Navy as soon as he could. We lived all over the world until I was ready for high school, then we moved to Manila. I came here for college and never left. My parents returned to Bohol once my sister and I left. And my Japanese is fairly fluent, my sister's husband is Japanese and taught us – and my daughter."

"Would it be a problem moving overseas?"

Chalmers had a look on his face, "No, my wife wants to leave. She's American, born to an American mother who married a German; they live in Munich. We met in college. She's afraid to send our daughter to school in the U.S., even here. We do have some time, she's not yet 3."

Tim huffed, "My wife and I met in college too. I speak Greek, learned it from her. And we feel the same way about the schools and all the shootings. Before my transfer got pulled, we planned to send our kids to private schools in Virginia."

Chalmers nodded, "My wife, girlfriend then, taught me German. And I taught her Tagalog. Her mother was born in San Francisco to a mixed Chinese, Korean couple, naturalized citizens. That's also where I've picked up the little bits of Mandarin."

Tim pulled up a folder on his laptop and looked at Chalmers. "What's your email? We'll be home on Sunday."

Chalmers handed him a card and Tim input his email address and sent the Investigatory Agent Information packet before handing the other man one of his own cards.

They shook hands as Chalmers left and Tim stood in thought, he might be good for the Corpus Christi office or the office in Japan or…he'd need to talk with Vance about another idea he'd had. As far as Chalmers' placement if he applied, Tim thought that with a baby on the way, the FLETC center outside International Falls probably wasn't the best idea.

After Gage sent him a 'thanks, we're good' message, Tim worked with Dawson on a case and then swapped over to help Braff when she had an IM from Scott asking for help with a case out of the Mayport, Florida, office. Scott was already working a case for Great Lakes and McCoy was working on something for the Miami office.

When another case came in, this one from the Northeast office, Tim left the Florida case and signed on for the new one. It felt very good to be an active agent again and by the time the field team returned to the office in Newport, Rhode Island, he'd pulled the records for their dead Marine, requested all the usual warrants and, upon receiving the most needed, retrieved and reviewed the victim's financials and looked into his background.

He sent his analysis to the SAC, copying the SFA. The deceased Marine had picked the Corps over a prison sentence and apparently had neglected to give up the drug business that got him into trouble in the first place. Tim already had his civilian criminal record, wincing when he saw the police reports and court transcript. Pulling law enforcement information for known associates, he dived into their records, sending his findings to the SFA, who'd responded to his earlier info drop.

Two hours later, he received a message that they'd busted one of the Marine's associates, having found the murder weapon in the trunk of his car. It had been an easy bust as the idiot had sampled his own products before running his car off the road and into a tree. The police already had the BOLO by the time they got to the crash scene and contacted NCIS to come get their drugged up murderer.

Tim updated the database and was working on a report when his phone chimed. He looked at the ID and smiled, guessing he'd been busted. "Hey Race, how are things?"

"We're fine, Boss. What are you up to?"

Tim laughed, "Ok, you caught me, I worked a case. Everyone else was busy and I couldn't resist. I work cases at home, you know."

"Sure, sure, I know. You busted the guy, right?"

"They arrested the guy I believe is the dirtbag."

"Your analysis."

"Well, yeah, Piro, that's what we do."

"Geez, I cannot believe how much you sounded like Gibbs just then. I mean your father."

"Thanks! Now, really, how's it going?"

"Busy, but not overloaded. Better knock on wood, hope I didn't jinx us! Had a note from Ned that he's moving to San Diego but will work remotely for Japan. My only business in that is how do we handle the deputy stuff, with me on European time and him living in one time zone and working in one 16 hours different?"

"I'm not sure yet, playing with some ideas, when I get back I'd like to talk with both of you. While we're talking, you made a passing comment recently about your wife being done with her work in Marseille, is that right?"

"In Provence in general. She says it's all been done before. She's done her own thing and has sold a few pieces but she'd like to stretch her wings. Why, Boss?"

"Part of the ideas I've been kicking around. If you were to pick some other place to work in, where would it be?"

"UK, Hawaii, Spain, Australia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Japan. I suppose the West Coast of the U.S."

"He says enthusiastically."

"I feel the same way you do, Tim, don't want to go home to more mass shootings. I know you thought, and I agreed, that private schools were safe but the shootings are happening everywhere now."

"Yeah."

"France has been great but I won't mind moving. My SAIC might have something to say about that, though."

"I'd probably put another agent in, if that's any consolation. Germany…huh, how many cases have you worked for them?"

"A growing number over the past year. I have the number somewhere."

"Me too, hang on…got it. Huh, interesting. How's your German?"

"Not as good as my Italian or French but getting there. I've been studying online and with audio tapes. Heard someone else joined a social group for a specific language, sounds like a good idea to me."

"Hawaii or Germany?"

"Hawaii, please."

"Okay, I want to leave the newbies where they are for now. And…I need to work on this a little more, Race, don't pack your bags and please don't mention it to your SAIC or anyone else yet."

"Ok, I won't mention it to my wife then. Hey, whatever happened to Fuller? I thought he was going to apply."

"So did I but he never did."

"He speaks a few languages, don't remember what. Think I'll track him down."

"Go for it! I have proposals in for a few more agents in the States, found a couple more safety pockets for them."

"Remotely?"

"Some remotely, at least one on site. Race, are you at work? I just realized it's nearly lunchtime here."

"Yeah, finishing up some reports, geez, I forgot why I really called you. Any chance I can take Friday off?"

"I'm off, don't know about Dorneget. How urgent is this?"

"My wife has a medical procedure she has to have, they just told her today and I want to be there. She'll go in at 0600 and won't be out until 1330."

Tim's eyebrows rose, "That's urgent, go. We'll figure it out."

Disconnecting, Tim frowned, looked like he needed to play musical deputies too. He wrote a quick email to Vance, had a quick reply, wrote back telling him to stop reading his work emails and/or go home, also thanking him.

When he made his next call, he smiled at the response, "Agent McGee, what's your excuse for working a case?"

"Hey Bishop! Same as I just told Piro, all the floaters were on cases and another one came in. And, okay, I'm a little tired of working cold cases."

"HA, I knew it! So this must be a business call. First tell me if you're having a good time."

"Yes, although it's weird to be here. So…here's the business question. Will you be one of my deputies?"

"I…what? You want me to be one of your deputies?"

"Yes." He told her about the pay raise and job bump and could almost hear her smile.

"Wait, does that mean we can't be on vacation at the same time?" She laughed, "Didn't we go through this last year?"

"Was that just last year? Oh yeah, when McCoy saved us by stayed over for the summer. Let's do this, you, me and your fellow deputies will figure it out together. I'll check schedules for a meeting in the next few weeks."

"That works for me. How close is the nearest office to Maine or Vermont…is that Northeast?"

"Yes, but I thought you were going to Oklahoma, to your folks?"

"No, they decided to come see us, they need a break, all of them."

"Great, be nice to see them again. I'll talk with James about our wi-fi needs. Maybe we'll get a dish for the RV. Or boost the signal at a hotel, ugh, don't want to think about that."

"Are you serious?"

"If it means the difference between both of us going or one of us having to stay home, absolutely."

"Good point. It's weird in the office without you and James."

"We've only been gone three work days."

"I know but it's still weird. Bec's gone too, feels too much like…before."

"Oops, sorry, hadn't thought about that. All right, thank you and I'll confer your new badge and hat on you when I get home."

"My what? Oh…deputy, right. Deputy Bishop, has a nice ring to it."

"Good! Dawson, Braff and the Team Lead here just walked in, time for lunch. Give Robbie a hug for me. I didn't even ask…"

"We're fine, we miss all of you. Stay safe and tell Faye, Liana and Henry hello for me."

"Will do. See you next weekend."

They disconnected and he turned to the others, "Bishop says hello."

The women smiled, telling Chalmers about Bishop, adding that she was also Tim's sister-in-law."

Chalmers raised an eyebrow, "Former teammate?"

Tim nodded, "Yes and as of three minutes ago, my newest deputy." He looked at the three, "That won't be officially announced for a few days, please keep it to yourselves."

They promised. Over lunch, the four of them compared strange cases. Tim trotted out a couple of the MCRTs strangest, his favorite being the one with the guy who was flying a jetpack while dead, the one with the Pentagon officer with the fake face and the one with the Sherlocks, Ducky's Crime Solving buddies. Dawson and Chalmers both had a few and Braff also had a couple. They didn't stay long, they were having dinner together too, with spouses or significant others.

That afternoon, he rewrote his original announcement about his deputies, putting Bishop's name in as an additional deputy and sent it to Vance. He shook his head, how did people do this? He stopped to think about Leon, realizing this was a big part of why he wanted a second assistant director to back him up. Because you can plan everything out to the smallest detail and Life, whether in the form of a sick grandmother or a hospitalized spouse, can come along and gleefully stomp those plans into tiny particles of dust.

Joining the INV and field teams for coffee, he wished them all the best of luck, thanked them for their hospitality and for letting him work a case, that brought laughter, told Chalmers, Dawson and Braff that he'd see them for dinner and made his way back to the hotel. He was tired and he still hadn't figured out what he wanted to do about Ned and Japan.

He found his father reading in the suite, with Jed and Hope both napping in the girls' room. Tim pulled a lemonade out of the fridge and pulled his dad into the master bedroom. Dad looked at him, "You're home, we didn't expect you back before the dinner with your agents. Artie, your mom and the rest of the group went back out. I volunteered to stay with the littles. What's up?"

Tim huffed, "Hang on, I'd better let Artie know I'm here." After sending the text, he looked at his father, "I did what I should have done in the first place, made Ellie one of my deputies."

"Good! What brought that on?"

"Ned's grandmother's illness, his transfer to San Diego where he'll work some crazy hours. And Piro's wife's possible medical problems. I'm off on Friday, as you know. But Ned could very well be on his way here and Piro's wife was given what sounds like a priority appointment for a medical procedure that requires his presence. She goes in at 0600 and won't be out till 1330. Sounds like surgery to me."

"Might not be priority, could be France's health care system is just that much better than the U.S."

Tilting his head at the possibility, Tim continued, "That left me with the real possibility of no one in charge on Friday. Not the end of the world, but I can see it happening again. Told Leon what I was going to do and then called Bishop who was surprised and more importantly, accepted. I almost said pretty please."

That set his father off and the two laughed as quietly as they could. When he could talk again, Tim said, "In the meantime, I have Japan, San Diego and floaters buzzing around in my head. Would you be willing to listen?"

"Is it gonna give me a headache?"

"Hope not!"

Dad gave him a 'go ahead' gesture and Tim told him what he had as far as his agents' placement and what he wanted, along with all the conditional 'ifs, ands or buts'. His father listened before asking,

"What are you going to do?"

"Talk with Tighe and Piro, see if either of them are interested in taking the lead spot in Japan. Ned knows that once he leaves, there's no guarantee." He sat back, smiling, "Talk with them and then move a floater into San Diego as soon as possible."

"Good! What was your dilemma?"

Tim told him and his father said, "Sounds to me like you've been worrying instead of doing."

"Guess I got overwhelmed with all that. Fifteen agents."

"And more to come. Better figure out now how you want this to go because after more agents are added, it'll be that much harder to figure out and fix."

"You're right, Dad. And I need to stop worrying about their personal stuff. That's not my job."

"Except when it affects how they do their jobs."

"Yeah, that."

"What else is happening?"

Tim chuckled, "I worked a case today and got busted by Piro and Bishop."

An eyebrow went up, "For working?"

"For working a case. It felt so good I was almost sorry when I identified the killer."

"Good job, Agent McGee!"

"For doing my job? Dad!" Tim rolled his eyes and they both laughed again.

"What time we leaving for the airport tomorrow?"

Tim made a noise, "How about one more breakfast at IHOP first, or are you sick of the place?"

"I'm not but If you or anyone else is, there's a Denny's a few blocks farther down."

"Mm, nah, I'm good with IHOP if everyone else is. It's cold enough walking that far, don't want to have to Uber to breakfast!"

"Don't forget the Hubbards will be back later today."

"Yes and then the Cranes and the Mallards will join us in San Diego." Tim sat up, "That's what I don't like about this place, being separated so far from home!"

"You don't like it here?"

"I like Seattle very much. It's more of an uneasy feeling."

"Copy that. Every place we go, I'm looking for shooters."

Tim nodded, "I'm glad we haven't had to live like that and I'm sorry for those who have. And I don't want to move back here."

"Ever?"

"Not until schools and public places are safe. What about you and Mom?"

"We're staying as long as you do, kiddo, that hasn't changed. I'd still like to investigate the possibility of a family compound in New England."

"Oh yeah, we're excited about that. Hope there's an airport not too far away so we can go straight from Logan Airport in Boston to whatever state we'll be in." Tim smiled, "Lots of pine and fir trees, maple trees for shade and color in the fall, one big main house and cabins scattered around. One of those big inflatable pools we can leave up all summer. Wouldn't it be cool to be there for the Fourth of July? Love to have a lake nearby and we can set off fireworks, seeing them going off around the lake."

"How are you going to do that with the kids' schools?"

"Huh. Maybe we'll be there for Flag Day in June, celebrate Independence Day early."

"What else do you want?"

"A firepit where we can all sit around, toast marshmallows. You can make cowboy steaks properly, outside!"

Dad chuckled at that. "Sounds good. What are we doing when we're not swimming, sleeping or eating?"

"Hiking, exploring wherever we are. Outdoor games? Uh, Ping pong tables, one for indoors, one for outdoors, a softball field, hopscotch, a tetherball pole, a basketball court that the kids can also skate on, a craft setup for the kids, a pizza oven would be fun, croquet, a horseshoe pit, an archery set up far from everything else, maybe bocce ball and shuffleboard? Outdoor movies, that would be fun! If the lake's right there, then kayaking, canoeing, a sailboat, a fishing boat for you - you can fish every day if you want."

"So our compound should be on a lake or as close as possible and I'll build a barn for all our toys and outdoor furniture."

"Yes to the barn. And I guess it would be all right if we weren't right on the lake, if we had a dock to use, although a lake view would be great. The kids, well, all of us, can jump off the dock, maybe have a dive platform out a little ways. Huh, the dock will need a gate on it to keep stray toddlers from taking the boats out themselves. We'll rope off a wading area for the littles. You know there will be more littles."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I think Sarah and James will be next and maybe Bec and Geordie. He's not getting any younger."

"Thought Sari didn't want kids."

"She didn't, until she became an aunt. Now I think the whole being pregnant thing is what's putting her off."

Dad smiled, "That'd be great, would be really nice for Penny and Maisie to be there when their next great-grandbaby is born."

Tim sat back, "They were there when Jed…oh!" He huffed, "No DNA sharing for Penny and Jed. It doesn't to matter to her, though. So, baby Powell, girl or boy?"

"I wouldn't mind a girl. George might hope for a boy, carry the name forward. Although girls do that now too." Jethro smiled, "I still get a kick out of Jimmy and Breena changing the kids' surnames to Mallard and hyphenating their own. Ducky's still got his head in the clouds over that. Thanks for helping."

They both smiled, remembering Ducky's happy tears the day the official approval arrived from the U.S. They chuckled remembering how long hyphenating Palmer and Mallard lasted. Approximately two weeks after the Palmers decided to hyphenate their surname to Palmer-Mallard, Jimmy sent out a family-wide email that he would always remember his birth father but would find other ways to honor him as he didn't want daily hand cramps from signing or typing both names and Breena agreed.

Father and son were still chatting when Hope wandered in, climbed on her daddy's lap, cuddled into his chest and promptly fell back to sleep again. Tim leaned back, holding onto his little daughter.

He must have dozed off too as he woke with a start, hearing someone opening the door to the suite. Hope woke too, really awake this time, and the four of them, Jed and Grandpa were also up, greeted their family. Tim kissed his wife, mother and each of his kids. Artie made a noise at the time and grabbing what she needed, disappeared into the bathroom for a shower.

An hour later, the couple left the hotel, catching a taxi to the restaurant where they were meeting Tim's two agents, any significant others, Agent Chalmers and his wife.

Beginning with the first training class, with Dawson, Tighe, Watson and Gage, Artie had made a point of meeting Tim's trainees while they were in London. Of course she already knew Ned from the weddings and she met the Piros when they arrived.

Maisie suggested it to her, pointing out that Leon obviously had plans for Tim and meeting the agents in his program would be a good way to start establishing her own role in his career. Now she was glad she had, it was much easier to have dinner with people you'd met at least once rather than total strangers.

While they were getting ready to go out, Tim told her what he knew about the Chalmers, starting with the biggest thing they had in common, meeting at college and teaching their future spouses their home language.

Faye Dawson brought her fiancé, Steve, while Liana brought her boyfriend, Zach, who also worked at NCIS. When Tim asked what department, the man sat up straight, looked him in the eye and said, "The Legal Department."

Tim chuckled, "Been hearing stories about my former boss and his attitude towards attorneys?"

Zach nodded, "Yes, from Li and Faye."

Tim hung his head, "That's my bad, no more of those stories. Before I met him, my former boss had been through 3 divorces and ended up barely keeping anything. To his credit, he now says that he deserved some of that. However, at the time he was definitely not fond of lawyers of any kind. In his work, he didn't want anyone interfering with his cases, past or present or nagging him about anything, and that included Directors, Secretaries of the Navy, the State Department, any other government entity and most certainly lawyers. Although he did have some respect for JAG."

"Wow."

Tim grinned, "Obviously he was good at what he did, otherwise he would never have gotten away with it."

Artie chuckled, "You'd never guess it now. Tim needed his help a few years ago and Jethro, that's his former boss, turned from growly, stubborn, angry, functional mute to Papa Bear, and then totally mellowed out when he became a grandfather." She leaned forward, "We even have two attorneys in the family now, my sister's husband and his father, and they get along great."

Zach smiled, "Thanks, that's good to know."

The group chatted casually, relaxing over cocktails and appetizers. The Chalmers and Gibbses talked about meeting at college and learning the various languages. Steve added that he and Faye met at a French language class. He said, "I'm a geek, work in the tech world, and traditionally geeks have problems meeting women who will tolerate their geekiness. I thought learning French would be a good way to show I'm not just a geek."

Faye smiled, "I did some family research and discovered one of my great-grandmothers was French. I want to go to France to see where she was born and all that but don't want to rely on a translation app on my phone to get around. I should say go back to France because we all went while we were in London. Anyway, that's why I signed up. Our first class, we all learned how to say, 'my name is' in French and then each of us stood and said that with our name and then a little bit about why we were there. When Steve said why he was there, he was in the row behind me, I turned to him and said, "I'm also a geek."

Steve held his hands up, "I walked in the door and there she was!"

Chalmers laughed, "I've always liked geeks. I'm a Navy brat and we moved all the time. At a new school, I discovered it was easier if I made friends with the geekier kids. They were usually nicer and more accepting of someone who didn't look like them. And I'm geeky enough myself to fit in the geek world."

Tim grinned at him, "I was also a Navy brat and as a geek, I thank you, on behalf of all the geeks you befriended, for that friendship."

Faye shook her head, smiling, "I'm a devil pup, child of a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. Tim, my dad says he remembers your dad. Says Gunny Gibbs still holds some records in sharpshooting."

Zach looked puzzled, "I thought your dad was Navy?"

"My stepdad, I didn't know I wasn't his until a few years ago. I use his name, McGee, at work because that's how I started at the agency, but my legal surname is Gibbs." He grinned, "Well, that and because with all the criminals my dad put away, my boss says it wouldn't be safe to be known as Agent Gibbs."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I can see with what I've heard and you've said about your dad, that could be a problem." He grinned, "I'm an Army brat, myself. I was in Germany for my first years of school and then we moved to the States. It was strange, I was 8, an American and had never been there before."

Artie nodded, "Our children range from 15 to 10 months and only the 10 year old and the 6 year old have ever lived in the U.S. We've lived in the UK for most of their lives."

"Six kids?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, they're a lot of fun and good kids. The two oldest are a lot of help with their younger siblings and we have a lot of family support."

"They're all yours?"

Artie answered that, "Now, yes. Two are ours together, two are Tim's nephews, who we adopted, one is mine, adopted by Tim, and one was a foreign adoption."

Chalmers' wife, Amy, smiled, "That's lovely! We're talking about fostering or adopting once our daughter is in school and this one," she patted her pregnant tummy, "hits toddler age."

Tim made a pleased noise, "That's great! This war has created a lot of displaced and orphaned kids and foster care systems were already overloaded. And with so many displaced families, it's very difficult to find relatives. Especially if they left on a run and are now refugees. My mother is working with American, I mean, U.S. Social Services to help place those kids. One of our agents has recently adopted two kids left orphans by the terrorists."

"One of our INV agents?"

Tim shook his head. "No, someone I worked with back in DC."

Zach tilted his head, "You call it the States, or America."

Tim nodded, "Habit, that's what we hear all the time. People we've met around the world call it America rather than the U.S. Maybe with language differences, saying America is more universal. And for us expats, it's easier to say 'the States'."

They moved on to other topics, enjoying the company and the meal. One of the questions Faye Dawson had for Tim was about the future of the INV program. He told them, "We're still officially a pilot; however once the war is over and the director repopulates U.S. offices, we'll move from a pilot to a regular department of the agency. Director Vance and I have been working with Human Resources and our Legal Department to establish specific job classes and career paths. Nothing's approved yet, so can't say more but we've had no pushback and Secretary of the Navy Porter and her boss, Secretary of Defense Cyrus, are fans of the program.

"For now, my goal is to have as many INV agents as we need to support our field teams. We've already proved our worth to every field team we've worked with. Our European offices are fully staffed for INV," he stopped, "I might tweak that but not this week. With the addition of the INV agents from Liana's training class, and some agent movement, our Asian offices are fully supported. That was key to our success, because with the movement of Navy ships and Marine troops out of the U.S. home ports to overseas' locations, NCIS caseloads in Europe and Asia have increased significantly. And other than here on the West Coast, there are not many locations in the U.S. that are safe enough for us. San Diego, here in Seattle and thanks to the government, the new FLETC complex in International Falls. We have one agent there now; luckily her husband works remotely and is also located inside the center. In the next few months, I'll place another couple of agents there and in at least two other locations that, so far, are safe. That way, all of you already in place can help the field teams as they reopen offices. Director Vance is planning for the smoothest transition possible and I'm very pleased with the support we're providing.

"All of that will likely cover the next 2 to 4 years, considering the rebuilding that needs to be done. After that, the ideal situation will be to have one INV agent for every full field team, sitting right there with them. We've built a symbiotic relationship with the field teams and that's one of our key advantages. We all have field experience, we were all strong field agents, we relate to our field teams and that will not change.

"As for my involvement, the INV program will remain mine. My day-to-day involvement has already lessened, which is why I was so happy to work a case today. However, I will keep the overall responsibility for the program while our deputies handle the day-to-day operations." He tilted his head, "Faye, you had a chance to take the lead, right?"

"Yes, it was scary but fun. Agents Bishop and Dorneget were a big help and I learned a lot."

"I'd like to continue that, including newer agents as they gain experience. Liana, were you here when Faye had the big chair?"

Liana said, "It was my second day here! I kept thinking, we didn't learn this, how did I miss a whole chunk of information?"

"That's a good point, we'll think about adding that. I want to ensure that each INV agent has some experience in managing the program, even if it's only for a day or a few days at a time. Everyone needs to have that on her or his record as part of your career paths. We can do it because we're a small group. It'll give each agent more ideas as far as career paths and it also helps each of us realize what all is involved in the program. Don't know about you, but I remember many times some management memo would come down and we'd have no idea what it really meant or why it was distributed. Rotating management duties will give each of us a more complete picture of what's going on."

He looked at Faye, "So, Agent Dawson, does that answer your question?"

She nodded firmly and then Chalmers asked if Tim and his family would move to the U.S. after the war. Tim shrugged, "I don't know. Director Vance and others have given me several ideas but until it's really over, I won't know."

"Where will you live if you do move home?" That was Amy Chalmers and Artie smiled, "We own property in Arlington, Virginia, not far from the Navy Yard. Right now, we have Marines living there but we hope that if and when we are transferred to the U.S., we'll be posted there. But as Tim says, we won't know until the war is actually over."

After a convivial evening, the group said goodbye to Tim and Artie. On the way back to the hotel, Tim said, "Hon, while we're out here, be thinking about where you'd like to live."

"On the West Coast?"

"Yes. If we're given choices for our stint in a U.S. hub office, those are offices that have other offices reporting to them, then we'll at least know the pros and cons of Seattle and San Diego. "

She smiled, "It's lovely here and I imagine spring and summer are wonderful. The climate is closer to ours at home than I thought it would be. I can't wait to see San Diego, I know it's much warmer. Closer to the climate in Athens. How many of those hub offices are there in the U.S.? "

"Before the war, there were 6, Northwest which is Seattle, Southwest which is San Diego, Great Lakes/Central which is Chicago, Northeast which is Newport, Rhode Island, the DC Field Office aboard Anacostia Bolling Joint Base in Virginia, and the Southeast office in Mayport, Florida."

"Do you think Leon will change the number of hubs after the war?"

"It's possible."

Walking into the lobby, they were happy to see the Hubbards emerging from the hotel restaurant and greeted them as if it had been months instead of days since they'd seen each other. When Tim asked his cousins how they liked the colleges they'd seen, Ainsley said she liked the ones in the bigger cities and was looking forward to seeing more colleges in the San Diego area. Cal nodded his agreement with that.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tuesday morning, after their last Seattle IHOP breakfast, the group returned to the hotel, washing sticky, syrupy faces and hands, finishing their last minute packing, leaving their jackets out for the trip to the airport, placing sweaters or lighter jackets in their carry-on bags.

When their bus arrived, the driver helped them load all the luggage, putting the carry-on bags on top and then they boarded, Uncle Jim counting heads and making one last check of the lobby before trundling off to the airport for their next adventure.

After checking their bags and going through Security, the group walked to their gate. This early, there should be enough seats in the waiting area to sit together. Tim and Artie planned to take the younger kids to the play area when they became restless.

Taking over a good portion of one side of the gate lounge, the group sat for a few minutes before realizing there were gift shops and restaurants close by. Having seen very little of Seattle, Claire and Ainsley went to buy postcards and a few souvenirs while Jim and Cal were hungry. Taking Rissa and leaving Jed and Hope with Tim, Artie and Susannah wandered off for some retail therapy. The three boys were doing some of their schoolwork online while Grandma read Hope a favorite story and Jed played with Daddy. Sarah was writing, Edith was reading on her tablet while James, George and Ian were walking laps up and down the center of the terminal. Penny and Maisie were reading the local newspaper, swapping sections as they went. Dad was reading the Washington Post, out of DC, also trading some of what he'd already read for what the older women had already read, although he kept the sports section. Opening Day for Major League Baseball was coming up at the end of March and he knew Tim would want to see all the recent news. All of them were keeping eyes on the boys and Hope.

Tim tried to read but was restless and distracted. He felt out of place and unaccountably anxious, although he supposed visiting a country at war was reason enough for that. More people were arriving and the gate staff were getting set up at the podium. When his mother and Hope finished their story, Hope wanted to see into some of the shops. While Mom and his little girl went to poke their noses into some of the shops, Tim stood and stretched, needing to move around some and he admitted to himself, to keep an eye on Hope and his mom.

Tucking his baby son into the backpack, he walked, pacing a little and was standing off to one side of the podium when he heard a voice dripping with disgust say, "Look at that little freak! Look at her - brown skin and blue eyes, that's not right, we'll have to do something about that."

Frowning, Tim glanced in the same direction and saw his little daughter with his mother. Clenching his fists, he turned to see who was talking, spotting the man.

He moved away, holding desperately onto his training before his temper got the better of him, especially with Jed on his back. He'd keep an eye on this guy, keep Hope away from him. He considered taking a different flight. However, first he needed to observe the creep.

Standing more to the back of the jerk now, out of his direct view, he was still there when one of the staff at the podium announced that they were open for anyone flying standby or who wanted to upgrade to first class. Tim momentarily distracted himself by considering about how much someone had to hate flying economy or business class to pay for a first class seat on a flight of less than 3 hours. At his father's insistence, they were flying business class, with Dad paying the difference in the air fares. That is, he was paying the difference for everyone but the junior Gibbses, Tim put his foot down. He and Artie had enough money to retire for life, there was no way his father should pay for their airfare!

Tim watched a stream of people make their way to the podium, including the loudmouth creep whose head he wanted to rip off for calling Hope a freak and threatening her. He hoped the guy was on standby and was turned down.

Moving away again, he alternated watching Mom and Hope, now walking with Uncle Jim and Cal, and the creep as he reached the podium. Tim and Jed paced in a line perpendicular to the gate. Minutes later, father and son were approaching the podium again when the speaker sputtered to life with another announcement from airline staff, "Those who asked to upgrade to first class, please come up when I call your name."

The woman smiled as she read off the names, "Eldon Dankworth, Wade Chips, Hiram Loughty and Earl Vilan, please come to the podium."

Tim listened, his face blank while his heart felt like it was nearly leaping out of his chest. He studied the men walking to the podium and then turned aside, moving toward his own group, managing to catch his father's eye. When Dad joined him, Tim said softly, fighting his fury, along with a growing fear, "Quietly take our group, all of them, to a gate as close to Security as possible, with all our stuff. I have phone calls to make and then will join you. And Dad, we may need to get Dave and Liz away from wherever they are in San Diego."

His father nodded without saying a word, taking Jed out of the backpack and then handing him back to his daddy after Tim had the pack off. Jed was big enough now that it was easier to transfer him in multiple steps rather than just moving him with the pack. After the little boy was safely ensconced in the pack again, now on his grandfather's back, Tim gave him a kiss, hurrying to an empty gate area to make his first call.

When the call was answered, Tim said, "Director, please record this."

When he was told the call was being recorded, he began speaking, "This is NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee calling FBI Director Sailes; my own director is overseas." He gave the day, date, time and his location before continuing, repeating his location, "I'm at the Seattle Tacoma airport in Washington State and have identified 4 of the domestic terrorists from the list here, at Gate 26 in Concourse C in the Main Terminal, waiting for flight 966 to San Diego. I heard their names when they were called to the gate for upgrades to first class. Those names are Eldon Dankworth, Wade Chips, Hiram Loughty and Earl Vilan. I'm moving my family, we are a group of 22, away from the gate and will cancel our flight."

Sailes swore before saying, "Get your group to the security office and then away from the airport as soon as possible! Text me when you're out. I'll call you when I have more information."


	86. Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Disconnecting, Tim found a text from his father that they were headed to the gate closest to Security. His heart still pounding, he hurried after them, part of his brain reviewing what he needed to do and the other part praying for the safety of his family, the passengers and crew of flight 966 as well as anyone else who might be affected by the 4 terrorists. He caught up with his loved ones while they were still moving. Artie sighed in relief when she saw him but didn't say anything. She pulled his head to her, giving him a kiss. He kissed her back and then moved to his father, at the front of the group, with George Powell and Jim Hubbard bringing up the rear, some of the others pushing rental carts with all the carry-on bags. His father hooked an eyebrow and Tim said, "We're going to the security office."

His dad nodded, patting a pocket which Tim interpreted as meaning he had his badge. Although he was retired, for this trip to a country at war, Vance had authorized him carrying his badge and ID. One action Tim had considered was the two of them, with Airport Security as backup, arresting the four. However, first he needed to ensure there wasn't an operation already in play. They had a little bit of time, the incoming flight wasn't due for twenty minutes. Now he felt antsy, wishing he'd stayed behind to keep an eye on those four.

Tim entered the security office first, his badge out and quietly asking for the lead security officer. When the man appeared, he had his cell at his ear. He nodded at Tim, waving them toward what turned out to be a conference room. While Dad got everyone situated, Tim asked James to get immediate transport for all of them, back into the city. Then he left the room, finding the lead security officer assigning several officers to keep covert eyes on Gate 26. Relieved, he asked someone for a private area to make a phone call.

He called Vance, telling him what was happening, including his call to Sailes. Finally, he said, "We're in the Security office at the airport, all of us. We're leaving as soon as our transport is here, going back into the city. Although Dad and I have our badges, we borrow weapons and cuffs from Security, use them as backup, we can bust them all."

"No, let the Bureau or Homeland handle it, Agent McGee. However, I do agree that you're not going to San Diego today. Return to your hotel, Pam and I will rebook your rooms there and cancel your flight. And stay inside, we don't know if there are more terrorists on the loose in Seattle. In the meantime, I'll make some calls. Text me when you reach the hotel and I'll let you know whatever I can find out."

"Will do, thanks. Leon, my godparents are already down there, visiting with their kids, although they're not in San Diego itself."

"Then they should be fine. Are they expecting to see you today?"

"No, not until Thursday, after their kids leave."

"Good. Then as long as they stay out of the city…you know, I'll call the Admiral, have them pack up and get to an airport."

"Not the San Diego airport!"

"No, one of the Los Angeles area airports, probably Orange County. I'll keep you posted."

Tim muttered under his breath after he disconnected. Returning to the conference room, everyone looked up, anxious and relieved to see him.

He looked at all of them, "We're not going to San Diego today, my orders have been changed and we need to leave here as quickly and quietly as possible. Our flight is being canceled and our rooms here will be rebooked. The plane we were to fly on isn't here yet so our luggage will be pulled from wherever they keep it and brought to us at the hotel. I won't know until later today or possibly tomorrow whether we're going to San Diego at all or what my new orders will be. The Cranes are being notified now and will join us here, probably late this afternoon. We'll also need to let the Mallards know to come here rather than San Diego. James?"

"Party bus will be here in 6 minutes."

Jim was frowning, "They're bringing our luggage to us?"

"Yes. We need to leave here as soon as possible."

As Tim turned away, his father said to the group, "No questions now."

Jim, George and James nodded while others frowned and Penny made a face but sat back, watching her grandson and then turned to look at her great-grandchildren. Rissa and Kyle were watching everyone, Hope was watching her parents, a distressed look on her sweet little face, while Andy and Greg were looking at their father with concern. She shook herself, time to pull them together.

"Well, if we're staying here, then I think we should have a swim party followed by another American food feast! Now that you kids are such strong swimmers, maybe we should have a race or two, what do you think of that? And Hope, you and I can sit in the pool and judge! Then when your Palmer cousins arrive, you can race Victoria!"

Hope smiled at that, she knew how to swim and someone almost her size to swim with! Rissa smiled with her, glad her little sister would be included while the older kids looked happier, although still confused and concerned. Most of the adults were trying to appear amused, some more successfully than others.

Tim opened his mouth just as James said, "Time to go! Our bus is on the airport approach – not the runway for the plane, mind you but the roadway for cars!"

Greg and Andy smiled and Kyle and Rissa giggled while James and Penny exchanged glances, mission accomplished for the older children. Hope had moved to her father's lap, while Jed was enthusiastically drinking a bottle of his favorite liquid. Standing, Hope perched on Tim's hip, they gathered everything and quickly left the room and the Security office.

Tim hadn't yet heard back from Sailes but then it would take longer than 20 minutes to put the word out and decide how to approach the problem of four known terrorists showing up at an airport in a portion of the country they'd considered 'safe' to fly to another part of the country also formerly considered 'safe'.

His adrenaline flowing, Tim's brain was still prioritizing. He'd handed off getting everyone back to the hotel, what did he need to do next? Do his job, get his loved ones out of this place, out of this country. He thought about flying to Ottawa after the Cranes arrived. From Ottawa, they could fly home on a commercial flight unless the SecNav was willing to divert to…oh, Canada, maybe not. Yep, a commercial flight on a Canadian airline. He quite liked that idea. He looked up, surprised when Artie tugged his sleeve, they were back at the hotel.

Climbing out of the bus, he followed his wife into the lobby. The concierge met them there, "Ah, the returning clan, I see you couldn't bring yourselves to leave the Emerald City just yet. Welcome back, your rooms have been made up and are ready for you. Also, the airline called and your luggage should be here within the hour. Mr. Timothy Gibbs, there's a message for you at the front desk."

Tim silently nodded, saying another prayer of thanks that he and his loved ones were, hopefully, safe from the terrorists and repeating his prayers for everyone else at the airport or in San Diego, as he made his way forward. The others queued up to check in again.

The message was from Aunt Liz. She, Dave and their kids, were on their way to the Orange County Airport, where they were booked on a flight to Portland, there wasn't another flight to Seattle for several hours. They'd rent a vehicle in Portland, arriving in Seattle around 8 PM. They'd booked a room at this hotel. Bill and Carol, their kids who were about Tony's age, were flying to their respective homes from Orange County.

Frowning, Tim looked at the time and then went back to the concierge, asking for references for private transportation between Portland and Seattle. For a long distance trip, he wanted proven professionals and then there was the fact that his godfather was a bit old-fashioned in some things and would not be comfortable with Uber. Tim also felt he should utilize more than one ride service. He was given three businesses to contact and assured they were reputable. After checking for himself, he selected one and made arrangements for them to pick up his godparents at the Portland airport and transport them to Seattle. They had already had a stressful day, with the call from Leon, the drive to Orange County, saying goodbye to their family days earlier than planned and then flying for nearly 3 hours. He did not want them to have to drive another 2 ½ hours! Ride, yes, drive no.

When he next looked around the lobby, his father was still there, waiting for him while the others had gone to their rooms. Tim moved to his side, "I have two more calls to make."

"Ok."

Quickly, Tim called Liz. When she answered, he said, "I got your text, please tell Bill and Carol I'm sorry for the drama and prematurely ending your visit. I've arranged for a car service to transport you from the Portland airport to our hotel in Seattle. Your day has already been stressful enough, I'd rather you not drive new roads in a rental in the winter in the dark. I've already checked them out, they have a spotless record and great reviews." He told his godmother the name of the company, they'd be holding a sign at baggage claim with the business name with a small 'c' at the end, rather than the Cranes' name. He said a brief hello to his godfather before disconnecting.

Wishing he could magically whisk them all home, he sent Sailes a text that they were safely back at their hotel in Seattle. When he had a reply asking the name of the hotel, Tim sent a text with the name. The next text said that someone would be there in the morning to take his statement, that he would send him the agent's name and badge number as soon as he made the assignment. A separate text asked if Tim had a few minutes to talk. Tim said yes, asking if his father could be included. When Sailes said yes, Dad sent a text to Lu and Artie that he and Tim were still downstairs, finishing up things.

Given access to the hotel's business center, they checked for cameras and listening devices and locked the door from the inside before Tim quickly told his father about the four terrorists, nodding at the look on Dad's face. "You recognized the names."

Tim nodded, "I did that comparison for government employees and active military, remember? Then I looked at the full list. I wanted to make sure there wasn't a Mrs. Cyrus or some other kind of link to Cabinet members or the Joint Chiefs."

Jethro nodded, horrified at the thought of terrorists in the 'safe zones' where thousands of people had taken refuge. Before he said anything, Tim's phone chimed. It was Sailes, asking for a video chat. Tim flashed his father in so he could see on his own screen.

"Timothy, Jethro, I have Secretary Porter and Director Vance on with us. I know you'll be giving a statement tomorrow, but please tell us again what you saw."

"First, something I didn't take time to mention in my initial call, ma'am, sirs. Our group here in Seattle numbers 22. We arrived at the airport early, found spots to sit together at the gate. I needed to stretch my legs and the baby was getting fussy. I put him in his pack on my back and paced, then just stood for a few minutes, standing over by the podium, which wasn't open yet. I heard a male voice say, "Look at that little freak! Look at her - brown skin and blue eyes, that's not right, we'll have to do something about that."

"He meant Hope, he was threatening my 3-year old daughter, who was walking in the terminal with my mother." He took a deep breath before continuing, "I did not engage, I had our baby with me and Hope and my mother were safe for the moment. I moved back and to the side so I could get a good look at the man out of his direct view. Shortly after that, the gate staff opened the podium and asked for anyone on standby or who wanted to upgrade to first class to come up.

"Several minutes later, one of the staff called out four names, Eldon Dankworth, Wade Chips, Hiram Loughty and Earl Vilan, to come to the podium. I watched them walk up to the podium before I turned away, found my dad, asked him to gather everyone and take them out of there. Then I called Director Sailes. After we disconnected, I caught up with my group and took them to the Security office. From there I spoke with Director Vance who had our flight canceled, our hotel rooms rebooked and kindly contacted Admiral and Mrs. Crane, who were already in the San Diego area. They're flying to Portland where they'll be met by a car and driver who will bring them here. I also spoke to our group, saying my orders had been changed, we weren't going to San Diego. We returned to the hotel via a private bus service. I have the name and business card of the driver to attach to my statement."

"Can you describe the man you heard speaking?"

"Yes, his name is Wade Chips, a Caucasian male in his mid-30s, close to 6' with a medium frame, about 30 pounds overweight with a beer belly, blue eyes and I saw brown hair, close to my hair color, when he took his ball cap off. The cap was dark blue, no logo. His hair is receding from his forehead, it's short on top and in the back, a very recent cut. He has what's maybe a week-old full beard, more reddish than brown. The index finger on his left hand is misshapen, as if it'd been broken and not set properly. He has a small vertical scar over the top right of his lip. His front teeth are intact from what I could see. He may have a tattoo somewhere near his right shoulder, when he reached to pick up his satchel, his clothing shifted and I could see something, don't know what, lots of red and black. No rings or other visible jewelry. Along with the ball cap, he was wearing a green, blue and black plaid long-sleeved flannel shirt with a white undershirt showing underneath in the front, navy slacks with a dark color belt. The buckle was oversized but I wasn't close enough to see what it was, and black or dark blue boots. He was carrying a satchel, a black zippered case with a shoulder strap, about the size of a laptop case, although slimmer, and a new fleece denim jacket, there was a price tag hanging from one armpit. I couldn't see the name of the brand or the store on the price tag."

"Thank you. Time to fill you in. You're in a secure room?"

"We're in the hotel's business center. We've locked the doors from the inside and checked for cameras and listening devices. It's as secure as we can be in a hotel."

"Right. The flight incoming from Phoenix to Seattle has been diverted to Portland. Waiting passengers at SeaTac were told the plane had a technical problem and that they would be told as soon as they had a new ETA. In the meantime, they called the first class passengers back to the podium, by then we knew there were only those four, and they were ushered into a members' only room, with cameras and audio already placed. They were the only ones in there. The teams entered through a service door behind them, arrested, gagged and shackled them before removing them through the same door. So those four are in custody. Homeland is studying flight manifests, hoping that any other goons will also show under their real names. There wasn't anyone else on your flight, just those four." Sailes continued, "Homeland just shared a copy of the terrorists' calendar for this week. There's a new entry since the last copy was made, with the four men listed as traveling to San Diego."

Jethro and Tim looked at each other, frowning. "No mention of flying?"

"None. However, the calendar is the latest we have, the resources who are updating our information every week obtained this last Friday. I've sent a request through channels to check again, for additional information but I don't know how long that will take."

"Sir, are you saying that Homeland has had this information since last Friday and hadn't done anything? Were they keeping the intel to themselves or planning to arrest the terrorists once they got to San Diego?"

"I don't know yet. I'm told it was your first thought, McGee, that someone sat on it."

"Yes, sir, although I was hoping to hear they had an operation in place and we were a mistake. Are you reliant on Homeland sending you updated intel?"

"Yes."

Tim made a noise, glancing at Vance who raised an eyebrow and then gave him an imperceptible nod. "I have access to that server but I won't risk doing anything from the hotel. If I can get to the office…"

Now he turned toward Vance, "Director Vance, I'll need authorized access to the Seattle server and I'll need help from James Powell, London's IT assistant manager who's here with us. I'll need his help with server security."

Vance nodded, "You have my permission to engage Powell and to use the Seattle server. Hang on while I let the SSAIC know. Their business day is nearly over but you'll need complete security."

Tim turned to his father, "James and I will Uber to the office and connect with Director Sailes from there. I'll also need to speak with the recipient of this information, make sure that communication line is working."

"I'm going with you to the office, we'll leave George and Jim in command here."

George Powell was a detective with the Manchester, UK, police department and of course Jim Hubbard was a Captain in the U.S. Navy. Sailes interrupted, "I've asked Seattle Metro to provide a security detail at the hotel while you're gone. The senior Powell is not a U.S. citizen and neither he nor Hubbard are armed. Do you two have your firearms?"

They shook their heads, they had knives but their firearms were locked in the gun safe at home. Sailes frowned, waiting for Vance to finish his call to the Seattle SSAIC.

Dad left to tell James, George and Jim. Even if Metro was there, he knew their two would keep their eyes open for problems. Tim would prefer his father stay with his wife and children, but accepted the presence of Seattle Metro, knowing Uncle Jim and George would keep watch.

Vance reappeared in camera range, "You're clear with Melankovic, you've got the conference room she said you used before. And she's fine with Powell."

"Thank you, Leon. It'll take us about 90 minutes to get to the office and then 40 to 50 minutes to access the server for additional information. Director Sailes, if you get the information you need from Homeland or the source before then, please advise. I'd rather keep our access to that server to a minimum."

"Agreed. You'll call with information?"

"Yes, sir, from the office. As I indicated, I'm not willing to trust a hotel's cyber security for anything more than email."

He disconnected when Dad and James appeared with jackets, gloves, hats, laptops and a travel mug of coffee for Tim.

Within Tim's estimate of 90 minutes they were at the office and James was securing the agency server while Tim logged in. He looked at his dad, "Will you please contact Mrs. Bess or Blake Moran if she's not available and find out when the last new feed was sent to Homeland, by whom and to who?"

His dad nodded, pulling out his phone. In the meantime, James signaled that the agency server was clear, everyone was offline, blocked from accessing and he'd tightened network security. Tim quickly logged on to his White Hat account, sending a note to the Big Cheese. Then, following his own protocols, he accessed the terrorists' server, working his way in. Within minutes he had the information Sailes needed and wrote it down in a notepad much like those his father carried, which amused his father and brother-in-law.

The first entry said: "Meet $ 9:00 AM, Hotel Ruidoso, 379 Pine Blvd., San Diego, CA, Room 113. NOTE: Everyone must be there to vote."

Tim frowned, "Vote? Huh…" His fingers were already on the move, looking through the server. "The file for assignments for attacks and other events is…here. Loughty, Dankworth, Chips, Vilan, oh boy, two more, Director Sailes needs this! Jefferson Slorah and Billy Mayton." He quickly wrote the names down before moving to another file and reading it, finally saying, "This is new. The 6 of them are the newly elected and installed leaders of the entire group."

He grabbed his phone, calling Sailes, "Sir, more information. The calendar entry reads: "Meet with $ at 9 AM on February 20th, tomorrow," he read him the information about the hotel, address and room number. Continuing, he said, "Two more are joining them, names are Jefferson Slorah, and Billy Mayton." He spelled both surnames. Then he dropped the news about the 6 being the newly elected and installed leaders of the entire terrorist group. "And sir, Vilan and Mayton are also members of the extreme ultra-right faction of the other group, the lob…yes, that one.

"Also, we checked with the recipient of the weekly updates, this information was sent to Homeland last Friday, Feb. 15th. We spoke with the person who sent the information." He named the person at Homeland who was sent the information, adding that an email confirming receipt of the information was sent by that person on the 15th.

Sailes thanked him and they disconnected. Before they left the office, Tim called Mrs. Bess, reached Blake and asked if, going forward, they could also send an additional copy of everything to Director Sailes at the FBI. Blake agreed and Tim sighed.

He'd already backed carefully out of the 'Unholy Grail' and logged out of his White Hat account, smiling at the reply from the Big Cheese, and now logged off his laptop, his adrenaline still pumping. While James removed the block on the server, returning security to the usual level, Tim sent a prayer of thanks and then let SSAIC Melankovic know that they were done, thanking her for letting them 'hijack' their server.

Another 90 minute drive, they were back at the hotel's business center. Tim made one last call to Sailes, letting him know the new arrangement. He was certain the FBI director would order a covert investigation into Homeland's lapse.

Disconnecting from that call, he started to contact the SecNav when his wife appeared in front of him. "She already contacted us and told us what happened, about the terrorists. She gave Jim our new schedule and we called the Mallards. Your godparents are here. The children have eaten, I waited for you. We have a late reservation at the restaurant here, your parents are with the kids."

"Did she tell you one of them threatened Hope?"

"She told me and George, she didn't think anyone else should or needed to know. We'll talk about that later."

He smiled, the first real smile since the terrorist had threatened Hope and taking his wife's hand, walked with her to the hotel restaurant.

He was all right through dinner, letting Artie's narrative of the rest of their afternoon wash over him. It was as they walked out of the restaurant that it hit him. He made a noise, whispering, "That bastard threatened Hope. He…one of them and I brought you here. I BROUGHT you and our children, half our family to this place. Oh God, I brought you all here."

He looked at his wife, his wonderful, trusting wife, "I 'assumed' it was safe! That could have cost us our lives."

Artie cradled his face with her hands, "You were not the only one who assumed safety." She reminded him they'd made the choice together, that Secretary Porter hadn't seen anything wrong with it and she was also a parent. So was Leon, so was Henry Sailes. None of them had a problem with bringing the children on the trip.

Tim shook his head, "It wasn't their decision, Artie, it was ours and ultimately mine. I knew the danger, thought I knew the danger but believed it safe here. And then, Artie, he was right there, 20 feet from our daughter, making comments about her. For all I knew, sizing us all up for an attack."

"It didn't happen, Timotheos, you didn't let it happen. Yes, we were here, we trusted your superiors when maybe we shouldn't have, but once you saw the danger, you took charge, none of us were hurt. The children were worried about you, they were scared for you, not themselves. You did your duty and got us to safety, you had Jethro, the man you trust most, take us to safety while you were doing your duty, whatever you did." She paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Timothy, listen to me. Since this war started, the West Coast, the western parts of Washington, Oregon and most of California have been seen as safe. We know that, we researched that online together! And if the terrorists are still free, then they must not worry about where they go. They broke their routine, Timothy, they broke precedent. After so many months of warfare, that could not have been anticipated.

"We relied on the honesty of your fellow federal agents to arrest those monsters after you gave them all the information they needed. Although the terrorists themselves are ultimately to blame, whoever let those four walk into any airport shares that blame." She kissed him softly, "We are whole, love. You saw the danger and immediately got us to safety."

His phone buzzed and with a wince, Tim looked at the text. "There were two additional; the Bureau has arrested them and the person they were in San Diego to meet."

Artie blinked, losing some of the color in her face, "They were in San Diego?"

"Yes, for a meeting with a financial supporter."

She took a deep breath and now it was Tim's turn to hold on to her. She finally made a noise, "I want to go home."

He nodded, "We're leaving Thursday morning."

He drew her in but she had one more thing to say, "Timotheos, if we had not been in the airport, you would not have heard their names or known who they were. They would have reached their destination and who knows what would have happened because of the meeting they would have had. You decry our presence at the airport but you're not thinking straight. We were there and so you were able to stop them."

"By putting our family's lives at risk."

"No, you got us to safety immediately. And did what you had to, saving perhaps thousands of others."

He blinked twice and then closed his eyes, trying to let go of the tension. Taking his hand, Artie gave a gentle tug and he followed her to the elevator. Once inside, he looked at her, "I can't shake the memory of that monster, 20 feet from our daughter, our wonderful, loving, innocent little daughter who's already been through so much in her life, calling her a freak, threatening her."

"He can no longer harm her, sweetheart."

Tim sighed, "I know, I know all that in my head, Artemis. It's my heart that's still screaming in terror and fury. This damn job, sometimes it's too much." He tilted his head, saying, "We have enough money right now to both retire, support the family and send the kids to whatever schools they want to go to. Although I know you still want to build things and your work is important to the world."

She smiled, "We can travel the world together and we'll homeschool the kids. Or stay in Brambury, use it as our base and travel for six months of the year, I'll work on projects and we'll homeschool the kids while we're away."

When Tim smiled, loving that idea, Artie relaxed, hoping the worst was over, for now. Back in their suite, they went to kiss their children goodnight and to reassure them they were safe and would be home in a couple of days. Tim was surprised to find Jed and his crib in the boys' room. Artie whispered, "I want you all to myself tonight." He smiled.

As they approached Andy, he opened his eyes and threw his arms around his father. "Papa, I'm so proud of you! You caught those bad guys. Grandpa told us while you and Mama were at dinner."

"I turned them in, Jammer; I had Jed with me, I didn't have a weapon and besides, back in the day, I only had one set of handcuffs."

"But you found them!"

"I did, you're right. I'm just sorry that you were there, all you kids. We didn't realize Seattle wasn't safe or I would never have brought all of you with me."

"We weren't scared, Papa. We worried about you, not about getting hurt but because you were upset. Otherwise, well, it was kind of exciting. I know you say you're not, but to us you're like our very own James Bond."

Tim chuckled and heard Greg and Kyle laughing too, Greg saying, "Papa Bond!"

Kyle chimed in, "I'm gonna start calling you Mr. Bond."

Rissa and Hope appeared, climbing onto Andy's bed. Rissa giggled, "I don't know who James Bond is. Andy says he's a spy and catches bad guys. Is that what you do?"

"I catch bad guys, however I'm not a spy." His mouth twitched when Artie whispered in his ear that he was a spy, an electronic spy. He continued, "I do own a tuxedo. However, I don't drink martinis and the only woman I chase is my wife." He smiled, "I dare you to call Uncle Leon 'Uncle M'!"

"Why?"

"Because James Bond's boss' name is 'M', just M."

"Oh cool!"

"And Uncle James can be 'Q', because he's the techie guy and he helped solve a problem today."

"Uncle 'Q' and Uncle 'M'."

"Yes. I'll figure out who Miss Moneypenny is later. Time to get some sleep!"

"Are you going to work tomorrow?"

"I'm working, yes, but I'm doing it here at the hotel. An agent will come to the hotel in the morning to take my statement about what happened today. That's SOP, standard operating procedure. It doesn't mean I'm in trouble or anything bad. They need to have what I reported in writing and signed by me. I'll meet him or her downstairs though, we'll probably work in the hotel business center."

"Can we go with you?"

Tim laughed, "No way! How can I be a successful spy if I let my kids hear what I do? For a spy, everything has to be secret."

"Are we going back to that yummy restaurant?"

"Yes, absolutely! I don't know what else we'll do tomorrow. Swim, I hope. All right, back to your beds, Gibbskids!"

He grabbed Hope, who squealed as he hugged and kissed her. He liked that, she hadn't squealed in a long time. Handing her to Artie, he picked up Rissa and did the same thing. She giggled but didn't squeal. Carrying the two girls, they tucked them in and then returned to the boys, who were back under the covers, waiting for their own goodnight kisses and hugs. Jed slept peacefully, not in the least disturbed by the noise his family made. He had gentle good night kisses.

Tim made sure the upper latch on the hotel room door was flipped over the door so their clever toddler girl and wandering baby boy couldn't go exploring on their own and then smiled at his wife's sultry look. Yeah, no bad dreams for him tonight.

He and Artie were still tangled together early the next morning when Tim's phone chimed with a call. Groaning, he grabbed it and one of the hotel robes, carefully disentangled himself and took the phone into the bathroom, turning the heater on in there. No sense waking Artie at 0300.

"McGee."

"Tim, I'm sorry to call so early but I…I'm panicking."

"Ned? What's wrong?"

"They've moved my grandmother into a hospice facility. I need to get home as soon as possible"

Tim was wide awake now. "All right. Have you talked with your SSAIC?"

"Not yet. I just heard and called you first."

"Send him a text with the news, that you've talked with me, and then if he's not available, call his assistant and ask if there are any military flights to Southern California, or even the West Coast, that you can get on. I'll send authorization for you. If there's anything available, that's the fastest way to go. Otherwise, you'll have to fly commercial. If you end up on a commercial flight, fly into Orange County airport, stay away from the San Diego airport, that's an order. Have you told Bailey yet?"

"I sent him a text."

"Good! I'll work on getting him some help." They talked a few minutes longer before disconnecting. Tim immediately sent a text to Owens authorizing a military flight for Dorneget to Southern California or anywhere on the U.S. West Coast, due to a family emergency. Then he sent a text to Bailey, saying his fellow INV agents would be on call to help with cases. Then he emailed Braff, Scott and McCoy, his three floaters, copying Bailey along with those he considered his lead agents, Dawson, Tighe, Watson, Bishop and Piro, that Bailey would be on his own while Dorneget responded to a family emergency. He was putting them on alert to help Bailey with his caseload if necessary. He reminded them of the trailing Instant Messaging and their database, a quick way to see if Bailey needed help. Bailey sent him a text in all capital letters, "THANK YOU!"

While he was doing that, Owens replied saying his assistant was working on military flights into southern California. Tim thanked him, although not in all caps; it was after hours in Tokyo and he appreciated the extra efforts. After the flurry of texts and emails, he decided as long as he was awake he should get some work done.

Taking a look, he smiled at the number of cases his agents had handled over the past few days and the kudos received from SFAs, SACs and SSAICs. The U.S. NCIS offices were making good use of the floaters and Tim was pleased to see comments on case reports and in separate documents, thanking their INV agents.

Feeling good about the program, if concerned about Dorneget and the state of the U.S., Tim emailed Leon, copying some of the remarks and proposing five additional agents, rather than the 2 he'd recently proposed. Four would serve as floaters for the U.S and one would be a permanent posting. He added that there would be more as 'things' eased up.

Leon responded, first asking him why he was working at 0300, agreeing to the floaters, asking why the additional floaters and permanent agent and if he had an idea where they'd be located. Tim replied, telling him of Dorneget's personal situation and that he wanted to move people around.

With his new language skills, Tighe could go to Japan once Dorneget was back at work full-time. That would give Dorneget a permanent spot in San Diego, assuming Ned would want to remain close to his grandfather, and greatly help Bailey in Japan.

His 'additional' floater would be in San Diego; they couldn't afford to continue playing emergency musical chairs and as it was, he didn't know how much Ned would be able to work once he arrived.

He also pointed out that the U.S. offices were increasing their use of the floaters; in the few days he'd been here he'd seen how many cases were coming in. He cited the case he'd worked on Monday, telling Vance that all the U.S. floaters had been working other cases.

All they'd need is for field teams to become used to their services and then have an extra two or three cases come in at once, slowing everything down. That could be a disaster. He also wanted more floaters in case of a natural disaster, mentioning the recent tornado in Alabama, at the very least playing havoc with communications.

For the original two floaters he'd requested, he wanted one of them as an additional floater at FLETC and the second should be as centrally located as possible; Tim thought that currently the NCIS office temporary housed with the FBI in Wisconsin was the only location of any size between the East and West Coast. Now he told Vance, he wanted two additional at FLETC, to be relocated later and one at the Wisconsin temporary office.

As far as the permanent posting, he suggested the small NCIS office in Corpus Christi, TX, a safe spot throughout the war. Leon replied, asking, with a smiley face, whether he was fishing for a list of offices post-war. Tim responded with a sheepish looking emoticon and the words, "Yes please!"

The next message asked for his rationale for placing an INV agent in Corpus Christi, other than its semi-central southern location. Tim grinned when he saw that, he'd been waiting for just the right time. Now he replied that the Coast Guard had always been a big presence there, still was; however, they were no longer part of the Department of the Navy, instead belonging to the Department of Homeland Security. To him, it made sense that the Secretary of the Navy would want a US Navy presence there and a full-sized NCIS office would add to that presence without much cost. He was anticipating the SecNav moving Navy ships to the base fairly soon.

The current NCIS office there was tiny, occupying a space of about 420 square feet, next door to a large CGIS office. The two NCIS agents had two desks and chairs, two visitor chairs, six file cabinets with a coffee maker and microwave perched on top of them. The only real storage was in the small restroom where the agents themselves had hung storage cabinets from floor to ceiling on one wall. Their 'armory' consisted of a gun safe for their side arms and the rest of their weapons were kept next door, in the CGIS armory. If they needed backup support in the field, they asked for help from CGIS. Things like interrogations and interviews were also handled next door as were more mundane tasks such as making copies or faxing anything. Even their NCIS network server was located in the CGIS server room. NCIS paid rent for that and also paid the Coast Guard IT staff to help with updates, problem solving, etc.

Tim said that if he were the Secretary of the Navy, it would displease him to pay the Coast Guard, formerly a part of the Department of the Navy, every month for use of the Coast Guard's Interrogation Room, IT and Administrative services that the Navy had likely paid to build in the first place. Furthermore, he'd done a little research and the current NCIS office could be expanded by opening two non-loadbearing walls.

Prior to the demise of NIS in 1991, the Corpus Christi office had been a full office, reduced because the Coast Guard lease had three years longer to run than the NIS lease. And because Congress was unwilling to give the newly created NCIS any more funding than they absolutely had to. Especially because there was an agency in the same building who also belonged to the DoN but hadn't created such a fubar mess that it had to be disbanded. One of the more colorful Senators at the time had said that if NCIS lacked anything, they could damn well ask the Coast Guard for whatever it was.

Tim included a restoration estimate that he'd put together from the original office schematics, found on the DoN server, and consultation with his wife the engineer and three of his brothers, the carpenter and plumbers. He'd also included, with their help, a possible layout. He'd done a quick search for office equipment and thrown that into the estimate, although he said if Leon was closing other offices, they could move some or all of that equipment to the Corpus Christi office. The biggest expense might be building a server room and rewiring the office, which, in Tim's opinion, needed doing anyway.

With a chuckle, he sent the email to Leon. And grinned at the next email, which had a list of NCIS offices in the U.S. Most of the West and East Coast offices remained as they were currently, with a note from Leon that said, 'for now!' The Carolinas Field Office, aboard Camp Lejeune, NC was intact with its subordinate offices. The Southeast, Mayport, FL, office remained with Miami as one of its subs; the Tampa office had a notation that read, 'sub of SE?'.

He was not surprised to see the Corpus Christi office showing as expanded, with a full field team and an INV agent. All the little offices scattered throughout the Midwest had been closed or consolidated into two full offices, subordinate to Great Lakes/Central. Tim smiled, Leon was more ruthless than he was. Then again, he'd worked in Great Lakes for a few years, he'd know what needed to stay and what needed to go. Tim was pleased to see that for the most part, the office closures and consolidations matched his recommendations. Leon planned to close two that Tim thought might be worth saving; he found that interesting and wondered if he would ever know the reason.

A new message from Ned said he had a seat on a Marine flight to San Diego, leaving at 2300 Tokyo time. Ned also said that Daniel's boss had approved him working remotely from San Diego and that Daniel would remain in Japan, working full-time while he packed up their home and put their furniture in storage before joining him. Daniel's former wife Trinity was waiting to hear if she'd been approved for a transfer to her employers' office in San Diego. Both Ibarras were diligently working on the paperwork necessary for Trinity and their children to enter, work and live in the U.S. At least Daniel, as the son of a U.S. citizen, was also a U.S. citizen, although his children were not.

Tim shook his head, all that made him think again of Leon transferring more than a hundred agents within a three day period 18 months ago. He hadn't had the luxury of worrying about partners' jobs, packing up houses or kids' schools, his only task was to get them out of danger as quickly as he could.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In the lobby at 0700 later that morning to give his statement to the FBI, Tim smiled when Ron Sacks entered. "Agent McGee, good to see you, it's been a while. I know you were expecting Saunders; when I heard whose statement he was taking, I grabbed the assignment!"

The two shook hands, Tim saying, "It's good to see you, too!"

"Let's get this done so we can catch up."

Tim had arranged to use an empty office as the business center was in use. He verbally told Ron his statement, including the threat to Hope and the description of the terrorist, recorded on Ron's tablet. Tim applied his electronic signature to the electronic version and then hand wrote his signature on both printed copies. When Sacks asked how he was doing, Tim shook his head, "I don't know what to tell you. Life is great, I'm married to the love of my life and we have a wonderful family. It's this damn war, having my own child threatened was too real for me."

"Yeah. Tobias has hinted around that you've been involved; I think the phrase he used was 'deeply involved'."

"I was and hoped I was out of it but stepped right into the middle of things yesterday. And obviously not happy about it." He managed a half-smile. "Sorry, I'm tired and cranky about the lack of response from other agencies. Not yours or mine!"

"Heard a little about that from my boss. It's maddening, that's for sure. Hey, I got a postcard from Ben Childers, from Delphi, Greece!"

Tim chuckled, "Great! We have several older gentlemen in the extended family, Tobias' dad is one of them, and they don't like the London winters. This is the second year they've fled the UK to spend winter in a beach town near Athens. My wife has family there, the men know them and the folks at the NCIS Athens office. Mac, my dad's former father-in-law, said he planned to do more sightseeing and I bet Ben went with him. That's good, Mac also survived a difficult marriage."

Moving to the lounge, they talked over coffee. Tim wasn't surprised when his father entered, wanting to say hello to their former colleague. After Ron left, Dad poured more coffee for them.

"Timothy, how are you doing?"

Tim huffed, "I'm over the initial shock but still dealing with the reality of having been so close to terrorists I've been hunting for the past year and a half. I'm still terrified and furious at the threat to Hope. And I'm furious with myself for bringing our family here, even though my wife believes we did our due diligence. I have inside knowledge and didn't take advantage of it! I ignored Rules 3 and 8! I'm furious with Homeland and whoever failed to act on the information they had in their hands." He sighed, "I'm relieved and thankful that no one was injured when the terrorists were arrested or when the money man, if that's what the meeting was about, was taken in for questioning."

His father nodded, "I agree, I feel the same way."

"Dad? How, why?"

"I'd ask you the same questions, son. We're both human and in this situation, we both made mistakes. However, you also, even if inadvertently, did good. You broke the terrorists' leadership team. That should help."

Tim stared at him although Jethro could see he was deep in thought. He was encouraged to see a little smile break through, "It does help, thank you. You know what got me through? You were there, my boss-Gibbs-dad was there. That gave me strength. My family needed me to get them to safety, that also gave me strength. Needing to protect the others in the terminal and at the airport gave me more. And my training, thank the good Lord for everything I learned from you and the others. I didn't have to think, I knew what to do and did it. Rule 44, I protected our family, the only ones I could protect without putting everyone in even more danger. We used Rule 15, acted as a team, you and me and then the entire group."

His father smiled, "And now it's time for Rule 11, walk away when the job is done. And you did fine with rules 27, 28, 45 and 51. You did great with watching, asking for help, cleaned up Homeland's mess and admitted you were wrong, _we_ were wrong."

Tim huffed, "If that's supposed to make me feel better…"

"We lead very comfortable lives in Brambury and we were more than willing to buy into the idea of the West Coast being a safe zone. After all, there haven't been any attacks within the borders of Washington, Oregon and California. The numbers back you up. I bet if you ran everything that happened through one of your probability algorithms, the result would agree with our decision to bring the family. What we, all of us, from Cyrus down to you and me, failed to take into account were other actions taken by the terrorists. Their organization must rely on funds from somewhere. Money. How you would figure that in your algorithms, I have no idea.

"The data you've found and what the government needed was who they're attacking next and where, along with the names of the attackers. Nobody asked you to analyze the organization itself. No one said, 'McGee, we need to know how they're being funded, how the attackers are being recruited.' No one. Nor did you take it upon yourself, thank God. Yes, we made a mistake in not double-checking, although Timothy, if we didn't look for 'other events', we would have reached the same conclusion, there was minimal danger in bringing our family over. Our fault was in asking too focused a question." Tim huffed, that made him think of Abby's approach to evidence. Don't focus on looking for any one thing or you might miss others. That should be a rule.

He looked at his son, "I had a chat with Leon before I came down. The six terrorists had no weapons on them, none of their garb or anything that might indicate a planned attack. They were there to meet one of their financial supporters. Swept him up, too."

Tim frowned before saying, "The White Hats are supplying financial information, including names. Is it possible Homeland let it ride so they could grab them all at once?"

"If Homeland was doing that, all they had to do is tell us to back off. Or have Sailes tell us. But Sailes didn't know, so if that's what Homeland was doing, they kept their partner in the dark."

He raised an eyebrow at his son who shrugged, "I have enough trouble thinking for me, I can't do it for an entire organization. Huh."

Dad chuckled, "I'm making a new rule, 'Don't torture yourself', it's Rule 52, goes nicely with Rule 51. Now come on, we're having another unhealthy breakfast, except for Penny, no bacon or sausage for her, and then we're spending the day at the pool. We voted, no one wants to go any farther than the IHOP. Which is a shame, glad we did so much over the weekend! Besides, Ducky, Jimmy, Breena and the kids will be here soon."

Tim smiled, "Ok, that all sounds good – and then we get to pack for home."

His father huffed, "That definitely comes from your Hubbard genes!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When they joined the group, Tim's kids welcomed him as "Papa B!" He shook his head, laughing at them as he kissed them good morning. From his spot on Uncle James' back, Jed squealed and held out his arms, melting his father's heart as always. He gave him another hug and once Jed gave his daddy a sloppy kiss, he was satisfied. Tim stepped back, smiling at his family, "Good Morning! Ready for another gooey, yummy meal?"

Joining his wife, the two of them and their children led the parade down the street. Hope rode in her father's arms; she didn't fuss because she was nice and warm that way. When Uncle Jim scooped Rissa up, she was surprised, although pleased. Kyle slipped between his parents, holding one of his mama's hands while his older brothers walked with their grandparents, Rissa, Jed and their escorts right behind them.

They had the same table they'd had before and the high chair was already in place. Tim wanted breakfast food this time, ordering a short stack, 3 pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns.

They were relaxing after their scrumptious meal when Tim's phone chimed with a call. The entire group groaned when Tim pulled it out of his coat pocket. Trying not to laugh, he answered without looking at the caller ID. It was Secretary Porter, "Timothy, how is everyone this morning?"

"We're fine, ma'am, just finishing breakfast at an IHOP, a real treat for us!"

She laughed before saying, "Well, I may have another treat for you. San Diego is still off the table for today, Homeland is continuing its investigation. However, as it turns out, my own orders have been changed, I'm attending a meeting in Tokyo on behalf of Secretary Cyrus. As it concerns the Navy, I'm pleased about that. It does mean that I won't be back in the U.S. until Sunday. If that works with everyone's schedules, then we'll pick you up in Coronado. If not, then you'll have to fly commercial."

He replied, "That works for the Gibbses, let me quickly check with the others."

Looking up, he said, "Does anyone have a problem reaching home on Monday? Powells, Clachers?"

James made a face until Tim reminded him he'd worked yesterday, which counted as a workday. George and Edith, on countdown to retirement in a few months, smiled at Tim, they were fine with Monday. The Cranes were also fine with Monday. Susannah and Ian said they'd have to check and Lu said she'd texted the Mallards.

Back on the phone, Tim said, "Most of us are fine with the new schedule ma'am."

"Good! Now, I have a favor to ask of you. I was scheduled for a meeting in San Diego Friday morning. That's now been rescheduled to Thursday morning, tomorrow, and will take place in San Francisco. Would you be available to go in my place? I have the agenda, my comments and background information online, I'll send them to you. And Timothy, the Navy will pay for transporting everyone, don't worry about that."

"Ma'am, I'd love to do that. I'd like to suggest we argue about payment later, please."

"That would work except I've already made arrangements with the Bureau to fly all of you to San Francisco. I'm so happy you'll fill in for me! Now, here's a suggestion, get to San Francisco and have some fun this afternoon and evening. It's warmer there than in Seattle. Your rooms are already booked, I had Ensign Bell reserve rooms at the same hotel chain you're staying in now. She worked with your uncle to figure out rooms, including for those joining you. Feel free to stay in San Francisco until our meet on Sunday. Or, you could fly to Anaheim and take the kids to see the Mouse, as the Captain put it. And then check in to see if the San Diego airport is safe…or drive to San Diego. Let me know if and where you're staying in the area and I'll send transport Sunday afternoon to get you to the airfield . Do see Coronado if you can, it's beautiful!"

Tim swiveled to look at his uncle who was grinning happily. "Thank you, ma'am, those are excellent ideas! And if we're in Coronado, I can see my agent, too."

"Of course. It won't be warm enough to swim, but a few cold toes will give the children bragging rights to another ocean."

"True."

"I nearly forgot, a car and driver will pick you up at your hotel for the meeting tomorrow morning."

"Suit and tie?"

"If you have them, yes. If not, don't worry, it's California and you're not meeting with anyone who'll take offense!"

"I look forward to seeing your notes, ma'am."

After discussing a few more details, they disconnected. Tim laughed at his uncle, "Nice one, Unca Jim, thanks!"

"Does it work?"

"As far as I'm concerned, yes. Let's talk about it later."

The group was looking at him and he grinned, "We're flying to San Francisco on an FBI jet today! I'm going to a meeting in San Francisco in place of Secretary Porter tomorrow morning and then we can do whatever we want. Sunday, we'll drive to the Navy Base Coronado, that's San Diego, kids, and we'll be taken to her jet."

Those who knew the original plan looked at each other, eyebrows raised and Uncle Jim nodded. "I think that's a splendid idea."

Tim looked around but there weren't any other diners in what he thought of as the 'overflow' room with them. "I do too, but let's wait for Jimmy, Breena and Ducky."

Lu smiled, "They're at the hotel, I had a text from Jimmy while you were on the phone with Ma'am."

Artie smiled, "Are we all finished? Good, let's pay the bill and get back to the hotel, I want to plan the rest of our week!"

Notes:

Show/Story Trivia: The NCIS offices mentioned here are not, in real life, necessarily located where I've put them. I had an old list from the real world NCIS website and surprise, it's been updated and/or reorganized. For instance, the Great Lakes offices (formerly mentioned on the show as both Central and Great Lakes) is now a subordinate office to the Northeast Field office (which is in Rhode Island). It took me awhile to untangle my brain but in the end I only changed two references in the story: Miami is under the Southeast office, where it is in real life and I left Tampa as an independent office with Vance thinking about making it a sub of the Southeast Office. In real life, it already is subordinate to them.

There is no office in Seattle, it's now on a Navy Base over an hour's drive away. So…oh well, the family stayed in Seattle and Tim went back and forth.

Musical chairs is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music, with one fewer chair than players. At the end of each round of play, whoever doesn't have a chair is out of the game and another chair is removed. It is also a metaphor for shuffling of personnel in an organization and that's what Tim means.

In this story, 'fubar' means 'Fouled up beyond all repair'. Fouled replaces another 'F' word. And 'repair' can also be replaced with 'recognition' which I think is the original meaning. Anyway, beyond repair was certainly the case with NIS!

Although the Tailhook scandal and NIS' part in it was real, as well as NIS being disbanded and reborn as NCIS run by civilians, the whole thing about the building, CGIS being next door is creative license.


	87. Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Back at the hotel, they greeted their Mallard family as if they hadn't seen them in months. Jilly and Jed had fun squealing at each other and Hope joined them, making her parents even happier.

They gathered in a conference room, the only place outside of the hotel restaurant big enough for all of them, to make plans. Their ride to the private airfield where they'd meet the FBI jet would pick them up in 90 minutes and they'd land at another private airfield near San Francisco airport. Transportation had already been arranged to take them to their hotel. From there, they were on their own!

Penny smiled, "This is going to be fun! We get to visit San Francisco and San Diego! Timothy, what time will we arrive?"

"12:30. And it's warmer than it is here, 55 today."

She said, "Great! Would someone please look online for boat cruises on San Francisco Bay, from…I think it's Fisherman's Wharf and see what time they run? Of course, we'll need another party bus to get us from place to place."

The kids' smiles got even bigger and she smiled at them, continuing, "Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 are a lot of fun. Lots of good food, fish that even your father will eat, like shrimp and fried clams, great Italian food and lots of fun things to do and see."

Tim looked at Sarah, "Sari, we haven't talked about this in a while, but Lily and Dan are buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery outside of San Francisco, near the airport."

She looked surprised before saying, "I'd like to go there, pay my respects."

Tim nodded, "Me too." He looked at the rest of the group. "I know Penny, Grammie, the rest of the Hubbards and the Cranes will want to go, but the rest of you don't have to."

Andy looked at his father, "Lily was your mother and Dan was Aunt Sarah and Uncle Patrick's father, your stepfather?"

"Yes."

"So she's one of our grandmothers and he is one of our grandfathers?"

"Yes. Lily was Grammie's daughter and Uncle Jim's sister. Dan was Penny's son."

Andy looked at his siblings, who smiled. Turning to their parents, he said, "We'd like to go too, please."

Tim was thankful for that and again when his parents said they also wanted to pay their respects. In the end, everyone decided to go, although Tim thought Susannah and Ian were only going because everyone else was. Still, whatever transportation they had would have to wait for them and the Clachers could wait in that. Or maybe take Hope and Jed for a walk.

Lu nodded, "We'll get some flowers on the way. Then once we've visited, we'll head into the City for some fun. And maybe have dinner tonight at Fisherman's Wharf!"

James stood, "Thanks, now I'm excited about seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown and the Wharf! C'mon, Sarah, we need to pack!"

The younger Powells left while James' parents smirked, "We're already packed. We were sure we'd be going south!"

The Clachers also went upstairs, talking about missing another day of work on Monday. Both were happy the Disneyland trip was back on; Ian was eager to see the original park. Jethro had already told them he'd pay for their flight home if they didn't want to lose another day of work. As they walked from the elevator to their room, Susannah took her husband's arm, shaking her head, "Ian, we're talking about missing one day of work. Eight hours of work! Whereas if we stay, we get to stay another 30 hours on the West Coast of America! We may never have another opportunity like this!"

He chuckled, "Yes, I see your point. All right, let's stay!"

Tim was relieved when Breena and Jimmy also agreed to stay. Breena, always the practical one, said she would rather risk a cranky boss than pass up a free flight home and more time in the U.S. And as Jimmy reported to Director Vance, he wasn't terribly worried.

Tim made a special point of thanking the Seattle hotel manager for accommodating all their needs, from commandeering the business center and the vacant office to checking out and back in again, the staff had done a stellar job!

They were all in the lobby with their luggage when their transportation to the airfield arrived. They chuckled when a larger party bus than the one they'd used all week pulled up in front of the hotel and 'their' driver climbed out. "Hey, the order came in for a party of 30 under the name of Gibbs, I had to take it, although I was surprised at the number. Did you adopt more people?"

Grinning at the laughter, he got behind one of the luggage carts and started pushing it toward the bus. The other carts followed behind him. At the airfield, he helped unload, his eyes widening at the generous tip and he waved goodbye as the group disappeared into the building. The jet taxied into sight as he left the airfield.

The Gibbses were surprised to be greeted by Ron Sacks. He grinned, "I was warned this might be happening, so I drove a rental from Portland, dropped it off this morning and here we are. Hello everyone! My name is Ron Sacks, I'm an FBI agent, formerly part of Tobias Fornell's team and sometimes adversary, sometimes co-investigator with Jethro, Tim and Tony. We don't have tickets to check but because I don't know all of you, I'll need to see your passports. Tim, Jethro, yours too, to be consistent."

Tim looked at Sacks, "I thought you were posted to Portland?"

"I was. Just got promoted to SAIC in San Francisco!"

"That's great, congratulations! Have you told Tobias yet?"

"No, I was told last Friday but then we had a case that took us through Monday and then yesterday, well, you can imagine. I haven't had time when he'd be awake."

Jethro snorted, "So wake him up! That's a big promotion, Ron, he'll only grumble until you tell him the news."

Ron grinned, "If you're saying I can blame you, then I'll do that."

Gibbs tilted his head and Ron nodded in response.

Tim looked at him, "They promoted you on Friday and expect you to be there in less than a week?"

The other man chuckled, "The current SAIC is retiring; he decided to take one last trip while he's still on the government payroll. He requested I sit in for him while he's away and stay another day when he returns, to shadow him, ask questions."

Jethro huffed, "Good idea."

"I think so too; I'm glad we're doing it this way. I'll be more confident going in."

"And his staff will recognize his approval."

Ron looked pleased, "And there is that, yes."

He passed them through, quickly looking at the others' passports.

Kyle smiled to himself as he handed his passport to Agent Sacks. He whispered, "Did you know my dad is James Bond?"

Ron's eyebrows raised and then he nodded wisely, "Ah, that makes sense, Kyle. I always wondered how they solved their cases so quickly." He bent over, "Did you know your dad, grandfather and Tony worked with superheroes?"

"They did? For real?"

"Yes, they certainly looked like the real deal."

"Wow, Daddy's James Bond _and_ Superman!"

Behind him, Rissa giggled, "I didn't know who James Bond is, but I know who Superman is!"

As they seated themselves, Kyle nudged his brother, "Greggy, a lot of people in our family are Superman!"

Greg blinked in surprise, "They are?"

"Yes, Agent Sacks told me. Daddy, Grandpa and Uncle Tony, only he called him Tony, worked with superheroes. So they must be superheroes too!"

Hope was walking by with their mother and grinned as she heard that, "Superheroes! Superman!" Sweetly she sang, "Here I come to save the day!"

Her siblings laughed and sang it again with her. None of them corrected her even though the line was from their grandfather's favorite childhood cartoon, "Mighty Mouse", not Superman.

They heard their Uncle Dave laughing and he looked over his seat at Kyle and Rissa, "That was my favorite cartoon, "Mighty Mouse"!"

They nodded, "It's Grandpa's too. Hope loves to sing it but gets it mixed up with Superman sometimes."

"Nice of you not to tease your little sister."

"We'll wait until she's older. She's still too little."

Rissa nodded, "They didn't tease me until I turned 5!"

"You're lucky you have nice brothers! I'm the youngest of 5 brothers and they started teasing me when I was Jed's age!"

Kyle scrunched his face, "That's mean! We're not mean to you, are we Rissa?"

Suddenly anxious, all three boys looked at their little sister. She shook her head, "No, I'll tell you if you're mean!"

They giggled when their father joined them, making sure they were safely buckled in.

"What's so funny?"

Kyle grinned, "Daddy, you're James Bond and Superman!"

Tim blinked, "Kyle, did you know that's one of the first things you ever said to me? That Greg was your brother and he was Superman."

"I did? I was real little then, huh?"

"Yes. So how did I get to be Superman?"

"Agent Sacks said you, Grandpa and Tony worked with Superheroes."

Tim laughed in surprise, "So we did, I forgot about them. We'll tell you about that sometime when Uncle Tony's with us."

"Yay!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The flight was short and uneventful. Their transport, a bus the size of the last party bus in Seattle, was waiting for them as they disembarked from the jet. The driver helped them load their baggage, and made sure everyone was buckled in before driving them to their hotel. When he told them he'd been hired to drive them wherever they wanted to go during their stay, they wanted to know who'd hired him. He turned and smiled at Penny, who returned the smile before turning to her family. "Now, let me just do this one thing! Jethro and Lu don't get to have all the fun!"

They laughed at that and agreed, although Penny wasn't allowed to spend any money on meals, tickets or anything else over the next few days. Every time she reached for her wallet, one of the others had money or a card out before she could get to hers.

They decided to leave for the cemetery in 40 minutes, giving them time to check-in and freshen up. As they were leaving the next day, no one would do much unpacking. After the cemetery, they'd head into the City where their driver, whose name was Gus, would give them his own version of a bus tour. They'd make a few stops here and there and, time permitting, would take a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Gus said they would stop somewhere to buy Tourist Cards which would give them healthy discounts for the Bay Cruise. There was a late afternoon sailing they wanted to take. That would be followed by dinner at a family-friendly restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf. Because it would be chilly on San Francisco Bay, they'd need to bring their warm jackets, hats and gloves. The air here felt warm and most of them were carrying their jackets or sweaters.

Check-in was relatively painless and with two elevators, they quickly had the luggage carts to their floor. The rooms were clean and comfortable with the same room setup and amenities they'd had in Seattle, including cribs and a changing table in the master bath for the Mallards and the Jr. Gibbses.

Back downstairs with their cold weather gear, they climbed back onto the bus. Tim had asked Gus if he knew of a florist close to the cemetery, explaining they'd like to take bouquets to the graves of family members. Gus nodded, he knew just the place and when they pulled up to it, Tim, Sarah, Penny, Maisie, Liz and Lu climbed out. Tim was glad his mother was with them and squeezed her hand in thanks. They made a bouquet with the flowers for Tim, Sarah and Patrick's birth months, adding stems of rosemary for Maisie, forget-me-nots for Jim, with baby's breath and thick stems of green myrtle. For Dan, they chose the same base, the birth month flowers, adding brilliant rich dark pink flowers for Penny along with dark blue Iris, red and gold chrysanthemums and chocolate ranunculus for the colors of the Navy.

Uncle Jim paid for the bouquets and escorted his mother and Penny back to the bus while Lu waited for her daughter and son. They'd found clay 'rocks' that could be written on and they purchased three of them. Tim and Sarah wrote theirs while Lu wrote what her kids agreed should go on Patrick's. Tim went back for a fourth rock and in small letters wrote Jed and Hope's names. He smiled at his mother and sister, saying "The older kids can write their own names."

Without looking at any of them, Sarah snatched another rock from the shelf and paid for it, writing something quickly. Finally, she smiled, "If we ever have a child, he or she will be represented here."

Back on the bus, Tim showed Artie their rock, which was signed 'From your loving son Timothy and daughter-in-law Artemis', asking if she wanted her surname, Midei, on there too. She shook her head. At the cemetery, Gus followed Uncle Jim's directions, taking them straight to the family plot. Penny sighed, "It's lovely here but I wish they were closer to home." She huffed, "I mean Arlington, not Brambury!"

Tim looked at his grandmother, "The town of Arlington or Arlington National Cemetery?"

"The town, sweetheart."

Sarah looked at Tim, who nodded to her. She said, "Penny, Grammie, Dad McGee is eligible for Arlington National Cemetery and our mother can be buried there with him."

The two older women looked at each other and then at their grandchildren. Maisie nodded, "Yes, we'd like that, please. When we move home, we'll be closer to them, be able to visit when we want to, not just once a year. It's too bad…"

"What, Grammie?"

"I was wishing Kathy, Pat's wife, could be buried there too."

"She's buried in Baltimore, quite close. The boys like where she is, under a big shade tree."

"That's good then and with Patrick still alive, I suppose that wouldn't be allowed."

Tim wasn't sure of that but he was sure his sons would not want their mother's final resting place to be disturbed. Feeling sad, he knelt on the grass to say a prayer, feeling his wife and children join him, followed by Sarah and James. Artemis said a prayer in Greek and her family joined in. The kids had signed their names to the rock and as the eldest, Andy placed it for them. Tim and Sarah each placed their rock and then, holding Patrick's rock between them, placed it with theirs. Greg and Kyle had signed it too.

Penny and Maisie both wanted photos of the bouquets and the rocks on the graves, which was understandable. When they asked Ian to take photos of all of them at the grave site, Tim looked at Uncle Jim, his eyes wild. There was no way.

Behind him, he felt his godfather's hand on his shoulder and relaxed. Uncle Dave, Aunty Liz or his parents would fix this. When the two ladies looked at the rest of the family, Liz and Lu went forward to talk with them. Liz told them she knew how they felt, that having a photo with their deceased children and their living children would somehow tie them together. Lu shook her head, "Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. That photo will haunt you with grief and regret that Lily and Dan didn't live to see their children grow up or meet their grandchildren. Better to let them rest." She'd wanted to add 'and let the children remember them as they were' but neither of the kids remembered Lily and she knew Tim was still battling his anger at Dan while Sarah had no memories of her father either.

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Glad they had fun plans for the rest of the afternoon, the group tore themselves away from the graves and got back on the bus, a much quieter group than Gus had picked up at the airfield a little over two hours ago. He gave them 15 minutes to recover and then while sitting in traffic he started to tell them what they'd be seeing and doing later. First, they were having a light lunch at a great cafes and they could buy their tourist discount cards there. Then he'd show them some of his favorite spots, including Land's End. From there, time and traffic permitting, they'd drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. He smiled, saying, "You'll get more of an idea of the City on our way back, when we can see San Francisco spread across the horizon, as it were. Geographically, it's a small city, but you can't really tell from inside, coming north from the South Bay or not even really coming from the East Bay. Only coming south from the North Bay, across the Golden Gate. Then you'll see!" After the bridge, they'd head to Pier 39 for some fun, followed by the Bay Cruise. After that, dinner on Fisherman's Wharf. If they wanted to see more, he'd show them more.

He was pleased that his efforts were met with smiles, relief and several nods. Before they went into the café, Gus warned them to eat light, no alcohol and nothing too creamy or rich. Smiling, he said, "You're going on a cruise on the ocean in a few hours. While it's not stormy, it will be windy and choppy out there. You can eat your creamy, rich food later – at dinner, I promise there will be plenty. Everyone should eat very light and for those prone to upset tummies, use a patch or whatever you have for sea or motion sickness. Believe me, you want to enjoy your boat ride, not be miserable. I have a few supplies with me or we can stop at a store."

They thanked him for the advice. They loved the café, full of eclectic charm and a menu with plenty of local favorites, including fish, meat, vegetarian and vegan meals. When Claire said San Francisco was famous for their Shrimp Louie salads, Tim looked at the menu and smiled, spotting something called a Cobb Louie, replacing the chicken usually in a Cobb salad with shrimp. The dressing was a hybrid of a Louie dressing and a typical Cobb dressing. When he ordered, he asked how big the full salad was and when the server gestured to a nearby table, he opted for the plate size rather than the bowl, and asked to hold the clam chowder which came with it. Telling their server they were going out on the Bay that afternoon, she made a few suggestions for their orders, replacing Tim's clam chowder with a homemade, broth-based vegetable soup. When baskets of fresh San Francisco sourdough bread appeared on the table, the American adults grabbed it and Jim asked their server if the baskets could be refilled. She laughed, "Of course! Have you ever had it before?"

"Yes but not in years and none of the kids have."

"In that case I'll keep an eye out, bring more when the baskets are empty."

Tim smiled, "And the butter isn't frozen, I love this place!" He wasn't sure he'd ever had real sourdough bread before. However, when he first bit into it, he closed his eyes, savoring that perfect sourdough taste. "I remember this from Alameda. We had it at least once a month and always when Dad was home."

He looked around, "We're buying as much as we can stuff into our suitcases, to take home."

Penny nodded, "That's fine, dear, you can ship your clothes home."

When Tim stopped to consider that, everyone laughed. He smiled, "We can carry it with us aboard our ride home." He looked at Artie, "Jed only has one suitcase."

She gave him a look, "Great, sweetie, we'll buy another new suitcase here to transport your bread home. Remember what Gus said about not overeating! "

The kids were laughing and then laughed harder at the look on their mother's face when she took her first bite of the bread. Tim didn't waste any energy looking smug, he was busy with his second piece of bread. The kids liked it too, Greg said it was his 2nd favorite bread after Grandma's cinnamon bread. His father agreed with that although he forced himself to stop after the two delicious slices.

Tim's half Cobb Louie arrived with the vegetable soup. He ate every bit of the salad, saying the half was a perfect size, and enjoyed the soup, although he insisted he needed another slice of sourdough with the soup.

Artemis, Kyle and Rissa had grilled cheese sandwiches and smiled happily at the lovely melted cheese on the perfectly grilled sourdough.

Everyone enjoyed their meals, even Jed who smacked his lips at the carefully chosen bites of this or that. Penny told them to hold off on dessert, they'd have that at Fisherman's Wharf or Pier 39.

When the server brought the bill, she handed a bag with two fresh loaves of the sourdough bread to Tim. Laughing, she said, "Our supplier was here when you had your first bite, he not only heard you, he saw you - and left these."

"Is he willing to ship to London?"

She handed him a business card, "Ask him!"

Lu frowned, "They don't sell this at the American Food Store?"

Tim shook his head, "They sell a sourdough but it isn't this." He shrugged, pocketing the card, "Doesn't hurt to ask."

Back on the bus, Tim tucked the bread into one of the tote bags, making sure the bus would be locked when they were off. Gus laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes when he heard what happened.

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Off they went for their tour of Gus' favorite spots and the kids said it was almost like a "Hop On/Off" bus, only everyone on the bus got off and on. They saw Land's End, the western edge of San Francisco, with the well-known restaurant, The Cliff House, sitting right over the ocean. Looking north and a little east, they could see the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. Moving their heads to a more northwest position, they could see a jut of land in the distance. That was Point Reyes, part of Point Reyes National Seashore.

There was a lighthouse there with stairs equivalent to a 30-story building and a mile from there was a bay with miles of sandy beach and lovely cliffs. It was named Drake's Bay for Francis Drake, who landed in the Bay on June 17th, 1579, two years before he was knighted, claiming the land for Queen Elizabeth I and naming it "New Albion". Kyle asked why it didn't belong to _their_ Queen Elizabeth and his father told him they could look it up that night. Although they would love to see the bay and the lighthouse, they didn't have enough time to drive there and back and still take the Bay Cruise.

From Land's End, they drove through parts of Golden Gate Park, most of them surprised to see the bison there. Gus explained that there have been bison in the park since the 1800s. All of the kids and most of the adults were entranced, the adults also relieved that America's 'thundering herd' still lived and breathed. Although they mostly graze and hang out. They also drove past the park's windmill and the kids, remembering the scarcity of windmills in the Netherlands, told Gus they'd only seen one windmill in the Netherlands. He was surprised by that.

After the park, they continued the drive to the Golden Gate Bridge, which confused the kids as the bridge is orange, not gold. Gus explained that the bridge's name isn't for its color but for the 'Golden Gate' Strait, that is the entrance to the Bay, that it crosses. The paint on the bridge is a special marine paint with the name 'International Orange'. He also told them that touching up the paint on the bridge is a daily job. Artie told them a few 'insider' facts about the building of the bridge, things only an engineer would know and said at the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Gus was impressed, learning a few new things he could pass along to other visitors.

His passengers listened as their heads swiveled from side to side, looking out the windows. The adults exclaimed at Alcatraz, the former federal prison in San Francisco Bay, remembering the one and only successful prison break, one of the escapees had never been found, dead or alive, and also asked about another island they saw. That was Angel Island, which had had a Chinese Immigration Center from the early to mid-1900s. During World War II, it was briefly a temporary internment facility for Japanese Americans. It was now a state park, with markers and information about the Immigration Center and the Internment Facility.

On the ocean side of the bus, Gus pointed, without looking which impressed Jethro, to a dark spot in the distance, saying "Those are the Farallon Islands. Lot of marine mammals and birds out there. They'll tell you more about them on your boat trip."

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As they drove off the bridge, they could see a tunnel ahead, the concrete opening painted like a rainbow. Gus pointed, "That's the Robin Williams tunnel, named for the famous comedian. He lived here in Marin County and after he died, it was decided to name the rainbow tunnel for him." He chuckled, "The rainbow itself happened in the '60s. Ask your grandparents about that era!"

Penny laughed as she gave a sanitized version of Flower Power and hippies in 1960s' San Francisco, perhaps a natural byproduct of San Francisco's Beat Generation, when the hipsters were known as beatniks, in the late 1950s. She decided not to mention the 'Summer of Love'.

Tim found later that painting rainbows on the tunnel openings was suggested by a commuter who worked for Caltrans, the State of California Dept. of Transportation. He was tired driving home to the suburbs from the City every night and thought cheerful colors on the tunnel would welcome home weary commuters. Painting a rainbow was an easy choice with the shape of the openings. Although the painted tunnel meshed well with the 'happenings' in the City of that time, they weren't connected.

Before they got to the west bound tunnel, Gus turned down a windy road, found a spot big enough to turn the bus around and got back on the approach to the bridge, returning to the City. "Now, look out the right side, you can see better and ooh, hoo, there's a container ship moving through the Strait!" They watched it move before being directed to look to their left at the City, they could see more of it. They had fun with that, pointing out a pyramid looking building, a big metal tower that looked a bit scary to the southwest and a building that looked like a fire nozzle to their left. Gus drove in the slow lane, directing them to look this way and that, quickly, quickly! Uncle Dave spotted the container ship again, it had crossed under the bridge and was further into the Bay. All of them were fascinated by the sailboats seemingly zipping here and there around the Bay.

Gus pointed to Treasure Island, site of the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition and a former Naval base, as well as the new San Francisco Bay Bridge, replacing the original Bay Bridge, linking San Francisco to the East Bay, and through the Bay Bridge, was the city of Alameda, including the former Naval Air Station and former berth of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, where the Dan McGee family lived for several years and where the Commander died. Tim looked, glad not to feel anything special. It was just a place. Their driver pointed to a spot across the Bay to the east, "Over there is Pixar Headquarters, in the city of Emeryville." The kids were impressed by that, along with James and Sarah.

While still on the bridge, they could also see the Palace of Fine Arts, originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific exhibition. Gus said they would drive by it on their way to Pier 39. Back in the City, they did indeed drive past the Palace, passing the Presidio, a former Army fort and military base for 219 years, now a National Park. Inside the Presidio is the headquarters of Lucasfilm, housing Industrial Light and Magic as well the iconic Yoda fountain. A few blocks later, Gus pointed to Ghirardelli Square and several other things. When they arrived at Pier 39, Gus had them look around the area where he dropped them off. "I'll pick you up at this same spot in 90 minutes. Don't be late, you don't want to miss your cruise on the bay!"

They hurried off the bus, Tim whistling for his kids to stop. "Hang on!"

Andy caught his papa's eye, moving his own eyes towards his cousins, with a pleading look. Tim made eye contact with Jim, who gave him a discreet nod and Artie nodded to their oldest. "Have fun, stay with Uncle Jim and Aunt Claire!"

Greg, Kyle, Rissa and Hope were nearly bouncing on their toes, so off they went, the Mallards joining them. Greg held Hope's hand while Kyle and Rissa held hands as they walked with their parents, the Mallards and the others to visit the sea lions. Gus had told them that after the big earthquake in 1989, the sea lions started moving to the waters around Pier 39 and that the group had grown so large, the boats all had to move out and the very expensive berths are still unusable. He also warned that feeding the sea lions was against Federal laws and that as huggable and harmless as they looked, they were wild creatures, not to be teased or touched. Rissa giggled, "I don't want Daddy or Grandpa to arrest us!"

Now the marine mammals hang around all day long on floating wooden docks or as their fans call them, 'waterbeds'. They seemed to be asleep but they could hear groans and louder sounds too. While the kids were fascinated with the sea creatures, the adults were oohing and ahhing over the views. They could see the bridge they'd just driven over as well as much closer views of Alcatraz, Angel Island, the hills across the Bay and to the east of the City. They chattered about the sailboats, much closer now and they could see as they caught the wind, tacked and moved about, sometimes nearly dancing on the water.

They found games for the kids and they all had fun with those, bought some locally made Ghirardelli chocolate, while Artie, Sarah, Susannah, Lu and Edith darted in and out of the shops. Artie motioned Tim into an art gallery where he fell in love with a seascape of the bay. They purchased it and a couple prints of Cityscapes.

Their 90 minutes passed very quickly, although they were grateful to have any time here. Back on the bus, they trundled through the traffic to Fisherman's Wharf, where Gus pointed out their boat, "If anyone gets seasick, put your patch or whatever you use on now, it can get pretty choppy out there."

Tim chuckled as his family turned to him. He grinned, "I've already taken my ginger and I'm wearing my sea bands."

James looked at him, "Do you have any extra ginger to share?"

Tim nodded, handing him a zip lock bag with the ginger along with an extra sea band. James took some in his hand, giving the bag back to Tim and keeping the sea band. Jethro noticed his son-in-law slipped the ginger and the sea band to his daughter. He smiled to himself, maybe Tim was right about the next grandbaby. He counted months, hoping they'd still be able to travel to the U.S. in June. Of course, they hadn't said anything so they probably weren't through their first…Lu tugged on his jacket, "Come on!"

Grabbing cameras, hats, jackets and gloves and what Tim called their stash or tote bags, they left the bus and found the kiosk. Once they had their tickets, they were told to go right on board. Grandpa carried Jed and Tim carried Hope up the gangplank. They climbed the stairs to the top deck, stopping inside long enough to leave jackets or something on the seats they chose. Gus told them jackets were fine but not to leave purses or cameras.

Standing in the prow of the boat, they made sure the younger kids were in the front so they could see, their parents hanging onto the backs of their jackets. Kyle was glad to feel his dad's hand on his jacket. He wasn't worried about falling overboard, but feeling safe was still nice. Of course Jed, perched in his daddy pack, and Jilly, perched in her own daddy pack, had the best views, and the least amount of appreciation. Although as the babies looked around, they pointed and made noises at the birds. Their parents, aunties and uncles took dozens of photos, making sure to get people in them as well as the sights.

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Although they were windblown and felt like blocks of ice by the time they returned, they really hadn't noticed until they went back to the nice warm interior of the boat to sit for a while. Breena, Artie and Susannah were already inside, with Hope, Rissa and the two babies. The four with Greek or Turkish ancestry blamed their Mediterranean blood and watched from inside, saying Andy had also been in and out. Victoria, Davey, Greg and Kyle stayed out nearly the whole time with their fathers, Grandpa, Uncle Ian, Aunt Sarah, Uncle James and the senior Powells. Granducky popped in and out, telling the others he didn't want Jilly and Jed to feel neglected. Liz, Claire, Penny and Maisie also did a fair amount of popping in to warm up before going outside for more upfront viewing. Although both babies did fine with their heavy caps and jackets, it was their mamas who were cold! Dave and Jim laughed at them and over dinner told several tales about windstorms on the sea and how they'd weathered them. Finally, Liz looked at her husband, "Was that when you two were sailing tall masted ships around South America with your hulls full of sacks of grain and bottles of rum, to reach the gold fields in California?"

That got even more laughs. After they ate, they wandered around the Wharf, finally returning to the bus at the agreed upon time. Jethro laughed when Tim climbed back on the bus with a new suitcase. "Look honey, room for more treasures."

She looked at him with a sheepish smile, pointing to the shopping bags next to her. "That's good, love, because I ah, went a little crazy."

"Eh, don't know if we'll get back here anytime soon."

Later in their room, they laughed as they discovered they'd each bought the other a gift as well as things for each of the kids and everyone at home. Tim admitted he'd found something he knew Tony would love, bought it for his birthday in July and shipped it home. Artie nodded, "I found things for the twins, Maggie, Yaya and Mama, had them all shipped."

She pulled Tim closer, whispering, "I think Sarah is pregnant." He grinned, also whispering, "I do, too. Did you see James hand her the ginger before the cruise?"

"No! We were in a shop that was next to a candy store and she had to leave. She insisted it was something in the shop there but I smelled chocolate from the candy store."

"She isn't through her first trimester, is she?"

"I don't think so. I can't imagine Edith or George being able to keep the news to themselves this whole week. Or Mom and Dad." She thought about it, "I'm guessing she's between 3 and 5 weeks, maybe just figured it out."

"Three weeks is the first of this month, 5 weeks…, ugh never mind, this is my sister!"

"What's wrong with…oh, I see. Five weeks might have been our ski weekend. You're right, let's not go there. I was queasy with Rissa by 3 weeks, before I'd even missed a period. I didn't have full-blown morning sickness until I was about 2 months along."

"I hope they're able to fly to New England with us."

"If Ducky, Jimmy and Rob are with us and she and the baby are healthy, she'll be able to go in June, she'll only be 5 or 6 months. If she's 5 or more weeks along, she'll probably have to forego Greece this year. Unless they drive." Artie thought about it for a minute, "Or take the train. They could ride from London to Sofia, from Sofia to Thessaloniki and south to Athens. It would take a few days but it can be done. Driving would be over 30 hours, and that's just time on the road." She laughed, "Or they could take the train to Venice, get on a cruise ship and get off in Athens."

"Sounds like too big of a deal."

Artie shook her head, "We could be wrong, she may not be pregnant at all."

Tim sat back, thought about it and then shook his head, "I think she is. Don't know how I know but I do."

"Ah, a new psychic ability!"

He snorted, throwing a pillow at her. Jed was once again sleeping in his sisters' room, leaving his parents free to engage in a pillow fight…and fun things.

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They were up early the next morning, Tim for his meeting and Artie because they heard Jed cooing to himself on the baby monitor; he was awake, hungry and ready to play. Tim kissed them goodbye as he hurried out the door, the rest of the kids still asleep. He laughed to himself, all that fresh air wore them out!

He was glad Secretary Porter needed him to fill in for her, giving them a reason to visit San Francisco. Although he hadn't said anything to Artie and would talk with Sarah, he felt a sort of relief for having visited their parents' graves. As if he'd connected his current self to himself as the young son of Dan McGee. He didn't have more memories but he had more knowledge and now visual proof that it had all been real, especially his mother.

His transport was just pulling up to the front of the hotel as he entered the lobby. After a mutual ID check, he followed the driver to the sedan. He'd studied the Secretary's notes, the agenda and background information on the flight yesterday and again last night. He smiled to himself; the meeting today had to do with constructing a plan and timetable to bring the fleet home from the ports it had been sent to 18 months ago, when the terrorists' attacks turned into war. Bringing the ships home also meant bringing the families home and that would take a lot of planning and coordination.

While he was getting ready this morning, he'd asked both Vance and Sailes if they had any more information about the war 'officially' ending. Both had said no but expected word in the next few weeks. Sailes added that they'd forestalled 5 attacks around the country, all on the calendar, since the stealth bust of the terrorists' leaders two days ago. He estimated they still had between 1500 and 3700 terrorists to arrest. Vance said he expected a massive effort for the last groups of terrorists, so that it would be done, complete, finished. He'd followed that message with another one saying, "Although we'll continue monitoring."

Now, as he rode through the City, Tim thought about timing. Wind and snow kept most people home, whether they were terrorists or not, and this winter had been a tough one for the Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the South. The forecasts he'd looked at predicted 6 more weeks of wintry weather in those regions, followed by spring and more flooding for those areas that had too much rain or excessive snow melt. The next few weeks would be an excellent time to round up the last of the terrorists, before the thugs planned more attacks.

At his destination, he smiled as he entered the building. This was going to be very interesting!

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Entering the meeting room, he immediately decided to use his full title when introducing himself. There was a mix of personnel, several Naval officers: a Captain, 2 Commanders, 2 Lieutenants, 2 Ensigns, and a lone Marine Lieutenant. He nodded to them, "Good morning, I'm Timothy McGee, Deputy Assistant Director of NCIS. After everyone introduces themselves I'll tell you how an NCIS AD got involved in this."

He nodded to the Marine Lt., who looked amused as she introduced herself. After her, the Navy officers stated their names, rank and why they were there. Two of them worked in the Pentagon, the rest had been selected from the Fleet.

When they'd finished, Tim said, "I'm here as an employee of the Department of the Navy. I'm a Navy brat, my father served as XO on the Enterprise and my uncle is an active duty Captain. I'm stationed in the London NCIS office, reporting to our Director for some responsibilities and to Secretary Porter for others. I manage a specialized team of agents stationed around the world and because of our work and their locations, I occasionally meet with them in person. When Secretary Cyrus asked Secretary Porter to attend a meeting on his behalf in Tokyo, she remembered I was on the West Coast on business and asked me to take this meeting." He smiled at them, "I'm excited about getting in on this, planning for the return of our fleet and our service members! It's been rough on everyone these past two years and it's encouraging to know planning has been taking place."

The Captain visibly thawed and the others relaxed. The Marine Lt. said, "I've been asked to join the group, reporting in to our Commandant. The Corps also needs a plan." Tim nodded his agreement.

After that, they got to work; Tim was impressed with what they'd already done. He gave them the SecNav's comments and questions, which led to an interesting discussion. The Captain finally turned to him, "Sir, do you have any questions or comments of your own?"

Tim nodded, saying, "I do. I reviewed what Secretary Porter sent me and then did some research of my own. I had a list of questions, which you've now answered, and a few suggestions, stemming from those answers."

He'd made brief notes while they were talking and those were enough to ensure he remembered the suggestions. When they'd discussed and adopted three of the four ideas he'd had, one of the Lieutenants asked how he'd come up with the ideas.

Tim smiled, "My own background, talking with people about their experiences and what I've seen with my fellow expats in London." He tilted his head, "I'm part of a very large family, I have ten adopted siblings and two more with whom I share DNA. During our lifetimes, several of us have been orphaned, refugees without resources and most recently all of us have been evacuees. While the Navy and the Corps were scrambling to get the fleet and your families to safety, nine of my siblings and their families were evacuated from DC, Maryland and Virginia. Three of us siblings, my wife, kids and our parents were already in the UK, so everyone came to us. Of those nine, 3 had their own businesses and had to leave them behind. They'd grown up as orphans, refugees from abusive relatives or foster homes, without resources. They graduated from high school, learned their crafts and then worked for over a decade to build their businesses. And had to leave them behind. I was due to transfer home in 2017. My wife and I bought a house in Virginia several months before so we wouldn't have to move twice. My orders were pulled three days before we were due to leave, because of the terrorists. We've never spent a day in that house, but that doesn't matter as much as the losses. The places I lived in growing up, where 8 of us grew up, are gone - firebombed and burned to the ground. One of the people we relied on while growing up was murdered by the terrorists. One of my agents escaped with his life only because the garage at his rental had doors at both ends, he was able to drive out onto the street behind his, while his neighbors were murdered and the neighborhood burned.

"There are a lot of American expats in the UK and we've met many, we host a Fourth of July party every year and I tell you, I can't wait to celebrate our birthday on the 4th and not on a weekend because other countries don't close down for America's Independence Day! Most are NCIS employees who were transferred over as part of the evacuation but they left in a hurry, just as you and your loved ones did. We're comfortable in the UK, the language is more or less the same, the Brits have been wonderful, and my kids have lived most of their lives there now - but it's not our homeland.

"That's basically where I started my thinking on this. Here we are, all 200,000+ American refugees, in various countries. No matter how involved we are with our host countries, how comfortable our lives are, we can't go home. That's the difference between transfers and evacuating. We can't go home, not without risking the lives of our families. Can't afford to take the kids to see Grandma and Grandpa because they now live 6000 miles away, not to mention a day long flight. Have to postpone that trip to Hawaii you've planned for years because it's even farther away and a longer trip. When you want to cry when you see a McDonalds or Walmart, you know you're fooling yourself about how well you've adapted to your current temporary home."

He huffed, "Having said that, I know personally and through my work that Navy and Marine families, all military families, are the most flexible, adaptable people on earth. Doesn't mean they don't need and deserve as much help as we can provide."

After a little more discussion and a goodly amount of progress, the meeting adjourned. Tim had stopped to grab a cup of coffee when one of the Navy officers, Commander Goetz approached him. "Don't know if you remember me but if you do, thanks for not saying anything."

Tim raised an eyebrow, looked at him and frowned, "A witness in…maybe my second year, not that you would know that. Was our female agent Todd or David?"

Goetz smiled, "Todd. I was a suspect and you looked like you were about 15. It was a Jane Doe case and there was a trident mark on the new victim, your ME remembered it. I'd been suspected the first time, 10 years before and got pulled back in."

Tim had to think about that. "I remember the trident, Ducky, our ME, had nothing to say about it, which was unusual. Oh my gosh, that was Cluxton! She was a PO at Norfolk, I'd worked at the base, she and I had been friendly and then I, well never mind, the important thing for you was that you were cleared."

"Your boss, who was and still is the toughest person I've ever met, made sure there was no doubt in anyone's mind that I was innocent, had not done anything wrong in either case. My career had been stalled for 10 years after that first Jane Doe but after that, I was promoted under the limited duty program and here I am, a commander! His name was Gibbs, I've always wanted to thank him. I'm sure you don't work for him anymore, have you kept in touch?"

Tim smiled, "During the meeting when I mentioned all the adoptions and my parents?"

Goetz nodded and Tim continued, "That's who adopted all of us, Jethro Gibbs. It turned out that my Navy father was my stepfather and Gibbs is my biological father."

"Wow, that's really something! Was your stepfather still the Executive Officer when the Enterprise was decommissioned?"

"No, he died when I was 9, never told me I wasn't his. Didn't find out until several of us, including Dad, had our DNA tested a few years ago. By then I knew I wasn't McGee's kid but since my original mother was also long dead, I had no idea who my father was. It didn't matter so much because of Gibbs adopting me but then, what a great surprise that was for both of us!"

"Then you must see him regularly."

Tim laughed, "Right now, he's probably helping my wife with our kids."

"He's close to you in London?"

"Yes. He and my mother, our adopted mother, live in a separate unit on the same property as us."

"Great! If you remember, will you please tell him…no, hang on a minute, I can do better than that." The commander stepped aside, took out a business card and wrote a short note on the back. "Will you please give him that when you see him?"

"I sure will, Commander, and again, congratulations!"

"And to you, Deputy Assistant Director! That's a long way from a 15-year old special agent."

Tim laughed, "I was 24 or 25!"

"Uh, you might tell him I'm now married to the man who alibied me."

"Congratulations again!"

"Thanks, we adopted 2 kids, so we're having fun raising them. How many do you have?"

"6, some adopted, some started out as ours."

"Wow, you're brave!"

Tim laughed, "I hear that a lot – or get asked if I'm out of my mind."

"Lot of kids out there who need homes."

"Yes, and there are even more now because of the war. My mother's been working remotely to help reunite or help place all the kids who were evacuated to Canada or the border states. It's tough with people in hiding or missing, it could be years before their status is determined. After my stepfather died, I was one of the orphans without resources that I mentioned and that should not happen, ever, to any child. And yet it does, every day." He shook his head, "Sorry, I get on my soapbox."

"It's not a soapbox when it's real and a personal experience."

When Tim's phone buzzed with a text from his driver, he shook hands with the Commander, saying goodbye.

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On the return trip from the City, he'd texted Sacks to see if San Diego was 'open for business'. He replied that it was, but not for him, that their directors had both expressed their wish that he not fly into San Diego. However, Orange County was a great airport, very close to D-land and then there were lovely beaches and fun things to do in Coronado, which was deemed safe for the Gibbs clan and a relatively short drive from Anaheim.

He'd no sooner read that message than he had a text from Porter that said, "Your flight today will deliver you to Orange County, home of The Mouse. Details in your email. Have fun, see you Sunday!"

There was a PS, a second text that said, "Already hearing great things about the meeting, wonderful!"

When he walked into their suite, Artie was helping the kids pack. She smiled, "Yay, there's Daddy" and gave him a kiss. The kids greeted him and he said, "I understand I have an email I need to read."

"Yes, please. Jethro had a text that we have a flight at 3:00 PM but not where we were going." Turning away from the kids, she winked at him.

"Hmm, I wonder if Victoria, Davey, Jilly, Ainsley and Cal would like to know too? And their parents, of course."

Andy grinned, "I'll get them, Papa."

"Thanks. Hey Andy, hang on. We should probably gather everyone. Are you guys ready for lunch?"

Artie answered for all of them, "Yes. And we already know where we want to go. There's a Chinese restaurant down the street that the front desk says is very good. We can walk."

"Yum, American Chinese food! Andy, how about you gather everyone for lunch, meet in the lobby in 20 minutes? I want to change and read the email."

"Ok, maybe Greg will want to help. Kyle's still packing."

"Sure son, just be careful please. Stay on this floor and take your phone with you."

Andy looked at him, "Papa, are we still in danger?"

"Not here, son, but the FBI is still telling me to be cautious."

"Ok. I'm glad we're not staying in the U.S. much longer. I could send a text out to everyone, to meet in the lobby in 20 minutes."

"Great!"

Tim disappeared into the bedroom, booting up his laptop and plugging his phone into the charger while he changed clothes. He'd forgotten to do that last night and it was nearly out of juice.

Reading the SecNav's email, he smiled. Their flight today would be courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security as partial compensation for putting him and his family through their terrifying ordeal on Tuesday. Then he realized she meant they were flying on a DHS jet!

They'd be delivered to a private airfield, where they'd be picked up and transported to…here he laughed out loud. They were once again staying in the same chain with the same room setups! This time, they'd nearly be on top of Disneyland, which would be very handy. He and Dad had already purchased tickets online for everyone, applying every discount they could find. Jilly and Jed were free, Penny, Ducky and Maisie had fairly generous discounts, the senior Gibbses had an okay discount, the Cranes and Hubbards had an active military discount and then he and his dad looked at each other, the discount eligibility actually said for employees of the Department of the Navy and that included all the Gibbses, the Mallards and the junior Powells. That left Susannah, Ian and the senior Powells. James and Ian had handed over some sort of membership cards for Disneyland Paris and now Tim discovered those would also apply here. That meant everyone was getting some sort of discount, which helped considerably. Not that he or Dad minded the expense!

With James' help, Dad looked for lodging in Coronado for Saturday night and found a place that only had suites so they'd booked in there. They'd stay two nights at the hotel near Disneyland. They'd hired a bus for the 90 minute drive to Coronado on Saturday. Tim realized he didn't have to worry about all the sourdough loaves, he could carry them aboard the DHS jet and SecNav's jet. That is if there were any left by Sunday. The kids had decided to buy the SecNav a thank you gift for letting them fly with her and bought her Ghirardelli chocolates, which they'd had gift wrapped so they wouldn't eat them and a couple of loaves of the sourdough, which they asked their dad to hang onto. After dropping them in London, she was going on to Germany to visit her daughter before circling back to Belgium for a NATO meeting. The family thought the sourdough loaves would be fun for mother and daughter to enjoy. The kids also had gifts for all their uncles, aunts, teachers and friends at home.

It was warmer today and some of them didn't even bother with sweaters as they walked to the Chinese restaurant. Seated at a long table big enough for the 28 of them and two high chairs, they all turned to Tim. He grinned, "Okay, ready? Here's where we're going today. Gus will pick us up at 1:00 and take us back to the airfield we flew into yesterday. We'll say goodbye to him and then get on a jet that will fly us to Orange County, California. Won't that be fun?"

James and Ian looked at each other, rolling their eyes. Ian said, "C'mon Tim, tell them the rest."

"I'm getting there. When we land, another bus will pick us up and take us to our new hotel, which will be just like this hotel and the one in Seattle, except for one thing."

Rissa giggled, "What, Daddy?"

"It's right next door to Disneyland."

All of the kids, even Ainsley and Cal, exploded with excitement and Tim was glad there were few other restaurant patrons. Even little Hope knew about Disneyland, Mickey and Minnie, Goofy, Donald Duck, Pooh Bear, Princesses, Mermaids and Pirates!

"Are we going tomorrow?"

"Yes. We'll spend the whole day tomorrow. When Jed and Jilly need to nap, we'll figure things out so all of you kids don't have to leave. And…we'll get to our hotel about 3:30 this afternoon, so after we've checked in, we thought we'd go over and take a look."

Greg was bouncing up and down, as excited as his little sisters while Kyle was busy telling Rissa, Davey and Victoria everything they needed to see. "Today, Papa, this very day?"

"This very day, Scooter bug."

"All right! That's so cool! You guys are the best ever!"

Hope looked at her parents, "Do I hafta nap?"

"How about you sleep on the plane and on the bus to the hotel?"

"Ok!"

Tim and Artie had already agreed to see how she did at the park on Friday. They'd take the stroller and if she nodded off, they'd stay at the park. If she was too excited to sleep in the stroller but needed a nap, they'd take her back to the hotel with Jed and Jilly.

"The pool at our next hotel is outdoors, too, so that will be fun."

"How long do we get to stay there, Daddy?"

"Until Saturday, Kyle, around lunchtime. Then our bus will pick us up again and we'll drive to a place that's close to San Diego but not in San Diego. We're staying close to a beach and there are lots of fun things to do. It won't be warm enough to swim, I think it'll be like Varkiza at Easter."

His kids nodded while Victoria and Davey looked at their parents. Jimmy said, "We can wade, put our feet in the water and walk on the sand, but it will be too cold to swim in the ocean. Tim, is there a pool at our Coronado hotel?"

"Yes there is and it's heated so it will be warm enough to swim in!"

Ainsley grinned, "Tim, are we staying in our same hotel there?"

"No, believe it or not! We're staying at a different hotel, where all the rooms are suites, with bedrooms and kitchenettes."

"Is Coronado where we're meeting uh, our flight on Sunday?"

"Yes. Well, it's where we'll meet the person who will take us to our flight."

Cal laughed, "I hope they know to bring a bus!"

Uncle Jim looked at his kids, his nephew and grandnephews. "Sunscreen and hats. That includes Greg and Kyle. As soon as we get off the plane today until we get onto the flight home on Sunday."

George Powell laughed, "I may bring Mouse ears for my boss! After all, I've only got a few months left to work."

Rissa giggled, "Grandpa, Grandma, you should buy Mouse ears for all your boys and girls. Then we can all wear them for a picture."

Tim, Ian and James smiled at that while Lu laughed and Jethro winked at his little granddaughter, pretty sure most of their 'boys and girls' would not want to do that. Then he laughed, "Rissa, you know how your parents take a family picture for your Christmas cards?"

She nodded and he said, "What if we did that for Grandma and my Christmas cards, with all of us wearing our Mouse ears?"

Andy's eyes widened, while his cousins looked at him, clearly feeling his horror. Grandma saved the day saying, "Maybe we could do two sets, one with the ears to send overseas and one for our friends in Europe. I'm not sure Mimi would be happy with a picture of human mice!"

Andy suddenly smiled, remembering phony glasses with fake noses that you could buy, he could disguise himself in those. Maybe all the kids would get them.

Jimmy laughed; while they were in Ottawa, they'd done some research and found an address for his Palmer mother. He loved the thought of sending her a Christmas card with his new parents and siblings all wearing Mouse ears. He smiled, they were already planning to have the kids' photos taken with Mickey or one of the characters, sending a copy to his brother. He looked at Breena, who smiled back at him, they'd tell everyone after they ate.

Their food arrived and they had a wonderful time tasting all the dishes. When they were served, everyone was given an empty plate while the food was placed on three Lazy Susans placed in the middle of the table. That way they could all share or eat the dish they'd ordered. As they finished eating, Breena, Jimmy, Ducky and the kids, except Jilly, stood up, all of them smiling. Breena said, "While we were in Ottawa, we drove to Ogdensburg, NY, about an hour away. For several months, we've been working online and through Skype with a social worker here in the States and met her in Ogdensburg. We also met Nat and Ben, brothers who are now our foster sons. We signed all the papers before we left but we didn't want them to miss a whole week of school, since it was their last week there. They're flying into the Orange County Airport this evening, we'll be there when the plane lands."

The family smiled as they were cheered and congratulated.

Jimmy answered questions, "Their full names are Nathan Samuel and Benjamin Joseph Myers. Nat is 8 ½ and Ben is 10 ½ . They're from Charleston, South Carolina. Their ancestors helped settle the city when it was first founded."

Kyle looked at his aunt and uncle, "What happened to their parents?"

"They were killed in a car crash coming home from a movie one night about 15 months ago. The boys weren't with them." Jimmy looked at Tim, who'd noticed he hadn't said it was a car accident.

Greg smiled, "Nat's 8 ½ , that's right between Kyle and me! And Ben is my age!"

"Yes, we thought about that. Nat's birthday is in June when we'll be in the U.S. again, we'll celebrate while we're in New England! Ben's is in early August."

Kyle chuckled, "His birthday is even between mine and Greg's. I'll be 7, Nat will be 9 and Greg will be 11 and Ben will be almost 11! And Davey's 6, Rissa's 5, Victoria's 4, Hope's 3, Jilly's 1 and Jed's almost 1!" He looked at Andy, "You have the older cousins, we have the younger ones!"

The adults weren't sure what to do with that, if anything, but Andy, Ainsley and Cal laughed and the moment passed.

The family congratulated the Mallards and Davey and Victoria beamed, happy to have 2 new brothers! Nat and Ben were flying with a social worker who would be officially on vacation once the Mallards met the boys at the airport.

After the happy news, the group hurried back to the hotel, the kids in a rush to finish packing and get on the plane. As they walked, Dad slid in next to Tim, "Hey kiddo. You didn't say which friendly skies we're flying today."

Tim chuckled, "DHS, as an apology for Tuesday."

"For what you went through? Because they'd have to do a lot more for sitting on that mess."

"Yes, it's for what we went through. I haven't heard any more from Vance or Sailes today, I asked this morning if they knew more about the war ending. SecNav told me to read my email and I asked Ron Sacks for an update on San Diego." He huffed, "I was a little afraid that if I contacted either of the directors, they'd either find something else wrong, or I would, or something else for me to do. As it is, I won't be surprised if SecNav drafts me to work with the group I met this morning."

"Which is?"

Tim looked around but Jim and Dave weren't anywhere around them, "Repatriating the fleet, the families and carrying that over with the Marines."

"That's great, kiddo, then the end is in sight! Is that something you want to be involved with?"

Tim huffed, "Yes, darn it! And I'm already involved, sort of, in Vance's plan to repopulate our offices."

"Sort of?"

"I did that analysis of our offices a few months ago. I had several suggestions to make for INV agents but told him they depended on what offices would be open. He teased me about it but told me some of his plans. And agreed with the suggestions I made." Remembering the conversation he'd had with Commander Goetz, he pulled the man's card from his wallet and handed it to his dad. "This is for you."

"Huh, who is this?"

"Fifteen years ago, we had a dead Jane Doe with a trident on her neck. Ducky had seen the mark on a Jane Doe 10 years before, he still had her ashes, and we pulled in a Chief Petty Officer who'd been a person of interest the first time around. The actual murderer was someone I'd known at Norfolk, the daughter of a former NCIS agent."

"Oh! The trident…" He lowered his voice, "Was that the gay CPO?"

"Yes. He looked familiar enough to me when I saw him that I figured I'd met him in a case but I didn't remember which one until after the meeting when he told me. He says the report you wrote to his CO and copied to Morrow and the SecNav resuscitated his career which had been stagnant since that first murder. Anyway, he wrote you a note on the back of that card. He's now a Commander, through the Navy's limited duty program."

Dad read the note, smiling. "That's great to hear, son. Good news is always welcome."

"He's married to the guy that was his alibi and they adopted two kids."

"Also great, two kids given a good home!"

Tim bit back a smile and his father rounded on him, "What?"

"I was in Interrogation with you during that case and I saw your face when he told us his alibi. You were totally surprised."

Dad chuckled, "Shocked is more like it. In all the years I was an active agent, he was the first man to admit that. Took guts but then I imagine he was sick of the whole case. Good thing they repealed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' afterward."

"Six years later."

They'd reached the hotel and walked up the stairs to their rooms. After he packed, Tim took the time to call Agent Tighe in San Diego. The man was relieved to hear from him, "All I was told was that your plans had changed. Is everything all right?"

"Now, yes. However, I'll only be in the San Diego area Saturday afternoon, in Coronado. Any chance we can meet then?"

"Yes, that's great, that's not far from me."

"Great, we'll be there by 1300, want to meet for a late lunch? Then we can do your evaluation and talk in person."

"Sure, sounds good. Do you know the area?"

"No, I've never been there."

"Oh, you're in for a treat then. Where are you staying? I'll pick you up. There's a restaurant on the beach that has great food." He chuckled, "Not just fish."

"Thank you for that."

After finalizing arrangements, they disconnected, Tim relieved he would be able to see his agent.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

It was 3:17 PM, perfect timing, as they climbed out of the bus that had transported them from the airfield in Orange County. Their rooms were ready, they piled everything on the baggage carts and headed for the elevator. Once again, they were on the same floor. Jimmy had called ahead to change their reservations to add a room for Ben and Nat. Knowing his grandchildren would be fully wired with the excitement of new brothers and Disneyland, Ducky had his own suite.

After doing a little unpacking, making sure they had sweaters for later, the temperature today was 68° F, the Gibbses, Mallards, minus Ducky and both babies, the Hubbards, minus Maisie, Powells and Clachers headed out for the park. The Cranes, Ducky, Maisie and Penny would meet them later for dinner but the five of them needed some downtime! When Liz and Dave offered to babysit Jed and Jilly, they were thanked and the babies happily settled with them.

Tim was glad they'd decided to go to the park that afternoon, to get started on their rides. Andy and Greg split off, going with the Hubbards to experience the rides for the 'older' kids. Greg was thrilled that he would be able to ride more than the little kids' rides. They'd meet Davey, Kyle and their parents for most of the 'older' rides but some of them were age restricted.

Sarah, James and the senior Powells offered to take Rissa, Victoria and Hope on the younger kids' rides. Tim and Artie pointedly did not look at each other, both thinking Sarah's avoidance of the 'wilder' rides was another piece of evidence that could point to an early pregnancy.

Once again, James and Ian had worked their magic, figuring out the best rides to hit for the littles and the bigs and those they could all ride together. They had a great time separately and later when they rode the rides they could all go on.

The Mallards left about 5:00, returning to the hotel to pick up Ducky and Jilly before meeting Nat and Ben at the airport. They'd arranged for roundtrip transport.

Those still at the park were ready for a break by dinner and were happy to see the babies with the older folks.

After a fun dinner, they had a few more rides before returning to the hotel. They were all tired and wanted to rest up for a full day at the park on Friday. They'd be there before the gates opened and this time, the babies would go with them, in their daddy packs. They'd also take a stroller but leave it in a locker on "Main Street". It was big enough for Hope and Victoria to ride in if they got tired.

The three boys stayed up after their sisters and baby brother went to bed, they wanted to meet their new cousins! It was nearly 8 by the time Uncle Jimmy knocked on their door, introducing them to Nat and Ben, who looked tired, missing their parents while happy and relieved to be with their new family and excited about going to Disneyland in the morning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The episode with the superheroes is "Secrets", Season 9, Episode 12 (#201 of the entire series). The episode with the trident and Ducky's Jane Doe is from Season 2, Episode 4, "Lt. Jane Doe". It's the 27th episode of the entire series.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed our brief visit to San Francisco, I had a lot of fun writing about some of my favorite places there while growing up northwest of the city, through the 'rainbow' tunnels. And yes, I am a 'sourdough snob'. I worked in the City after college, when the Big E (the Enterprise) was still berthed at Alameda. I remember one morning commuting across the Golden Gate Bridge and seeing the huge ship moving through the strait to go under the GGB (after we were across), through the bay and then under the Bay Bridge - by that time I was at the office, glued to the window with everyone else. It was, to quote a favorite character of mine, "Fascinating."


	88. Chapter 88

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter and Happy Passover!

Chapter 88

Before they left for Disneyland Friday morning, Tim, Greg and Kyle gathered at Tim's laptop to speak with Patrick. With their crazy schedule between now and reaching home, this morning was the best time to visit. When they pinged in via Skype, Bill answered from Pat's room. The boys had fun relating their adventures; however, at Tim's request, they didn't say anything about Tuesday.

Bill sat by Pat's bed, holding his tablet up so that if Pat could somehow see, he'd see his sons. He'd gone in a little early, although it was after his work day ended, spending time with his adopted brother, telling him the story of their family and holding his hand. Nikki was with him, although she was sitting with her brother, Erik. The curtain normally separating the two patients was open and she smiled at Bill, also listening to Greg and Kyle's excited chatter.

After signing off, the boys sat back, looking at their dad. "Is he ever going to wake up?"

Tim nodded, "I believe he is but I don't know when. Now come on, let's finish getting ready for more Mickey and Minnie!"

They had a wonderful day at the park. The adults rotated baby care so that the four parents could also have fun. That also meant Jed and Jilly napped comfortably at the hotel, watched over by one of their grand-or great-grandparents, aunts or uncles. The two newest members of the family, Ben and Nat, stuck close to their new parents and siblings, although they also joined in the fun with their new cousins.

Hope and Victoria spent some time resting, not sleeping, on Tom Sawyer Island. Sitting quietly, they each had a snack and then snuggled with their grandparents while favorite stories were read to them. Once they were recharged, they returned to the crowd for more fun with the Mouse and friends.

Kyle and Greg had decided not to talk about their trip to Disneyland Tokyo today, although they did compare the three parks between themselves. While the park they were in today was crowded, it was nowhere near as crowded as Tokyo had been. They felt safer here, knowing that was partly because they had so many of the family with them and partly because they understood everything.

After a day full of fun and laughter, the group left the park long enough to have a rest, meet for dinner at a restaurant outside the park and grab sweaters and jackets for the evening festivities. Hope fell asleep at dinner, was carried back to the hotel, gently changed and put to bed by her parents. Her daddy's godparents volunteered to stay with her, Jed and Jilly, who were also ready for bed.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Saturday morning, they relaxed a bit, meeting for breakfast. It was warm enough to swim and that's what they did, enjoying the sunshine as they swam. Even the babies went in, held by their daddies. Their little feet and legs were dipped into the warm water and everyone smiled as Jed and Jilly squealed, happily kicking up the water.

In an hour, everyone was out of the pool, drying off. Back in their rooms, they rolled their swimsuits in towels to soak up most of the moisture and then double-wrapped them in plastic bags. Once the Gibbs kids and their parents thought they were done packing, they did several room by room inspections, finding nothing but another stray hair scrunchie belonging to Rissa. Finally, they closed their suitcases and helped pile them on the luggage cart they'd brought up from the lobby. When their dad said he was glad they were driving, not flying, the kids agreed, they'd flown a lot this week and were glad the next flight would take them home.

Everyone and their luggage was downstairs in the lobby, right on time, when a bus pulled up, their ride to Coronado! Jethro, Tim and George watched the luggage go in while everyone else found seats.

The trip wasn't long, less than 2 hours and finally they were in San Diego County. They checked into their hotel, laughing because this one was different after their three stays in one hotel chain. Everyone but Tim went off to eat lunch while he waited for Agent Tighe.

What had started out as a meeting to go over his evaluation now would also include a discussion about the San Diego office, Tighe's new workmate and how they'd get their work done. Dorneget sent a text when he arrived Wednesday and as far as Tim knew, went straight to the hospice to see his grandmother. While his agent and friend would need access to the office and to be shown his workstation, Tim didn't expect to hear from him again before the they left for home on Sunday. While he wouldn't mind seeing him, he knew Ned's first priority was his grandmother.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Agent Tighe had two first names, R. Henry. His records showed that the 'R' stood for Roy; however, the agent preferred to be called Henry. He was 2 minutes early to pick Tim up; the two men greeted each other warmly. Tim told him how relieved he was to finally meet with him. Tighe smiled, "Me too. I knew it wasn't personal but nobody knew what was going on, or is going on."

Already knowing Tighe's security clearance was high enough, he'd been a senior agent when he transferred into the INV program, Tim told him, warning him that Homeland was still investigating. His agent stared at him for a full minute before he blinked, "How did you know who they were?"

Tim huffed, "That, I'm not allowed to say."

"Wow!" Then the agent shook his head, "I'm sure you weren't happy about it but I'm glad you were there!"

"I'm slowly coming to that conclusion."

Finally starting his car again, Tighe asked if he was still interested in eating at the café on the beach and Tim grinned, "Yes, please!" He chuckled, "There was an IHOP down the street from the hotel in Seattle and we ate there several times. You'd think we hadn't had pancakes or bacon since we left home! I had a bacon cheeseburger with avocado the first time we were there, with half the plate piled high with fries. And plenty of ketchup, thank you very much! It was delicious, all of it tasted wonderful! Although we'll be on diets for the next three months!"

Henry smiled, "Sometimes it's worth it. I loved the food in London and what we ate in Paris the weekend Gage, Dawson and I went over. Until I got home, I didn't realize how much I missed some things."

Tim nodded, saying, "Exactly!"

Once at the café, they found a table outside. They were the first ones on the patio and the hostess switched on one of the overhead heaters telling them it was on low. Deciding to handle the evaluation while they had the patio to themselves, Tim was pleased with his agent's reaction. Henry was both surprised and pleased at the promotion and accompanying raise in pay. When he thanked Tim, his boss chuckled, "You earned it! This is how our career path will work. As far as what affect this will have on your responsibilities, I have a few ideas. For the near future, they're tied in with what's happening with Agent Dorneget." He added that he and the director had spoken with the San Diego/Northwest office SSAIC.

Tim briefed him, telling him only that Dorneget had a family emergency in the area and while he was in California would be working as if still in Japan. Tighe frowned, "He's senior in Asia, he's senior everywhere, Tim, he was your first agent, right?"

Tim nodded and Henry twisted his lips, "How is that going to work?"

"You're senior here, he's senior in Japan, albeit working remotely. There shouldn't be any overlap."

"FEFO is one of the offices I'm interested in moving to."

"I know and I thought of sending you in his place. However, I don't know how much Dorneget will be able to work in the next few weeks. I can't have both San Diego and Yokosuka shorthanded."

"Oh. I was going to offer to TAD over there until his situation is resolved."

"I thought of that, too; however, there isn't anyone to step into your spot here. It's a bit choppy, but for the time being, he'll work Japan and you'll keep going with your responsibilities here. I will send you a floater, once we've hired and trained the next class of INV agents."

He smiled, "The war won't last forever and when it's safe, Vance will start moving agents stateside, start repopulating offices. He wants several of us already in place, to avoid as much chaos as possible."

Tighe grinned, "INV to the rescue!"

"Exactly. We'll add another agent to the FLETC center, one to the Wisconsin FBI office, where Great Lakes is currently housed, and one here. I'm also negotiating to add an agent to the Corpus Christi office."

"Great! Uh, I'm sure you know how cramped that FBI office is in Wisconsin and the Corpus Christi office…"

"Is so small our agent will have to work in his or her car or from home."

Henry chuckled, "Yes."

"The director is working on making some adjustments there. If the agent is ready before the office is, we'll get her or him set up to work from home." He shook his head, "And that brings us back to San Diego. I need a senior agent here and in Yokosuka and I can't spare anyone to move, that would just leave us with another empty spot. For the time being, Dorneget will work his off-hours, Sunday through Thursday, 1600 to 0100, and you'll continue as senior agent here. That brings me to my next question…" He stopped as their server delivered drinks and took their lunch order.

"Where would you like to go?"

"My wish list?"

When Tim nodded, Henry sat back in thought. "Hawaii, that would be a great location for a floater between the West Coast, the office at Pearl and some of the Asian offices. Next would be Yokosuka; I was an exchange student my junior year of high school, in a town north of Tokyo. I've always dreamed of going back to live. That's actually my first choice, over Pearl."

"And?"

He grinned, "Marseille, Athens, Rota. Or Naples, although I'm not sure I want to be housed smack in the middle of a JAG office."

They both laughed at that.

"Nothing else in Asia?"

"No but I forgot Australia! If you ever need another agent in Perth, I'm your guy."

"That's a good list, thanks. Another question, do you speak any German?"

"I used to, haven't spoken it in years. Are you putting one of us in Hamburg?"

"I might. Their caseload is growing and I'd rather place an agent there than add another floater in Europe." Tim smiled, "We'll see. For the time being, I need you in San Diego. You and Dawson are anchoring the entire country. Once Dorneget returns to work full-time, we'll take another look."

"Just to clarify, when he does return to work full-time, he'll still be working remotely?"

Tim nodded although he didn't say any more. Their food arrived and the two dug in. As they ate, Henry asked Tim what his take was on all the rumors.

"Rumors?"

"About DC, the White House."

Tim raised an eyebrow. "I haven't heard anything. Are they anything specific?"

"No, that's the weird thing; in the past it's been who was about to be fired or was in trouble, but these are not specific. Just that there's something." Tighe huffed, "It's like people mumbling to themselves but nobody is willing to say what they're mumbling or where they got the idea to mumble or information to mumble about."

"Have you run into that before?"

"Never, although there have been a lot of rumors in the last few years."

Tim shrugged, "No clue. I haven't heard any mumbling or about any mumbling in the UK. I watch the U.S. news, follow the issues and read what I can but I haven't seen or heard of any rumors. At least nothing new."

Tighe tilted his head, "There's a general unease."

"Not the war?"

He shook his head, "In addition to the war. Although people are really starting to wonder when this war will be over."

Tim nodded, "Let's hope it's soon." Changing the subject, he told the other man a little about their adventures at Disneyland. With a huff, he said, "We've been planning to take the kids to Disneyland Paris for part of their term holiday. But that's in the first part of April, don't know if my wife and I will want to go again so soon."

"How different is it from Anaheim?"

"It's a little different. Hard to explain, I guess I'd say the ambiance. My wife and two of our kids went to Disneyland Tokyo last year; I haven't had the chance to ask them what differences they noted."

He looked around, "You know, we lived in San Diego for a couple of years when I was a kid. Navy brat, we transferred in from Okinawa and my sister was born here. I think I was 7 when we transferred to NAS Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco. Apart from the tree in our backyard, I don't remember much."

Henry grinned, "There's always a lot going on here and of course the Navy has a huge presence. Although business is firmly entrenched, there's also an undercurrent that I call a 'surfer' vibe along with a determined and sincere effort to keep southern California's history intact. I think the surfer vibe is probably a holdover from the last century, the city is pretty businesslike these days. Still, it's a coastal city with a lot of interesting history."

Tim nodded, "The air feels good here. Wish we had more time to look around."

"Next time!"

"Absolutely! We'll come here first."

After Tim paid the bill, the two walked on the beach, mostly talking about their work. As the news of Ellie's appointment as Tim's deputy would be released to the agency on Monday, he told his agent, who responded with a smile, "That's great and I bet it's a relief to you."

Tighe went on his way after dropping Tim back at the hotel, both noticing a small bus parked there. Tim chuckled, "I bet my dad rented that for the day, it's easier with the kids, especially with the babies."

When he entered their suite, he found Jed and Jilly sound asleep, watched by Grammie and Claire who were on the shaded balcony playing cards. Greeting both, he offered to stay with the littles but his grandmother and aunt shook their heads. Claire said she was holding out for the beach and Grammie agreed, adding that the babies should be awake in the next 30 minutes.

Changing into his swim things, he joined his family in the pool, greeting his wife with a kiss. He smiled, "I hear the babies should wake in the next half hour, let's plan to head to the beach then. Whoever rented the bus, thank you! Let's take it to the beach, it'll be easier to get back."

Uncle Dave grinned at him and he grinned back. Life was good today. When he thought about it, he realized every day since Tuesday had been good. And since they'd survived Tuesday, everyone in the airport and in San Diego, not just his family, life was exceptionally good. Saying a fervent thank you, he sat in the water with Kyle, Davey, Rissa, Victoria and Hope, playing with them. Then he decided to swim and challenged Andy to a race, ending in a tie. Greg was next and beat his father. He and Kyle raced laps across the pool and that also ended in a tie.

They played in the water for several minutes more before Jed and Jilly appeared, in the arms of Maisie and Claire. Once they'd all dried off a bit, they piled into the bus and drove the few blocks to the beach.

They played along the edge of the water and in the sand for several hours, only packing up after Ian wrapped a towel around his shoulders for warmth. That's when they noticed how late it was! Shedding as much sand as possible, they got back on the bus, warm from sitting in the sunshine and drove back to the hotel. After everyone had showers and warmed up, they met for dinner downstairs in the restaurant. Jethro had already called down to ensure they had a table that would fit 30 people and 2 high chairs.

Jimmy told Tim later that Ben and Nat were very impressed with their new family. Tim laughed, "I would be, too! Their first full day with you was spent at Disneyland with Mouse Ears and treats galore. Their second day was spent in a heated pool and on a beach with palm trees. I would have been in 7th heaven!"

"They were confused when we told them we'd homeschool them their first week of school. When I told them you were doing that with your kids, they seemed to relax. They've never had jet lag before and neither of us thought to explain it to them. Ben said they'd worried they were sick when they needed to sleep so much."

Tim shook his head, "Never crossed my mind either. Oh well, live and learn! Are you staying home with them or Breena?"

"We'll alternate. We'll both be home Monday, then I'm on for Tuesday and Wednesday, then Breena will do Thursday and Friday. Jilly and Victoria will go to the nursery, they can sleep there and we'll homeschool Davey, too."

"Yeah, we're doing the same thing, taking Jed and Hope to the nursery. Hope will want to see all her friends and with Rissa and the boys doing their schoolwork between naps, it won't be much fun at home. Artie and I will both work at home; I won't even try going into the office! Did you talk to the headmaster from here?"

Jimmy shook his head with a laugh, "We've been working on this for months! When we were finally told we could have the boys, we made an appointment with the headmaster. He's excited about the boys, they'll have to be tested for placement, of course. In the meantime, they gave us several assignments for next week. Some of it is math and some is history, I haven't looked at the rest. The history should be interesting since neither of us knows much about British history. Did you, when you got here?"

"Not really. In school we learned about 1066, the Battle of Hastings when William the Conqueror won. And King John and the Magna Carta. Henry the Eighth, Elizabeth I, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, uh, maybe a little more. Oh, Oliver Cromwell. King George III. And…some WWII information. If we were taught anything about Great Britain and WWI, I sure don't remember. World War II was Churchill, the Battle of Britain, the air raid shelters. I think that was about it and some of that might have been my own reading.

"I've always loved the UK. When Pat and I were little, we had friends next door who were transferred to the UK. I was the same age as one of the kids, we were both due to start kindergarten and I remember being upset that she wouldn't be with me. After that, I was always interested in anything that happened in the UK because my friend Tanya lived there."

"Did you ever see them again?"

"Yes! Her dad worked for a global engineering firm and they lived all over the world. On their way from Bangkok to somewhere, Boston I think, they stopped for a few days in San Francisco, we were in Alameda, and saw them. Tanya, her brother, Pat and I had been pen pals so it was fun to see them again. They had a little sister, Kathy, whom we hadn't met and of course they hadn't met Sarah." Tim frowned, "Jimmy, how come I remember them? I don't think I did before now."

"When you woke up in the hospital, did you remember any of your friends? I know you retained general knowledge."

"Yes, I remembered two of my best friends, Mark and Mikey, one of my teachers, Mrs. L and my Scout Master, Mr. C. I didn't remember anyone's full names, still don't."

"Do you remember Mikey or Mark's last name? Or Tanya's?"

Tim thought about it before shaking his head. "No. I remember being impressed that her dad worked for a company that sent him around the world and Bangkok sounded so exotic to me. So I remembered that they were our friends and some details but really only the stuff a kid would know?"

"I think your experiences were so traumatic, you lost everything but your friends' names."

"But it was brain damage, which is physical. Trauma is psychological, emotional. I know there's physical trauma too but that's different."

"Maybe, Tim. There's more information about that now, that sometimes what appears to be permanent brain damage is actually deep trauma."

Tim's eyebrows flew up and Jimmy hurried to add, "This is recent, since you reconnected with Penny, the Hubbards and the Cranes. We decided, Rob, Ducky and I, not to say anything unless the subject came up."

His brother frowned, trying to take it all in, finally looking up. "Can we do anything about it?"

"They haven't conclusively proved the deep trauma vs. brain damage yet, much less developed a treatment of any kind."

"Does anyone else know?"

"No. If we weren't going to tell you, we weren't going to tell anyone."

"Thank you for that and for telling me now, Jimmy." He hugged him.

Back in their suite after dinner, Tim plugged in his laptop and Googled the elementary school he and Pat attended in Alameda. Then he Googled their teaching staff from the last year he was there. And smiled at the photos, he recognized Mrs. L, whose full name was Carol Lattanzio. He Googled her name and sighed at the obituary he found. Back on the school site, he looked up the class list for that same year and sat back in relief when the list and photos came up. Finding Mikey and Mark, he wrote down their last names, sometime he'd Google them, too.

He and Artie tucked the littles into bed and then played cards with the older kids. When Rissa and Kyle went to bed, they left Greg and Andy on their own until their own bedtimes.

In the living room, Artie sat down with a whoosh and Tim sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her. "Glad we're going home?"

She nodded, "Except for Tuesday and part of Wednesday, this has been fun. Although I thought my terror at the airport on Tuesday would overshadow everything, it hasn't."

He sighed, burying his face in her hair, "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"You? You did everything right, love! You saved us and who knows how many people!"

"Thank you for that. I wish none of it had happened at all."

"Of course. Have you heard what caused the delay in communications?"

"No. It won't happen again; State is sending an additional copy of new information directly to the FBI. As far as I know, Homeland doesn't know that."

"So they can trap whoever sat on the information?"

"At least investigate him or her." Lifting her hair, he kissed her ear as she made a happy noise.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Putting the babies in their daddy packs, the group walked back to the beach the next morning, Dad and Mom driving the bus down with Penny and Maisie riding with them. After nearly an hour's walk on the beach, they bowed to the growling stomachs among them and everyone climbed into the bus before heading for a family-friendly restaurant for breakfast. Although it wasn't IHOP, Tim noticed most of the adults had some version of crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns and/or pancakes. He had an omelette with fresh spinach, bacon and avocado, accompanied by perfectly crisp hash browns. And one of his grandmother's plate-sized pancakes.

After breakfast, they returned to the hotel where they had one last swim, showered, changed, rinsing their swimsuits and drying them in the machines provided for guests. By 1400, they'd returned the rental bus and had all the luggage on carts in the lobby. Their transport, two stretch limos, arrived on time, the drivers quickly and efficiently handling the baggage. The Gibbses, Mallards and Clachers rode in one limo with everyone else in the second limo.

It was a fairly short drive to the airfield where they unloaded everything, even the carry-ons, to be inspected. The carry-ons were handed back to their owners, the kids laughing when Tim checked to make sure the sourdough bread was still there. There were 8 loaves left of the 10 that left San Francisco with them. Each was tightly wrapped, in hopes of preventing it going stale. The Gibbses planned to share two or three loaves for dinner on the jet tonight.

Secretary Porter warmly greeted them, welcoming the new Mallard boys and kissing Jilly and Jed. She looked at Tim, "Agents all squared away?"

"Yes, ma'am. And on behalf of Agent Dorneget, thank you."

"He was in time?"

Tim nodded, saying, "His grandmother rallied a little when told he was on his way."

She returned his nod, understanding he was reluctant to talk about his agent's private business.

Once they were seated, the Secretary walked the length of the jet, looking at them. "Our attendants asked what time we wanted to eat lunch and dinner. I thought we'd better ask as I'm on a very different schedule than you!"

She was standing by Kyle and he looked up at her with a hopeful expression. Lightly touching his shoulder, she chuckled, "Reading Kyle's face, I'm guessing you'd like lunch soon after we're in the air?"

The flight attendants were right behind her and listed the options for lunch, adding that once they were in the air, they'd come around and make a list of who wanted what.

Tim didn't think he'd had a smoother take-off but then these were Navy pilots, if they weren't the best, they wouldn't be flying the Secretary of the Navy. He settled in for a nap, rousing long enough to choose what he wanted for lunch before closing his eyes again. He roused again when Hope crawled into his lap, staying awake long enough to stretch his seatbelt and arms around her. Next time he woke, Kyle was with him, quietly reading. This time, he kept his eyes open and sure enough, their lunches were delivered a few minutes later.

The San Francisco sourdough loaves were accepted with many thanks as they were having pasta and meatballs for dinner. Madam Secretary's face gave away her delight when gifted with two loaves. "Thank you! I'll share whatever is left with Megan."

Once they'd eaten lunch, many of them got up to move around. The babies were napping in their portable cribs at the rear of the plane, the cribs and the babies securely strapped. The younger kids had fun doing some gymnastics, a few somersaults and handstands, while the adults walked.

Inevitably, the flight was long. Glad for their walk on the beach and swim that morning, the adults made sure they walked for a good portion of every hour. Once the babies woke, they played some marching music and everyone 'marched'.

When they weren't walking, they watched movies, read, played cards and played with the babies who were very happy to have so many playmates!

Eventually, everyone settled down, occasionally getting up to move around in between naps. Dinner was served, everyone enjoying the sourdough, now sliced, buttered and heated.

After dinner, Tim played cards with Andy, Greg and Ainsley before settling in to read. He woke when the flight attendant announced they were beginning their descent into London.

They landed at 8:30 AM, UK time, Monday morning. After arranging for a car service home, once again they'd be in a bus, they gathered everything they'd brought aboard, donning their warmer jackets and gloves, it was 43° F, outside. Hope, the babies and some of the older folks also wore hats.

The Gibbses, Powells and Clachers were last out of the bus close to 10:30, glad to be home. The Clachers and senior Powells would take trains home to Edinburgh and Castleton, respectively, later that afternoon. George and Edith had momentarily considered taking an early train straight to work on Tuesday but decided if they didn't go home that afternoon, they might not ever go! Besides, who wanted to lug all their suitcases and paraphernalia into work?

Tim had to resist kissing the walls of the Manor when they walked in, he was so relieved they all made it home safely. Charlotte was there to greet them, reporting that all was well. Before any of the travelers sat down, their belongings were delivered to their rooms, although in the case of the Clachers and the senior Powells' stayed two feet inside the front door. While everyone was tired, no one was sleepy, even Jed was wide awake. After his parents inspected the house for any dangers, he was given the floor and with a happy squeal, busily reacquainted himself with their home, crawling all over.

Monday passed quickly as they slept, ate, walked and started normal tasks, such as schoolwork for the kids. James, Artie and Tim checked their work email, all three managing to get some work done between naps. Sarah drove the Clachers and her in-laws to the train station. While it was always difficult to say goodbye to Susannah, Ian, Edith and George, Sarah was looking forward to some time at home and knew she'd see all four in a little more than a month, for their Easter vacation.

By Friday, everyone was generally over the jet lag. The kids had finished their school work, including new assignments they'd been given yesterday. The Mallard kids had been over several times, to play and to help Ben and Nat acclimate to the family and their new lives. Both were happy when their new cousins promised to walk or ride to school with them on Monday. Andy and Greg reassured Ben and Nat that their teachers were both nice people and good teachers. The new boys had been to three different schools since losing their parents; this was the first time they'd had anyone close to their own ages to help them.

Although they hadn't really planned it, everyone but the DiNozzos showed up at some point on Saturday and they had a impromptu family dinner. Bec and Geordie, who'd returned from their Australian honeymoon the same day Tim was identifying terrorists, arrived first, along with Charlotte. They were followed by Barry and Alan, Freddie and Abby, the Mallards, Rob and Ellie and lastly, Bill and Nikki. Joe was already there, of course. Mindful of the children, Charlotte had moved back to her flat on Monday and he missed her a great deal.

Although Jimmy and Breena had told their foster sons about their huge family, Nat and Ben were still overwhelmed. When everyone was there, Greg stood on a chair and whistled, so like his grandfather that half the group looked to Jethro. He shook his head, gesturing to Greg.

"Hello everyone! We're really glad to be home but we need your help. When Kyle and I were new to the family, we met everyone gradually and it was easy. Victoria learned who you were when she was a baby, Davey met people gradually and then he and Victoria met more people here. Andy and Rissa met Aunt Sarah, Uncle Rob and Uncle James first and then the rest of you at Christmases. Like Victoria, Hope's known you since she was a baby and Jed and Jilly will learn your names that way too. But for our new cousins, Ben and Nat, there are too many names and too many faces to remember! Andy, Kyle, Davey, Rissa, Victoria, Hope and I made name tags for everyone here. They pin on so please don't throw them away, keep wearing them to family things until Nat and Ben know us all."

Andy stood next to Greg, grinning, "We should probably save them for the next new people anyway. We've put them in alphabetical order on the kitchen table. Please don't mess them up!"

Ben and Nat looked around as everyone headed for the kitchen. Andy looked at them, "Go on, you each have a name tag too! Aunts and Uncles need to know which one is Nat and which one is Ben."

Nat laughed, looking at Andy, "Where's your name tag, Greg?"

The kids laughed, they knew Nat was teasing.

Once everyone had their name tags on, Ducky, Lu and Jethro quietly conferred and then Jethro whistled. "All right, since the kids have done such a great job with the name tags, let's line up; Ducky, your Mom and I will top the line. Since the DiNozzos aren't here…he looked at Tim who grinned, "That's a great idea, Dad, I'll see if they're home."

Tim sent Tony a text and grinned when his laptop pinged a few minutes later. He quickly explained what they were up to and Maggie gathered the twins while Tony quickly made name tags for them. Now it was time to line up!

Jimmy stood next to his mother, holding Tim's laptop with the DiNozzos on screen. Nat and Ben, escorted by Victoria and Davey, walked down the line, giggling as they said hello to Granducky, Grandma and Grandpa. They stopped to say hello to the oldest Gibbs kid, Uncle Tony, on screen with Aunt Maggie, their cousins Jackson, Diane and Aunt Maggie's father, who was Uncle Colonel. Bill and Nikki were next. Nikki was surprised and happy to see the kids had made her a name tag, she smiled as Charlotte and Alan picked theirs up too.

The kids continued down the line with all the uncles and aunts. Next to Uncle Bill were Geordie and Bec, then Barry and Alan, Freddie and Abby, Joe and Charlotte, Tim and Artie, their cousins, with Andy holding Jed, their parents who were both laughing and holding Jilly, then Sarah and James, Rob and Ellie.

To make things even easier for them, Greg took a photo of each person wearing his or her name tag, printing out two copies of each one. Kyle suggested printing out photos of the senior Powells and the Greek family and Andy said that was a great idea, they could do that right before they left for Greece.

As no one felt like cooking anything elaborate, Geordie and Bill went to the store, returning with enough frozen lasagnas, fresh onions, garlic and fresh greens for salads, to feed everyone, along with several containers of ice cream for dessert. Bill selected a separate, smaller ice cream container for Nikki.

Donning masks and gloves, Tim and Rob sliced and sautéed the onion and garlic while the lasagnas started their bake. Because they wore the masks and gloves, Nikki was fine with eating the lasagna, she knew the brand, had eaten it before with no problems. Sarah, also donning a mask and gloves, made a salad, adding everything but the salad dressing before separating a generous serving for Nikki.

Once the lasagnas had thawed enough, the sautéed slices of onion and garlic were carefully stirred into the sauce.

Artie and the kids dug out the supply of disposable plates, cups and cutlery, setting them up in the kitchen. Then they set the dining table, Artie directing them to use place mats instead of a table cloth.

As the group moved toward the dining room, grabbing disposable plates and cutlery on the way, the lasagnas were brought in and carefully placed on the hot pads the kids put down. James and Ellie poured water for the adults and milk for the kids. Various bottles and jars of salad dressing stood with the two large bowls of salad. Nikki smiled at the bottle next to her place, her name on the label. Using a glove she no longer felt awkward using, she poured what she wanted on her bowl of salad, returning the bottle to the refrigerator.

Those who'd been on the trip were surprised to see slices of sourdough bread on the table and Tim chuckled when he noticed Breena counting the days since they'd left San Francisco. "This is sourdough from the American Food Store in London. I wrote the people in San Francisco about distributing here but I haven't heard back." He paused before saying, "We ate the rest of the California sourdough. It was gone by Wednesday."

As everyone sat, four people remained standing and Jethro and Lu smiled at each other. After a silent consultation between the four, Bill took Nikki's hand, "I've asked Nikki to marry me and she said yes! We already planned to travel to the U.S. in June with whoever else is going. Nikki's aunt and cousins will meet us there, as soon as we decide where 'there' is and we'll be married with both families in attendance. We don't want a lot of paperwork or anything fancy, we do want family."

The couple smiled happily as the family cheered. Next were Joe and Charlotte who were laughing, "We're engaged and also want to get married in the States in June. We also want a simple wedding, although there won't be an aunt and the only cousin will be Bec, unless we can borrow Nikki's relatives."

More cheers and now the family stood, applauding. After that died down, Freddie and Abby stood while those who knew them best tried to hide their shock. With a laugh, Freddie announced that he'd given up his studio flat. This was greeted with as much enthusiasm as the two engagements. This was, indeed, a huge step for the couple, to formally live together.

Barry was relieved when no one turned to look at him or Alan. They were doing fine together but were nowhere near making any kind of announcement.

Later that night at the Mallards, Ben asked his foster mother if things like that always happened at family dinners. She smiled, saying, "I don't know about other families but at our family dinners, yes."

"It's fun, everyone likes each other."

Jimmy laughed at that, "That's probably because we were all friends before we became a family, before Granducky, Grandma and Grandpa adopted most of us."

"Adopted?"

"Yes, the only one who isn't adopted, no, that's not right either. Do you know what DNA is?"

"Sure, it's the stuff that says where our ancestors came from."

"Okay, you met your mom's sisters, Aunt Alyssa and Aunt Colleen?"

The boys nodded. They both had kids, it was easier to remember people with kids.

"Your mom, Alyssa and Colleen share DNA. They have the same parents. You two share DNA, you had the same parents."

They nodded and their foster dad continued, "In our immediate family, Victoria and Jilly share DNA with each other and with me and with Breena."

"What about Davey?"

"We adopted him, the same as we want to do with you."

"Oh!"

"Your Granducky adopted me so I would be his son and have a father and then your grandma adopted me so I would be her son and have a mother."

"You didn't have either?"

"My father died when I was about Ben's age and my mother, well my mother decided she didn't want to be a mom anymore so she sent us away. Oops, I forgot my brother! He's named Steve and I share DNA with him!"

"Is your mother still around?"

"Yes, but we don't see each other or talk."

"Where's your brother, does he live in Europe too?"

"No, he lives in New Zealand. Let's get the globe and I'll show you where that is."

When they were all gathered, Davey and Victoria joining them, Jimmy had the kids find New Zealand, telling them to look toward the 'bottom' of the globe.

"Wow, that's really far away!"

"Yes, it is!"

"Does he ever come here?"

"No but maybe he will someday. He has two children, so I share DNA with them too."

Jimmy gathered the kids again, "In the big family you met today, only a few people share DNA. Grandpa shares DNA with Uncle Tim, cousin Andy and cousin Jed. Uncle Tim shares DNA with Andy, Greg, Kyle, Jed, your aunt Sarah and another uncle you haven't met yet. His name is Patrick and he lives in a hospital in London. We'll tell you more about him as you get used to everyone and everything."

"Grandpa only has 1 kid?"

"He only shares DNA with one kid. The rest of us are still his, he adopted all of us."

"Wow, that's a lot!"

"Yes, it is. We all knew each other for awhile before he adopted us; we were friends first."

"How come Uncle Tim shares DNA with more people than his dad does?"

"Because Aunt Sarah and Uncle Tim have the same mother but different fathers. Grandpa is Uncle Tim's dad and a man called Dan McGee was Aunt Sarah's dad."

"Ooh." They knew kids who lived with a mother or father who weren't theirs. "Like steps?"

"Yes."

"Dad, who did your mother send you to?"

"My father's aunt. We lived in her house until we left for college."

"Was she nice?"

"She was polite but she wasn't like a mom. She had a nice house, bought food and clothes for us."

"Oh. Do you like having a mom now?"

They smiled as their dad's face lit up. "I sure do! A mom and two dads!"

"Is Grandpa your other dad?"

"Yes and someday I'll tell you about that if you want but I think that's too much information right now."

Jimmy told Breena that night he was glad the boys were interested but he hoped he hadn't dumped too much information on them. She smiled, "I watched their faces, they really wanted to know. I think it helped them to realize they aren't the only kids who've lost their parents. I think of all of us Gibbses, Mallards, Powells and DiNozzos, Lu, Bec, Ellie, Maggie, James and I are the only ones who made it through childhood with 2 parents."

"Or any parents. Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. Dad's father died young as did Jethro's mom." He kissed his wife, "Our kids will be different, they'll have three generations guiding them through, two parents, multiple grandparents and great-grandmothers."

"Will you let Steve know about the boys now or wait until the adoption is final?"

"I'll tell him now. I want to be part of his life and hope he'll want to be part of mine. That means communicating things as they happen."

"Good point."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim rode into the City with James and Jimmy Monday morning. Although he'd worked with his agents in Seattle, took a meeting for Secretary Porter, met with Tighe in San Diego and worked from home last week, he felt as if he'd been away far longer than 2 ½ weeks.

The three laughed at each other as each had souvenirs for their staff. Jimmy and James had worked in the office last week but decided to wait until Tim returned to bring everything in. Tim and James had theirs in their laptop cases, which were bulging, while Jimmy had his in a tote bag.

Tim went into his office first, curious to see if there were stacks of anything on his desk. There were a few folders but nothing unusual. Removing the souvenirs from his laptop case, he walked into the bullpen, smiling at Bec, her junior, Ellie and Ray who appeared to be working on reports or cold cases. "Good morning!"

They greeted him warmly, Ellie telling him that McCoy had worked an all-nighter with Watson and Bailey. "The logs show her leaving at 0530 this morning. I told her not to even check in until her regular time tomorrow. Tighe is in already, he's working with Watson, Bailey and Estes."

Tim frowned, "Did he work yesterday?" Looking at his watch, 0730 here meant it was still 'yesterday', that is Sunday, at 2330 PM in San Diego. "I mean all day Sunday?"

Ellie shook her head, "No, he logged in at 1914. I asked him how he found out but I haven't heard back. If he's neck deep I didn't want to bug him." Tim nodded in agreement, saying, "At the start, it was the three of them?"

"Most of the time. Estes, Centeio and Gage were in off and on."

"So the levee is holding for now."

When she gave him a look, he motioned her into the office, first putting the souvenirs on top of a bookcase and telling Ray, the junior and Bec to pick one and to please tell the others when they came in. Then he reached back and took two, one for McCoy and one for him. Ray nodded at the one he took for Kendra.

Closing the door, he told his new deputy about Dorneget. She looked sad, "Poor guy. I'm glad he got there in time."

"Yes. I checked my email this morning, no news. But it's left us with a big hole, short our most experienced agent in Asia. And we don't have enough experienced agents available to ship over there. If it gets worse, I'll go over. I only speak a few words of the language but that will have to be enough."

"I thought Dorneget was going to work…oh, that was before his grandmother went into hospice?"

Tim nodded and she sighed. "Piro?"

"Maybe, there was an obstacle last week but I'll check with him this morning. I could send him as a TAD. We've got the resources here to cover Europe and help McCoy." He huffed, "We're the only region that's fully staffed. You're as experienced as Ned but I need you here."

"Are you sure? Because I bet Vance needs you here more than you need me here."

He started to shake his head and then looked at her with a frown. She continued, "You, Ned, Race and I, we're the four most experienced. Followed by Watson, Tighe, Gage, Dawson and Esposito. Europe's covered, three of us seniors are here. How long do you think it'd be?"

Tim made a noise, "Until his grandmother passes. Once Ned returns to work full-time, I'll assign him to San Diego and transfer Tighe to Yokosuka."

"So the gap is right now?"

"Yes. And we've already had an example of what I was afraid of, either multiple cases or a big enough case that we'd need all hands on deck and we don't have enough hands without him." He shook his head, "Let them show their stuff."

"That's what I was just going to say. They'll learn fast." She tapped her pencil on his desk, "We have several new applicants."

"Good! I'm proposing 5 more agents. 3 floaters and 2 assigned." He looked at her, "Let me grab Piro and then the three of us need to meet."

"All right."

He found Piro working on reports, more than happy to leave those for a few minutes. Tim frowned, "Did you get away all right on Friday?"

"Yes, Bishop covered for me. Everything's good."

Tim nodded, glad to hear that. "All right, we'll call you back in a few minutes."

Disconnecting, he grabbed his laptop and went back to the bullpen for Bishop. They set up in the closest conference room.

Once Piro was online, Tim told them a little about his trip. "The biggest discovery is how busy our agents are becoming in the U.S. With McCoy, Scott and Braff floating for the U.S., the calls from our U.S. offices are increasing every day. Word of mouth is amazing! Race, I told you and Ned in our last meeting that I was requesting 2 additional agents. I told Ellie this morning I've bumped that up to 5, 3 floaters and 2 assigned and I may bump that up again. I'd like to have as many of us as possible trained and in place with some experience before the war's over and Director Vance repopulates the offices. The floaters will be at FLETC, San Diego and the temporary quarters of the Great Lakes office, in Wisconsin. The assignment will either be Great Lakes/Wisconsin or in the Corpus Christi office. That office is tiny but I've made a proposal to knock a couple of walls out. The agent will have to work from home or the CGIS office there, until the renovation is done, which is why I might place him or her in Wisconsin until there's room in the office."

He looked at them, "Any questions on the additions?"

Bishop nodded, "Who's training them?"

Tim smiled, "I'll do what I can but I haven't met with the director yet, don't know what he's got for me. Having said that, I'll commit to the introduction and at least one other session."

Piro frowned, "I can do a few sessions, Ellie. By Skype but then Skype is our second home, right?"

Ellie smiled, "Got that right! Ok, Race, you and I can start putting together a schedule. I really liked the last one we did."

"Let's go with that then."

Tim was thinking about that. "Race, there will come a day when you, Ellie and Ned will be running the program – even more than you are now. If Ned's available, we'll have him on Skype but I'd like you here for the first day of training, we'll pay your way."

Piro nodded, making a note on his calendar.

Tim continued, "There's something Braff mentioned that I wanted to bring up. Oh yes, us rotating the 'big chair' amongst the agents. Dawson did hers on Braff's second day in the Northwest Office and she mentioned not knowing anything about it, that it wasn't mentioned in training. I thought about adding it; however, I'm thinking that would be a better incentive for experienced agents moving to senior. Right now we're close to having more rookies than experienced, so let's hold off on doing that again until our current rookies have more experience."

"All right. Who's in on the selection this time?"

Tim shook his head, "I'd like the four of us to handle it. It was great to do when we had a small group but we're past that point."

Once they'd covered regular business, Tim voiced his concerns about the gaps in knowledge and coverage in Yokosuka. "From what Bishop told me today, Bailey's doing all right, he called for help as soon as he needed it and had great response. McCoy came in and worked all night, Tighe logged in last night, he's helping as well as our agents in Asia. My concern is that our U.S. business is building and I really don't want to pull resources to cover Japan. Bishop has volunteered to TAD to Japan; however, I'd like to give it a few more days before I make any decisions." He shook his head, "I looked at time zones, thinking someone could TAD from Pearl, be a few hours closer, but it's actually 19 hours difference whereas San Diego is 16 hours."

Piro looked at him, "Boss, you're not thinking of going yourself?"

"I've considered it, yes. However," He sat back in his chair, "I don't want to insult our agents and what did we say earlier, Ellie, let them at it. They are fully trained, Bailey has close to a year in, Watson has more and he's a good manager. I'm going to hold off making any decisions this week."

He left the meeting feeling stronger about the operations in Asia. He was glad he had deputies to discuss things with. He'd check in with Bailey and Watson later.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By the end of the week, he was feeling even better. Navy and Marine personnel in Japan, the Philippines and other areas had been free of trouble for the rest of the week. He put letters of commendation in McCoy and Tighe's files for their 'above and beyond' work on Sunday, overnight into Monday even though neither had any responsibility for cases handled through Yokosuka.

He'd talked about career paths with Chalmers and knew those had to be in place sooner rather than later. Neither he nor Vance had anticipated SFAs or Team Leads wanting to switch to the INV program this soon. Of course, there hadn't been a war going on when they planned the program. He jotted down notes as he thought about his agents. They were equals with their field counterparts, while they all reported to him. So far that was working fine. And he was an SSAIC, so he could legitimately establish an INV team with an official lead. Dorneget, Piro, Tighe and Dawson were ready. And Bishop was already the de facto INV team lead here.

He drew it out, four INV agents, in a hub office, with one of the four ranked as an SAC. There were 12 current hubs and 1 standalone Field Office, Hawaii which, while not ranked as a hub, did have two small subordinate offices. If Vance made Tampa a sub of Mayport, that would be 13. He could have between 10 and 12 teams with INV SACs such as Fuller, Dawson, Chalmers, Piro, Dorneget and Bishop.

When the SACs were promoted, their INV career path would merge with the general agency career path. He made another note, each SAC could also be responsible for a certain number of remote floaters who would handle INV work for offices outside of the hubs. Or maybe there would be a separate SAC for the floaters.

So, he had two potential SACs right now, although they'd need to put in their rookie time as INV agents. Three really, with Tighe. The hub teams wouldn't happen until the U.S. offices were repopulated. He took his notes and sketches home with him, he'd kick it around with his dad, finesse it before he took it to Vance. In the meantime, he still needed more agents!

Once he'd had time to rethink the offices and the distinct possibility that the war would be over soon, Tim's proposal for new agents evolved to a final count of 7 new INV agents, 5 floaters positioned to support the U.S. offices and 2 permanently assigned agents. It was quickly approved and field agents were invited to apply. Applications poured in via email and fax. While they'd always had a good number of applicants, this time Tim, his deputies and the director were amazed at the flood. Now that INV was up and running in the States, agents had a better understanding, many of them a firsthand understanding, how the program worked and best of all, how INV partnered with the field. Tim's deputies got busy reviewing the applications.

The INV deputies met with Tim to present their candidate list. Making good use of Skype, they quickly winnowed that down to their short list. It was easier now that the group had more experience, especially with the U.S. based agents; they'd refined the characteristics needed.

Evan Fuller, on the short list, was currently posted to Great Lakes, housed in Wisconsin. He was ranked as a senior field agent which is what Tim thought he'd been on Rick Carter's team five years ago. Remembering that as the Deputy Assistant Manager he had access to information he wouldn't have had as the INV Program Lead, he pulled Fuller's record. He was surprised to see he'd transferred to the FBI, posted to Phoenix and then transferred back to NCIS in late 2017, taking a lateral in Great Lakes. At first he thought that was odd before remembering his own ins and outs with the agency.

For Fuller's postings' wish list, he had the Great Lakes office as well as the Northwest office, the Northeast office, Pearl, Perth, Australia, the UK and Germany. Along with English, he spoke German, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish and French. His evals and close records were good, followed what Tim remembered of the agent from his own days aboard the Navy Yard.

Tim thought about placement. Fuller would be perfect for the Great Lakes office, already working with the field team. However, Tim wondered it that would be too strange, for him to go from the de facto team lead in a hub office like Great Lakes, to a senior INV agent, although he'd be senior in title only, a rookie as far as INV. He laughed to himself, Chalmers would have the same situation. He shook his head, there was no way he would place Fuller or Chalmers back in their former offices. He'd done it with Dawson because she'd been there such a short time.

He was pleased as he looked over the final candidates' list. While his deputies were working on the list of candidates, Tim did a quick analysis of the needs of the European offices. Ortiz in Naples was doing a wonderful job supporting Athens, Rota and the expanded Naples office and no change was necessary there. However, Piro was increasingly swamped between Marseille and Hamburg. When Tim spoke with Roger Martinez, the SAIC in Hamburg, the man praised Piro's work before strongly hinting he'd like his own INV agent.

When Tim sat down with Vance to discuss adding an agent to Hamburg, they both had a good laugh. Although it had never been stated in print or publicly, the ultimate goal of the INV program, as Tim once told his father, was to have an INV agent for every field team. Taking London's three INV agents, Bishop, Esposito and McGee, into account, the addition of an INV agent in Germany would achieve that goal for the European offices. While they hadn't anticipated this happening for another two years, the movement of the US Fleet from U.S. to Allied ports had accelerated the need.

In the end, Chalmers and Fuller were invited into the program along with 5 agents Tim hadn't yet met. During the process, Tim offered Piro a change of assignment, from Marseille to Pearl. Thanking Tim for the opportunity, Race declined the change, much to his boss' quiet relief.

In the middle of the month, Ned's grandmother died. One Monday, two weeks after Ned's hurried flight from Japan, Tim had a text from Daniel saying that she'd passed, her husband and grandson by her side. Daniel was also in San Diego now, working remotely for the Yokosuka office. The memorial service would be the following Saturday. Tim struggled with that, he wanted to be there for his friend Ned.

After much discussion, his parents and Ducky decided they would represent Ned's extended family. They chartered a jet and on Friday would fly to DC where they'd pick up Rick and Denise Carter, continuing on to San Diego, reversing the process on Sunday. That still wasn't enough for Tim though, and when Bishop put in a request for leave, telling her boss that she and Rob were flying to San Diego with the others, he approved it, telling Vance he would work in Bishop's place.

Vance understood, he was having the same reaction as Tim. Ned was family, the unassigned agent had become part of everyone's team during his long wait for assignment and through the years, he'd become part of the Gibbs extended family. They should be there for him.

The director caved before Tim did, although the timing was close. Tim was hitting Artie's number on his cell to tell her he was going when Leon appeared in his office, closing the door behind him. "We're going. If someone can stay with the kids, bring Artie too. Dani can't go, but he's only met her once. I've already called your dad."

Leon turned around and walked out, leaving Tim sitting there with his phone still in his hand. He closed the door to his office before calling his wife.


	89. Chapter 89

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! A double-dip weekend, I'll post the next chapter Sunday night. Enjoy!

Chapter 89

When Artie answered her husband's call, she said, "Sarah, James, Geordie and Bec and the Grands have offered to take care of the children for us. Breena and Jimmy will have Jed and Hope over for a playdate. I'm putting our church clothes in your garment bag. And I double-checked the guardianship papers. Bec, Geordie, Sarah, James and the Mallards are not going with us and are on the list. We've already updated Jimmy and Breena's names there, on our will, the trust and on the financial papers."

She'd known those would be among his first questions. This would be the farthest they'd ever been from all their children. If it weren't for their weekend activities, games and such, she'd think about taking them, although then they'd need a minder while the rest of them were at the service. They could go to a park or beach for a couple of hours. But then they'd have to be homeschooled for another week. She shook her head, that would not work, Andy and Greg both had exams next week.

Tim chuckled in relief, "Dad told you Leon called him?"

"Yes, he imitated Leon saying, 'Tim and I are going with you, Artie too if someone takes care of the kids.' Then Dad said Leon hung up."

"He was pretty stirred up when he told me. I had my finger over your phone number to say we were going, we'd ask for help with the kids, when he blew into my office, closed the door, said we were going and he'd already called Dad. Words to that effect. Then he turned around and walked out." He added, "Rob and Ellie are going, too."

She nodded, "Tony is also trying to find a way to go with us, I don't know if Maggie will come or not."

Tim blinked back tears. "It's not like Ned has died."

"No, but he's hurt and you're all very protective of him. Another younger brother."

Tim nodded emphatically. "He is. Family, he needs to know he's not alone. He's not, he has Daniel and the kids, and his grandfather, and he has us, too. I also want his grandfather to know he's not alone."

Artie smiled, "I love that so much about you, your fierce love."

Tim sniffed, "If Tony and Maggie can make it, that'll be Dad's old team. DiNozzo, Bishop, McGee, Gibbs. Abby!"

"She can't go, she and Freddie have big plans this weekend."

"Oh. Jimmy and Breena can't either."

"We'll be enough, Timotheos."

Before they left, they sat the kids down to talk about why they were flying to California again. First Tim explained that Ned's grandmother and grandfather had raised him, they were his only mom and dad. While Ned's mother was alive, he'd once told Tim he didn't remember seeing her more than five or six times when he was growing up and the frequency hadn't increased once he was grown.

Artie told the kids that Ned's grandmother had died and because Ned was part of their extended family, she and their dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Granducky, Uncle Rob, Aunt Ellie, Uncle Leon and maybe Uncle Tony were flying to San Diego for Ned's grandmother's funeral. They wanted him to know that he was part of their family, that they cared about him, no matter how far away he was, and to help him deal with his sadness.

Kyle frowned, "Doesn't he have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, Doodle bug, he's an only child."

Rissa looked up with a smile, "You could make him your brother, Daddy, then he'd have a sister, too."

Greg chuckled, "He'd have lots of brothers and sisters!"

Kyle nodded, "He would and that would make him feel better."

Andy looked up from playing with his baby brother, saying, "But his grandfather is still alive. That might not make him feel very good and he's sad too. That's why Uncle Tony won't let Grandpa adopt him, so Mr. Senior won't feel bad."

Rissa scrunched her face, "He could be an…what does Grandpa call Uncle Tony and Aunt Abby?"

"His unofficial children. Tony is his unofficial son and Abby is his unofficial daughter."

"I know about Mr. Senior being Uncle Tony's dad but does Aunt Abby have a mom or dad?"

"She did, sweetie, but her mom and dad died a long time ago. She loves Grandpa and Grandma, but she doesn't want them to adopt her."

"Oh."

Hope looked at her parents, "Give him lots of hugs and kisses!"

"Yes, darling girl, we will and that's why we're going."

Greg nodded, "That's good! We can make him a card, too."

"That would be very thoughtful, thank you!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As they climbed the gangplank into the jet that Friday, Tim and Artie both prayed that the children, their minders and all of them aboard the jet would be safe while apart. She reminded him that the two of them had been safely apart from the children before, in Paris, in Turkey and during their surprise time away last year.

Tim's rational mind told him his fear was because of the terrorists. Having been so close, hearing the thug threaten his daughter had done as much to shake him as the trafficker kidnapping Sarah and Robbie when they were little. And he'd killed that guy!

He supposed, when he allowed himself to delve deeper, that it also had to do with him not able to do anything physically to stop the creeps. Throughout his adult life, that had been his job, to stop creeps, criminals, kidnappers and terrorists.

He'd made a phone call. And moved his loved ones out of the way. That's it. It didn't feel like enough and he wondered if, when he no longer had any time to work active cases, would anything else would be worth it? Attending meetings on behalf of his superiors? Making expensive business trips that could be done online? He didn't want to be a figurehead or worse, a bureaucratic wonk. He slumped in his seat, how did people who'd made a difference adjust to being management, where everything seemed like so much BS? He needed to work, to tangibly make a difference.

He sat back, relaxing a bit. Maybe it was time to cut the ties with the agency. He had other interests, he thought Bedford might be amenable to having him as a visiting professor again. Maybe he and Artie should take a harder look at traveling for 6 months of the year, homeschooling the kids. Or moving around, say 6 months here, 6 months there, the kids going to school wherever they were. That sounded good until he thought about leaving his parents and his siblings. The past 18 months, as awful as the reasons and as tragic and final as they were for so many, had been golden for the Gibbs family. Everyone on one continent, everyone but the DiNozzos within an hour's travel, they'd been the best years ever. Even with Patrick's situation, even with Bec's mother being a terrorist, even with every other obstacle, they'd been wonderful times. He and Artie were stronger together than ever, the kids thriving and confident, growing up way too fast, his parents, his siblings, the people they'd brought into the family. He didn't want that to end. It would, he knew that. At the very least their lives would evolve into something else.

Deep in thought, he didn't pay much attention when someone sat next to him. Then he wrinkled his nose, trying not to sneeze. Dang, who was wearing that cologne DiNozzo used to drench himself with every morning?

Looking up, he blinked tiredly when he saw his brother sitting next to him.

"Tony!" Tim closed his eyes, opening them again, like a little kid. Yep, DiNozzo was still there although the stink of his cologne was gone. Tony grinned at him, patting a pocket, Tim thought maybe he'd sprayed some of the stuff on a handkerchief or something, just to tease him. That was okay, he still missed seeing his friend and brother every day.

"Tim!" Tony nudged his shoulder, "I made it!"

Tim nodded, "You did. Is Maggie with you?"

"No, we couldn't make it work."

Tim nodded again, wrapping an arm around his brother and pulling him in for a hug. Tony looked over the seat to their father, a troubled question on his face. Dad signed, "Since the terrorists at the airport."

Tony pulled back, looking at his little brother, speaking softly. "Tell me and no deflecting."

Tim huffed and then leaned back in his seat, telling him what happened. Tony nodded, "You did exactly what you were supposed to. Had Dad get everyone to safety without causing panic and made the call that busted the creeps." Tony paused, "Are you still freaked because the kids and so many of the family were with you?"

"Yes. I know I screwed up, I have to learn from that and move on."

"Ok, that's good that you can say it but you need to believe it, too. Dad told me about the new rule, #52, not to torture yourself. Looks like you've been breaking that right and left." He tilted his head, "I haven't seen this side of you in years. You think you didn't do enough. I heard you not only called Sailes directly, but you went all the way back to the office for more information. What else do you feel you should have done?"

"Nothing, that's my job now. Call people, find information."

"I thought you loved what you're doing?"

"I did and I probably will again. Just…I feel impotent. The guy threatened my daughter and I had to turn away. I couldn't arrest him or fight him. I made a freaking phone call, big whoop."

"Knock it off!" Tony was nearly whispering by now, he didn't know if everyone knew everything that had happened and it wouldn't do Bishop any good to hear her job, their jobs, being disparaged. Nor did he want Vance to hear any of their conversation.

"You didn't have a firearm, you couldn't endanger the baby or any of the others, you followed your instincts and protocol and brought those guys down. The effing leaders of the whole group!" He smiled, "You didn't get to put the cuffs on them, you weren't there when they busted them. That's bugging the stuffing out of you, isn't it?"

"Stuffing?"

"Got kids now, need to watch my language."

Tim nodded his understanding before saying, "Yes, it is bugging the stuffing out of me! They wouldn't even let me go to San Diego after the bust! We were allowed to drive to Coronado, no closer and no flying into San Diego airport. I was a member of the top team at NCIS; hell, on a relative basis, we did better than the Bureau most years – and solved their puzzles on top of that. Now I'm reduced to phone calls and meetings."

"It was your call to leave the field. Let me rephrase that, it was your call not to return to the field once you were done with Bedford. And, Tim, your agents are awesome, do you know how much quicker we close cases now? It's like you took all our Gibbs' team mojo and applied it to your program. It's wonderful! We Team Leaders love it, wish we'd had it years ago. And you know the rest of the armed alphabets will follow in your footsteps."

Tim huffed at that. "I rarely get to work a case anymore."

"Yeah, so I've heard. So that's what's bothering you?"

"That and still kicking myself for bringing everyone along."

"What would have happened differently if the fam hadn't been there, if it was just you and the creeps?"

"I still would have recognized the names when they were called from the podium and made the phone call. But I could have called in Airport Security and taken them down. Or I might have been invited in for the takedown."

"Really, you think so? How long since you left the field?"

"Four and a half years."

"How long since you've been to a firing range?"

"A few weeks, I went as soon as we got home. Before that, it was…after we came back from our road trip, before Greek Christmas."

"That's not bad."

Tim looked at him, "Tony, I'm a bureaucrat now. One of 'them'."

Tony smiled, "Nah, you have a fancy title but you're too Tim to ever be one of 'them'. I promise to tell you if you ever start to fossilize, although I'm sure Dad or Geo will beat me to it."

Tim smiled at that, "Promise? I'm going to hold you to that."

"I promise, cross my heart!" His brother seemed to feel better so Tony changed the subject to his children, two of the smartest kids on earth. The two of them had fun comparing their babies, each certain he had the quicker, brighter, cuter and of course smarter ones.

Eventually, Tony wanted a nap and Rob, Ellie, Dad and Ducky were all asleep. Finding Artie playing cards with Mom and Leon, Tim joined them.

Hours later, as they made their descent into DC Metro air space Tim, Lu and the others watched out the windows. At first they were too high and at the wrong angle but gradually, they began to see signs of trouble. Burned out buildings with partial or no roofs, chimneys in pieces. Lots full of debris interspersed with undamaged houses. Burned out cars, trucks. Roads with pavement so torn up that it looked like they had been attacked by giant hay forks. Dad coaxed his wife and son from the window. "Come on, that won't help you or anyone else."

Tim nodded, "Seattle made it real enough."

Walking by, Leon winced but didn't say anything. He was still dealing with his own guilt for setting up that trip for McGee, sure, take the kids, take the whole family, you'll only have one commercial flight. One was all it took. He'd made a mistake like that once before and lost Jackie because of it. He was furious that he'd done it again. They were too complacent, living overseas. Sure, it wasn't perfect but the UK wasn't in the middle of what amounted to a guerilla war.

He wished that Tim McGee would compare all the good things he'd done over the years with the errors he'd made, that he would see that the good far outweighed the mistakes. He huffed, he wished he could do that, too, and forgive himself. Maybe it was human nature to fixate on one's failures.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Once on the ground in DC, their flight crew asked them to stay aboard to shorten the wait time. When Denise and Rick Carter boarded, there were smiles all around, everyone glad to see old friends and co-workers. Once the Carters were settled and they were back in the air, Ducky proudly showed them photos of his family, including Ben and Nat. Tim and Artie showed photos of their kids, Tony of the twins and with a laugh, Jethro said, "We've got photos of all of them, except the new Mallard boys, from Geordie and Bec's wedding!"

The Carters enjoyed the photos and hearing the stories that went with them. Rick asked if they would have time on the way back to drive out to Arlington to see their house. Tim and Artie looked at each other, they hadn't thought of that. Then they looked at Ducky, Dad and Mom. The memorial service was at 11:00 Saturday, with a buffet lunch afterward. As the flight crew required a certain number of hours before another long flight, the group was staying over, Jethro had reserved rooms on the beach, thinking that would be a nice break, especially for Rick and Denise. Their flight home would leave at 9:00 AM Sunday morning, reaching the airfield around 4 PM. As Daylight Savings was now in effect, it would be light until close to 7:00 PM, time enough to drive to Arlington, see the house and property in daylight and return.

Ducky chuckled, "I'll talk with our flight crew, how's that? At least we won't need a bus this time, there are only 11 of us!"

Denise looked puzzled until Artie explained. Tim wanted to see the house, he was curious and after all, it was Bill, Freddie and Jose's work they'd see. He knew Artie wanted to see it. And it was their house, someday they'd live in it. He looked at his wife who smiled, finally, they'd get to see their house! He returned her smile, they could either chat with the kids as they went through it or record everything.

Artie smiled at Ducky, "Please do that, Ducky; we would love to see the house!" She laughed, "Last time we saw it, Hope was just a year old, crawling all over, remember how we had to keep the bedroom doors closed when you and Jethro were looking upstairs?"

Jethro nodded, "I do, she was a clever one, dodging us right and left."

Tim grinned, "This time it'd be Jed if he was with us."

"At 11 ½ months old, he's very close to Hope's age then. I like the symmetry."

Leon listened with a lighter heart. Reigniting their excitement about their house and property would be a good thing. He thought about timelines. Maybe two years would be enough, post-war, in London, then well, unless he played musical chairs with his SSAICs, and he didn't think it would be the best time to do so, there would only be a couple of spots he could place Tim after London. Unless his SSAICs changed things themselves, which was always possible.

After the long trip across the Atlantic, the flight from DC to San Diego seemed brief in comparison. Their transportation pulled in just as they disembarked. They loaded the luggage, Tim remarking how strange it was not to have their boys helping.

Checking into their hotel, a little outside Encinitas and two minutes walking distance to the beach, they had just enough time for a walk down and back to the beach before they had to change. Their van and driver waited for them.

The fresh air felt good and Tim and Artie shook their heads at being back here so soon after their day and night in Coronado. Artie looked around, "I like it better here. It feels more natural, not so commercial."

Tim agreed and then pointed to a restaurant perched over the beach. "Let's hope they're open for dinner, we can eat there, or at least have drinks."

"That sounds wonderful!"

Back at the hotel, they took quick showers, tucked their card and the one from the kids into Artie's clutch and dressed, meeting the others in the lobby. Ducky had texted Jimmy saying they'd arrived safely and reported that everything was fine at home.

Ned and his grandfather were on the front steps of the church, greeting people as they arrived. Their friend was shocked to see all of them, he'd been told Ducky, Jethro and Lu were coming, and had a hard time with his emotions. Leon patted his shoulder, "We're family, Ned. We especially wanted you to know that today and going forward." Jethro reached up to give the back of Dorneget's neck an affectionate squeeze.

When his grandfather heard that most of them had flown overseas to be here, he blinked back tears, thanking them for caring so much about his boy.

Daniel was just inside, handing out memorial programs, greeting Tim and Artie with relief. "Good, people I know!"

Tim smiled, "Daniel, I'd like you to meet…" He went through the group, ignoring the wide-eyed looks of those who knew Sarah, Patrick, Greg and Penny. Daniel greeted each one, telling Tim, "We were only expecting your parents and Dr. Mallard; Ned was blown away when he heard they were coming…this is amazing! Thank you for caring so much about him!"

Leon was trying not to stare, remembering the conversation he'd had with McGee a year ago, about the possibility of Daniel's father being related to the McGee family.

The pews were full of friends and neighbors who spoke lovingly of Margaret McCourt Dorneget. Tim hadn't known that Ned's grandmother first met Walter, her future husband, in Germany. She was an Army nurse and he was an Army sergeant, posted to one of the U.S. Army bases there in the late 1950's. They met at a USO dance where he twisted his ankle while dancing with her. She insisted on helping him with it and they were married within a year. She followed him to his various postings until his enlistment was up. She was 5 months pregnant then and both wanted their baby born in the U.S. Ned's mother was born and raised in Helena, Montana, where her father had a successful insurance business.

Ned spoke of his grandmother's sense of humor, particularly important when it came to raising her grandson and mentioned his mother's recent visit with her parents. His great-aunt, his grandfather's sister, spoke of her sister-in-law with a great deal of love.

All in all, it was a sweet service, with laughter and tears. As they moved out of the church, Tim spotted Henry Tighe a few rows back. His agent's eyes widened when he saw Tim and he made his way to the aisle. "Tim, you're here! How?"

When he caught sight of Director Vance, his surprise ramped up. Tim replied, "Ned is part of my extended family and part of our Navy Yard family. My parents planned to come with Dr. Mallard but Director Vance, my brothers Rob and Tony and I felt too strongly about supporting Ned to stay home. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others. You already know Ellie."

"Bishop's here?"

"Yes, with her husband, my brother Rob."

"Wow. I don't know Agent Dorneget very well yet, not in person, but he must be a great guy."

"He is." They were outside on the porch now and Tim introduced Henry to his parents, Tony, Rob, Ducky and the Carters. He'd met Artie during his training, Director Vance remembered him from his weeks in London and of course Ellie knew him from then, too. He smiled at all of them, "Not sure if this says more about all of you, Agent Dorneget or both, that you've come all this way to be with him. This has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen people do."

They looked at each other before saying, "Ned is family."

"I get that now."

Tim said, "Are you staying for the lunch?"

"I wasn't but now I think I will. Do you mind me joining you?"

"No, that's why I asked."

They made their way to the social hall, sitting at one table and were pleased when Ned and Daniel joined them. His grandfather and great aunt were sitting with close friends.

Ned thanked them all, again, for coming, saying he still couldn't believe it. Lu asked him what his plans were and he gave a tired laugh. "After I sleep for three days straight, Daniel and I need to start looking at neighborhoods, closer to San Diego since we'll be leaving work at 1:00 AM. Granddad lives in a senior community, visitors are only allowed to stay two weeks. I've already surpassed that but the community manager told him not to worry. Trinity, that's Daniel's former wife, and the kids, Liesl and Mark, will be here in two weeks. Her transfer has been approved, all the legal paperwork is done. Since we need to live in the same school district, we hope the same neighborhood, Daniel and I will stay at a residential hotel while we figure out the best school districts and then what the three of us can afford. Thanks to my transfer package, that works fine." He paused before continuing, "Tim, I'm planning on returning to work a week from tomorrow. Hope that's all right."

Tim nodded, "Of course, you're on bereavement leave now, Ned. Before you ask, everything is fine." He gestured to Tighe and he and Ned shook hands.

"Thanks for coming and for taking care of everything, I have wondered. So, somebody tell me what's going on in the world, I've been so wrapped up here I have no idea. Tony, what's it like to live in France?"

Tony told their friend how much they loved living in Marseille. "Once the warm weather hits, we're really going to have fun taking the kids to the beach and on little road trips, exploring more of Provence. Our plan is to do that before the tourists hit, which we're told will be early May. We were there last May but were on baby watch, neither of us remembers anything!"

Henry Tighe asked questions about Marseille too, mentioning he'd only been to France for a weekend, a trip to Paris he, Dawson, Gage and Watson made while they were in training. Later, he gave Daniel some suggestions thinking Ned might be too tired to remember, for their neighborhood searches.

Ned told them more about his grandparents, mostly about growing up with them. They made sure he joined the Boy Scouts and was involved in church youth groups and athletic activities, saying it was important for him to be around kids his age and their younger parents. As he'd been an infant when they took him in, his life with them had always felt normal. Quietly, he told the group that when he finally told his grandparents he was gay, they were fine with it, had suspected for years but hadn't known how to approach the subject.

When Ned asked if Tony was going to New England in June, he said he didn't know yet, causing Leon to cough-snicker behind a napkin. Finally looking up, he said, "DiNozzo, I'm fine with you going. You have a strong SFA and plenty of backup in the other offices. By the way, my wife and kids are going too."

Laughing, he told them he hadn't seen any of his U.S. based agents in too long and while the rest of them were playing, he'd be visiting the Northeast office as well as some of the sub offices in safe areas. He shrugged, saying, "Who knows, the war may be over by then."

That got everyone's attention but he gave one of his enigmatic looks, "I'm just saying!"

Rick Carter watched his friends. Tim was interested in some crumbs on his plate, Jethro was working hard not to look smug, he knew the man too well. DiNozzo chased a last bite around his plate, Artie and Lu were hiding some expression and Ellie was digging in her handbag for something. So…Tim must have done something that Jethro, Tony, Artie and Lu and probably Ellie knew about. He'd heard some rumors a few weeks ago, but there were always rumors flying around. That brought to mind the increasing unease people seemed to be in about the White House, the rumors with no names. He let that go, this was not the time or place.

Rob broke the silence, "I think most of the town of Brambury is going to New England!"

Henry frowned, "Where and why? Sorry, if it's personal…"

Tim grinned at him, "Family but not a secret. Dad and Mom are going to look for a property in Vermont or Maine, New Hampshire seems to have dropped out of the running, with dwellings on it for all of us. It'd be a central vacation spot, what they call a 'camp' in New England. When we all gather there are more than 40 of us, I've lost track of the numbers again. Dad's original thought was a camp where we could hang out during the summer. He and Mom would live up there during the DC summers, which are brutal, and we'd go up whenever we could. Since he first had the idea a few years ago, several people have joined the family, marriage, birth, adoption. Those 5-7 acres he first thought about would look like a crowded wall-to-wall housing development now!

"Anyway, a few months ago our son Andy asked if we could vacation in a safe spot in the U.S., brilliant kid that he is! So, this year, we're going for vacation and there are two weddings planned while we're there. Ned, forgot to tell you that, Bill and Nikki are getting married and Joe is marrying Bec's cousin Charlotte."

"Wow, that's awesome! In New England?"

Lu chuckled, "Yes and we have to decide where we're looking for property so they can submit their paperwork and plan the weddings."

Jethro raised an eyebrow and his kids, Tim, Artie, Tony, Rob and Ellie, all said, "Maine!" Tim added, "Ocean beaches, trees, rivers for fishing, semi-rural life, shopping, beaches. From Boston, we can fly or drive up."

Henry was curious, "With a crowd going, how will you get around?"

Artie grinned, "Motorhomes! Tim and I did some research and found one big enough for our family. We've reserved it, the owners will actually meet us at the airport. We rented one last summer when the baby was about two months old, spent the kids' summer half-term holiday camping in the Lake District. It was wonderful!"

Tony nodded, "We'll try the motorhome life too. Tim and Artie say it's easier when you have kids. Less whining, I guess."

Rob nodded at Ellie, who added, "We're camping, renting a pickup truck with a camper on the back of it. My family is coming from Oklahoma." She looked at Ducky, "And Ducky's daughter-in-law's family is coming from Ottawa."

With a smile, Ducky added, "I believe Abby's brothers and niece are also planning to visit."

"Wow, that's a crowd!"

Leon laughed, "And your point is?"

Ned nodded, "Very true. I remember the mob at Sarah and James' wedding and don't know if the entire family was there."

Jethro shook his head, "They weren't, some people now in the family didn't even know us then. And that's not quite 2 years, Ned!"

Daniel smiled, "My family's like that too. My parents love to have everyone together and with the grandkids, it's easier to meet for a picnic or even go camping."

Ned snorted, "My second time meeting his family, the adults took all the grandkids to Disneyland Tokyo. Daniel's kids are school-age so they enjoyed themselves, but the other four weren't even three yet!"

They laughed at that and Artie told them a little about their recent trip to the original Disneyland.

When other people started to leave, Ned excused himself to say goodbye, eventually circling back to speak privately with Tim. Daniel stayed with the Gibbs group, saying, "Some of those folks are pretty conservative. Don't want them bugging Ned or his granddad about anything."

When Henry started to leave, Tim pulled him aside, "Just want to check back with you about your wish list."

"Yokosuka?"

"When Ned's back full-time. Figure another four to six weeks."

"Wow, I…yes, please!"

"Just checking. You change your mind, let me know ASAP."

"Will do but I won't! Thanks, Tim!"

"Hey, thank you for your excellent work and making the effort to learn the language, joining your social group. You've started a trend, you know, other agents have mentioned doing the same thing."

After his agent left, Tim found his wife waiting for him, "The van is here. It's beach time!"

He looked at his watch, 1:30, nice! They'd have the rest of the afternoon to do whatever they wanted to do. As the Carters hadn't been before, they were going to do a little exploring. Rob said he and Ellie should do that too but the beach was calling them.

Back at the hotel, they all changed, Tim slathering on the sunscreen and remembering he'd brought a hat. The Carters left in the van for a private tour while the others borrowed beach chairs and towels from the hotel and walked a short block out onto the sand. Leon went for a walk while the Gibbs boys were the first ones to put their toes in, the water was still a bit too cold, but then it was still March!

Artie and Ellie joined them, and the five of them let their feet and calves get used to the water, before they went any further. Tim was perfectly content to wade, he'd swim in the heated pool later and again in the morning before they left. Noticing both Ducky and Dad were nodding off, he laughed, saying to Rob, "I keep forgetting we just got off the plane a few hours ago, jet lag time for Dad and Ducky."

"That's good. I think I drank a gallon of coffee at the lunch, I should be okay for another couple of hours."

Tim nodded, he'd had a lot of coffee too. Mom joined them, exclaiming at the water. "For some reason, my brain decided the water would be much warmer than it was in February!"

He chuckled, "Yeah, me too. It's not bad but I'll swim in the pool later."

Tony, who'd been about to jump in, heard him and stopped, "That's a much better idea!" They watched Leon put his feet into the water and then walk back toward them. He blinked at them, "Need to sleep, _now_." Rob helped him to his chair, plopping a hat on his head.

They waded up and down the beach, sat in their chairs and an hour later, woke Dad, Ducky, Leon and Mom. Walking back to the hotel, they sighed happily as they slid into the nice warm swimming pool.

When the Carters returned, none of the others were in sight but the front desk clerk said they'd come in from the pool, saying they needed naps. Rick and Denise were a bit sleepy, but they hadn't crossed as many time zones as their friends.

By late afternoon, they were all awake and hungry. They'd made reservations at the restaurant overlooking the ocean and had a wonderful time. They opted to eat indoors as a brisk breeze was blowing from the ocean. Their table was in front of a huge window with great views of the water, including a few sailboats zipping about, reminding the Gibbses of their afternoon in San Francisco. They enjoyed their meals, having non-alcoholic beverages before and passing on the coffee and tea after. Tim called Uber to drive them back to the hotel, he was afraid they'd have to carry Ducky or Dad!

Several of them were walking on the beach as dawn broke the next morning, and then had a quick swim in the pool, getting some exercise in before their long flight home. Ducky had talked to the pilot about delaying their departure from DC but found that with prevailing winds, the weather over the Atlantic and the volume of flights on the East Coast on a Sunday afternoon, any more than a few minutes' delay could mean a layover until Monday morning. As no one wanted that kind of delay, the house trip was canceled.

Saying goodbye to the Carters was tough, no one but Leon had seen them since Dad and Mom's wedding. When the couple said they hoped to visit when the family was in New England, that made parting a little easier. In any event, they were quickly on their way again and the group settled in for the long flight over the Atlantic.

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Landing at a private airfield near London at 4:30 AM, they said goodbye to Rob, Ellie and Tony. The jet would continue to Marseille with DiNozzo the only passenger, courtesy of Dad and Ducky. Having slept most of the way across the Atlantic, Rob and Ellie were alert enough to take the Tube home. The others Ubered to Brambury, too tired to take the train or Tube. Dropping Ducky and then Leon at their homes, they finally reached the Manor.

The four of them tiptoed into the house, by this time it was 5:40, too early for anyone but James to be up. He was in the kitchen making tea and gave each of them a hug as they came in.

Leaving their bags downstairs, Tim and Artie tiptoed upstairs and into their room, barely keeping their eyes open. A little over an hour later, their children streamed into the room, Andy carrying Jed and they hugged and kissed for several minutes. When it was time for the kids to go to school, Tim bundled up and walked with Kyle and Rissa. Hope and Jed were staying home today.

It was a long day. That morning they slept when Jed did, Hope playing quietly by herself, with her parents or Grandma and Grandpa when they were awake. Aunty Sarah kept an eye on her little niece, bringing her into her suite with her. When Jed went for his nap that afternoon, Hope crawled onto her parents' bed, saying she was ready to nap with them.

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They weren't sure why but their jet lag didn't last as long as usual. They thought it might be because it was such a quick trip. Whatever the reason, Tim commuted into the office with James and Jimmy on Wednesday and Artie disappeared into her office. She'd worked a total of 1 hour on Monday, 6 hours on Tuesday and was prepared to work the entire day on Wednesday. Tim had spent nearly an hour catching up with his email on Monday, managed 7 hours on Tuesday, helping with a case and, like his wife, planned to work all day Wednesday.

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**Pollock Federal Penitentiary, Pollock, Louisiana**

In a prison in the south of the United States, the inmates were surprised one morning when the guards came around, identifying certain prisoners and telling them to pack up, they were being moved. Stuffing their few personal items into pillow cases, tying corners of sheets into knots to make carry bags, the inmates complied. Carrying their worldly belongings, they lined up to be shackled at the ankles, walking awkwardly. They were taken to another wing of the prison, from what they could see and smell, an older wing, much older and smaller. There, each inmate was unshackled from the others as he reached his 'new' cell. As many as six inmates were assigned to a cell. By now, most had noticed by now that everyone being moved was a man of color.

A few days later, inmate Ajay Khan was in the prison library, reading a two year old issue of a tech magazine. He finished an article and was paging through, looking for anything else interesting when he stopped in shock. There in full color was a photo of Timothy McGee with a beautiful woman, in a game museum! Intrigued despite himself, Khan read the article, a little impressed that Boy Scout McGee once created a game with a beautiful woman to whom he was now married.

He decided to write a letter to McGee, to tease him about the game and somehow work in a comment about the recent moves within the prison. After the move, other prisoners had been transferred here from another federal prison; Khan had been surprised when he spotted Kevin Hussein in the exercise yard. He'd met him when he, Hussein and Heidi Partridge had been brought to NCIS in DC a few years ago during an internet crisis. Hussein was housed in the same wing where Khan now resided. The prison was now completely segregated between "whites" and "men of color" and that was worrisome, to say the least.

In the exercise yard the next day, he found Hussein and told him what he'd seen and what he had in mind. That took several days as the guards did not like prisoners talking to each other. On a few occasions, the two passed information to each other through their fellow inmates. Kahn, Hussein and others were worried about an attack by the terrorists that would conveniently take out the wing with all the prisoners of color. With little recourse and after more discussion, the two inmates agreed to contact McGee at NCIS.

Carefully planning what they'd say, they approached a guard who'd been almost friendly in the past, requesting permission to make a phone call to NCIS. When the guard asked what that was, they told him "Navy Criminal Investigative Service".

The guard nodded with a lazy smile, "Navy, that's good!"

Kevin added, "Marines, too."

The guard looked at them as he said, "Military, we mostly like them! I'll ask when I can."

After he left, Khan and Hussein looked at each other, afraid the 'we' the guard referred to might be the domestic terrorists. It fit with the new, absolute segregation at the prison. And the guard they'd selected to ask, because he usually was okay with the inmates, was white.

Neither man slept that night, sure that he'd be taken from his cell to disappear forever. When the next day dawned and they were still alive, still in their cells, they were able to exchange information, form a new plan. To their relief, the guard they'd approached the day before wasn't there. One of the other inmates kept track of the guards' schedules and passed the word along that the guard was off for 48 hours.

That afternoon in the exercise yard, Khan approached the guard's supervisor, Sergeant Haines, an African American who Hussein believed, from his posture and haircut, to be former military. They'd noticed he was assigned to their wing while most of the Caucasian guards stayed with the other wing.

Khan quietly asked Haines if he could speak with him, that he had information to share and if necessary, he was willing to be shackled. Haines knew that was unusual behavior for Khan, he'd kept an eye on him, and agreed to speak with him.

First, Khan told him about the guard he'd spoken with yesterday and his reaction to NCIS, quoting him verbatim. Haines absorbed the information, which unfortunately confirmed his suspicions, especially after the recent shuffle of prisoners and guards between wings.

Khan kept talking, saying he hadn't suddenly turned into Mother Teresa or anything but it was his people being hunted and killed. Haines gave him a look and Khan nodded, saying, "And others, too." Asking for something to write on, all Haines could find was an envelope in his pocket. He gave it to the prisoner, who wrote something on the back of an envelope before giving it back to him. "Get this to Special Agent Timothy McGee at NCIS headquarters, the Navy Yard in Washington, DC. It's information that might help the good guys. And don't send it electronically. Uh, please."

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**FBI Headquarters, the Hoover Building, Washington, DC**

Henry Sailes grimaced as he looked at the request at the top of the piles of file folders on his desk, wondering when exactly digital files would help his job. Regulations still called for paper when cases were referred to him and he still had to physically sign them. Time to change that!

He looked through the file to refresh his memory. During the situation with the terrorists at the Seattle airport, Vance referenced a request from NCIS that Ajay Khan be interviewed in the matter of the terrorists' server and he'd finally dug down to it. He read the information with widening eyes, making a note to speak with the AD who'd passed this up to him. It should have been acted upon immediately, the prisoner could have other helpful information. Between his sentence and prison assignment, they had plenty of leverage.

He thought for a minute. Requests for interviews on site had to go through channels and this one had been gathering dust for too long. Citing national security concerns, he ordered Khan to be brought here within the next 24 hours.

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**Pollock Federal Penitentiary, Pollock, Louisiana**

When Khan was wakened and removed from his cell before dawn one morning, put in shackles and marched to the common area of the prison, he was sure he was on his way to die, figuring the white guard said something to his superiors. When men in suits escorted him to a vehicle, stuffing him in, one of them sitting in the back with him, he wondered why these guys were wearing suits if they were going to kill him. He had no doubt the warden and his staff were in on the pending attack, why else segregate them? Why not kill him at the prison? He shuddered, he didn't mean that!

As they drove away, Khan asked where they were going, figured they could only kill him once. The man riding in the front passenger seat said, "You've won yourself a trip to the Hoover Building, Khan."

"The FBI? Why?" Khan was actually shaky with relief, and still curious. He scolded himself for not knowing the suits were feds, he was really slipping.

The agent smirked, "Ah no, Boss won't like it if we spoil the surprise." He looked back at Khan, "You probably should relax and enjoy your little holiday."

Oddly enough, Khan thought the man might actually mean that. "Are we driving all the way?"

"No more questions." Well aware of the consequences of not following orders, Khan nodded, keeping quiet. Instead, he looked out the window, wincing at the burned out buildings and cars. Occasionally there were cardboard signs saying how many people had been killed there. He wasn't sure if the signs were meant as memorials or boasts by the terrorists.

Sitting back against the seat, he closed his eyes, only opening them when the car came to a complete stop and the agent in the backseat with him told him to get out of the car. He looked around, they were at a military base and he noticed a jet nearby.

His backseat companion removed his shackles, "Hard to climb into an aircraft wearing these." Instead, he snapped handcuffs on him and Khan nodded his appreciation. One of the agents climbed into the jet, while the other three watched, their weapons drawn, as Ajay followed him in. Once inside, his handcuffs were attached to a metal bar in front of him, close enough that his arms were relaxed. The agents swapped positions as the driver of the car now sat beside Ajay. "You get airsick?"

Khan shook his head and then made a face when his stomach growled. The agent chuckled, "Guess you missed breakfast! We'll find something for you when we get there."

Although Ajay nodded, his stomach refused to cooperate, continuing its rumbling. Finally one of the agents scrounged through the galley, finding a frozen meal in the freezer. He came forward again, "There's a frozen meal, it's got ham, eggs, cheese and potatoes. That's all there is, expiration date is still good."

Khan smiled, "Thanks." The agent brought it to him heated a few minutes later. Another of the agents unlocked his handcuffs from the metal bar, snapping them around his wrists again, loosening them a little. A tray was pulled up from the armrest and his breakfast was placed on it, with a plastic spoon. "No forks aboard. Want some water?"

"Yes…please. Thanks for doing this." Khan rarely employed any kind of manners, especially with law enforcement, but they could have ignored his rumbling tummy for the rest of the trip, which he guessed would be about 3 more hours.

Once fed, he relaxed, closing his eyes and falling asleep. He woke when the jet began its descent. Since the agents told him they were FBI and taking him to DC, Khan had been thinking about what they might want to know. There were several of his past actions that could be under scrutiny but to take him from prison and fly him to DC indicated importance and immediacy. Remembering the scars of the war he'd seen from the car that morning, he hoped the topic of discussion would be one that might actually help people.

He expected to be put back in shackles once they entered the FBI headquarters but didn't say anything when he wasn't. He now had an 8 person escort, two agents in the front, two in the back and two on each side; he was a little proud of that.

He was again surprised when he was seated in a conference room, although decided it was probably to make him so comfortable he wouldn't think of asking for a lawyer or would more easily spill his guts.

His escort had disappeared but he knew the three agents in the room with him were armed. He waited tensely. Finally, the door opened and two men walked in. One was FBI, he could see the badge. The other, he finally saw the badge and almost smiled, the other agent was from NCIS. Then he panicked, what if something had happened to McGee? He didn't want to talk with…

The FBI agent began speaking. He wanted to know what connections Khan had to the domestic terrorists currently at war with the United States. Khan was still wondering if something had happened to McGee, why wasn't he here? He decided to tell the NCIS agent everything he wanted to know.

"Only one connection and that was because they lied to me. I was contacted by someone from a group called 'Sons of the Robe'. They wanted me to build and organize a server, making the security on it as tight as possible. It was work a competent high schooler could do but the pay was excellent, I needed the money and I thought it was a religious group and I might, you know, actually be doing something good.

"I had to sign a confidentiality agreement before they gave me the job. But they lied to me so the way I see it, that agreement is null and void. I built the server as they asked, built all their bells and whistles into it. As part of the job, I also had to download and organize some of their information. That's when I realized who they might be and also discovered they were watching me, day and night. This was not a religious group! Before I completed the job, I created a backdoor, do you know what that is?" Both agents nodded and he continued, "I also added several alarms and traps for any intruders. Then I buried the server address in cyberspace. Once they saw the alarms and traps and the other security precautions I used, they were satisfied, paid me the rest of what they'd promised and I got away from them as fast as I could. I actually moved away.

"While I had other things on my mind, I never forgot that server. Then NCIS busted me and I went to prison." He swallowed, mentally apologizing to Hussein if this caused more problems for him, "A few months after I went to prison, I had a letter from Kevin Hussein, who was the systems administrator at NCIS headquarters. He had a question about how to do something, a legal something, and because I was bored and, you know, it was contact with someone on the outside, I answered him. I also asked if he could find and send me a photo of Agent McGee snapping the handcuffs on me. The only idea I could think of for that damn server was to let someone know about it and the only someone I knew with the skills to get in was McGee." With a derisive look on his face, he added, "He's a boy scout, a do-gooder, and I thought that also might mean he worked with the White Hat Hackers." Looking at the agents, he saw they knew what that was.

Drinking some of his water, he continued, "Hussein sent me the image. In prison, our email is examined before we're allowed to send it or see incoming emails. The guard who saw the photo thought it was pretty funny that I had a photo of me being arrested."

"Long story short, I managed to get the photo onto that server and put a few messages in there for Agent McGee." He looked up, "Has he seen it?"

NCIS Special Agent Carter nodded. "That's why you're here. That long story you just cut short is what we want to know."

Khan twisted his lips. "In prison, you learn pretty quickly who you can trust and who to stay away from among the inmates. One of the trustworthy guys knew another guy who was very good at procuring things. I put the word out I needed a fully charged smartphone or tablet with wi-fi access for 24 hours. Two weeks later, a smartphone was passed to me in the exercise yard, a note with the wi-fi password taped onto it. I was told the time frame was 45 hours, which led me to believe it belonged to a prison employee off shift for 48 hours and the procurer wanted extra time to put it back from wherever he found it. Anyway, after lights out, I got into cyberspace, entered the server through my backdoor, transferred the image of McGee slapping handcuffs on me to a spot where he'd be sure to see it and then put a few other messages on there for him – and then erased my tracks. Did he get in, was he successful?"

Carter looked at the other agent involved in the interview, who looked at each of the agents in the room, saying, "This is classified!" The others nodded and Khan relaxed, that meant yes, unless something happened…

Agent Carter must have sensed his tension as he gave Khan a brief smile. "Yes, he found it and with a Herculean effort copied all the data. As you can imagine, he and Director Vance want to know how you obtained that photo and why you helped him get into the server."

"One, I wasn't happy with who those people were and I was…concerned about it. I'm a hacker, yeah, I've done some pretty bad stuff, but I don't kill children, whole families, people of color – my own people! Two, McGee busted me because he outsmarted me. Don't you get it? He's better than I am, smarter! You guys should be very glad he's on your side." He made a noise, "A Boy Scout and a White Hat, I hoped he'd go looking and if someone else found it, I hoped my hints and riddles were enough to get them in or maybe figure out who McGee is and contact him. And I've already told you about Hussein."

Carter nodded, "Kevin Hussein is now in prison for selling classified material."

"Yeah, I heard about that when he, Partridge and I were pulled in for that internet outage." He took a breath, speaking quickly before they stopped him, "I have more to tell you, please don't stop me! On January 17th, all of us non-whites were moved from our cells into a segregated wing of the prison.

"It's an old wing, separated from the main part of the prison and much smaller. All of us in there are men of color. We're jammed in, five to six inmates in cells that were built for two. None of our guards are Caucasian. Three weeks ago, two buses of prisoners arrived, transfers from another federal prison. None of them are Caucasian either. One of them is Kevin Hussein.

"We managed to talk in the exercise yard and decided to contact Agent McGee. We're scared, we watch the news, we know what the terrorists are doing. The way we were separated makes many of us afraid that everyone on our wing will be murdered. Firebombed, shot, who knows. There's a reason we've been segregated and that the other prison sent their non-whites.

"During exercise, there was one white guard and he was sometimes friendly. I don't know why we picked him but we did, Kevin and I. We approached him, asked if we could call NCIS, told him that was Navy and Marines." Khan told the agents how the guard responded, scaring them even more.

"The next day he wasn't there. We talked to his supervisor, an African-American guy, a Sergeant, told him about the other guard and asked him to get a note to Agent McGee aboard the Navy Yard. He had an envelope in his pocket and I used that to write a note to McGee. The guard read the note, asked me what a few things meant and then said he'd do his best. I didn't see him before we left the prison this morning."

First asking the guard's name, Carter excused himself and left the room. Khan sat back, glad they'd let him talk about the prison, hoped they'd listened. At least Agent Carter had.

They waited quietly, Khan suddenly exhausted. When Agent Carter returned, he nodded to the FBI agent. Everyone remained quiet while the two men looked at their notes. Carter looked up, "How were you contacted by the 'Sons of the Robe'?"

"By email."

"Do you know the email address?"

Khan repeated it and then gave them the guy's name. "That's the name I was told. We never met in person and I was paid via an online service so I never saw a check and don't have a physical description. Their website was vague, talking about various names in the Bible. I don't know those, wasn't raised in any church, so I don't have a clue."

"Understood. If you'll wait here with our agents, we'll review our notes, make sure there are no other questions."

"Agents…would it be possible for me to be transferred to a different prison? Even Alcatraz would be better."

Carter raised an eyebrow, "Alcatraz has been closed for many years."

"I know, it was an example of how much I don't care where else, as long as it isn't Pollock."

"We'll let you know."

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**At the Pollock Federal Penitentiary and near the town of Pollock, Louisiana, the day before Khan's trip to the Hoover Building**

When Haines took the envelope back from the inmate Khan, he tucked it into his wallet. He and his wife had been preparing to leave the area with their kids, driving north. He thought they'd been safe up to now because he was a prison guard. After they'd segregated the inmates and the guards, it had been quiet but then some ugly rumors started and he knew they couldn't wait any longer. He needed to get his family out of there as quickly as possible. He'd be off duty for 72 hours starting at the end of his duty shift that night, they would leave then. Their SUV had been packed with essentials for weeks now, everything carefully tucked out of sight. Washington, D.C. hadn't been part of their planned route but they could easily change their route and from there drive up into Pennsylvania and continue north to Vermont. They thought they would stop there to catch their breaths and decide where to go next.

**Aboard the Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., two days after Khan's Arrival at the Hoover Building.**

Terry Haines and his wife Carolyn sighed in relief as they pulled up to the front gate of the Washington, DC Navy Yard. They'd planned to drive straight through, but their young children, ages 2 and 4, necessitated stops for food, exercise and fresh air. Haines explained that he needed to talk with an agent at NCIS. Finally allowed to pass through, they parked and, holding the children's hands, walked in the front entrance.

He told the officers at Security that he needed to speak with Special Agent Timothy McGee, that he had information specifically for him. He reluctantly handed over the envelope with Khan's writing and was directed to wait. Although the Marines at the gate had already run their IDs, they were run again and the envelope went through additional testing, followed by a phone call to Special Agent Carter.

Rick arrived quickly, took a look at the envelope and sat down next to Haines. "Mr. Haines, or do you prefer your work designation?"

Haines shook his head with a rueful chuckle, "I quit when we left, I'm 'mister' now."

"All right, Mister Haines it is. Did Khan pass this to you?"

"No, he asked to meet with me, offered to be shackled if necessary, which is very unusual behavior for him, he is normally mouthy and belligerent. He talked about the attacks, worried about 'his' people – and others. He and another prisoner whose surname is Hussein, spoke with one of my guards about making a phone call here, to NCIS. Long story short, both prisoners believed the man revealed himself as one of the domestic terrorists. Which gave the phone call here even more priority while also making it more problematic. The envelope was the only paper I had on me and I gave it to the prisoner, along with a pen, to write a note for Special Agent Timothy McGee. Khan said he's the agent who arrested him."

"Yes, that's right, several years ago. He was the world's 2nd worst, or top, depending on your point of view, cyberhacker."

Haines made a face, "Quite a coup then, to bust him."

Carter shrugged, but couldn't keep a look of pride from his face. "We were happy about it. Now…Timothy McGee no longer works here at the Navy Yard although he is still an NCIS agent." He looked at his watch. "He's also in a different time zone, it might take me a while to contact him. Do you have a safe place to wait around here?"

"No, Agent Carter, we didn't plan to stay; we're headed for Vermont."

"Vermont, good! All right, let's do this. We're secure here aboard the Yard, you're better off staying here until I get through to McGee. There are restaurants, Chinese or Italian, close by for takeout, so that's one option. We have a couple of conference rooms where the kids can run around as much as they want. You know what though, we have a long hallway that might be more fun for them. My team closed our most recent case and the paperwork is done for now, I'll assign a couple of them to you, they can order and pick up your meals and give you a tour, show you the long hall for the kids. We used to have delivery but it's not safe anymore. Those of us still here don't visibly fit the 'Unwanted list' and we're always armed, so we're safe enough in the vicinity of the Navy Yard and all our Marines here. "

"Thank you, sir. We didn't expect to take up anyone's time."

Rick smiled, "You're a Marine, Mr. Haines, one of ours, even if it has been a few years. And with what we do, it's a nice break to have happy kids in here once in a while." He thought about it, "We also have showers if that interests you."

Mrs. Haines nodded, "Thank you, it would be wonderful to feel clean after sitting in the car for two days and Italian food sounds great too."

"All right, let's get that ordered and then we'll get you to the showers."

"We'll need clean clothes, may we bring a couple of our bags in?"

"Sure, our Security folks will need to see them first but that's standard operating procedure here."

"We understand."

"Mr. Haines, let me get one of my agents to help you with the bags and Mrs. Haines and kids, why don't you come with me to my desk. We have the menus there."

"Great!"

When Rick's SFA arrived, he escorted Haines to the family's SUV, helping to carry in a few pieces of their luggage. Back in Security, the luggage was scanned and searched before being handed back to Haines and the agent. "You're good to go."

In the meantime, Rick's junior helped Mrs. Haines with the food order and then helped take the luggage down to the shower room.

Once his team took over the Haines family, Rick called Tim's cell. He answered right away, "Rick, everything okay? Or…you know."

"Yeah, no new attacks today. What I do have is a former prison guard who arrived here from the federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana, a few minutes ago, asking for you."

"Pollock…is this about Khan?"

"Yes. This is the guard Khan told us about, name is Haines. He is or was a supervisor and a former Marine and brought the note for you that Khan told us about. It's written on an envelope as he said. Haines said Khan hoped it might help the 'good guys'. Haines says Khan first gave him a disclaimer, saying he hadn't turned into Mother Teresa but that his people were being killed."

"So this is the message we were expecting?"

"Yes. Part of it is a message, words I understand. The rest is maybe code?"

"Interesting. I'm at home, can you ping me on Skype, please? It's a different number…here…" Tim gave his friend the Skype account number he occasionally used for his covert work, although never with the camera. Tonight he'd use the camera so he could see Khan's message.

Realizing they should keep security as tight as possible, Rick headed upstairs to Vance's office, engaging the SCIF before pinging Tim's Skype account. When both men were on, Rick held the envelope to the screen and Tim leaned in to read it, copying what was indeed code. When Rick said he'd already faxed a copy to Tim at home, his friend grinned at him. "Thanks, that's great! Any chance I can speak with Mr. Haines, or did you send him on his way?"

"No, they drove straight up from Pollock, Haines, his wife and 2 little kids. They're headed for Vermont but I think we'll put them up here, in Leon's office, for the night. They should be safe once they reach the Massachusetts border, should be safe in Connecticut too but that's still several hours drive and Vermont is 9 hours. Also, Khan asked him to tell you about something going on at the prison. That verifies that part of the interview, too."

"That's good, Rick. Any word on the transfer?"

"No and Khan is happy enough in the Bureau's lock up. He's taken four showers since he arrived! When I spoke with one of the agents watching him, he did say that Khan is worried that somehow his absence could lead to an attack on the prison."

"He's right, Rick. They know who he is, I'm sure they know where he is. Has anyone looked at the calendar?"

"Yes. An Agent Erskine looked at it. The only thing he found that could be it just says 'boom', on April 19th." Carter added, "Of course, we don't know who updates the calendar. Could be one of the 6."

"True. Has the FBI shared any plans to protect those prisoners?"

"No sharing yet."

"All right, thanks, Rick, I'll mention it to Leon. Good thing we didn't take that extra day to look at the house, huh?"

Rick opened his mouth to reply but then someone knocked on the double doors into Leon's former inner sanctum. Tim moved out of camera range. When he heard Rick say, "Mr. Haines", he reappeared, "Mr. Haines, I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee, glad to meet you and thank you for driving all that way."

"We changed our route a bit but it wasn't any trouble, Agent McGee. It's good to meet you too. Khan was very insistent I get this to you, and talk with you about the prison."

"Have you read his note?"

"Yes, I wanted to make sure it wasn't bogus or threatening."

"Thank you for that. Aside from a comment about publicity regarding an electronic game my wife and I created 20 years ago, Khan used a key word that tells me he's serious and sincere, or as close to sincere as is possible for him. Agent Carter says there's also something about the prison?"

"Yes, he and a recently transferred prisoner, his surname is Hussein, had a conversation with one of my guards and that, along with some unusual transfers into the prison and movement of prisoners around the prison, has both prisoners convinced an attack is imminent. Let me explain."

Agents McGee and Carter listened as Haines told them of the unusual transfers into Pollock and the absolute segregation of the prisoners. As Pollock was a Federal prison, that was highly unusual. And it verified everything Khan said.

Tim looked at Rick, he wasn't sure quite what to say. Finally, he thanked Haines again. "Between the FBI and NCIS, we'll take a deeper look at this but it will likely take several hours. I don't know whether Agent Carter has mentioned this yet, but he's planning to offer you and your family a safe place to stay overnight, there aboard the Yard, within the NCIS office. If you choose to do that, we may have some answers for you before you continue your journey. I know you've left Pollock, on your way to a new life, but this might be worth the wait."

Although the calendar entry was vague, Tim pinged his contacts to make sure that the attack on part of the Pollock federal penitentiary was being handled. When he next spoke to Rick Carter, he mentioned that. Agent Carter smiled, amazed at how fast he had answers, even for Tim!

After the prisoners and their guards were quietly moved from the segregated wing, the inmates were moved to prisons in the safer zones while the guards and their families were also moved to safety. The method of their rescue was simple.

At the request of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the FBI scheduled an offsite meeting for the warden, assistant warden, office staff and the commander of the guards. As they drove away from the prison, buses moved in, with armed guards. One of the silver linings of the old wing was an old entrance to the prison. It had been blocked off for years but after Khan's revelation, handymen showed up, with a work order, to renovate it. Later piecing that together, the FBI said that whoever looked at the work order, either the warden or assistant warden, thought it was a phony actually written by their terrorist buddies. Without further thought, except for planning their alibis for April 19th, they let the work commence without asking anyone in Washington. Neither the warden nor his assistant warden were big fans of their bosses in Washington, DC.

The work was actually done to speed the removal of the targeted inmates. Their guards were also removed, although taken to a different location for questioning.

After the removal, more armed guards arrived and the guards in the other wing were removed, also for questioning.

By midnight, the entire staff, warden down to file clerk, was either under arrest or being held for questioning. The prisoners still at Pollock were under lock down, pending the investigation into who else was a terrorist or conspired with terrorists.

Once the rescued inmates reached their new cells, they were also questioned. Days later, Ajay Khan was delivered to his new cell, a prison in a safe zone. At NCIS' request, Kevin Hussein was placed in a different prison. He was censured for his role in obtaining the photograph for a known criminal and 6 additional months added to his sentence. As Khan was already serving time for what he'd done, he was not given additional time.

Because the wheels of justice sometimes move slowly, more than a year elapsed before Khan and Hussein were each notified that his sentence had been reduced for his work in saving the lives of their fellow inmate along with the men who guarded them.


	90. Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Brambury & London

While the week following the quick trip to San Diego went by fast, Tim, his family and work mates were grateful there was nothing out of the ordinary. Although Tim wasn't sure he should discount the note from Ajay Khan and hearing about the planned attack on the prison. At least he and the director now knew how Khan planted that photo in the enemy's server.

After Dorneget returned to work, Tim formally offered him and Agent Tighe a chance to swap, Tighe to assume the role of senior INV agent on site at the Yokosuka office while Ned would begin working normal hours as the senior INV agent at the San Diego office for San Diego. Both readily agreed, both SSAICs were happy they'd continue to have a senior INV agent. Agent Bailey, the 'junior' INV agent/floater in Japan, was relieved. Although he knew he'd learned a lot during the few weeks he was the sole INV agent in the region, he also knew he wasn't ready for a 'senior' INV agent status. Quan Dixon, in San Diego, was even happier when he learned that Agent Dorneget was one of McGee's deputies.

Tim pondered that. He wanted a deputy in each geographical region but 4 deputies would be too many. He finally decided to wait until after the war and resettlement; there would surely be movements of agents currently in Europe and the U.S., both INV and Field. Some, like Bec, had been overseas far longer than customary, because of the war. He fell into that group, too although, unless Vance's plans changed, he would remain in London through part if not all of the reconstruction.

The newest group of INV agent trainees would arrive in London during the second week of the kids' term holiday; however, those first days they'd be on their own, following Tim's 'get over the jet lag' routine. Training would start the following Tuesday as Monday was a holiday. That would be Tim's first day back at work following their spring vacation, but he was only on the hook for the Welcome and Introduction. He wouldn't be conducting a training session until Thursday.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Although the family was excited about their trip to Greece, Tim and Artie were not looking forward to another trip to Disneyland less than two months after their visit to the original Disneyland. After speaking with the other adults who'd planned to go, the April trip to Disneyland was postponed until the babies were older, all of them thankful none of the kids knew about the plan. Someone suggested going in October, although no one was making any promises.

With that out of the way, the Gibbses decided to stay in Greece for their entire vacation. With the exception of the summer of '17 when the war started, Tim was always able to relax there. Artie felt her husband needed time away from everything except their family and Varkiza was the place. She'd also be happy to spend some time with her grandmother and mother and to swim at her father's house.

The kids were excited when they heard they'd stay in Varkiza for two weeks. Rissa said, "We don't want you to work while we're on vacation, Daddy. You need to play too."

He smiled at that, sweeping her into his arms, "Thank you, Pookie Bug! You know I love to play!" And with that, he kissed and hugged each one of them. Jed squealed when his daddy tickled him a little with his hug. Tim laughed, "Ah, Squiggly bug is happy!" Jed squirmed, he wanted more and his father said, "Maybe he should be Squirmy bug? No, that sounds too bug-like." When the little boy wanted down, down he went and up came Hope who chortled, "I'm big now, I can see everything!"

Kyle giggled when he was lifted into his dad's arms. "I'm not too big yet!" With more laughs, Tim put him down and swept Greg up, "I can still lift Greggers!" Laughing, Greg pointed at Andy. The older boy also laughed when his father lifted him off the floor, high enough to give him a hug. "Yay, Papa, you still got it!"

"Thanks, Jammer, I'm glad I can still do that!"

They made plans, at breakfast and at dinner when they were all together, fun plans for their Easter vacation. They were excited when told the Hubbards would join them for both weeks. Uncle Jimmy and Aunty Breena, Uncle Tony and Aunt Maggie would go for a week. Both families were saving vacation days or money for their trip to the U.S. Aunt Sarah and Uncle James were going with the Gibbses but would fly home Monday night as James was saving vacation days. His parents were also going but thought they'd stay on after their kids left. Aunt Susannah, Uncle Ian and his parents would join the travelers at the end of their second week, staying through the Orthodox Easter.

All the grands, greats and the Cranes were going although Ducky would return early with his family. The older gentlemen, Mac, LJ, Ben Childers and Cesar Fornell, had been in Greece since January and would return home with the Gibbses. Maisie had dearly missed Mac and couldn't wait to see him. The rest of the uncles and aunts weren't going, either saving money, time off or both for the June trip and the two weddings.

Admiral Uncle Dave and Captain Uncle Jim would report to the Baton Rouge for duty on May 1st, 2019, a Wednesday. While their families, including their godson and nephew, were reluctant to see them go, Tim and Artie were pleased they'd be home for Jed's first birthday party, the Sunday before they left.

Both officers sincerely hoped this would be the last float before the war ended and the fleet was moved home again. Once the Baton Rouge was back in her berth at Norfolk and Liz, Claire, the kids, Maisie and presumably Penny moved home, they'd file for retirement.

Tim quietly told his godfather and uncle that his family would likely be staying in London for a couple of years beyond the war and that the Cranes and Hubbards were welcome to stay at the house in Arlington, paying only utilities and a nominal rent. Once the war was over and the Marines moved out, they would be doing their godson-nephew and his family a favor by occupying the house.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

San Diego, CA

While the Gibbses made last minute plans for their Easter trek to Greece, Ned Dorneget and his partner Daniel Ibarra moved to a residential hotel and started looking at neighborhoods. Once Daniel identified the top three school districts within an hour's drive of the office, they contacted their relocation agent.

It was tough, finding two homes in the same school district for three people with different styles who were sharing custody of their children. However, their relocation agent had plenty of experience with different personalities and types of families and quickly figured out what they needed.

Ned's grandfather insisted that Trinity and the children stay with him when they arrived. While Daniel's former wife was at first reluctant, she quickly became comfortable with Walter Dorneget and it really helped the children become accustomed to their new country. She also thought it might be helping him get through the first weeks of his grief and separation from the woman he'd been married to for more than 60 years.

With only days to go before Trinity and the children reached the end of their two week stay at the retirement community, the three adults came to an agreement on two homes. Four blocks apart, the houses were in separate neighborhoods, giving them more privacy. Trinity's place was three bedrooms with 2 bathrooms while Daniel and Ned's had four bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, perfect! The kids were registered for school and would start after the spring break.

As it would take a few weeks for their furniture to arrive, Ned's grandad told them to take what they needed from his house. Trinity's new home was partially furnished, with beds for the kids, kitchen table and chairs, pots, pans, dishes and kitchen utensils, a set of 4 TV trays and a sofa bed that Trinity would use to sleep on. Ned and Daniel moved it into her bedroom and a TV tray served as a temporary nightstand. Those TV trays became the most useful objects as they served as temporary desks, laptop and/or printer stands, nightstands, a covered ironing board, side tables, caddy for various things in the bathrooms and, first securing the legs and extending the tops, TV stands. The men were so impressed they bought two additional sets of four trays at a thrift store and split them between the two homes.

From the senior Dorneget's home, Daniel and Ned's house gained a couch, table, a Cal King bed, left from Ned's college days, a few comfortable chairs, Ned's old dresser and nightstands. They rented beds for the kids' rooms at their house and furnished Trinity's living room and theirs with Granddad's patio furniture, chaise lounges and comfortable chairs. Granddad would have it all back before the weather was warm enough for him to spend much time on the patio.

Granddad signed his late wife's car over to Ned. Daniel's dad was doing a little work on Ned and Daniel's vehicles and then would sell them while Trinity's vehicle was on the same ship as the rest of their belongings. In the meantime, she would rent a vehicle when she needed one.

When Daniel was offered a permanent position in the San Diego office rather than working remotely, he accepted and purchased a used SUV with plenty of head space for both Ned and himself and plenty of cargo space for the kids' things. With two vehicles, the men could also help car-less Trinity, either ferrying the kids around or loaning one of their vehicles.

They'd relied heavily on public transportation in Japan and driving everywhere now would be quite an adjustment. All three adults were relieved to find they could take either light rail or a fixed route bus to work. Trinity would commute by bus while the NCIS office was close to a light rail station for Ned and Daniel.

While the Gibbses were in Greece, the three adults and two children moved into their new homes. As Liesl and Mark's new school was on spring break until April 22nd, their parents and Ned put their heads together to figure out childcare. While the children were young enough for daycare, their parents didn't want to start them off right away. After school would be fine once they settled in; however, they'd prefer the kids be with people they already knew while they adjusted to a new home and country. Grandad again stepped in. Without anyone to take care of, he was feeling useless and asked if he could help with the kids.

His offer was gratefully accepted, with a few conditions. No one wanted him driving to and from Encinitas to the new neighborhood every day, so he would stay with Ned and Daniel until the children started school and however long afterward he wanted to. As their house had a pool and the kids and Granddad were excellent swimmers, that met with approval. Another condition was that Granddad was not expected to cook meals or do any cleaning for them. The kids were used to cold lunches and would probably make their own. The third condition was that Granddad was not expected to run errands for anyone. His job was to take care of the children. Daniel insisted on those conditions because, as he'd told Ned, Trinity sometimes pushed the line in taking advantage of people.

Ned bought a Cal-King inflatable bed and he and Daniel moved his old bed and a thrift store dresser into the fourth bedroom for Granddad. The two men slept quite comfortably on the inflatable and Granddad slept soundly on the old bed.

They'd been in their house just shy of two weeks, the kids would start school on Monday, when they had a Skype call with Daniel's parents. Grandad had gone home for the weekend, there was a social function at the retirement community he wanted to attend, and the kids were with Trinity.

Although Daniel had resolved to speak with his father after meeting Tim, Artie and their two sons over a year ago and then again after seeing the woman who looked so much like them on Skype months ago, he'd never found a way to bring it up. Now, here he was, thousands of miles away, still determined to find out if and how she was related. However, he still had no idea what to ask and Ned, more objective and experienced in drawing information from reluctant witnesses, came up with a way to start.

Saturday morning, Daniel returned from taking the kids to their mother's house and sat in the living room on one of Grandad's patio chairs, deep in thought. When he reached a conclusion, he made an easy decision, one he probably should have made a year ago February when he first met Greg Gibbs and saw photos of Tim's sister and brother. As Ned was working on a report in their bedroom, Daniel waited. When his partner finished, he came looking, "Sorry, I wanted to get that report finished today, it's due on Monday. What's on your mind?"

"That's okay, that's what I should be doing, too. I want to Skype with my parents this weekend. They should be back from Analyn's by now." Analyn was Daniel's younger sister, the Ibarras' second child and the oldest daughter with two children of her own. She and her family lived in the Philippines, near Manila on the island of Luzon. Her older child had just celebrated her third birthday and her parents had traveled from Japan to be on hand for the party.

Seeing the determined look on his partner's face, Ned smiled, "You'll ask your dad?"

"Yes. I should have done it last year! That poor woman on screen last fall, uh, Penelope?" Ned nodded and Daniel continued, "If Dad's related to her, she must not know it or doesn't know he has kids."

Ned looked at his partner. "Will you do me a favor when we talk with your folks?"

"What's that?"

"Don't just charge in. He's told you he was in the U.S. Navy, right?"

Daniel nodded and Ned continued, "If you ask him how he left the Navy and ended up in the Philippines, you'll probably get more information than if you go in demanding to know if he's related to Penelope Langston."

The other man frowned and then his face brightened, "Oh, you're thinking from the point of view of a criminal investigator? Asking for information rather than demanding it and putting the suspect's back up?"

Ned blinked, trying not to laugh. "Not quite. I'm thinking as a person who doesn't like to be blindsided by questions like that and most people don't. It makes them feel like they're under attack and defensive, more likely to deflect the question or refuse to talk at all. And yes, as a Federal Agent who's participated in interrogations, that does make people defensive and less likely to cooperate, although sometimes they're so surprised they blurt out the answer."

"So I should ask him how he left the Navy and ended up in the Philippines? Gotcha. How will that help?"

Ned sighed, "I can't tell you. However, I may have to make a phone call, depending on his answer."

"All right." Daniel frowned, "You suspect something?"

Ned shook his head. Daniel wasn't sure if that meant he didn't suspect anything or if Ned couldn't or wouldn't say. Reading the confusion in his partner's face, Ned wanted to tell him what he knew, what the records said. However, until Mark Ibarra told his story, there wasn't much he could do or say.

Daniel sent an email to his father asking if he and his mother had time for a Skype call Sunday morning at noon, Japanese time, which would be 8 PM Saturday night in San Diego. Eventually, his dad responded with a big 'YES!', adding that they hoped to have a virtual tour of the new house.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Athens, Greece

Their flight to Athens had been especially short and sweet after the marathon flights to and from San Diego a few weeks ago. Meeting the DiNozzos and the senior Powells at the Athens' airport, they climbed in their transport for the trek to Varkiza. When they reached the village, the group sighed happily as the warm air surrounded them. It was definitely warmer than it had been on previous April visits.

Even better than the warm air was seeing Mimi and Yaya Sophia! It took quite some time for the two women to be properly greeted by their family. Eventually, they parted and Mimi smiled happily at her great-grandchildren, "Goodness, you've all grown so much, even since Christmas! Now, there are two young men here we haven't yet met in person."

With a smile, Jimmy introduced Nat and Ben to Mimi and Yaya Sophia. The boys were a bit anxious about meeting people who didn't speak English but quickly realized how wrong they'd been! They weren't sure if their foster parents were related to the ladies or if they were 'courtesy' grandmother and great-grandmother and decided to ask their cousins.

After chatting for a bit, the group dispersed to their lodgings. The Gibbses had their usual Airbnb while Ducky and his family were next door. The four Powells were two doors down from them in a three bedroom flat, the same building the Gibbses stayed in a few years ago. The Hubbards, Cranes and Penny were sharing a vacation rental across the street from the Powells.

The Vances, who flew from London with them, were in Piraeus, staying with their friends the Russells. While his wife Dani, Jared and Kayla vacationed, Leon would take a day to visit Naples and the new office there. He thought of asking McGee to go with him but decided his agent needed every bit of his time away. He'd really been shaken up by the terrorist threatening little Hope and Leon didn't think it was the best time to bring up his future with the agency. When he remembered that Artie had family who lived near Naples, people the Gibbses would likely visit again, Leon relaxed. Tim could visit the office when they visited Artie's uncle the Master Chef.

Once the most important things were unpacked, the Gibbses, Mallards and DiNozzos had snacks and walked to the beach, Jed riding on his Grandpa's back. Spying the waves and sand, the kids ran the rest of the way while their parents and grandparents took their time. Tim grinned, rolling up his sleeves, "Ah, sunshine on bare skin feels so good!" His mother chuckled, "We've chased it across continents and oceans, from Seattle to San Diego to Brambury to here, and finally we've found the elusive warmth of the sun."

Knowing none of them could resist putting their feet in the water, they'd brought a few towels with them. When they reached their kids, Tim and Artie laughed at the pleading looks on their faces. Without saying a word, Artie leaned on Tim to remove her shoes and the kids cheered, kicking off their own shoes. Andy took Hope's hand and the five of them raced to the edge of the water while Jed was bouncing up and down, asking for 'down'. Taken from his daddy pack, his shoes and socks removed, he was tucked securely in his father's arms. The little boy squealed in excitement as his daddy ran to the water.

Tim got his feet wet before scooping up a handful of water and dripping it on Jed's feet. He made a surprised noise and then giggled when Daddy put more on his feet. He kicked both feet, saying 'wada', his word for water. Daddy lowered him carefully to the wavelets, just enough to wet his toes. Jed giggled more, that tickled, and then laughed when his feet went all the way in. He watched his siblings, babbling a little at them. Hope, who was having a wonderful time, said that Jed was happy he was in the water with Dada. Nearby, the twins and Jilly were also having a good time with their 'feets' in the water. Victoria, Davey, Nat and Ben were with the Gibbs kids, laughing as they splashed around.

Bringing Jed a little way out of the water, Tim helped him stand in the sand and then held onto him while the baby stood still, transfixed as he watched the next little wavelet roll in, covering his feet. Jed giggled, saying, "Feets, wada!" He squealed when Mama and his siblings surrounded him, calling out the same thing when the waves covered their feet. His grandma recorded the whole thing with her phone and, like Jilly 'dancing' with Penny at Geo's wedding, that recording was kept for many years. And from then on, no matter how old they were, when the Gibbs clan first reached a beach and put their feet in, one or more would call out, 'feets, wada!'

After an hour of wading and playing, it was naptime for Jed, the twins and Jilly. Their grandfathers took them back to their lodgings, where they'd nap in the cribs provided for them. As the day was plenty warm, the babies' siblings soon convinced their parents to let them swim. The group spent the rest of the day at the beach, in and out of the water, playing with a beachball, helping the younger kids make sand castles and obeying Ducky or Jimmy's orders to take a break from the sun. After their naps, the four babies and their grandfathers returned to the beach, where they had more fun.

Nat and Ben couldn't believe their new family, they'd never known a family so big and with enough money to travel to different countries whenever they wanted. When they finally asked their foster mother if they were rich, she sat down with them to explain a few things. "Your dad and I are not rich. We have a lot of vacation time because your dad's worked for NCIS for 15 years. Usually, the longer you work at the same place, the more vacation time you earn. Granducky has a lot of money, so yes, he's rich. His mother, whose name was Victoria, inherited money from her parents and her husband, Granducky's father. When she died, she left everything to Ducky. Along with the money, she also owned a big fancy house and a lot of nice things, like the china and the pretty things in our china hutch. So then Granducky had enough money to do what he wanted. He sold the big fancy house and bought one that was still big but not as fancy. When we move back to the U.S. after the war, our family will live in that house with him. He gave your dad and me part ownership of the house."

She paused to think, "Your grandma and grandpa Gibbs also have a lot of money. I know some of it came from your grandpa's father when he died but he has more than that and I don't know where it came from." She laughed, "Uncle Tim and Aunt Artie have a lot of money, too." Telling them the story of the game museum, how Andy and Greg discovered the old game and their discovery of the money owed them, she added, "I don't know how much that was but the game is still being made and sold, so they still have money coming in for that."

Continuing, she said, "Your grandfathers and grandmother love to treat all of us. None of them had money growing up, not even most of their lives. It wasn't until the past 10 years or so that Granducky and Grandpa had more money. Uncle Tim loves to treat, too. He, your aunt Sarah and most of your uncles were orphans without homes when they grew up."

She told Nat and Ben a sanitized version of the shelter and transient camp. She ended with a smile, "You see, none of us have always had money, so we're happy to enjoy it when our parents and siblings want to treat us."

The boys had listened and now they nodded, glad to know more about their new family. After thinking it over, Ben said, "Our parents weren't rich, they both worked. But they liked their jobs and I think they were good at them, their bosses and a lot of people from work came to parties at our house and to their funeral. Mom and Dad took us to Disneyworld right before Nat started kindergarten and then the next year we had a road trip to the Grand Canyon! We went to San Diego and swam in the ocean on that same vacation and then we drove home through mountains, we swam in Lake Tahoe, drove across a desert and prairies. But they had to save to go to those places, I remember every time we had scrambled eggs, casseroles or macaroni and cheese for dinner, Mom or Dad would say to remember the fun vacation we would have."

Breena nodded, "That's how we did vacations in my family when I was growing up. We went to Disneyworld when my younger sister Colleen was in 3rd grade; I remember my dad saying they'd been saving since my older sister was born and she was 12 when we went. We took a road trip to New England one summer, there were five of us staying in a big RV. We stayed in parks so there were pools to swim in and we could run around. We went to Boston, up into Maine, across New Hampshire and into Vermont. We had a blast in the RV but it was hard on my parents because they had to drive every day." She laughed, "I remember my dad saying next time, they'd save extra money and have someone drive the RV for them!"

"Did that ever happen?"

"No but from then on we flew or took the train for vacations. If we drove, we went somewhere closer to home."

"Aren't we staying in an RV when we go?"

"Yes, but we'll already be close to where we're going. We'll only have to drive two hours to get to the spot where we'll camp."

"Like the places you stayed in, with the pools?"

"Yes! We also want the parks we stay in to be woodsy, too. You watch, we might start planning all that while we're here. It's easier to plan when most of us are together. We'll have lunch on the beach tomorrow and almost every day and that's when we'll start talking about it."

Ben frowned, "Will everyone be in RVs?"

"No, honey, not everyone is going and I'm not sure the Hubbards, Aunt Liz or Penny will have RVs. Grandpa will probably look for a place that has places to camp in the RVs and cabins for those who don't want to camp. Uncle Jim and Uncle Dave have to go back to work next month so they won't be with their families." Breena smiled, "Now, when we come back to Varkiza when school is out in July, just about everyone will be here. And you'll get to meet your Italian and Greek cousins!"

"We have Italian and Greek cousins?"

"Yes. You met Mimi and Yaya Sophia last night." The boys nodded. "Mimi is Yaya Sophia's mama. Yaya Sophia is mama to Aunt Artie and Aunt Susannah, the lady who looks like Aunt Artie." They nodded, they'd met Aunt Susannah and Uncle Ian in San Diego.

"Yaya Sophia is also mama to a man who isn't very nice but we don't ever have to see him. He was married to a nice lady called Ana and they have four children. Ana and the man are divorced, you know what that means?" They nodded and she continued, "Yaya Sophia and Mimi really like Ana and the children, so they always come to visit when we're here. They live in another part of Greece. Mimi also has a daughter named Gaia who's very nice. She and her husband Theo have twins who are in their early twenties. They are Matt and Cassie. They also live in another part of Greece but they usually come to visit during the summer and I think usually when Uncle Tim and Aunt Artie are here for Easter; you might meet them this week. Those are your Greek cousins. Your Italian cousins are named Katerina and Damaris. They are the children of Aunt Artie's Uncle Nikolas and his partner Uncle Sergio."

"Two dads?"

"Yes."

Nat nodded, "We had a friend with two dads and another friend who had two moms. And friends with steps."

Breena smiled, adding, "Uncle Nikolas is a master chef, he and Sergio own a restaurant in a town south of Rome, and Nikolas always cooks for us when he visits. It's fun to watch because some of your uncles and aunts like to cook and they always help him, he teaches them what he's doing. Then we get to eat Nikolas-style food even when he's not there!"

"Does he just visit here or at home too?"

"Both places. They were in Brambury for Aunt Sarah's wedding, Uncle Rob's and Uncle Geo's and I think there have been other times."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Varkiza

After church on Sunday and a phone visit with Patrick, they had a picnic on the beach with everyone sitting under big umbrellas. Ben nudged Nat when he heard their dad say something about RV camping. Grandpa and Granducky looked at each other and Grandma laughed, saying, "I win! Jimmy, your dad and Jethro, grandmothers and I have had a bet as to who would first bring up the subject."

"What'd you win?"

"An extra platter of mezethes when Jethro takes me out to dinner in Athens!"

Jimmy smacked his lips, "Yum!"

They all laughed again when Ducky pulled out an atlas of the U.S. while Lu had her smart phone ready to search for property for sale and places to stay. Before they started looking, George Powell raised his hand. "I just read this online the other day and didn't believe it so I also looked it up at the library. Did you know that all the lakes in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, maybe everywhere, have leeches in them? Everything I read said people don't get sick from them but they do bite…while you're swimming. They like calm, still freshwater, like lakes, ponds and slow moving streams. There are ways to control them but you'd have to check with whoever is in charge of a lake. It seems waterproof sunscreen will repel them. The problem is mostly in the shallows, once a swimmer is in deeper water, they've moved beyond the leeches. However, the shallows means the younger children and older adults would be most at risk."

The adults were clearly unhappy while the kids looked at each other. Andy was the fastest to look up 'leeches' and he held up his phone with a photo that had nearly everyone pulling away from him. "Ugh! Those are nasty."

Tim shook his head, "Dad, forget everything I said about boat docks and toddler pools. No way are our kids getting bit by those things. Andy, while you're online, please look to see if they're at ocean beaches."

Andy looked and shook his head. "There is a species of them that are marine but I don't see any references to beaches or waves. Maybe because the water is constantly moving." He looked at his father, "And we always use waterproof sunscreen."

"True, son. So as long as there are tides and waves, no leeches. I was the one who wanted to be by a lake. A river would be fine too, although swimming might be questionable. There would have to be a calm spot and then we're back to leeches again."

The kids frowned, they liked rivers but what was the point of being by water if they couldn't swim? Their adults felt the same way and they decided to start looking for property close to the coast of Maine.

Within a few minutes, Tim's mom had several listings and Ducky turned to the page for the state of Maine in the U.S. atlas. The two men worked together to pinpoint the locations of the listings he'd found. Tim kept an eye on them while searching for places to stay around the towns near the listings.

When Lu or Jethro started clicking on links to see each listing, everyone was interested. Andy, Cal, Ainsley, Artie and James followed each link on their phones so more people could see the photos and the descriptions.

Three of the listings had properties with photos that looked too open, all they could see were boundless hills and the descriptions were mostly about hunting. Some had a building or two but were not anywhere near the ocean. One looked really nice but the description did nothing but talk about what kinds of animals had been hunted there and nothing about the buildings or amenities. Other listings looked all right but there wasn't anything that excited anyone. They hoped to find acreage within an hour's driving distance to the coast, with buildings already on it.

When they hit a listing for a property of 70 acres along the ocean, they stopped to look. There was a two-story hotel with 50 guest rooms, a commercial kitchen and a restaurant, an outdoor kitchen with a screened in dining area, several cabins, laundry facilities, staff housing and outbuildings. It was bank owned, the last owners had purchased it as a foreclosure and spent what funds they had to repair the hotel and cabins, only to go under less than five years after they'd opened for business. They'd installed a new septic system, the entire property had been converted to solar power, with gas generators for backup, and there were fresh water wells. It was 6 miles from the nearest town with a road that was plowed in the winter. The hotel and cabins had new roofs, the commercial kitchen had been updated, laundry facilities for the hotel were in the basement and there was a theater style media room with a wall built to hold a big screen TV.

The cabins had been renovated and upgraded with new wood stoves as well as solar powered heating systems. The terrain was beautiful, open space around the hotel, with the cabins just far enough away for privacy and plenty of trees. The listing mentioned hiking, riding and mountain bike trails, a heated pool and spa, tennis court, an archery range, lawn bowling, a stream for fishing, and perhaps most exciting of all, access to their own beach on one of the many bays along the Maine coast, complete with a dock and boat ramp.

When Tim saw the name of the bay, he immediately went back online to see if it was susceptible to leeches. The answer was no, James confirmed that with what he'd found. With Tim inputting the information for him, Dad sent a question to the realtor, saying he and his large family were interested in the property but wanted it for personal use, would whatever government entity controlled zoning in the area be amenable to changing the zoning from commercial to personal? He also wanted to know when it had been built, how long the place had been on the market, how many times it had been foreclosed and why, along with how many owners it had had in the past. His last comment was to say that he and his family were currently in Greece, they would be back in the U.S. to view the property in June, Tim added the dates. He also added Dad's cell number, with a warning that an email would be a far less expensive way to reach him than calling internationally.

Then they decided to ask the realtor if there were camping facilities with cabins and RV spaces where the family could stay while in the area, adding what Tim thought was a fairly accurate estimate of how many of the extended family would be with them, between 45 and 50 people ranging in age from 1 year to 85 years.

Once the question was sent, the group went back to playing and swimming. Today, all four of the babies were napping under the umbrellas in their portable cribs. Hope curled up in Grammie's lap in the shade too, needing a rest after a busy morning.

That evening, the Gibbses went back online, this time on Tim's laptop hooked to Mimi's TV, which was easier for everyone to see, to look at more listings. They found a few additional properties that on the surface met their needs. One sounded promising, 60 acres with a paved road in, two large homes, a large garage and several outbuildings, nicely wooded, a 15 minute drive to the nearest beach. There was a note that said this had originally been an 80 acre parcel that had been carved into 3 parcels. The additional parcels, 10 acres each, were on either side of the 60 acres. The houses looked good, rustic but not old. Both were two stories with front porches covering from side to side, were two stories, wood stoves and central heat.

The first house had 8 bedrooms with 6 ½ bathrooms, a huge kitchen and dining area, big living room, an office or den, a downstairs powder room, that is, a commode and sink. Two of the bedrooms were downstairs, sharing a hallway bathroom. The hallway also featured a laundry closet. Both of the bedrooms had sliding doors to a back terrace. The rest of the bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, a laundry room and media/game room were upstairs.

The second house had 12 bedrooms and 10 ½ bathrooms. Other than the additional bedrooms and bathrooms, the setup was the same.

The two dwellings could conceivably sleep 40 of the Gibbs clan, more if they put more than 2 kids in a room, which they could do with bunkbeds. They also thought some of the outbuildings could be converted to dwellings.

Although the beach access on the first property they'd inquired about was enticing, the adults wondered about that access. Was it stairs, a road, a path? How safe was it, especially if it was stairs or a path? How secure would it be from little ones accessing it? How much maintenance would it require? And how long and wide was the beach? How much storm damage and erosion had occurred over the years and would occur with climate change?

This place, with the two large houses and no beach access, sounded a bit safer and certainly easier to maintain. A 15 minute drive was acceptable, as long as it really was 15 minutes and not just hype, although they'd agreed that a drive up to 60 minutes or a walk of 10 minutes would be fine. If they viewed this property in person, they'd also take a look at the beach.

Jethro and Lu knew that once the family relocated to the States, it would be rare to have everyone together other than for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As Lu had said before, summer was Bill's busiest season while their plumber sons were busy year round.

She'd worried about Ellie, Bec and Tim being able to vacation at the same time but Jethro said that once Tim was promoted to Assistant Director, he wouldn't be handling any of the day to day INV operations. It wouldn't matter if he and Ellie were on vacation at the same time, her backups would be her fellow INV deputies and the other INV agents.

Tim's backups would be Leon, Joel or the Field Team Lead. When Lu pointed out that was their daughter-in-law, Jethro smiled, "Hon, that's for now. Once the war is over, Leon will be moving people home and Bec will be one of the first to go, as soon as it's safe. I think she'll have her own office, certainly her own team. I believe that eventually, she'll head one of the bigger hub offices.

"Right now, the U.S. agents are basically a skeleton crew placed carefully along the northern and western borders, with a few exceptions. Leon had to leave the Navy Yard office open, orders from above, and Corpus Christi, Texas, has remained attack free, so that office is open. The agents in the U.S. are spread so thin that they're only able to successfully work their cases through sheer tenacity and because of Tim's agents. He had a proposal to add 3 new agents ready to submit before the February trip but held onto it. After the trip, he amended it to 7 new agents, the biggest group yet. Once they're in production, all the field agents, countrywide, will rely on them."

She smiled, shaking her head, "It will be interesting to watch all of that in motion, after the war."

Tilting his head, Jethro smiled and then leaned down for a kiss. Sometime later, they remembered to send a note to the realtor saying they were interested but were currently overseas and wouldn't be available to view the property until June. Lu input a few questions about the property and the houses before they sent the email.

Tim and Artie also found a property they thought would be good, although it would require more renovation. It was 65 acres, heavily wooded with a three-story house, with an additional wing added on each side. The building clearly needed work, the roof obviously needed replacing and at least two of the windows they could see were cracked. There were also a few outbuildings. The photos were beautiful and both liked the fenced garden in back of the house. According to the real estate description, the house was originally 2 stories with an attic, which had been renovated to a full level. That had increased the number of bedrooms from 6 to 12. The addition of the wings increased the number of bedrooms to 18. Tim made a face at the number of bathrooms, 1 ½ on the third floor, another 1 ½ on the second floor and 1 in each of the wings for a total of 5 bathrooms for a potential crowd of 36 people. Laughing, they looked at the photos to see if there was an old outhouse or other outdoor facility. Tim sent the link to Dad, along with their questions and comments.

Within a couple of days, they'd found 5 properties they liked enough to view in person, that is if they weren't sold between now and the first week of June.

In the meantime, they settled into their vacation life in Varkiza. If a day was a little too cool to swim in the Mediterranean, they'd go into Athens to visit their favorite sites. The younger kids wanted to see the changing of the guards again, Hope hadn't seen it and they all enjoyed that, along with a trip to the Benaki and other favorite museums. During the afternoons on those cooler days, they swam in the pool at Pappouli Peter's house.

Early Monday morning, the group packed picnic lunches, borrowed Pappouli Peter's large wheeled cart, filled it with beach chairs, the portable cribs and other paraphernalia, loaded it into the Gibbses' rental, a small bus, filled it to capacity, then the rest rode in Mimi's new minivan and Sophia's SUV. Driving to the dock, they caught the first hydrofoil of the day to the island of Aegina.

Once on the island, George, James and Jimmy, went to rent sun shelters for the day while the rest of the adults and the littles followed the older kids to the spot they'd selected on the beach. Tim stood, looking around, very happy to be here. Although he loved Varkiza, there was something about this island and in particular this beach that felt like home. Of course, he felt that way about Greece in general, something he'd never figured out, but this specific place was special.

They had a wonderful day on the island. After they ate their lunch, the Mallards and junior Gibbses led the kids, including Ainsley and Callum, down the beach to the paved path and then through a cul-de-sac back into town. They stopped at the shop where Geordie and Bec met, taking photos of the kids eating ice cream outside of it and sending a couple of the shots to the couple with captions that read, "Having treats at your shop" and "Missing you".

They left when the wind picked up in the late afternoon, knowing the sea would be getting a bit choppy. Back on the mainland, Tim drove his busload into Piraeus, managing to find the NCIS building there. The kids, who'd only seen the London and DC offices, thought it was funny that the Athens office was in a house. Finding a driveway up the hill where he could turn around, Tim and company headed back toward Athens and Varkiza.

Sarah and James left for home that night, Sophia drove them to the airport, kissing each of them goodbye, glad she'd see them again in less than two months. James' parents were staying; they loved being part of Sarah's large extended family and hated to miss anything.

Over the next few days, the group spent mornings sightseeing or puttering around Athens and the afternoons at Mimi's beach or in the Lekkas' pool. By then, Jethro had heard back from the realtors for the 5 properties they wanted to see in June. Most of their questions were answered although there were a couple of items where the realtor(s) stated that it would be easier to explain while he was viewing the property.

Not a single respondent asked if they could visit any sooner or warned them about other possible offers, which led to the theory that nobody was beating a path to these properties and that they'd likely been on the market for some time. Penny reminded them what her realtor had said, that it would take the right buyer.

Tim and Artie drove the Mallards and DiNozzos to the airport when they left for home that evening. After saying heartfelt goodbyes, they drove into Athens for dinner, by themselves.

When they walked out of church on Sunday, there was a heavy wind and dark clouds blowing in. As the Gibbses had the largest house, everyone gathered there for lunch, a chat with Patrick, a quick walk before the rain hit and an afternoon of playing cards, games and watching a couple of movies. When the younger kids wondered if they could swim in 'their' pool anyway, Tim explained that this was an electrical storm, that pools and oceans, even puddles, could easily be struck by lightning and hurt anyone who was around.

Leon called late that afternoon, saying he'd been scheduled to fly to Naples for the day on Monday, visiting the NCIS office there but had decided to cancel due to the storm, which encompassed most of the Mediterranean. He laughed, "I'd say I'll go in July when we're here, but I'm afraid I'd be lying."

Tim asked if he should have been going with Vance but Leon said no, that he needed the downtime, he was on vacation, no work! The Gibbses and Vances decided to have a 'last day' dinner on the beach the following Sunday, the western Easter, and Leon said the Russells would probably come too.

While the electrical storm passed, Monday and Tuesday were still a bit too windy for the beach and too cool to put even toes in the sea water. Instead, they enjoyed the sheltered warmth of the Lekkas' pool and game room. That was a new addition, a room attached to the house with three glass walls, indoor/outdoor carpeting, full of comfortable furniture and a large screen TV on the interior wall. When they got tired of swimming and playing in the water, they dried off by the pool heater and watched a couple of movies.

That was fun because the movies were all in Greek! Andy found the setting for subtitles, which helped those who weren't quite far enough along in their Greek lessons to understand the story. Jethro, Lu, the older gentlemen and the Powells were quite proud of themselves for understanding as much as they did while the Hubbards, Penny and the Cranes were very happy with the subtitles, vowing to work harder at learning the language. When they were done with that halfway through the afternoon, they went roller skating in Athens. That was fun and the kids had a blast both on the rink and watching their adults try to skate. Tim and Artie did well, they'd been ice skating not too many years ago and that helped them with roller skating. Hope took a class and caught on right away. She, Rissa, their brothers and cousins skated rings around everyone else.

Wednesday, it was still chilly so they went bowling. Although Jed wasn't interested, Hope bowled and with help from her grandpa, rolled a strike! Rissa and the boys did well, the Hubbard cousins obviously knew what they were doing while most of the adults just had fun. Jethro and Tim competed, each beating the other in a game and tying for the third game.

By Thursday, the temperatures had warmed up again and they were back at the beach. Susannah, Ian and his parents arrived and had fun with the kids. Beach fun took them through Saturday when they realized they only had one more full day left. Although, as Mimi reminded them, they'd be back in three months and would have another fun vacation before returning. That cheered the kids up but the adults moped a bit longer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated character list coming up at the end of the next chapter. Original list is in Chapter 64.


End file.
